by Jim Boyle

Editor

In an effort to take Tackle Cancer to the community, DECA students have reached out to schools and cancer surivors.

They are preparing a video on people from across the community they plan to share with the Star News to help get it out to a wide audience.

The video is expected to include interviews with Jason Mathison and his mother, Erin Mathison;  Dr. Jenny Andresen Narr and Abby and Aaron Dwyer along with their mother, Terri Dwyer.

Here’s a little information on each:

Jason Mathison is a fifth grader at Parker Elementary. He plays hockey, likes to run and play basketball. He was diagnosed with stage 4  high risk neuroblastoma four days before he was 2 months old. When he grows up he wants to be an Emergency Medical Technician or paramedic to help kids.

Dr. Narr is a dentist in Zimmerman. She has two children and likes to travel. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in October of 2013. She has a very positive outlook on life and believes everything happens for a reason.

Abby is 16, a junior at Elk River High School. She likes to craft and hang out with friends. On Nov. 11 in 2009 she was diagnosed. She finished treatment in August of 2012.

Aaron is 19. He likes to cook, and spend time with their dog, Lucy. In December of 2013 Aaron was diagnosed. He went through treatment for almost a year, but then relapsed resulting in a need for a bone marrow transplant. The family has become closer due to this situation. The support and love for each other is incredible. For more on the Dwyer family, read a story that was published in the Elk River Star News in August of 2014 by clicking here.

by Sue Webber

Contributing Writer

The Elk River School Board, meeting in a special session Sept. 28, approved a maximum $39.8 million preliminary levy for 2016, an increase of 2.3 percent over 2015.

The amount of the levy can be decreased, but not increased, prior to the board’s final approval in December.

Revenue collected in 2016 will be used for the 2016-17 school year, according to Joe Primus, manager of finance.

by Sue Webber

contributing writer

The board approved the 2014-15 World’s Best Workforce report and then continued its discussion of that document into a 20-minute work session following the board meeting.

In a presentation on the report Sept. 14, the board learned that District 728 “far exceeds” state requirements thus far.

The World’s Best Workforce bill was passed by the Minnesota Legislature in 2013 to ensure every school district in the state is making strides to increase student performance.

Each Minnesota school district is required to develop a plan and yearly report that addresses five goals:

• All children are ready for school.

• All third-graders can read at grade level.

• All racial and economic achievement gaps between students are closed.

• All students are ready for career and college.

• All students graduate from high school.

At last week’s work session, conducted by Vice Chair Holly Thompson, she said the School Board’s role at this point is to determine how best to participate in carrying out the legislative mandate.

The legislation requires that school boards in each district across the state establish an advisory committee that will involve the community in plan development. The legislation stipulates that members of the committee must reflect the diversity of the district and “make recommendations to the school board on rigorous academic standards and student achievement goals and measures.”

“The World’s Best Workforce has not been on our front burner,” Thompson said. “We need to put it on a burner somewhere for the year coming up.”

Board Member Sue Farber noted that until now, the board has never had a role, other than to approve the report.

“We’ve never been involved,” Farber said. “By stating that we’re supposed to be involved, what does that look like? Do we need to work collaboratively with (the staff) to set goals, or to get more reporting?”

Assistant superintendent of Education Services Jana Hennen-Burr said that each of the district’s school principals is charged with finding someone representative of that school’s community to serve on the Student Accountability and Achievement Committee.

“It’s hard to get people there,” she said. “We always have more staff than parents. We’ve never had 17 people there; it’s seven or eight people each time.”

She noted that whereas the committee formerly met monthly, it now meets just four times a year.

“There has to be a place for parents to give input on the curriculum,” Hennen-Burr said. “We want parental input on that.”

Thompson suggested that community members, business owners and retirees, all of whom have a stake in how student performance affects the future, might be good candidates for the committee.

Farber agreed that the committee needs to be “a cross-section of parents, staff and community.” She suggested that the committee be “repackaged and renamed so people understand what systems accountability is.”

“We also have to sell it,” Board Member Jamie Plantenberg-Selbitschka said.

By Sue Webber
Contributing Writer

The board, which met in the absence of Chair Jane Bunting and Board Members Tony Walker and Shane Steinbrecher, also approved the district’s revised two- and 10-year facilities plans. The plans were presented by Greg Hein, executive director of business services, and Robert Sehm, of Wold Architects.

Hein said the last legislative session provided a new way for smaller school districts to bond for projects.

“We didn’t benefit, but the smaller districts did,” Hein said.

However, District 728 received $2 million from the state, which Hein termed “substantial new money” that will enable the school district to spend additional dollars each year on facility maintenance.

He estimated that the district should be allocating $9 million to $10 million per year on maintenance in order to maintain quality of buildings.

According to Sehm, District 728 conducted a lengthy facilities analysis about six years ago and was forced to begin eliminating projects.

“The funding just wasn’t there,” he said.

Because many of the district’s buildings are between 40 and 70 years old, it is time for boilers, mechanical rooms, roofs, plumbing and concrete work to be upgraded, Sehm said.

“A lot needs to be addressed districtwide,” he said.

by Trevor Hass

Sports Reporter

A couple years ago, Jeff Knollenberg gave his son, Zach, some uncommon advice.

He encouraged him to not get a job. Instead, Jeff suggested he spend hours studying for the ACT and PSAT.

“I told him if he did well on those tests he could earn $100,000,” Jeff Knollenberg said, “and that’s way more than he could earn at Burger King.”

The advice paid off, as Zach – now a senior at Spectrum High – was named a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist. The scholarship will likely help him get a full ride to either the University of Alabama or the University of Oklahoma,

Knollenberg isn’t necessarily your traditional top-notch student. He’s also a 1,000-point scorer on the basketball team. Jeff said his son thrives as both a student and athlete and typically comes home after practice and does his homework right away.

