Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School District

Minnesotans will vote on the permanent school fund amendment, and Northern Minnesotans will decide on local school and township questions in the 2026 midterm election.

Benjamin Jacobson, Keane Johnson, Shannon Pfeiffer and Bethany Stangel are running for Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School Board.

New state aid covers part of the operating levy for school districts that have lots of cabins. Some districts say they'll offset the levy if voters approve it, meaning more money for the school, while taxes stay the same or go down.

Seven rural Northern Minnesota teams and nearly 90 student-athletes in total will compete Tuesday-Wednesday, June 9-10, 2026, on courses in and around the Twin Cities.

Area athletes to watch at the 2026 meet include Aitkin junior Ashley Asmus, Ely sophomore Violet Udovich and West Marshall seniors Emily Marquis and Markelle Pederson.

Speakers from Bemidji, Cass Lake-Bena, Pequot Lakes, Pillager, Walker, Laporte, Cherry, Mountain Iron-Buhl, Red Lake County, UNC, Staples-Motley and Crookston took home hardware.

The qualifiers span 27 Northern Minnesota teams and all 13 categories. Over 30 are repeat qualifiers, including five medalists and one reigning champion.

Over 100 student-athletes from rural Northern Minnesota will wrestle at the 2026 state tournament in St. Paul, with a strong representation from the north-central region.

Repairing or replacing aging facilities, modernizing technology or simply adding more operating dollars to the bottom line were among the asks school districts put forth.

Aitkin, Badger, Clearbrook-Gonvick, Cook County, Crosby-Ironton, Deer River, Hibbing, Lake of the Woods, Roseau, Wadena-Deer Creek, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley, Warroad & Win-E-Mac are the districts with special elections.