2026 Star News Graduation | Page 22

48 | SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2026 ELK RIVER STAR NEWS

From page 47

of doing nothing,” Thomas said.

He said he is now considering a career as a dental hygienist.

Brandon Martinez-Ortiz said he also struggled after changing schools multiple times during high school. By the time he arrived at Ivan Sand before his senior year, he thought graduating on time might be out of reach.

Instead, he said, the school’ s flexible structure allowed him to work at his own pace and finish early.“ The education system here helped me wake up,” Martinez-Ortiz said.“ I realized what I was capable of and was able to be

successful.”

He plans to earn his commercial driver’ s license and help with his family’ s moving business.

Nadine Kreager spoke about returning to her education after completing a rehabilitation program. She said she had long struggled with English, but found that Ivan Sand’ s pace and structure helped reduce her stress and build her confidence.

“ Having the freedom to choose during the school helped me with my confidence and helped reduce my stress levels,” Kreager said.“ And becoming more confident helped me realize what I actually want to do with my life.”

Teacher Nate Doimer, who emceed the ceremony,

Ivan Sand staff members Sondra Dahlberg and Rebecca Hagen award scholarships during Ivan Sand Community High School’ s graduation ceremony June 1 at the Zabee Theater in Elk River High School.

Grace O’ Konek, Don Birdsal and Joe Gacke of the Elk River Police Honor Guard prepare to post the colors during Ivan Sand Community High School’ s graduation ceremony June 1 at the Zabee Theater in Elk River High School.

said Ivan Sand students had many chances this year to expand their learning and give back, including trades exploration, career field trips and a fundraiser supporting Project Delta, which assists disabled veterans. He also noted that Ivan Sand was recognized by the Minnesota Department of Education as a PBIS Sustaining Exemplar School.

“ Every adult in our building connects with students and plays a part in their journey,” Doimer said.“ Without these connections, we would not be the successful school that we are today.”

Superintendent Andy

Almos told graduates their path may not have looked like everyone else’ s,“ and that is absolutely OK.”

“ Some of the strongest, most successful people in this world are those who learn how to keep moving through many challenges,” Almos said.

For Ivan Sand’ s 24 graduates, the diplomas awarded June 1 marked more than the end of high school. As speaker after speaker made clear, they represented obstacles overcome, support accepted and a future that once may have seemed out of reach.

An Ivan Sand Community High School graduate shakes hands with a school board member after receiving a diploma during commencement exercises June 1 at the Zabee Theater in Elk River High School.

Ivan Sand Class of 2026

Kyla Amstutz Bodie Beachum Ruth Bearh Skarleth Buezo-Palma Breana Dominguez Ryan Johnson Addison Kellerman Natalie Kenyon Miyah Kmecik Nadine Kreager Ervin Kulee Devin Leinonen

Brandon Martinez Ortiz Cubay Neufville Emily Nikovics Francisco Olalde Eugenia Pakai Reese Rotramel Tristan Strom Augustus Thomas Fatima Navarro-Valdez Chrissy Van Rayhana Zakhil Alecyea Zylka

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Boston: Where Protest Became Defiance

From the Boston Massacre to the Boston Tea Party, one port city changed the tone of the imperial crisis.

By the early 1770s, Boston had become the emotional center of colonial resistance. In 1770, the Boston Massacre intensified public anger toward British troops stationed in the town. Three years later, Parliament passed the Tea Act, allowing the East India Company to sell tea on terms that undercut competitors and preserved the contested tax. Even colonists who liked cheaper tea saw the deeper issue: if Parliament could tax tea without meaningful resistance, it could affirm its power over the colonies more broadly.

On December 16, 1773, thousands of colonists gathered at Old South Meeting House to debate what should be done. When it became clear that the tea would not be sent back to England, men disguised in part as Mohawks boarded the ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston Harbor.

Britain answered with punishment. The Coercive Acts, called the Intolerable Acts by many colonists, closed Boston’ s port and restricted local self-government. What had begun as a dispute over tea became a wider question: if Parliament could isolate and discipline Boston, what could prevent it from doing the same elsewhere? In that sense, the Tea Party helped turn a local conflict into a continental one.

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Boston Tea Party collage with American flag, fireworks, and wooden crates