by ECHO staff “ICE was never on our campus. That was someone who saw a faculty member unloading materials from their own personal vehicle,” says Nate Stoltman, RCTC’s Executive Director of Communications, Marketing, and External Relations. Stoltman is referring to a January 9, 2026 reddit post that claimed ICE agents had been seen in the … Read more
by Julia Noll On January 20, one year after President Trump’s second inauguration, Grace Lunde walked out of RCTC. She left the atrium and walked along the trail leading through the front of campus. About twenty other people were marching with her, holding signs and chanting. As the group made their way towards the fitness … Read more
by Julia Noll Every Saturday morning, 25-year-old RCTC student Noah Daly boards the city bus and rides to different food shelves. Then he rides to different houses across the city, delivering food to people too scared to leave their homes. “I see a lot of people who need food,” Daly says, “and I have people … Read more
by Julia Noll The tension on campus surrounding increased ICE activity in Rochester reminded English Instructor Mike Mutschelknaus, Ed.D of something. Especially the fear and uncertainty it stirred up for his immigrant students. Twenty-five years ago, Mike Mutschelknaus was in the middle of teaching Freshman comp when terrorists flew planes into the Twin Towers in … Read more
Remarks delivered by Sudi Adow on February 26, 2026 to the Minnesota House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee, on behalf of “Zumba”: On the day it started, at a place I felt safe, in the community I called home, I thought about what was happening in our state. The years of math classes I … Read more
by Sudi Adow Around this time last year, I was heading to St. Cloud for the LeadMN spring general assembly. I heard of the organization earlier that year and wanted to find any way I could get involved. There I was on the bus with my fellow RCTC senators, clinging onto my campaign flyers, wondering … Read more
by Ethan Shones Friday, January 16th. I was waiting for a meeting with my advisor about classes when I was stopped by a familiar sight: Hanging on the wall was “Freedom of Speech” by Norman Rockwell, an image I mainly know from Twitter users sharing their ‘bold’ takes. As my eyes scanned the document, a … Read more
by Michael David, photos by Holly Flom Hidden down a short hallway, located in the Regional Training Center, you can find the mat room. The place is hot, courtesy of the heaters lining the walls, which are always turned to full blast before a practice. Why would anyone work out in this stifling heat? Because … Read more
Words and photos by Ethan Shones February 20 A screen in the corner of the theatre goes through a slide show. It starts in the fall of 2001, featuring photos of a theatre production. It then goes to spring of 2002, and repeats this pattern all the way up to fall of 2025, a production … Read more
by ECHO staff Kieran Kelly (they/them), graduated with their Bachelor of Fine Arts with minors in creative writing and art history from Steven’s Point. After graduating, they went between jobs, like at the Art Center, and then saw RCTC was offering classes that might fill the gaps in their skillset, namely digital art and graphic … Read more