Voters in the South Washington County Schools District on Tuesday voted to keep three incumbents on the board and also elected a candidate supported by the teachers’ union.

Incumbents Kathleen (Katie) Schwartz and Sharon H. Van Leer were re-elected to the school board with 15.2 percent and 14.5 percent of the vote, respectively. School board member Louise Hinz, who was appointed to the board in March, was elected to the board with 14.5 percent; Elizabeth Bockman Eckberg, who was endorsed by United Teachers for South Washington County, received 15.4 percent of the vote.

Three candidates endorsed by Parents United — Bryn Forstner, Juan Huerta and Lori Pecchia Michalski — were not elected. Neither were Travis Dahle nor Chad Borseth.

Voters continued to arrive at the polling location in Woodbury City Hall after dark on Tuesday, with many drawn by the school board race.

May Chang, 60, of Woodbury, said she turned out to support candidates opposed to what she described as “liberal ideas of changing gender.” “Just leave our children alone and let them study, learn academics, not intoxicate them with ideologies,” said Chang, who had three children attend schools in Woodbury.

William Hrbacek, 27, of Woodbury, said he turned out in part to stick up for LGBTQ friends by backing candidates supportive of “socially inclusive initiatives.”

“I’d like for them to be in an environment where they’re not harassed or discriminated against,” Hrbacek said, adding that teachers union endorsements guided his votes in the race.

The South Washington County school district covers all or parts of Cottage Grove, Newport, St. Paul Park, Woodbury, Afton, Denmark and Grey Cloud Island Townships.

Mahtomedi School District

Voters in the Mahtomedi district approved both referendum questions on the ballot.

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The first question, which asked taxpayers to increase the school district’s existing operating levy from $1,570 to $2,145 per student, passed with 64 percent of the vote. The additional $575 per pupil, which will start next year, will help maintain class sizes, sustain academic programming and strengthen financial stability, according to Superintendent Barbara Duffrin.

The second question, which asked for $28 million to fund a number of improvements, passed with 59 percent of voters supporting it. Among the improvements: a new front entrance at Mahtomedi Middle School; choir and band classroom improvements, new mechanicals, a weight-room addition and safety and security improvements at Mahtomedi High School, and new turf and lights at Athletic Field 1.

“We are incredibly grateful to our community for investing in the future of Mahtomedi students,” Duffrin shared in a message to voters on Tuesday night. “Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote, ask questions, and engage in the conversations. … We are united in our commitment to ensuring that students receive an excellent education in safe, innovative schools. Thank you for your trust, your partnership, and your shared belief in what’s possible when we put students first.”

Passage of the second ballot question was contingent upon passage of the first.

The passage of both means property taxes on a house worth $500,000, the average price of a house in the district, will rise about $382 a year, district officials said.

The Minnesota women’s basketball team is picking things up where they left them to end the 2024-25 season.

The reigning Women’s Basketball Invitational Tournament champions played host to the North Dakota Fighting Hawks on Tuesday night to open the new season, winning 91-47.

“Defensively our young ladies played really, really hard,” said head coach Dawn Plitzuweit. “They were really disruptive. It was really fun to watch. And then on the offensive end, we didn’t make as many shots as we wanted to. But our offensive rebound was absolutely outstanding. The energy really propelled us, and I thought this was a great way to open the season and get things started.”

The Gophers have high expectations after going 25-11 in the 2024-25 regular season. They struggled in Big Ten play, going 8-10, but were dominant against non-conference opponents, going 17-1.

While the challenges against other Big Ten teams are still a month out, they had a roster shake-up that provided new challenges for the foreseeable future.

Forward Mallory Heyer announced on social media last week that she was leaving the team and entering the transfer portal for ‘personal reasons.’ Heyer’s decision to leave was a shock to many on the team, but her departure led to other players being the stars on both sides of the ball in the season opener.

Senior guard Amaya Battle stepped up where Heyer was best, leading the team with 10 defensive rebounds, while freshman guard Makena Christian made a strong first impression, leading the way with 23 points and making 50% of her three-point attempts.

