Richter, Louks share Youth Tour experience in Washington, D.C.

Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric Youth Tour Delegates Leighton Richter of Faribault and Connor Louks of Ellendale returned home June 20 after flying with Minnesota’s delegation of 35 students and five chaperones, which included Steele-Waseca’s Cindy Butterfield, to Washington, D.C., June 15, and experiencing nearly a week in our nation’s capital. 

“The 2026 Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington D.C. was truly a once in a lifetime experience,” wrote Leighton, “and I am incredibly grateful to Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric for providing me with the opportunity to take part in this trip. During the trip, I visited Washington D.C. with students from across the country and gained knowledge about our government, leadership, and the role cooperatives play in our communities.”

“WOW! What an amazing experience in Washington, DC!” wrote Connor. “I met the group near the MSP airport, we introduced ourselves, found out who our roommate was. Then we received last minute instructions, and we were off to the airport. We flew into Baltimore, MD then we traveled down to National Harbor, MD.”

“One of the highlights of the trip was when we had an entire day to walk around and explore all of the different Smithsonian museum,” wrote Leighton. “My favorite museum was the National Museum of Natural History. It was amazing being able to see real dinosaur fossils, the giant ocean exhibits, and the Hope Diamond up close, all of which are things that I have only dreamed of seeing. 1032371

“I also enjoyed seeing the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. It was especially meaningful visiting the Arlington Cemetery and watching the changing of the guard.

“In addition to sightseeing, I had the opportunity to build extremely close friendships with the people that I met,” wrote Leighton. “We created memories that I will never forget. I can’t say enough how much I would encourage anyone to take the time to apply for the Youth Tour in the future!”

“The thing that I enjoyed the most about having the opportunity to go to Washington DC was to meet others from around the country to see where they were from and learn more about them,” wrote Connor. He noted on their last event of the week there was an all-states dinner and dance provided by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. There were more than 1,700 other students from 44 states in attendance.

“I would like to thank the members and the board of directors of Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric for providing the opportunity to represent them in Washington DC,” wrote Connor. “I really appreciated to opportunity to have such a great experience in DC.”