Last month, Riverland started a new initiative to reduce energy usage and establish goals to reduce our carbon footprint and energy costs in our communities.

This initiative, called “Sustain Riverland,” is another in Riverland’s efforts to be good stewards of the taxpayer’s money. We believe stretching dollars and scarce resources further and still being effective and efficient is a worthy goal.

The Riverland Community College theatre 2011-2012 season opened Friday with the classic musical, The Fantasticks. The play’s opening also marked the inaugural production for new theatre director Lindsey Duoos Williams.

Billed as the longest running musical in the world, with book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt, The Fantasticks tells the story of a boy, a girl and the family feud invented by their parents to make sure the two children fall in love. The score, filled with classic songs like “Try to Remember,” “Much More,” and “They Were You,” helps create a timeless fable of love that is both nostalgic and universal. This musical is appropriate for all ages.

Riverland Community College will be one of the sites for a new statewide traveling exhibition that explores Minnesota’s native nations and the history of treaty making with the United States.

“Why Treaties Matter: Self-Government in the Dakota and Ojibwe Nations” opens Oct. 24 at the Riverland Library in the Austin East Building, where it will be on view through Nov. 23. Library hours are Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and Fridays 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The exhibition will be open Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Riverland Community College will sponsor “Big Arts in the Big Apple,” March 13 through 17, 2012, a 5-day study trip to New York City, one of America’s most vibrant and historic cultural centers. Led by experienced Riverland faculty members Scott Blankenbaker and Lindsey Duoos Williams, “Big Arts in the Big Apple” will feature theater, art, music and sight seeing. Participants will experience Chinatown, the Metropolitan Opera, the Statue of Liberty, Broadway shows, and more.

Riverland Community College will induct six into the Athletic Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Oct. 29 at the Austin Campus.

This year’s inductees include Greg Carlson, football (1976-78); Nancy (Clemens) Martinz, Softball (1981-83); Dennis Lebarron, tennis (1962-64); Don Miller, basketball (1951-54); Darrell Monson, baseball (1970-72); Kevin Wilder, football (1974-76).

Keeping the doors open to an extraordinary education for all Minnesotans is and will remain the top priority of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Steven Rosenstone said during an installation ceremony Wednesday in the Capitol Rotunda. He was formally installed as the system’s fourth chancellor.

Minnesota’s 31 state universities and community and technical colleges serve more than 420,000 students each year in credit and noncredit courses across the state.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities announced today that students may now consent to receive their 2011 1098-T Tuition Statement and W-2 Wage and Tax Statement electronically rather than by U.S. mail.   To sign up for electronic tax forms, the student must log in to Student e-Services.  On their e-Services dashboard in the Action Items area, the student will find a link to consent.

With Minnesota's need to prepare more skilled and educated workers, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and the Minnesota Department of Education have launched a campaign to encourage more students to explore and enroll in career technical programs.

A radio campaign, “Learning that works,” is underway to showcase technical education programs offered by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and the state’s public high schools. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities alone have more than 3,000 career technical education programs that can be completed in two years or less.