Jeff Knollenberg said his son is leaning toward studying law, but he also excels in English, Science and Math. Earning high grades didn’t come easily to Zach, but he worked hard and now all that studying is paying off.

“We’re very fortunate parents,” Jeff Knollenberg said. “We’re blessed. He’s done it all on autopilot.”

***

When Zimmerman senior Hailey Meleen found out she was a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist, she didn’t run off and tell her friends. That’s not the kind of person she is, her mother, Pam Krotzer, says.

“She’s never wanted to make anybody feel like it’s a competition or anything,” Krotzer said. “She obviously hangs out with very smart children, but she’s been very humble about it.”

Meleen holds a 4.093 GPA, she’s played clarinet in the jazz band since sixth grade and she’s joining the musical this year to try something different.

She earned a score of 34 on her ACT, and is now deciding which school to attend. Krotzer said her daughter has narrowed her list down to five schools, and the top two are Macalester College and the University of Minnesota.

“We’re very excited,” Krotzer said. “She’s a reserved kid, and I’ve never had to tell her to do her homework or push her. All of her achievements basically are from her inner drive. That’s who she is.”

**

Mitchell Loukusa of Rogers High and Timothy Wilder of Elk River High also earned the status of semifinalist. The four students – Knollenberg, Meleen, Loukusa and Wilder – are part of a group that represents less than one percent of high school seniors across the nation.

To become a finalist, the students must now submit an application. There are 16,000 semifinalists, and 15,000 will be selected as finalists.

The Elk River Area School Board Superintendent Monday night made an hour-long impassioned plea to local legislators to find a way to achieve equity in local  school aid. Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer (R-Big Lake) and Rep. Eric Lucero (R-Dayton) were on hand to respond and offer their input.

by Trevor Hass

Sports Reporter

The Elk River High School math team competed in its first meet of the year Monday night.

The team still excelled despite losing state champion Jordan Haack to graduation. The Elks won the meet by 14 points over second-place Blaine in an eight-team division.

Alex Christensen, Bri Gerold, Freedom Martin and Haley Yoder led Elk River, each missing only one question at the meet. The second meet of the year will be held Nov. 23.

Parker Elementary School will host a reception for students, their family members and veteran guests at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 11 at the school. A program will follow.

Twin Lakes Elementary School, located at 10051 191st Ave. NW, will honor veterans on Wednesday, Nov. 11.

The community is welcome to attend. There will be a coffee and doughnuts reception starting at 8:30 a.m. with a flag raising ceremony at 9:30 a.m. by the Elk River Police Honor Guard.

A program will follow in the gym, at which Twin Lakes staff will introduce veteran guests, students will read essays and there will be patriotic music.

The guest speakers will be Bob Moos and Bob Petron, grandfathers of  Twin Lakes Elementary School fifth-grade students.

For more information, call the school at 763-274-7242.

The Elk River High School band program will recognize each branch of the armed services at a 7 p.m. Veteran’s Day program on Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Zabee Theater at Elk River High School.

There will be a special guest performance by the North Suburban Chorale singing Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Miniature flags will be given out while supplies last.

Among the bands to perform will Black Elk Jazz Band as well as the wind symphony and concert band.

The concert is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served after the concert is concluded.

Twin Lakes Elementary School students raised more than $21,000 that will go toward purchasing Chromebooks for them, technology for staff and more resources for specialists.

For their efforts, they turned Twin Lakes Principal Dan Collins into a huge bowl of spaghetti. Students who sold 10 items or more as part of a Chip Shoppe fundraiser did the honors while their peers cheered  them on.

More than 175 students achieved the distinction of being able to pile on spaghetti, sauce and Parmesan cheese.

by Trevor Hass

Sports Reporter

Lane Scherber, Alex Oelke and Aljosa Cucak watched as the third- and-second-place winners of the Minne-Hack competition were announced.

They casually joked that first place was all that was left, so they must have won the whole competition. When their names were announced, Oelke said they were truly in disbelief.

“We didn’t see it coming at all,” Oelke, 19, said, “so we were really ecstatic and caught off guard.”

Scherber is from Rogers and Oelke is from Otsego, and the duo teamed up with Scherber’s colleague, Cucak, to take home first prize at the University of Minnesota’s annual event. They beat out close to 250 other students from 35 schools, winning the competition by modifying the video game “Flappy Bird” so someone with a degenerative disease, such as ALS, could play.

They used a Muse headband, which measures brainwaves, to set up the game so whenever someone blinked it would cause a simulated tap on the screen. That way people who couldn’t use their hands could still play.

“It wasn’t about the raw skill you brought to the table, but what you made out of the ideas,” Scherber, 19, said.

The set up of the event was essentially a computer science major’s paradise. The people who ran the competition provided snacks, equipment and a small sleeping area that Oelke and Scherber didn’t take advantage of until morning.

The event started at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 and ran for 24 hours. Oelke said they were essentially locked in the building that whole time. They had to make their idea relate to accessibility, sustainability, automation or health care, and they eventually chose accessibility.

They were messing around, and jokingly proposed the idea of playing Flappy Bird. Later on, they went back to the idea and realized it was so crazy it just might work.

“It was just a collaboration,” Oelke said. “We were all standing around. A lot of teams planned out exactly what they were going to do, but we just went in with kind of an open mind.”

Once they fleshed out their idea, they worked on their presentation, creating a video and slide show to showcase their work. The judges were impressed, and Oelke, Scherber and Cucak all won a tablet, either a drone or 3-D printer and a raspberry pie.

