Finn Hurst, standing at right, and Brody Wennihan, not pictured, were the two Tarkio High School students who attended Missouri Boys State in June. (Missouri Boys State photo)

Brody Wennihan and Finn Hurst attended the 86th session of the American Legion Boys State conference June 20-27, 2026, on the campus of Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. Both will be Tarkio High School seniors this fall.

Brody was a citizen of Carver City, a member of the federalist party, and a student in the law school. He was an assistant athletic director, a delegate to county committee Ward III, and an attorney. Brody remarked, “I really enjoyed Boys State. The way everybody was able to come together as a community and state was very amazing to see. All the different people coming from all different places being able to unify and complete a better task was awesome. I was originally a a county council member, which I held throughout the week, and also became a city council member, and then was appointed to the city report council, which created a city report that we would give to instructors to try and run for model city. I also passed the bar exam and was a practicing attorney all week. I met a ton of new guys and had a ton of fun!”

Finn remarked, “I had a great time at Missouri Boys State and am thankful I had the opportunity to attend. While there I was elected to House of Representatives and then was also elected as the City Ward secretary. We were able to listen to many really cool speakers, a couple being Martin Luther King, III, and some of my favorites, former Missouri Tigers Cody Shrader and Brady Cook. We learned how a democracy functions by creating our own democratic government and then running it. I participated in the school of legislative and executive policy. I really enjoyed my week and would like to thank the Tarkio American Legion who sponsored me.”