Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School District

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.

Sixteen school districts and one township in the Northland will have special elections on Nov. 4, 2025. Early voting begins Sept. 19.

The Detroit Lakes boys and girls teams won the Class 2A state golf tournaments. The Walker-Hackensack Akeley boys won the 1A title, and Pequot Lakes' Genevieve Birkeland is the girls 2A champ.

Nine Northern Minnesota teams advanced in total, plus another 40+ individuals from 26 Northland schools. The state golf tournament begins Tuesday.