Many other teams had done the competition for years, but it was the triumphant trio’s first time participating. No one saw a win from the newbies coming – not even the newbies themselves.

“Part of the reason we won was because we didn’t take it too seriously,” Scherber said. “We were relaxed.”

by Jim Boyle

Editor

Capt. Bob Kluntz of the Elk River Police Department said a recent rash of school lockdowns has been a fluke and not the result in practice for local law enforcement and school officials.

“The reason it seems to be happening more frequently is we have just been having some odd incidences,” Kluntz said. “These odd incidences have just bled over into school property.”

The most notable lockdowns came in a span of a few days and followed a wild police chase with a fleeing motorist that wound through three cities before making its way through the Elk River High School parking lot, plus the search for a theft suspect who was possibly armed and a suicidal woman who was reportedly carrying a handgun near schools.

“The lockdowns are not meant to alarm students or parents,” Kluntz said. “Students and parents just need to understand any time we have an incident that’s close by one of the school buildings and we have any suspects we think could present a dangerous situation we’ll proceed cautiously.”

The biggest shift in thinking about school security came in the wake of the massacre on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School. That’s when schools across the country and locally began to rethink school security.

The Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting led to further school security enhancements locally, namely the equipping of all school buildings with secure entrances and video surveillance of the them.

Judy Johnson, a prevention specialist for the Elk River Area School District, said it has been unusual to have so many lockdowns in a short period of time and all of the issues were resolved in a relatively short amount of time.

“We would rather be safe then sorry,” she said.

Schools with the help of law enforcement regularly train on lockdowns.

“Everything we do related to the schools is done in cooperation,” Kluntz said, noting they do drills together and after every drill and real life scenario there is a debriefing that occurs.

And when local schools get a request from local authorities to go into lockdown, they honor it.

“We know it’s serious enough that they’re concerned,” she said. “Safety is our No. 1 concern.”

Kluntz also said the bottom line is safety. “It’s not to alarm anyone or to freak anyone out,” he said.

Lockdowns can be a complete, including the locking of classroom doors.

“Security is not cheap,” Johnson said. “I always point out that eyes and ears are just as important.”

Schools can also be placed in a secure mode to make sure nobody gets into the school and students don’t go out. Staff is made aware of what’s going on in these instances, but teaching goes on and students are not made aware of anything at the moment.

Series of lockdowns 

In the case of a suspect search on Oct. 22, Spectrum Charter School was advised to go into a lockdown. The search started after a report of a man and a woman trying to steal catalytic converters at Affordable 4 All Auto Sales on Highway 10 in Elk River. A witness believed the male suspect was armed.

As the search headed north toward the industrial park where there are several businesses and Spectrum is located, police gave the school and businesses advice.

Businesses were cautioned to keep an eye out. The school, with its lockdown procedures in place, was locked down, Kluntz said.

The suspect, Robert Howe, a 54-year-old Oak Grove man, was located at Gradient Technology in the industrial park and taken into custody without incident. He was later charged with damage to property and vehicle tampering, receiving stolen vehicle, driving after cancellation, and receiving stolen property.

People on social media and elsewhere have been posing questions to law enforcement, the schools and this newspaper to find out what information they can get.

In the case of manhunt for the suspected thief of catalytic converters, a gun was never located, but that doesn’t change the information police were dealing with at the time of the search that he was possibly carrying.

The initial report on Oct. 30 that put several schools on lockdown was that a suicidal woman with .357 handgun  was believed to be within 900 meters of the School and Proctor intersection. She was later located at industrial park on the west end of town. The Ham Lake woman was detained and the danger to herself and others de-escalated and the school lockdowns were lifted.

“The unfortunate part is we have to make these decisions in a split second,” Kluntz said. “Time is of the essence when we make the decision. We don’t have time to Facebook or call every parent, and quite frankly we might not want to give out information because we don’t know what exactly what we’re dealing with at the time.”

And once they do know, it’s also impractical to get on Facebook and explain every single call.

“I know people love social media, and they want all this information. It’s just impractical.”

In the case of the fleeing motorist, Elk River High School and other nearby schools were locked down when the motorist burst into the high school parking lot after hopping a curve after making his way from Rogers and Otsego, where the elementary was put in a secure mode, staff was alerted and students were kept indoors until the situation was resolved.

That incident happened on Oct. 21 when Scott Gordon Hoglund, 37, of Monticello, fled in a Jeep when an attempt to stop him in Rogers was made. The driver reached high rates of speed clocked at more than 100 mph at times, refusing to pull over for squads that had engaged in the chase with lights and sirens. The defendant was charged with fleeing a peace officer on Oct. 23 in Hennepin County District Court.

During his chase, he blew through stop signs, red lights and the high school parking lot, causing the school to be put in lockdown mode. In addition to crashing in the high school parking lot and later in downtown Elk River, he also drove through yards, over sidewalks and near occupied construction zones.

As he entered the school lot, it was suggested by a school liaison officer to lockdown the high school.

“It was very sharp of one of our juvenile people to say let’s lock that school down, just in case this guy gets out of the car and flees,” Kluntz said. “I don’t know if our officers had the information at the time, but I know we heard later from Rogers that this person they were looking for, there is possibly a gun involved, too. We just want to keep any violence from creeping into a school building.”

by Jim Boyle

Editor

Peyton Klein knows about the kinds of sacrifices that go along with your father’s deployment to a far off country for a far off war where people’s lives and America’s freedom are at stake.

The 10-year-old fifth grader at Twin Lakes Elementary School and her brother counted down the days of their dad’s nine-month deployment to Kuwait.

Classmate Tristan Hill was not so lucky. His father never made it home.

