West Iron County graduates celebrate at community-backed all-night party

West Iron County’s Class of 2026 got one more night together after graduation, and the all-night party turned that final sendoff into a supervised, high-energy celebration across Iron River. Students swam at Young’s Golf Course & Restaurant, bowled at Crystal Lanes and then returned to West Iron County High School just after midnight for laser tag, buck boards, a murder mystery, mat ball, minute-to-win-it games and karaoke.

The party gave graduates a safe place to celebrate what came next without losing the last hours they could spend together as a class. Every senior went home with multiple prizes and gift cards, a detail that underscored how deeply the community backed the event and how much the night was meant to honor not just the students, but the families and volunteers behind them.

That support matters in a district built around a wide stretch of the western Upper Peninsula. West Iron County Public Schools is a consolidated system formed from the former Bates Township School, Iron River Public Schools and Stambaugh Township Schools, and it serves more than 560 square miles. In a district that spread out, school traditions like the all-night party help keep graduates tied to one another and to the place they are leaving.

The celebration also capped a long season of recognition for the Class of 2026. West Iron County’s graduation ceremony was scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on May 22, senior banners were installed down Washington Avenue and N. Lay Avenue on May 6 by Nicolet Sign and Design, and the class’s scholarship recognition ceremony on May 6 honored seniors who were awarded $905,226 in scholarships, including $682,100 from the local community. The class also included valedictorian Elizabeth Chernach, salutatorian Catharina Rypstra and class president Lilyanna DeSousa.

The all-night format fits a familiar Iron County tradition: give graduates one last memorable night together, keep it supervised and send them off with the backing of the people who watched them grow up. For West Iron County, that meant a finish that was as practical as it was celebratory, and one that reinforced the district’s enduring message, Once a Wykon, Always a Wykon.