Austin’s arts community continues to grow, as does the city’s diversity – which is the focus of a photography exhibit at Riverland Community College.

Riverland Community College Theatre has delayed its third production by one day, opening this Thursday instead of Wednesday because of recent winter storms. This weekend, however, escape your cabin fever as the department’s hope filled season of legends continues with the mastermind character of Sherlock Holmes in “Ken Ludwig’s The Game’s Afoot.”

Danger and hilarity are non-stop in this murderously funny whodunit set during the Christmas holidays in 1936. Broadway star William Gillette, admired the world over for his leading role as Sherlock Holmes, has invited his fellow cast members to his Connecticut castle for a weekend of revelry. But when one of the guests is stabbed to death, the festivities in this isolated house of tricks quickly turn dangerous. It is then up to Gillette himself, as he assumes the persona of his beloved Holmes, to track down the killer before the next victim appears.

Just in time for the holidays, the second production of Riverland Community College Theatre’s hope filled season of legends continues Dec. 5-8 with the classic family holiday show, Miracle on 34^th Street, the Play.

Minnesota State, the system of 30 state colleges and seven state universities, recently released the results of a study that estimates the contribution of Riverland Community College to the local economy is $121.4 million in Fiscal Year 2017 and supports and sustains 1,101 jobs with $7.1 million in state and local revenue each year.

A Minnesota Education Fair for all high school students and their parents will be held at the Riverland Community College Austin Campus on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018 from 12:30 - 2 p.m.

Students and community members can spend St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland in 2019. Riverland Community College's Music and Theatre Departments announce a new and exciting hands-on learning opportunity: Irish Excursion. The Irish Excursion is a travel-study opportunity focused on music, art, theatre, and history through Riverland's World Cultural Studies course. This tour will allow the participants to experience the Emerald Isle while emphasizing its unique arts and culture.

Special Informational Sessions, open to anyone interested in participating will be held at Noon and 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 19 at Riverland Community College’s Austin Campus in the East Building’s Room E102. The Trip is scheduled for March 8-18, 2019 and will explore both Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Diesel technology instructor Doug Blom, left; Nuss Trucking President/CEO Bob Nuss, scholarship recipient Dakota Mancilman and Riverland Community College President Adenuga Atewologun gather for a photo as Mancilman receives a check from Nuss Trucking. Mancilman will start in Riverland’s diesel technology program in the fall. 

On Wednesday, The Hormel Foundation officially kicked off a program to offer all qualifying seniors from Austin public and private schools full scholarships to Riverland Community College.

President Atewologun wins prestigious Shirley B. Gordon Award;
Suzette Overby and Heidi Schara win International advisor awards

The laugh-out-loud Best Musical Tony Award-winner, Avenue Q tells the timeless story of a recent college grad named Princeton who moves into a shabby New York apartment all the way out on Avenue Q. Together, Princeton and his new-found friends struggle to find jobs, dates, and their ever-elusive purpose in life.

Riverland Community College, with campuses in Albert Lea, Austin, and Owatonna, used an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) to make major energy upgrades throughout its facilities. It was the first college to use the state’s Guaranteed Energy Savings Program (GESP) to oversee its project, which focused on improving lighting, lighting controls, energy management controls, building envelope, chiller controls, and water conservation measures such as faucet aerator retrofits. The project was completed in fall 2017 and is expected to reduce energy use
by 27% and yield cost savings of $136,632 per year. The project is being paid for over 15 years via energy, operation and maintenance savings, which are guaranteed by Honeywell, the energy services company.

Riverland Community College Theatre is presenting the documentary theatre work Seven, a play about seven women’s stories of triumph.

Leaders in Government, Education, Health Care,
the Arts, Faith and Business Among 22 Previous Awardees

Nominations are opened this week for the 2018 Riverland Community College Distinguished Alumni Award which recognizes contributions Riverland alumni make and increases the pride all alumni, students, staff and faculty have for Riverland.

The award is bestowed on an individual who attended Riverland and has distinguished himself or herself. Since 1979, 22 Distinguished Alumni Awards have been conferred.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) will offer “Down on the Farm: Supporting Farmers in Stressful Times” trainings in January, February, and March. The professional development workshop will be offered in six different cities across Minnesota; it is designed to help people who work with farmers on a regular basis recognize and respond when they see farmers experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, and other challenges.

Americana band Rogue Valley will visit Austin for a week of school residencies staring Feb. 5 followed by a performance featuring local students from Riverland Community College, Austin High School and MacPhail at the Paramount on Saturday, Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m. 

Riverland Community College Theatre and music departments present their first musical of the 2017-2018 season, the romantic comedy She Loves Me.