Six Northland seniors win scholarships for community proposals

Six Northland high school seniors split $10,000 in scholarship money after turning local problems into proposals for trades training, safer schools, better parks and stronger community support. United Way of Northeastern Minnesota said the awards came from its third annual Youth United Contest, which drew 38 students from the Iron Range and Koochiching County.

The contest asked seniors to identify a need in their community and map out a response. United Way said the entries were judged anonymously on content, vision and community service awareness, with finalists allowed to submit either a written proposal or a video of up to five minutes. For the 2025-26 cycle, submissions were accepted from Nov. 1, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026, and winners were contacted in March.

The strongest ideas touched some of the region’s most persistent concerns. Brant Gruba of Rock Ridge High School focused on the Northland’s trades skills gap. Isabelle Appelwick of Mountain Iron Buhl Public School proposed turning underused parks into active, inclusive public spaces. River Galloway of Rock Ridge High School pushed for new harm-reduction ideas for students.

Connor Tomczak and Aubrina Eggen of Falls High School and Taylor Morley of Rock Ridge High School rounded out the six finalists. United Way said the scholarship money can be used for four-year college, two-year college or trades school expenses, and the minimum scholarship is $1,000.

The contest is designed to do more than hand out tuition help. United Way has said Youth United is meant to hear directly from young people about how to serve the region, and the student proposals offer adults and civic groups a concrete place to start. That matters in a part of northeast Minnesota where workforce shortages, mental-health needs and food access continue to shape daily life in places like Rock Ridge, Mountain Iron and Falls.

United Way said earlier Youth United contests had already awarded $20,000 among 14 finalists. Past ideas have included mental health awareness and support, meal preparation on a budget, barriers to extracurricular participation, peer-to-peer mentoring, support for the arts, volunteerism and activities to reduce isolation among seniors in long-term care.

The program launched in 2023 and will reopen Nov. 1 for the 2026-27 cycle. With six winners already showing how students are thinking about the region’s problems, the contest has become a small but direct pipeline from classrooms to community action.