Hill and Klein punctuated an exhilarating Veterans Day program at Twin Lakes Elementary School in Elk River, helping illustrate the sacrifices of soldiers today — and long ago.

Similar programs played out at several elementary schools throughout the Elk River Area School District.

Other students to read essays were Emma McCauley, Olivia Marquesz and Lauren Gregory.

Peyton Klein’s essay

Each day Peyton or her brother would pull a jelly bean from a glass fish bowl and eat it. The next day the other would. They took turns every day while their father, Trevor Klein, was away.

“Every jelly bean we ate stood for a day that Dad was gone,” Peyton told her classmates and more than 135 veterans who gathered Nov. 11 at Twin Lakes.

In between jelly beans, they would communicate via modern technology. Soldiers in the past waited months.

“She has real vivid memories of me reading to her over the computer,” Trevor Klein said. “It’s better that way now. They feel safer. They know Dad’s OK.”

Trevor took video of where he was to aid that comfort. But it was still dangerous.

“They feel more of what I’m feeling,” he said.

And when only a couple of colored candies were left, it was time for Minnesota Army National Guard member to come home. Dad got to eat the last one.

“That was how we honored him,” Peyton said.

Twin Lakes Elementary School honored all veterans and their families at the school on Nov. 11. More than 900 students as well teachers and staff crammed into the gym for a program. All 120 chairs set out for the veterans were full and some were scattered around the edges of the gymnasium, too.

This year a couple of veterans served as a guest speakers inside the gym. Bob Moos and Bob Petron answered questions prepared by Twin Lakes students, which were then asked by their granddaughter Gracie Moos.

Gracie’s paternal grandfather is Moos, a Navy veteran who served between 1962-1966.  He was on the USS Talidaga, a carrier that transported troops and cargo to Vietnam.

Her maternal grandfather is Petron, Marine veteran who served between 1952-1954 . That was during the Korean War. He was stationed in five states across the United States. Gracie’s sister Chelsey Moos is now serving in the Navy.  She is stationed in San Diego, California. At this time, she is at sea, going “around the horn” to the east coast of the United States.

During the program in the Twin Lake’s gym, there was patriotic music, student essays read and a chance for all veterans to say who they were, who invited them and what branch of the military they served.

It’s a tradition at the school that takes awhile to get through, but Principal Dan Collins said if it took all day, he would allow it.

“The students would probably like that, but I think it’s that important,” he said.

Afterward a couple more student essays were read and the veterans formed a receiving line so students and staff could shake their hands and say a word of thanks.

“It means a lot,” said Rachael Hill, who cried through her son Tristan’s essay on “What Veterans Day Means” to him. “I was touched and humbled by the program.”

Tristan’s dad and Rachael’s husband, Capt. Jeffrey Hill, a C-17 pilot, was one of the crew members killed in a C-17 plane crash on July 28, 2010, on Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska.

Hill and her son recently moved to Minnesota from the Alaskan Air Force base. She had no idea what to expect but was blown away.

She’s working to make sure her husband leaves a legacy. A memorial scholarship has been created in his name for cadets participating in Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps detachments throughout the United States.

“To me, Veterans Day is a time to honor the sacrifices they have made for us,” Tristan Hill said in his essay. “I feel a lot of pride living in a country that is free. Some people take privileges for granted.”

For more on the scholarship, visit http://www.jeffhilllegacyfund.com.

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Members of the Elk River Legion #112/VFW and Rogers #5518 Honor Guard raise the flags during Wednesday's Veterans Day ceremony at Parker Elementary School.

• Ceremony included speakers, patriotic songs, color guard

by Nate Gotlieb

ECM Publishers

Air Force veteran Jerod James teared up as retired Army Sgt. 1st Class

Robert Carlson read the poem “In Flanders Fields” to the students and veterans at Parker Elementary.

“You bring back a lot of memories of going overseas and seeing a lot of different things that you see that you really shouldn’t talk about,” James said. “There’s a lot of brothers and sisters that did a lot of hard work over there and really deserve that appreciation.”

James was among the dozens of veterans the school honored Wednesday during its Veterans Day ceremony. The ceremony also included a presentation of the colors by the Elk River Veterans Honor and Color Guard, as well as patriotic songs, student speeches and remarks by Petty Officer 2nd Class Jeremy Robeck.

Robeck spoke about his experiences as a combat rescue swimmer in the U.S. Navy and how his grandpa’s military service instilled in him a sense of patriotism. He signed up for the Navy after high school and was one of four graduates of training of his class of 40.

Robeck has two children attending Parker and has been coming to the ceremony for years. During his speech, he tried to convey the history of the military and the courage of those who served before him.

“It’s truly a powerful thing for me,” he said.

Air Force veteran Kari Lempka expressed a similar sentiment. Lempka, who was active duty from 1998-2003, said she couldn’t be prouder to be a veteran, expressing appreciation for the other veterans on the stage.

“It’s very humbling to me, because to be honored like this, I feel like I want to stand up and clap for all of them,” she said. “I’m really thankful.”

Veterans Day started almost 100 years ago, when President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Nov. 11 Armistice Day. It was originally a day to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, Congress voted to change it to Veterans Day to honor veterans of all wars.

Student speakers Grant Stoltman, Ami Stewart and Charlotte Lempka, Kari Lempka’s daughter, explained that history during speeches at the ceremony. They told the students about the different branches of the military and expressed appreciation for their family members who served.

“If it weren’t for the veterans, there wouldn’t be as many freedoms,”

Grant said. “I don’t take for granted the value of my education and friends.”

Robeck expressed similar feelings. He served in the Navy from 1990-94 and did two tours of duty in the Persian Gulf. He counted serving in the military among his best decisions and experiences.