The reigning Wisconsin Player of the Year was ranked as the best guard in the state last season, and her play on Tuesday showed 3,300-plus Gophers fans the excitement around their newest starter was well worth it.

“I thought she handled the emotions of playing in her first home contest at a
really high level. I think she’s someone who’s very calm and steady anyway, but I
thought she did some really good things on both end of the court,” Plitzuweit said
on Christian’s performance.

“I was excited to play with all my teammates,” said Christian. “Being in the Barn was really cool, I think the energy was really cool. But the main thing was I was really excited to play with my teammates.”

“Big shoutout to Amaya,” center Sophie Hart said. “Because 10 defensive rebounds, oh my gosh. She has really stepped up in that category, I mean obviously tonight, but even in practice. So I’d say it was a team effort.”

The Gophers also had a strong night from Hart, tallying 16 points and seven rebounds, as well as a 14-point night from grad forward Finau Tonga, who was 6 for 8 at the line with seven rebounds.

The Gophers are back in action at 7 p.m. Friday against Manhattan at Williams Arena.

Senior point guard Amaya Battle, right, drives on a North Dakota player in the Gophers’ 91-47 victory Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, at Williams Arena. Battle was 0 for 10 from the field but had a game-high seven assists and no turnovers in the Gophers’ season opener. (Jerod Ringwald / Gophers Athletics)

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Nothing comes easy for the Minnesota Wild this season.

On Tuesday they were 0.3 seconds away from a regulation win, only to be struck by outrageous fortune.

In the end, they got an overtime goal from Marcus Johansson to beat the Nashville Predators, 3-2, and post their first two-game winning streak of the season. But not before Nashville forced overtime in literally the final second of regulation in St. Paul.

On the overtime winner, Johansson was open in front of the Nashville net when Predators goalie Justus Annunen dislodged the net before Johansson could shoot. Referees declared it a goal, and upheld the call after a review.

Before that, power play goals by Kirill Kaprizov and Zeev Buium helped the Wild overcome some long stretches where Nashville was the clear aggressor, as Minnesota improved to 5-6-3  overall and 2-0 in November after a messy opening month.

Filip Gustavsson finished with 32 saves for the Wild and is now 4-6-1 in his 11 starts this season.

Minnesota got the game’s first power play, barely two minutes into the game, but could not muster a shot on goal.

The Predators’ penalty kill had the best scoring chance while they were down a man, as Johansson’s turnover sprung Nashville winger Ozzy Wiesblatt on a breakaway from the blue line. But his low shot hit the goalpost.

The Wild’s second power play, near the midway point of the first, went much better. When the Predators left the middle of the offensive zone open for Kaprizov, he took a stride toward the net, then zipped a shot through a screen in front of Annunen. It was Kaprizov’s team-leading eighth goal of the season, and his third in the past four games.

The Wild’s improving penalty kill negated the team’s first trip to the penalty box early in the second period, only to see Nashville tie it up when the teams were back to five-on-five.

Matthew Wood, who averaged a point per game last season for the Gophers, found himself all alone in front of Gustavsson and got a tap-in for his third NHL goal. It was also Wood’s third goal in the past four games.

Nashville dominated the period for 15 minutes, drawing some boos from the home crowd, as the Wild looked off-kilter and needed Gustavsson to hold them in the game with 13 saves in the middle frame.

But a Predators penalty late in the second opened the door for the Wild to grab momentum, and they did with eight seconds left in the power play. This time it was Buium redirecting a feed from Brock Faber as Minnesota led for the second time.

Johansson had the secondary assist on Buium’s goal, giving him a career-best six-game point streak. Nashville outshot the Wild 14-4 in the second period.

With Annunen on the bench for an extra attacker and just seconds remaining, Joel Eriksson Ek’s clearing attempt hit the referee and stayed in the zone, setting up a last-second slap shot by Stamkos to tie the game.

Annunen finished with 21 saves for Nashville.

It was the second night of back-to-back games for the Predators, who had a 5-4 overtime loss to Vancouver on Monday night in Nashville. The Wild and Predators will play three more times this season, with their next meeting coming on Dec. 23 at Grand Casino Arena.

After posting a 2-2-2 record in their now-concluded six-game homestand, the Wild head east for a pair of road games. They pay their only visit of the season to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday and to the New York Islanders on Friday.

