Although she is a writer, Tracy Youngblom never expected—or wanted—to write this story. And who would? Because We Must: A Memoir by Tracy Youngblom follows Youngblom’s perspective from the night her youngest son, Elias, is in a terrible car accident that leaves both his and his family’s lives forever changed. Youngblom uses voice, structure, and the undying fierceness of a mother's love to tell this unforgettable story of strength and resilience. Youngblom’s narrative voice i

Published poet Tracy Youngblom takes a new approach to storytelling with the memoir format in her latest release Because We Must; poetic cadence slips through matter-of-fact prose, making for a reading experience that is equal parts contemplative and stirring. The book follows Youngblom in an exploration of her grief following a tragic car accident that alters the course of her son, Elias Youngblom’s, life. She divides the story into three parts, although that isn’t to say th

Across the United States, Hospitals and Clinics are facing a growing challenge because there are not enough nurses to care for the number of patients who need help. The nursing shortage has become one of the most serious issues in healthcare today. Organizations like the American Nurses Association have warned that the country will need many more nurses in the coming years to keep up with demand for health care. As older nurses retire and the population continues to age, the

Mariam Alowonle and Anisa Longs were named to the NJCAA All-Region XIII team for their performance during the 2025-26 season. All-Region teams are voted on by the league coaches, and are comprised of the top 10 players from the Region. Alowonle averaged 17.9 points and 9.8 rebounds per game while shooting 54.8 percent from the field. Longs averaged 13.2 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. The full NJCAA All-Region XIII team can be found on the MCAC website .

Artifical intelligence has quickly become a part of everyone’s daily lives, including in our schooling. From using it for grading or an explanation on assignments, we as students do see that teachers and professors are using AI to help manger their workloads and improve efficiency. Some programs check for grammatical errors on student work, suggesting what though write to their students as feedback and help the overall organizations of classwork. With continuous growing class

Mud squelches in your shoes, oozing out like wet play doh. Dirt dried and soaked again cakes your arms and legs: signs of the many obstacles you bulldozed your way through. The sweat of 15 kilometers now behind you, a teammate hoists a weighty medal over your neck. You wear it alongside your orange headband with pride. The mud and sweat don’t concern you—you’re smiling with the teammates who braved this race with you. How could such joy possibly coexist with this discomfort?

The Anoka-Ramsey Men's Basketball team beat Northland 81-71 in the NJCAA Region XIII Quarterfinals last week, before falling to eventual champion Riverland 85-75 in the semifinals. In their quarterfinal matchup, the Golden Rams forced 17 Pioneer turnovers and held a 17-4 edge in made free throws. Five players scored in double figures led by Preston Thielke with 22 points and 10 rebounds. The Golden Rams trailed 41-36 at halftime, but opened the second half on a 18-2 run to

Interested in anime? Wanting to get involved in Minnesota’s anime community? Come to Anime Detour! Established around 2004, Anime Detour is known as Minnesota’s biggest anime convention. In downtown Minneapolis, Anime Detour is held at the Hyatt Regency and the Sheraton Minneapolis Downtown Convention Center. There are many ways to get to the event, such as where to park or using the bus routes to the venue. Booking a room at the hotel is another way to access. Anime Detour i

Full disclosure: I’ve been subscribed to Markiplier on YouTube since 2014, when I got mononucleosis and was in bed for two weeks. I was so weak I couldn’t even play my own video games, so I caved and watched someone else do it. I’ve been a fan ever since. That said, I am also very picky and critical when it comes to movies. So you may take this review with a grain of salt, but a small one. Perhaps a grain of popcorn salt, which is much finer than, say, kosher salt. Anyways. I

Believe me, I used to be a liberal type. Today, though, I consider myself a communist. I get the appeal of passive pro-establishment liberal belief systems - the idea that equalizing social class, a lack of revolution, and elimination of the status quo is inoffensive, and socially acceptable - and the broader lens through which socialism is seen attributes it to several expressly authoritarian ideologies - China, Russia and North Korea are some of the Western world’s greatest

Anoka-Ramsey Community College will play host to the 2026 NJCAA Region XIIIA and XIIIB Women's Basketball Tournaments February 28 - March 1. Semifinals for the two tournaments will be on Saturday, February 28 with the championship games on Sunday, March 1. The schedule for each day, along with links for live video, live stats, and tickets will be on the 2026 NJCAA Region XIII Tournament Schedule of the Anoka-Ramsey Athletics website. In-person Admission prices are $12 for ad

The Anoka-Ramsey Women's Basketball team was locked in a tight battle with Ridgewater on Saturday afternoon before the Golden Rams used a big fourth quarter to pull away for the win, 69-52. It was the fourth straight win for the Golden Rams to improve their MCAC Southern Division record to 5-1. The Golden Rams led by five early in the fourth quarter before using a 9-0 run to take command, as the lead grew to 20 points midway thru the period. Anoka-Ramsey held Ridgewater to ju

Hidden inside the Field House is the Food Pantry, which is open to everyone, including non-students. The Food Pantry consists of free fresh produce, canned food items, etc. As of recently, there have been plenty of people stopping by to grab simple snacks or using the pantry to the fullest by grabbing groceries. It amazes me how the pantry can bring people together, such as people bringing their friends to grab products. I wish more people would know about this resource, as w

The Housemaid a book that has now recently been created into a movie featuring popular actor and actress Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, and Bradon Sklenar has had a lot of buzz online. As with most books that are converted into a movie, much discussion has been brought about how frequent important details are missed often leaving the reader disappointed. Many wonder if a book can be created into a movie without losing the satisfaction of the power that imagination brings wi

The Food Pantry provides FREE food items to Anoka-Ramsey students in need of support. Students can come as often as they would like to and get, produce, meat, dairy products, and non-perishable food items. Visit the Food Pantry website here (hours to be updated): Anoka-Ramsey Food Pantry - Anoka Ramsey Community College Students can also visit our Student Basic Needs Resources website for additional resources in the community: https://www.anokaramsey.edu/resources/stude

The Anoka-Ramsey Men's Basketball season went 1-1 to open MCAC Southern Division play - falling to Ridgewater 97-84 before defeating MN West 75-58. Against Ridgewater, the Golden Rams and Warriors played a mostly even game with both teams shooting 43 percent from the field, and each making nine threes. Ridgewater however out-rebounded Anoka-Ramsey 52-33 including 18-8 on the offensive glass, and made 22 free throws to Anoka-Ramsey's 11. Three players scored 16 points each for

The Anoka-Ramsey Women's Basketball team started the 2025-26 season 2-1 against NJCAA DII competition. The Golden Rams opened the season with a 65-51 victory over Bryant and Stratton (WI) College thanks to 23 forced turnovers. Four players scored in double figures led by 15 points from Tereya McDaniel-Vaughn , 13 points from Charis McKenzie , 12 from Mariam Alowonle , and ten from Jada Lussier . Anoka-Ramsey followed that up with a 68-61 win over Black Hawk College. Anisa Lon

The Anoka-Ramsey Volleyball team had two players earn MCAC honors for their performance during the 2025 season. Ashley Strang and Anastasia Vlasyuk were both named to the MCAC South All-Division Team, with Strang earning 1st team honors, and Vlasyuk being 2nd team. Strang was also named to the All-MCAC team which is comprised of players from both the North and South divisions. In addition, Strang was named NJCAA All-Region 13. As a team the Golden Rams earned the conferenc