“It’s a great experience,” he said. “You have to be focused and ready to make it happen.”

James called his military service “a worthy four years.” A parent of two kids at Parker, he said he appreciated that the school took the time to celebrate the service of veterans.

“I know they don’t get the fully potential of it or grasp the fully concept of what war’s really about, but I’m glad they celebrate it,” he said. “It’ll bring up stronger generations in the future hopefully.”

A HONOR ROLL

Grade 6

Elianna Aberra, Emma Bengtson, Madison Bentley, Brianna Bergren, Kristen Borchert, Michael Brown, Keira Christoffer, Isabella Ebner, Carli Elrod, Timothy Erickson, Gavin Gould, Alex Greeler, Mackenzie Gruber, Kyle Haben, Mikita Hanchar, Makayla Harmer, Noelle Hensel, Phoebe Holmes, Matthew Johnson, Emily Knollenberg, Katelyn Kolyer, Brooke Larsen, Elizabeth Norberg, Ella Opay, Brendan Perkins, Gabrielle Rinowski, McKenna Ritter, Zoie Schaefer, Sophia Schomaker, Sophia Shamp, Titus Skistad, Liliana Stolte, Brooke Swaja, Grace Sykes, Audrey Tice, Gavin Tuckey, Aaron Van Wyhe, Gracie Vinlove, Jessica White, Emily Wilder, Alexa Zuniga

Grade 7

Lisa Algaard, Megan Andersen, Carly Benge, Benjamin Bergley, Shelby Bray, Sidney Brenteson, Bailey Brown, Ella Burfeind, Leah Burney, Kalie Clark, Frances Dahl, Thomas DeBoer, Jacob DeMond, Emily Dopp, Ginger Downey, Cassandra Duthler, Charles Ellingson, Rylee Fischer, Adrienne Foell, Mason Gates, Phoebe Glenn, Katelyn Gramstad, Xavier Groth, Olivia Guse, Anita Hanchar, Abram Harvey, Grace Henrie, Ellaine Henry, Andrew Hipsag, Alia Hitchcock, Brady Jakubiec, Rachel Johnson, Cole Killeen, Zachary Knapp, Klara Kondrak, Peter Larson, Madeleine Loewenstein, Isabelle Martin, Elizabeth McCoy, Kayla Niedzielski, Morgan Novotny, Anthony Olson, Katherine Olson, Jonah Palm, Lauren Peckham, Reinier Radtke, Judah Rogers, Logan Schumacher, Brenna Seagren, Cameron Weitnauer, Addison Westermeyer, Callie Wuollet, Aaron Ziebarth

Grade 8

McKenzie Alders, Madeline Anderson, Sierra Anderson, Braydon Ashfeld, Martha Bergley, Elizabeth Berry, Kaylee Betzler, Kelly Blancett, Christopher Buck, Tristan Christiaansen, Andrew DeBoer, Megan Denker, Isabella Dorval, Isaiah Drew, Natalie Duerr, Thomas Evans, Julia Fahrner, Ava Gagnon, Jonathan Gertz, Lynnda Haben, Abigail Hansen, Carter Hansen, Andrew Hattling, Margaret Heino, Savannah Henning, Mallory Henry, Bethanie Hinkley, Kaylee Johnson, Valerie Keiner, Benjamin Knollenberg, William Koch, Audrey Kotek, Maxwell Lawrence, Veronica Lee, Katherine Lemcke, Hailey May, Anna Meehl, Ernest Miller, Abigail Montgomery, Kylie Omariba, Noah Ritter, Kirstin Robbins, Caleb Rogers, Nicole Sagstetter, Noah Schaber, Shayla Schaible, Parker Schelske, Carter Smith, Grayden Snyder, Cameron Sundstrom, Jacob Swaja, Alexis Wallace, Lauren White, Camille Wilder, Diana Wright

Grade 9

Carter Allard, Annamarie Andreasen, Paul Andreasen, Ethan Aune, Matthew Behrens, Branden Bergren, Sophie Brenna, Kayla Brown, Parker Brown, Paige Buley, Elizabeth Chaffin, Toben DeHaan, Adam Devine, Alexander Ebner, Aidan Eck, Donovan Eidem, Cole Elrod, Brea Fahrner, Zachary Foell, Emma Galligher, Parker Gangl, Chandler Gapinski, Adam Giddings, Tara Gleason, Susanna Gradinar, Emily Halverson, Marlene Henry, Hailey Johnson, Kyla Johnson, Noura Kassem, Anthony Kath, Jacob Kettelhodt, Gretchen Larson, Glen Lee, Fisher Marberg, Victoria McCoy, Alicia Moening, Huy Nguyen, Grace Norman, Maria Novotny, Julia Olson, Kirsten Olson, Zachary Olson, Desmond Orton, Jonah Selley, Camden Sharp, Blake Smith, Alexander Staricka, Lydia Suiter, Josie Sumner, Evelynn Szakatits, Devin Trampel, Gabriel Uecker, Miranda Wenndt, Karsten Williams

Grade 10

Katriel Anthony, Addisen Betzler, Sarah Blahoski, Erin Bozich, Emily Brueckner, Jefferey Buck, Elizabeth Davis, Olivia Foell, Jennifer Gilbertson, Max Gleason, Alex Glenn, Isabella Gorecki, Annika Haas, Caitlin Hackbarth, Elizabeth Hackbarth, Noah Hansen, Benjamin Harvey, Emma Heino, Jena Jakubiec, Hannah Johnson, Lauren Kappes, Rebecca Lambert, Payton Loewenstein, Catherine Mahanna, Anna McGlone, Alexis Reese, Elizabeth Rogers, Morgan Schelske, Samuel White