Briefly

As a part of their on-going 25th anniversary celebration, the Wild honored three of their best-known puck-stoppers with former goalies Niklas Backstrom, Devan Dubnyk and Josh Harding conducting the ceremonial first faceoff before the game. Dubnyk and Harding have both made Minnesota their home in retirement, with the latter serving as the goalie coach at Edina High School.

Dakota County residents filled board seats and approved education funds at the polls Tuesday.

Here’s a look at what voters were asked, what passed and how homeowners will be impacted.

Farmington

Voters in Farmington approved an operating levy that will provide approximately $1,236.60 per student annually, generating about $8 million per year for 10 years. The levy, which passed with more than 57% of the vote, will be used to sustain current class sizes, maintain literacy and math instruction, strengthen elementary enrichment opportunities and expand middle and high school career pathway options, according to the district.

Owners of a median-value $350,000 home in the area can expect to see their property taxes increase about $534 annually, or $45 per month, due to the passing referendum. The district notes that previously approved levies will expire in 2027 and 2031, reducing overall property taxes at those times.

Hastings

School board: Voters in the Hastings school district, ISD 200, elected Elaine K. Mikel-Mulder in a special election to fill a vacant school board seat. Mikel-Mulder handily won with more than 60% of the vote.

The seat was formerly held by Jenny Wiederholt-Pine, who died in February. Wiederholt-Pine, of Miesville, was a district soccer coach, restaurant co-owner, avid equestrian, wife and mother.

Elaine Mikel-Mulder (Courtesy of the candidate)

Mikel-Mulder, a mother, attorney and an alumni of Hastings, was elected this spring to fill the remainder of Weiderholt-Pine’s term.

“My friend and a woman who many in this community would consider an absolute giant and legend, Jenny Wiederholt, was one of the initial people who nudged me towards running for this position,” Mikel-Mulder said on her webpage. “Although my commitment to joining to the board is rooted in my personal passion for education, I really would like to do what I can to honor Jenny’s legacy in this community.”

Mikel-Mulder’s term will run from Jan. 5, 2026 until Jan. 1, 2029.

Lakeville

Lakeville voters overwhelmingly approved a request to renew an expiring capital projects levy that was first passed in 2015.

The levy, which passed with nearly 70% of the vote, will continue to generate roughly $4 million annually for 10 years for education technology like projectors and TVs, cybersecurity systems and equipment and software for K-12 STEM education and career-focused courses for high school students, according to the district.

A renewal is a request to maintain taxes at the current level and as a result there will be no new tax increase, per the district.

School board: Voters in the district, ISD 194, also elected Tony Reichenberger to the school board, unseating incumbent Brett Nicholson.

Reichenberger, a father and former attorney who currently works for an AI company, tallied 51% of the vote compared to Nicholson’s 48%. Reichenberger is committed to investing in teachers, collaborating with the community and improving the reputation of the district’s school board, according to his candidate webpage.

Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan

Nearly 68% of voters in the Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan school district voted to renew and increase an expiring technology capital projects levy.

First approved in 2015 for 3.015%, voters approved a request to renew and increase the levy to 5.015%, which will generate an additional $6.4 million annually, resulting in about $15.5 million annually in technology funding for the next 10 years. The technology levy directly supports classroom instruction by funding student learning devices, digital tools, cybersecurity, communications systems, computer science education and career and technical education, according to the district.

Homeowners in the area with an estimated market-value home of $400,000 can expect to see their annual property taxes increase by about $85, or $7 per month, due to the passing referendum.

School board: Voters in the district, ISD 196, also elected Leah Gardner, Robin Cerio and Sakawdin Mohamed in the general school board election.

Each of the newly elected members are Eagan residents and currently on the school board with terms expiring Jan. 5. Their new terms will run from January 2026 to January 2030.

Catherine Diamond, a mother of three with a doctorate in public health, won ISD 196’s special election and will serve the remaining two years of former board member Sachin Isaac’s term. Diamond, who ran unopposed, was appointed to fill Isaac’s vacancy until an election could be held after his resignation in October 2024.

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