MUSKEGON, MI – For the next year she’ll be known to most across the state as Miss Michigan, but Ann Arbor teacher Hannah Palmer said the title she’s most familiar with is “Miss Palmer.”

Palmer, of Brighton, was crowned Miss Michigan 2025, during the 86th annual scholarship competition on Saturday, June 14, at the historic Frauenthal Theater in downtown Muskegon.

As Miss Spirit of the State strode onto the stage Saturday night, many of her third-grade students were in the crowd supporting her.

Miss Michigan 2025 is Miss Spirit of the State Hannah Palmer

“I love you Miss Palmer” rang out from the audience as she wowed judges in a sparkling blue evening gown and performed a spoken word monologue about being an educator.

Through that HerStory talent, she brings her students on stage with their signatures on a school desk she uses as a prop. Palmer said we all have a teacher who believed in us and inspired us.

I want to “be that leader, be that shining light and that role model for so many,” she said shortly after being crowned by outgoing 2024 Miss Michigan Jenae Lodewyk, formerly Miss Bay County.

RELATED: Forgotten Miss America mural in Muskegon connects pageant’s past and present

Palmer won the elegance in interview award Saturday night for speaking about the late Rita Pierson, an educator for 40 years with a popular Ted Talk, who she said embodied the idea that teachers can change the world.

There were 22 contestants when the scholarship competition kicked off Thursday, June 12, with the preliminary round of awards.

The competition continued Saturday with the top 11 finalists gracing the stage to share their social impact initiative, answer an on-stage question, perform talent and model evening wear.

Miss Michigan 2025 first awards go to Miss South Central, Miss Spirit of the State

This was Palmer’s fifth year competing for the Miss Michigan crown. She said she was at a loss for words after winning.

“All night, I just felt a big sense of peace and a sense of accomplishment,” she said. “I just feel so calm and ready and excited to serve the state of Michigan.”

Palmer is in her third-year teaching at Ann Arbor Public Schools. In addition to the title and crown, winners of the Miss Michigan competition receive a $10,000 scholarship and the opportunity to compete in the Miss America scholarship competition.

RELATED: Guide to Miss Michigan 2025, featuring 22 candidates

As a 2022 graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and teaching, Palmer plans to use the scholarship money to earn her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.

As a mental health advocate, Palmer has long had an interest in social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculm. Each competitor has a service initiative as part of their candidacy. Palmer’s is the Sunflower Project, a nonprofit she founded in response to her own mental health journey.

The Sunflower Project provides students with educational resources like scholarships, awards grants to help cover psychiatric services, nurtures support group networks focused on mental health and advocates for social-emotional learning curriculum.

Now, Palmer said she hopes to use her title to reach more Michigan students, sharing mental health resources and advocating for social-emotional learning – or the idea that students develop social/emotional competencies while growing academically.

“I’m so excited to go visit as many schools as possible and share these resources with students all over the state,” Palmer said, “so that way they can learn how to identify (and) process their emotions.”

According to a post by Ann Arbor Public Schools, Palmer has distributed over $10,000 in SEL resources and psychiatric care grants across seven counties, even partnering with American television network MTV for its Mental Health Action Day.

In a post on Facebook supporting her, Ann Arbor Public Schools wrote that the district is “behind her all the way!”

Miss Michigan 2008 Ashlee Baracy-Kunkel served as the mistress of ceremonies during the competition.

This year’s judges were Haley Williams-Pepper, Becca Hatinger, Kevin Foley, Alexis Robertson and Will Gray.

The final score was composited of 30% from the preliminary score along with new scores of 20% from talent, 20% for health and fitness, 20% for evening gown and 10% for the on-stage question and social impact.

Other scholarship winners included first runner-up Miss Ludington Area Natalee Urbon, second runner-up Miss South Central Lacy Jewell, third runner-up: Miss Washtenaw County Madalyn Poupard, and fourth runner-up Miss Greater Kalamazoo Lauren Mroczek.

In addition to the scholarship of $10,000 to the title winner, the competition’s runner-up receives $4,000, with $3,000 to the second runner-up, $2,000 to the third runner-up, $1,500 to the fourth runner-up, $1,000 to the other five semi-finalists and $500 to non-finalist contestants.

On Friday,of the three-day Miss Michigan Scholarship Program, Libbie Tacia, of Big Rapids, was crowned Miss Michigan’s Outstanding Teen 2025 on Friday.

KEWEENAW COUNTY, MI — Wolves frightened him awake at night. Birds sang soothing songs all day.

The adventure Robb Lamer experienced hiking 50 miles with a 40-pound pack for seven days and six nights along an elevated ridge cutting through the wild Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior won’t soon be forgotten.

Isle Royale National Park is place where people go to connect with Earth.

This week though, the small island is the subject of national news after two people were found dead June 8 at the South Lake Desor Campground on the remote island. A cause of death and identities of the victims haven’t been released.

Lamer and his hiking group: a son, daughter, her boyfriend, a nephew and Lamer’s brother stayed at the rustic lakeside campground about two weeks before the bodies were found.

The park remains open and officials have said there is no threat to the public.

Lamer, a civil engineer from the Grand Rapids area, said the campground is about an 11-mile hike from the nearest access point on the island, known as Windigo.

There are 36 first-come-first-served rustic campgrounds dotting the island that’s 45-miles long and up to seven-miles wide. Most come with camping pads and an outhouse.