Grade 11

Kayla Averbeck, Hayley Balmanno, Travis Bondy, Zachary Clark, Victor Diekman, Elijah Ehr, Peyton Foster, Dylan Gregersen, Leo Grotte, Sarah Harvell, Sidney Henry, Clay Jackson, Davey Jackson, Holly Johnson, Annika Koch, Benjamin Kopp, Nicole Larson, Kira Lorensen, Kelly Mitchell, Holly Mohlencamp, Lydia Nesser, Olivia Rice, Aidan Riley, D’Lorah Roberts, Hannah Skistad, Zoe Suiter, Kelton Sundstrom, Brynne Walk, Joel Zimmerman

Grade 12

Jessica Averbeck, Madeline Bursch, Jennifer Cralley, Leah Dehn, Noelle Diekman, Holly Friend, Connor Hansen, Madeline Hays, Jami Jensen, McKenzie Johnson, Zachary Knollenberg, Emmanuelle Kreger, Jordan Marschke, Megan McCarty, Marie Miller, Michaela Moen, Ryan Pribnow, Isabel Riley, Kassidi Robbins, Samuel Score, Eric Swarm, Katrina Williams, Cassandra Ziebarth

B HONOR ROLL

Grade 6

Blake Becker, Noah Benassi, Sophia Bernard, Tyler Buley, Avae Burfeind, Abby Castle, Matthew Castle, Daria Church, Nathan Church, Kaylee Drew, Keely Duell, Timothy Duthler, Ethan Evans, Carter Femrite, Madelyn Fern, Gabriel Gowdy, Ilyssa Gutierrez, Kristoffer Gutierrez, Leyla Hadjdjelloul, Elijah Hoehn, Riley Johnson, Kylie Kane, Dylan Langley, Aiden Larson, Martin Le, Samuel Lemcke, Gabriella McDonald, Riley McMullen, Ashley Meyer, Grace Mielke, Grace Negus, Mara Olson, Gabrielle Orth, Ella Peterson, Stanford Pladson, Gina Ponto, Holly Ponto, Jordyn Risse, Alexander Russell, Lauren Sandberg, Jenna Schaible, Rachel Schlueter, Leah Sharp, Stephen Spofford, Jacob Stevens, Marlo Sumner, Wyatt Ward, Harvey Widder, Greta Wright

Grade 7

Gavin Anderson, Jacob Aune, Jonah Bandemer, Brady Beltrand, Anastasia Benassi, Erica Brueckner, Isaak Doreo, Dylan Ellison, Taylor Fischer, Gavin Gowdy, Noyemin Gradinar, Amara Greenberg, Alexander Hansen, Jack Kaluza, Ella Kring, Lucas Landberg, Olivia Larson, Molly Majeres, Ellie Matthews, Lukas Meyer, Liam Morgan, Ashlee Ogren, Jacob Olson, Isaac Opay, Noah Peterson, Daniel Reed, Zachary Reese, Kieran Riley, Faith Roley, Ethan Schmitz, Olivia Selley, Samantha Stromstad, Bailey Stull, Trinity Torson, Jaxson Waknitz, Allyson Weldon, Andrew Wilson, Ari Wilson

Grade 8

Mary Austin, Alexandra Bennett, Zachary Bowers, Bryce Bozich, Ryan Brown, Kelsey Christiansen, Jade Clarine, Emily Fearing, Alyxandra Forpahl, Lindsey Garrison, Victoria Goepferd, Ethan Guse, Gavin Haag, Jade Hardecopf, Ross Hoehn, Marissa Hoffarth, Gabriella James, MaKenna Langley, Veaceslav Liubimov, Gunner Maas, Tori Mercer, Steven Morse, Connor Opay, Noah Schlueter, Nicholas Schomaker, Anita Staupe, Usa Stiller, Zachary Szakatits, Abigail Thompson, Maya West, Andrew Yarke

Grade 9

Charles Averill, Zoe Behnken, Maiya Cappelli, Samuel Cooper, Carsten Cross, Hannah Dertinger, Benjamen Erickson, Emily Fonder, Marcus Grund, Katryna Hinkley, Preston Holmes, Maxwell Hoyt, Logan Johnson, Zachary Kopp, Samuel Koppendrayer, Matthew Kruse, Samuel Lawrence, Kayli Luna, Solvej Lund, Dayne Marier, Meghan McClay, Blaine Olson, Callison Olson, Somwati Persaud, Adrian Peterson, Sanibel Randolph, Connor Reed, Cole Schwinghammer, Spencer Shryock, Aaron Stoddard, Adam Stoddard, Cody Thein, Courtney Waterhouse, Keagan Wilson, Sophia Zimmerman

Grade 10

Nikita Anderson, Zackary Anderson, Jack Averill, Michael Benolkin, Anna Brown, Payton Brown, Bailey Christoffer, Julia Foy, Lauren Gillquist, Aviel Gradinar, Jacob Harrison, Brenton Lawrence, Makayla Morrell, Gabriel Neiss, Jonathan Pachl, Brady Ponting, Brittani Robbins, Conner Sharp, Caleb Springfield, Parker Stockwell, Dillon Swenson, Arejanna Tenold, Madyson Waknitz, Marcus Weitnauer, Austin Wolden

Grade 11

Colten Bakken, Samantha Boadwine, Kendra Christiansen, Taylor Duell, Treyton Harmer, Devin Jarvis, Alisa Johnson, Ashley Krutzig, Zachary Kurilla, Eastan Lieberg, Spencer Maas, Joshua Martin, Jasmine Nelson, Clarissa Olson, Micah Pachl, Michael Reed, Brenden Scheuble, Jordan Schlueter, Tyler Schwinghammer, Malli Strong, Ana Tandilashvili, Cole Thorson, Brendan VanAlstyne

