Seven candidates seek three Ludington school board seats

September 21, 2026

By Rob Alway, Editor-in-Chief

LUDINGTON — Seven candidates are seeking three seats on the Ludington Area School District Board of Education in the Nov. 3 General Election.

The candidates are Kathleen Chaney, Natalie Grochowski, Julie Keson, Jalie Mowry Lipa, Kelly Parker, Brad Reed and Whitney McCabe-Stevens. Voters may select no more than three candidates.

The three positions are full six-year terms ending Dec. 31, 2032.

The seats are currently held by Bret Autrey, Steve Carlson and Michael Nagle, whose terms expire at the end of this year. None of the three is seeking re-election, meaning none of the seven candidates on the ballot is an incumbent. Autrey, Carlson and Nagle were elected to the board in November 2020.

The remaining four members of the seven-member board are Stephanie Reed and Sarah Lowman, whose terms expire in 2028, and Alan Neushwander and Mike Winczewski, whose terms expire in 2030. Reed and Lowman were elected in 2022, while Neushwander and Winczewski were elected in 2024.

None of the seven candidates seeking election this year ran for the Ludington Area School District Board of Education in the district’s 2020, 2022 or 2024 elections.

School board races in Michigan are nonpartisan. The three candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the Nov. 3 election will be elected to six-year terms beginning in January 2027 and ending Dec. 31, 2032.

____________________

Please Support Local News Coverage

For generations, local newspapers were supported by subscriptions. Today, while Mason County Press and Oceana County Press remain free to everyone, the cost of producing quality local journalism continues to rise.

If you value independent local news coverage, we invite you to help sustain it by subscribing to the MCP/OCP Daily Briefing for $12 a month — about 40 cents a day — or $120 a year.

Your subscription helps support the reporters, photographers and editors who cover local government, schools, community events, sports, breaking news and the stories that matter most to Mason and Oceana counties. In return, you’ll receive the MCP/OCP Daily Briefing each morning with the day’s headlines, along with occasional breaking news and special email editions.

Monthly subscriptions are available for $12 per month.
Click here to subscribe monthly.

Annual subscriptions are available for $120 per year.
Click here to subscribe annually.

If you prefer to pay by check, mail your $120 annual payment to:

Media Group 31, LLC
P.O. Box 21
Scottville, MI 49454

Please include your name, mailing address, email address and telephone number so we can activate your subscription.

Subscription payments must be received before service is activated.

Whether you choose to subscribe or continue enjoying our free content, thank you for reading Mason County Press and Oceana County Press. Your readership—and your support—helps ensure that independent local journalism remains available to everyone in our communities.

This story and original photography are copyrighted © 2026 by Media Group 31, LLC, P.O. Box 21, Scottville, MI 49454. All rights reserved. No portion of this story or its images may be reproduced in any form, including print, broadcast or electronic media, without the express written permission of Media Group 31, LLC.

As a news organization, Media Group 31 maintains published content as part of the public and historical record. Accordingly, stories are not removed after publication. At the editor’s discretion, stories may be updated or corrected as new information becomes available. Updates may be made by revising the original story or by publishing a follow-up story. Media Group 31, LLC reserves the right to modify this policy at any time. Please refer to our Use Policy for additional information.

Eats & Drinks

Eats & Drinks