There are few signs, except at rare trail intersections. Hikers sometimes place shed moose antlers around them.

“We never saw anybody at that campground,” LeMur said.

Excluding the latest victims, four people have died at Isle Royal National Park since 2013, based on National Park data and news reports.

A 37-year-old hiker died of a medical condition and a 70-year-old scuba diver died exploring shipwrecks last year. Another scuba diver died in 2013 and a backpacker of a medical condition while hiking in 2019.

Lamer’s group hiked for 28 hours along what’s known as the Greenstone Ridge Trail before coming across anyone else. “We didn’t even see a ranger for seven days hiking the whole island,” he said.

The elevated path traverses the island for 40 miles between the two major access points, Windigo to the southwest and Rock Harbor to the northeast.

Along the way, panoramic views of Canada and Lake Superior abound. Lamer spotted three moose at Ishpeming Point, where there’s an unstaffed lookout tower. It’s one of the few place Lamer said he had cell phone service, so he did a “photo dump” on Facebook to let his wife know he “made it at least through two nights.”

Lamer and his party caught a seaplane off the 206-square-mile island on May 25 and he’s been following news about the mysterious camper deaths for the last week.

“I suspect it’s got to be foul play,” Lamer said. “Because it doesn’t seem logical that a moose would kill two people — even if wolves killed two people, they would have all over (the website) right now: beware of the moose or beware of the wolves. And that’s not what the website’s talking about.”

Further bolstering Lamer’s theory that these were not wildlife-related deaths is the involvement of the FBI, which sent agents to help with the investigation.

The National Park Service said in a June 12 statement that “there is no known threat to the public at this time” but declined to release further details.

Two campers were found dead in Michigan 5 days ago. Many questions remain

The challenge of getting to Isle Royale National Park, which is only accessible by seaplane, ferry service or personal watercraft, likely contributes to it being one of the least visited national parks, averaging about 25,000 visitors a year over the last several, according the National Park Service data.

The nearly total escape from civilization is part of the draw. There are no full-time residents, no roads and hardly any electricity.

“I think it’s cool to just be so secluded,” Lamer said. “You’re by yourself.”

Park Ranger Liz Valencia has spent 30 years working at Isle Royale National Park, which also includes more than 400 mostly unnamed smaller islands that are part of an archipelago in a northwest section of Lake Superior. The park is closer to Minnesota than Michigan.

“Isle Royale is really a different park from most people because you do get out of your car and you get on a boat or a seaplane to come here,” Valencia said. “So you really feel like just getting to the park is part of the adventure.”

Prior to becoming a national park in 1940, the island was home to Scandinavian fishermen — some of the cabins still stand — and Native Americans members of the Ojibwe.

How to get to Michigan’s rugged, remote island in Lake Superior

Most visitors spend multiple days on the island during the open season from April 15 through Nov. 1, said Brendon Lukkari, who’s worked for the park the last four years.

Visitors are permitted upon arrival or during the trip over. Lukkari said they submit an itinerary, identification is checked, names recorded and a $7-per-day entry fee paid.

While you may encounter moose, beavers and loons — even the rare wolf — some common animals, like raccoons, bear, porcupine and skunks are absent. They never made the 14-mile swim from the nearest shoreline through the frigid Lake Superior waters, according to the National Park Service website.

Lamer is curious about the recent deaths but spends more time thinking about his own trip and mornings spent listening to loons.

“The birds up here need to teach the birds down in the Lower Peninsula how to sing,” he said. “They can sing beautifully.”

Michigan State announced on Friday that it has extended its hockey coach, Adam Nightingale, to a multi-year contract extension.

Nightingale is coming off back-to-back Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles in what were his second and third years at the helm.

“I’m appreciative of the support the Board of Trustees and President Kevin Guskiewicz have demonstrated with today’s announcement of a new contract for Adam Nightingale, helping to ensure he leads the Spartan hockey program for many years to come,” Michigan State athletic director J Batt said, per a release.

“Under Coach Nightingale’s guidance, Michigan State has returned to its position as one of the elite programs in college hockey, creating incredible excitement both within the hockey community and throughout all of our loyal supporters. Coming off back-to-back Big Ten Championships, there’s a buzz that even greater things are on the horizon. Personally, I can’t wait to experience the excitement of the sold-out crowds at Munn Ice Arena this winter, in what could be a truly special season.”

It is expected to be a special season. Michigan State is returning the reigning Hobey Baker Award winner, Isaac Howard, and the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year, Trey Augustine, along with a stellar group of newcomers and other key returners.

A national title is the expectation.

“My family and I are incredibly grateful for the opportunity to represent Michigan State University,” Nightingale said. “To coach at an institution like this and be part of the East Lansing community is a privilege and an awesome responsibility.

“The support our program receives, from President Kevin Guskiewicz, the Board of Trustees, Director of Athletics J Batt and the entire Spartan family, will never be taken for granted, and we make sure our players and staff understand that on a daily basis. We look forward to continuing to make our university, alumni and community proud.”

Nightingale is more than deserving of this extension, having completely turned the program around and elevated it back to national prominence.

The Spartan coach was hired in 2022 and had served as the program’s director of hockey operations for four seasons in the early 2010s. He also played at Michigan State from 2003 to 2005.

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