Grade 12

Laura Aldrich, Tristan Ashfeld, Daniel Balcom, Devon Burns, Micah Foy, Camden Goepferd, Scott Hagen, Ryan Killeen, Jonathan McDonald, Thomas Ogren, Gwenhwyfar Polkinghorne, Nathan Roberts, Ryan Swanson

A Honor Roll

Grade 6 – Carter Anderson, Emma Anderson, Jaden Anderson, Joshua Anderson, Kelsi Anderson, Gretchen Andresen, Holly Bath, Michaela Beaver, Ryan Belden, Samuel Benjamin, Abigail Benson, Lauren Bondhus, Mackenzie Brooking, Lauren Brooks, Allison Brostrom, Calan Bushinger, Caden Curtis, Madeline Dahl, Zachary Dehnhoff, Emma Flaten, Cecilia Galeano, Abigail Gau, Heather Gordon, Sydney Graf, Grace Guentzel, Heather Hawkins, Kiana Helland-Boriboune, Avery Hollan, Brenen Howard, Luke Inman, Connor Janowiec, Meagan Jentzsch, Kenneth Jones, Trevor Jones, Zachary Karnes, Austin Kitzberger, Carter Kluge, Marley Knight, Ella Kostrzewski, Elizabeth Kuker, Abigail Larson, Lucas LaVigne, Katelyn Lawliss, Ty Mager, Sydney Mann, Kellen Martin, Tiffany Maschler, Addison McBroom, Rileigh Miller, Nina Moll, Karlee Monteleone, Corbin Nelson, Gavin Neubauer, Emma Nicolay, Peyton Opsahl, Breanne Plude, Aurora Rahn, Beau Richards, Tristian Rinehart, Rylan Rivers, Willow Roensch, Rachel Rotz, Josephine Rowley, Vasiliy Rozhik, Araya Rudolph, Sydney Sayre, Molli Shannon, Hannah Smith, Olivia Spence, Abigail Steinbrecher, Alayna Swirtz, Bethany Szlavich, Hanna Thomas, Eliana Tiggelaar, Sarah Tucker, Milton Tuttle, Abigail Valencia, Elle Werner, Ella Williams, Kayla Zinken

Grade 7 – Emily Baker, Grace Baker, Avery Bakke, Avery Berg, Ryan Bouley, Abbey Brady, Sylvia Cabak, Abbey Callison, Alexander Cromwell, Karisa Dooley, Makenna Elphick, Bjorn Franke, Kai Franke, Nils Franke, Ilus Gallay, Lylli Hakola, Carly Hanlon, Rachael Hartley, Autum Hullerman, Cambell Jenson, Isabelle Johnson, Logan Johnson, Polly Kritzeck, Crystal Li, Sophia MacDonald, Shannon Mattson, Anikka Miller, Joseph Montplaisir, Melissa Muckenhirn, Carson Nolan, McKenzie Olene, Haruka Padilla, Ryan Peters, Rachael Quaintance, Cheradin Ralph, Ryan Reinking, Micheal Richter, Scott Rickard, Dylan Rogers, Kayleen Rollins, Adyson Roman, Sierra Rosby, Ethan Rotz, Andrea Schneider, Lana Schultz, Miranda Schwieger, Jack Senderhauf, Innka Simonovich, Sophia Smith, Drew Tempesta, Lucie Thompson, Sarah Vorobyev, Rachel Waage, Nicole Weekley, Kyla Wiley, Olivia Williams, Jonathan Wilson, Joshua Wisness

Grade 8 – Avary Anderson, Elisabeth Anderson, Lauren Anderson, Samantha Andresen, Kayden Baldridge, Bailey Benner, Rachel Bickman, Aleah Boyer, Thomas Britt, Taylor Burke, Ethan Cairns, Cole Carbert, Aaron Coons, Joseph Diegnau, Ella Dipprey, Ashley Dittberner, Dustin Dittberner, Gavin Ericson, Madeline Feigum, Paige Findell, Hunter Fladung, Samuel Freeberg, Nicole Gruwell, Elizabeth Hendrickson, Ashley Hoheisel, Brett Howard, Josie Janu, Lela Jensen, Blake Johnson, Maili Kamruzzaman, Payton Knight, Alyssa Koch, Blake Kowalczyk, Maverick Kowalczyk, Evelina Kucherov, Abigale Larson, Amber Larson, Laura Mager, Joseph Manthey, Garrik Martin, Alexa Moen, Amber Moll, Madison Naatz, Annika Neitzer, Cooper Nelson, Hannah Nelson, Morgan Olson, Jordan Opsahl, Joshua Palashewski, Sydney Payeur, Garrett Peters, Grace Peterson, Hailee Peterson, Sarah Pulkrabek, Jolie Putnam, Mason Riddel, Jordana Rost, Matthew Rotz, Lilya Rozhik, Corina Sandy, Brody Schultz, Noel Spence, Adeline Tiggelaar, Dillon Tucker, Kaylee Turney, Angelina Vaughn, Timothy Vorobyev, Jamison Ward, Gabrielle Weber, Dominic Wehmhoff, Joseph Zaidi

