On June 13 at Southwest Minnesota State University, the American Legion Boys State announced the winners of the 12 mayoral races across the program.

Zeke Peters of Austin was elected as the mayor of the fictional Boys State City of Austin as part of the first round of elections held at the week-long program.

Zeke is the son of David and Lisa Peters of Austin. He attends Austin High School and was sponsored by the Austin American Legion Post No. 91.

Boys State is an annual program in its 68th year sponsored by the American Legion Department of Minnesota on a college campus. With nearly 330 in attendance, the program teaches government and leadership through hands-on activities designed to mimic the actual process of state government.

City elections are just a small part of the entire process at Minnesota Boys State. Delegates, all rising high school seniors from hundreds of high schools, are assigned one of two fictional political parties and given the opportunity to participate in the city, county, and state level nominating processes.

At the end of the week, scholarships and awards are given out to the highest achievers, and a student governor is named to oversee the program into 2017.