Editor’s note: Welcome to Member School Spotlight, the League’s feature series that showcases the academic and co-curricular excellence in our Member Schools.
On the North Shore of Lake Superior, Two Harbors High School is part of a community shaped by the lake, the railroad and generations of Agates. Students carry that community into classrooms, concert halls, theaters, athletic competitions and continuing traditions while creating their own.
Located in Lake County, Two Harbors takes its name from Agate Bay and Burlington Bay. Its shipping history remains visible in the ore docks and the historic Edna G. tugboat. The Two Harbors Lighthouse, first lit in 1892, is another familiar landmark. The community is also the birthplace of Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing (3M), founded in 1902.
"The location and the people are what make Two Harbors special," said school Activities Director Scott Ross. "These connections are reflected in the students, families, educators, coaches and alumni who contribute to school life."
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Two Harbors has a population of 3,500.
The League thanks the students of Two Harbors High School who enthusiastically engaged in the research and writing for this spotlight presentation.
A lasting athletics tradition
- The athletics history at Two Harbors High School spans more than a century.
- The Boys Basketball team won the Minnesota State High School League championship in 1924 and returned to the state tournament in 1971.
- Football reached the state tournament in 1977 and 2018.
- Boys Golf qualified for the state tournament in 1975, 1977 and 1986. The 1977 squad was the Class AA runner-up.
- On the Girls Golf side, the Agates earned a state berth in 2002.
- The Girls Gymnastics team qualified for the state meet in five consecutive years, from 1986 through 1990.
- Girls Volleyball qualified for the state tournament in 1998.
- The Nordic Skiing team, called the North Shore Storm, qualified for the state meet at Giants Ridge on the nearby Iron Range.
- There have been multiple Track and Field state meet participants and champions: Caleb Hamp-Sill (2011 triple jump, long jump); Tate Nelson (2023 100, long jump); Trinity Giddings (2025 400). The boys team finished third in 2023.
- The school's Girls Swimming and Diving team continues a run of success. The Agates have had state participants in 13 of the past 15 seasons and completed undefeated dual-meet seasons in both 2025 and 2026. The team won the Iron Range Conference championship and finished as section runner-up, with Bella Imholte earning All-State recognition.
Music and the arts across generations
Band and choir are important parts of the Two Harbors story.
Alumni and community feedback gathered for this student project emphasized the lasting place of music and the arts in school life. Concerts and performances give students opportunities to develop their skills, work as an ensemble, and share their accomplishments with the community.
Theater adds another way for students to find their place, both on stage and behind the scenes. The One Act Play program reached the State Festival in 2024 and again in 2026, adding recent milestones to the school’s performing arts history. Together, Music, Visual Arts and Theater offer students ways to create and contribute throughout their school years.
Learning and the student perspective
Students also explore interests through DECA, the student-operated school store, Robotics, Enviro Club, Student Council, World Culture Club and National Honor Society.
This Member School Spotlight article grew from classroom learning, with students researching school history, conducting interviews, selecting photographs and revising their writing for this publication.
For senior Natalie Tillich, school experiences are part of a larger journey. "My memories and experiences in both school, and just life, fuel my drive to explore the world and find what makes me happy," she said in a student interview for the project.
Her reflection connects the school’s history with the students writing their next chapter through their experiences in the classroom, onstage and in competition.
Notable Two Harbors legends
Hall of Fame college basketball coach Lute Olson also has a connection to the Agates. Before his college coaching career, he coached high school basketball in Two Harbors. He later guided Iowa to the 1980 Final Four and Arizona to the 1997 NCAA national championship.
No retelling about Two Harbors lore is complete without mentioning Chuck Halsted. Coach Halsted led the football team for more than 25 years. In that span, he won 12 conference championships, had five undefeated regular seasons and guided two teams to the state tournament. Coach Halsted was a confident leader of young Agates for many years, and today "Halsted Field" hosts football, soccer, and track and field events. He is enshrined in the Minnesota Football Coaches Hall of Fame, and his impact as an athletics director is still felt today.
Two Harbors High School has had many impactful people walk through its doors, including numerous Hall of Famers whose careers extended beyond this community.
Graduate Jim Hastings is a celebrated basketball coach who led Duluth Central teams to three Boys Basketball state championships. He is a member of the University of Minnesota Duluth Athletic Hall of Fame and the Minnesota State High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Longtime gymnastics coach Linda Hoffman led a successful program, including a third-place finish at the state meet in 1986. That season, Barb Dufresne won a state championship in the uneven bars. While gymnastics is no longer offered by the school, the coaches, athletes and community supporters paved the way for today's athletes with their work through the Girls Athletic Association (GAA) and when opportunities expanded through Title IX.
Did you know?
- Mascot: Agates. The Agate mascot is the only one in the world.
- School colors: Maroon and white, with black as an alternate color. The school's former colors were maroon, white and gold.
- First school: Built in 1902.
- Initial school size: 50 students and three teachers.
- Two Harbors High School has a nine-hole disc golf course that winds through the woods and fields on the campus grounds. The course was designed and built by the school's engineering and industrial education students.
- Two Harbors High School is part of the Lake Superior School District. The district includes William Kelley High School in nearby Silver Bay.
- Two Harbors High School serves approximately 600 students in grades 6-12.
- Two Harbors High School operates on a four-day school week, Monday through Thursday.
- The current school building, completed in 2005, features a three-court gymnasium, a six-lane competition pool and a 750-seat auditorium.
- Famous Gooseberry Falls State Park is located 13 miles to the northeast on U.S. Highway 61.
