Elk River High School (variously as Elk River Senior High School) is a public high school located in Elk River,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, United States. It is the one of four high schools in the Elk River Area School District (ISD 728) and its feeder schools are VandenBerge Middle School and Salk Middle School. In the 201112 school year, Elk River had an enrollment of 1,649 students. Elk River's colors are red and white. The

National Center of Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

classifies the high school as a large, suburban campus. The Elk River Elks compete in the Northwest Suburban Conference of the

Minnesota State High School League The Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) is a voluntary, non-profit association for the support and governance of interscholastic activities at high schools in Minnesota, United States. The association supports interscholastic athletics a ...

as well as in Section 7AAAAA (5A) for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

. Elk River High School opened in 1888.

Demographics

During the 201112 school year, Elk River High School was 80% White, 6% Hispanic, 0% Hawaii Native/Pacific Islander, 6% Black, 7% Asian, and 1% Native American. 14% of students were eligible for the Free Lunch Program and 6% were eligible for the Reduced-Price Lunch Program.

Athletics

Football

Elk River played in one of the earliest recorded football games in state history (1891-1892 - defeated Monticello 29-0 & 4-0) and there are records of them completing 131 seasons of varsity football through the 2022 season. They have that have played in the District 16, Rum River, Skyline, Independent, Central Lakes, North Suburban, Twin Cities Suburban, Northwest Suburban, Mississippi 8, and North Central District (Blue & Black Sub-district) conferences. The team was the 5A state champion in 2016, 2022, and 2024.

Ice hockey

The boys' hockey team won the state championship in 2001. Both the boys' and girls' hockey teams play home games on an NHL sized sheet in Furniture and Things Community Event Center, which is located next to the high school. This arena holds 2,000+ spectators and has full in game entertainment.

Notable alumni

* Gerhard Pfanzelter (class of 1962) (exchange student)

Austrian ambassador to the United States This is a list of ambassadors of Austria to the United States. History The United States first established diplomatic relations with Austria in 1838 during the time of the Austrian Empire. Relations between the United States have been continuous ...

Joel Otto Joel Stuart Otto (born October 29, 1961) is an American former professional ice hockey center in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers. An undrafted player, Otto signed with the Flames as a free agent ...

(class of 1980) NHL forward and 1989 Stanley Cup champion with the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The ...

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and retired politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. Th ...

(class of 2000) NHL defenseman *

Dan Hinote Daniel Chester Hinote (born January 30, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey player and current assistant coach for the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League (NHL). He finished his playing career playing for Modo Hocke ...

(class of 1995) NHL winger and coach * Nate Prosser (class of 2004) NHL defenseman *

Dave Mordal Dave Mordal (pronounced like "more doll") is a comedian from Elk River, Minnesota. Career He was a contestant on the first and third seasons of NBC's ''Last Comic Standing'' where, as per the ''Arizona Daily Star'', he came to be "best known for ...

comedian * Emma Bates (Class of 2010) Distance Runner *

Paul Novotny Paul Novotny (born May 26, 1966) is an American politician serving in the Minnesota House of Representatives since 2020. A member of the Republican Party of Minnesota, Novotny represents District 30B in east-central Minnesota, which includes the ...

(Class of 1984) Politician

Media coverage

In 2010, four athletes were removed from the high school's varsity football team, and five others were suspended, for

hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

using broomsticks.

References

{{authority control Public high schools in Minnesota Schools in Sherburne County, Minnesota 1888 establishments in Minnesota Educational institutions established in 1888