Brandyn Woodard is leading a renewed effort at Anoka-Ramsey Community College to address issues of diversity and closing learning gaps. Woodard recently took over a new position as Vice President of Equity and Inclusion. He says meeting with students about their needs and bringing in more diverse faculty are two early steps toward improving student success.

Hope for the Community Food Shelf finished 2020 serving 43,000 families more than 2 million pounds of groceries.  A year after the start of a pandemic that cost many families jobs, Dr. Alan Goracke, founder of Hope for the Community, says the need is still great.

According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 9.7 million people misused prescription pain relievers and another 4.9 million people misused prescription stimulants. To help address this problem, the Drug Enforcement Agency encourages local law enforcement to collect unused or expired prescription drugs year round, and also to put an extra effort in on an annual drug take back day.

City residents can bring appliances, electronics, mattresses and more to city hall for recycling.

Would you like to see a splash pad in Spring Lake Park? How about some pickleball courts? The city would love to hear your thoughts and ideas of what the parks in the city should look like.

The Sandhill Crane Natural Area is the fourth largest park that is a part of the county parks system, and one of the least visited.

Planning is underway for the USA Cup Youth Soccer Tournament at the National Sports Center in July.  Officials say they’re trying to make it as normal as possible, but some adjustments may be needed.