Student interest in mock trial remains strong at Luverne High School as the sole representative of southwest Minnesota competing during the 2026 season.
Luverne’s season opened Thursday, Jan. 8, at the Nobles County Courthouse in Worthington where the defense team took on Fairmount High School.
Official results had not been released by Minnesota State Bar Association organizers as of Monday, but LHS adviser Megan Klumper said, “I think they did amazing.”
Jan. 8 was the first of four rounds scheduled over the next two months.
In Round 2 Luverne will take on St. Peter High School at the Freeborn County Courthouse in Albert Lea, before the competition turns virtual.
Teams with similar win-loss records compete virtually in Rounds 3 and 4 a Zoom platform.
“Although I find in-person ones (competitions) more valuable, I understand their reasoning,” Klumper said. “Some teams are very far apart.”
Luverne competes in Region 4-6, which includes Fairmont and St. Peter, along with public and parochial schools in Rochester, Owatonna and Watertown, all located in southeastern Minnesota.
The three teams who win Round 5 will be one of 16 teams competing the state tournament March 5 and 6 in St. Paul.
Luverne hosted parents’ night Jan. 6 with friends and family observing the 2026 mock trial case, Harper Lightfoot vs. Jesse Gates.
It involves the wreckage of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald that sank in Lake Superior 50 years ago and a defamation case between former dive-business partners Lightfoot and Gates.
Since no major legal precedence has been set on the use of AI (artificial intelligence) and defaming an individual, the students have been contemplating various ways to handle their cases.
“The case this year isn’t as exciting as the murder trial last year, but the students have been enjoying the idea of modern aspects, such as AI usage and digital defamation,” Klumper said.
“The students can relate to these aspects because they are both involving the technology they use and hear about on a daily basis.”
Luverne’s team has 18 members.
“This year we have a lot of new participants, so our goal is to build the skills of our new members so that they can pass on the skills in future years,” Klumper said.
Leading this year’s team are six returning members, including senior Tyler Hodge (attorney), juniors Charlie Mostad (attorney), Anna Reisdorfer (attorney) and Chris Severns (witness), sophomore Lucas Hoffman (attorney) and freshman Lucas Williamson (attorney).
New to the team are senior Shane Travis (alternative witness and timer), sophomores Jaiden Klay (alternate attorney) and Kade Dopheide (alternate attorney), freshmen Arlo Hogan (witness), Albertha Dolo (alternate witness and timer), Lilly Lanoue (witness), Madden Von Tersch (witness), Madeline Zavala Soto (alternative witness and bailiff) and Makenzie Smith (attorney), and eighth-graders Molly Boltjes (alternative witness and bailiff), Oliver Carbonneau (witness) and Taedra McKenzie (witness).
Mock trial, which is in its 41st year in Minnesota, allows students to learn and experience the American judicial process through various roles. Students exercise critical thinking and teamwork skills presenting a case based in Minnesota.
The winner of the Minnesota state tournament moves on to compete at the national tournament.
Article courtesy of Mavis Fodness, Rock County Star-Herald