B Honor Roll 

Grade 6 – Tyler Aderman, Elizabeth Ahner, Abby Barthel, Mackenzie Becher, DeLaney Carlson, Jayger Cordes, Arista Dillworth, Emily Dordal, Tristyn Erdman, Madyson Fischer, Aubrey Gamache, Joseph Gardas, Peyton Giffen, Abram Hunter, Jasmine Jurgensen, Lydia Keskey, Riley Klick, Mark Kucherov, Blake Lahn, Gavin Larson, Heath Lester, Andrea MacDonald, Morgan Malecha, Jacob Mandler, John McCullough, Brynn Miller, Abigail Monson, Grace Murphy, Gavin Nathe, Cody Nelson, Jayna Newcomb, Samuel Norland, Caleb Olson, Aiden Pardino, Tylor Plaster, Gavyn Popejoy, Madison Randall, Benjamin Reiss, Brooklyn Riddel, Harlen Rooney, Olivia Rotz, Jordan Schmidt, Daunte Sellers, Mason Sikes, Lillian Victor, Isaiah Wagner, Evan Young, Joshua Zeleny

Grade 7 – Ryan Aanonsen, McKenzie Aderman, Kameron Arieta, Lucy Baillif, Jolie Bornetun, Alyse Brouhard, Sebastian Carcione, Lucas Carlson, Noah Carlson, Jack Firkus, Mackenzie Haley, Braydon Haugland, Madisyn Hayes, Teanna Johnson, Mitchel Kimpton, Chase Loudon, Madison Love, Dominic Luukkonen, Madison McPheeters, Victoria Miscko, Tucker Paulsen, Lyrik Peacock, Nicholas Peterson, Gina Pogones, Tyler Quam, Jocelyn Sailor, Ashley Skaj, Elijah Stellmach, Jacob Swirtz, Ava Wark, Kaitlyn Wehmeyer, Christian Wells, Landon Wesloh, Bryant Yanta

Grade 8 – Eric Ahner, Erika Andrews, Cole Boucher, Olivia Coker, Cameron Curtis, Sydney Curtis, Skyler Daubanton, Miguel Ebel, Bailey Emery, Olyvia Fondie, Cody Frederick, Courtney Gordon, Corinne Hemmer, Maximus Hernandez, Keegan Howe, Tanner Johnson, Amber Knapp, Brooke Knapp, Molly Knutson, Tate Krueger, Tate Laabs, Victoria Larsen, Eryn Mattson, Carter McEachern, Jordan Nauber, Hunter Nelson, Parker Nelson, Connie Neumiller, Daniel Nicosia, Alyson Olerich, Maya Plautz, William Pouliot Joshua Reynolds, Kendall Schottenbauer, Sarah Vensland, Aaren Vrana, Emili Waite, Ethan Wark, Trevor Wellman

• Administrators say solution needed by next school year and it could involve several schools

by Nate Gotlieb

Contributing Writer

A committee of parents and administrators from four Elk River elementary schools is working to address overcrowding at Twin Lakes Elementary School.

The school has a capacity of 775 students but currently has 895, a number Elk River Area School District leaders project to increase. District policy requires it to develop an immediate plan for schools that are 15 percent or more overcapacity.

“We’re not going affect anyone this year,” Director of Community Engagement Charlie Blesener said at an initial committee meeting Monday. “But we need to make it workable by next fall.”

A plan could also affect enrollment levels at Parker, Lincoln and Meadowvale elementary schools, which are currently under capacity. The principals from the four schools recruited parents to serve on the committee.

Committee members on Monday suggested ideas ranging from limiting in-district transfers to changing school boundary lines, with the intent of making a solution workable for at least five years.

The plan is still in its earliest stages, and district leaders plan on using the feedback to develop potential boundary changes.

‘Immediate crunch’

The district last redrew its boundary lines before Twin Lakes opened in fall 2007. Staff has been monitoring the school’s growing enrollment for a while, but it became a pressing issue with the addition of districtwide all-day kindergarten and a larger-than-expected increase in enrollment at Twin Lakes.

The school typically adds about 20 students a year, said Joe Stangler, the district’s director of research and assessment. This year, it added about 50.

“That put an immediate crunch on the building,” he said.

In addition, district leaders expect the district’s east side to grow more rapidly in the coming years. Superintendent Mark Bezek said Twin Lakes will be surrounded by homes in the next three to five years.

“You can kind of see the pinch we’re in right now,” he said, “because we’re going to be surrounded by homes and we’ve got no space.”

The School Board this year closed Twin Lakes to new open enrollment and in-district transfers, though it grandfathered in students whose siblings already attend the school. Even if the district eliminated in-district transfers and open enrollment to the school, however, Twin Lakes would still be over capacity in a few years, Blesener said.

Six percent of Twin Lakes students are open-enrolled, and 8 percent are in-district transfers. More than 765 of Twin Lakes’ students live in the school’s boundary area.

Committee members on Monday asked about the potential of alleviating the overcrowding by utilizing the new Otsego E-8 school set to open in fall 2017. That wouldn’t work, however, because the district needs a solution by next fall, Blesener said.

Lack of space

During a lunch period this week, more than 200 students filled the rows of tables in the Twin Lakes lunchroom. Principal Dan Collins said he had to bring in a table from Lincoln Elementary School to accommodate all the kids.

“If parents, grandparents want to come to eat with their child, that’s when it becomes difficult,” he said.

The school, he said, has no meeting rooms for special education. Staff uses the media center as classroom space.

“Small groups are tough,” Collins said. “Even taking school pictures is a process.”

Twin Lakes parents at Monday’s meeting nodded their heads when asked if they are concerned about overcrowding. Collins said parents voiced their concerns to him on open house night.

Blesener said he was pleased with Monday’s meeting, noting how attentive and task-oriented the group was.

The committee will meet again Nov. 30 to work through its suggestions before presenting them to the School Board on Dec. 14.

The board will give feedback at its Jan. 11 meeting before a Jan. 26 community input meeting. The committee will present its final recommendations to the board Feb. 8, and the board will take action by March 14 so the changes can be implemented by next fall.