After months of preparation and push-back from locals, city officials and local police have not begun to enforce anti-camping ordinances and “evacuate” the Pines homeless encampment on 11th and Division. Since the evacuation announcement this past fall, the encampment and those who live in it have garnered support and attention from many local advocates. There has never been an official date for when police will begin evacuating the encampment, but officials have estimated it will happen sometime this spring. According to police chief Matt Richmond, the current goal is to eliminate the encampment by summer.

In the midst of a semester with increasing political tension surrounding the new presidential administration, Jaron Larson, an engineering student, formed the student NMC Conservatives group with the help of its faculty advisor, Steve Rice.

Pursuing his second associate's degree, Larson has claimed to notice a growing trend of anti-conservative messaging on campus and preconceived notions of peoples' character based on their politics, as well as hate messaging on the NMC Conservatives social media pages.

Traverse City (TC) is known for its diverse musical performances and shows, from the Alluvion and indoor concerts at bars and pubs, to musical shows at locations such as the Commons. It’s no secret that live music and shows are a meaningful part of life in TC.

On March 14, President Trump signed an executive order to continue the reduction of the federal bureaucracy, an initiative being carried out primarily by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The action prompted the evaluation of several agencies that the administration has deemed to have “unnecessary” components. One of the seven agencies listed is the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Every year, the Great Lakes Culinary Institute (GLCI) puts on a community-wide event called Taste of Success, with this year's event being held on April 25 on the Great Lakes Campus. At this event, culinary students showcase their skills and creativity to community members in order to fundraise for scholarships, equipment, and the overall success of the institute.

On Mar. 20 John Austin, a Senior Fellow with the Eisenhower Institute at Gettysburg College (among other notable titles), gave a speech at the Dennos Auditorium as a part of NMC’s International Affairs Forum, along with the executive director of United Tribes of Michigian, Frank Ettawageshik, and the director of the Great Lakes Water Studies Institute at NMC, John Lutchko.

As I plan my final (summer) semester at NMC I am reflecting on the changes I’ve experienced over the past 35 years in education and as an individual. During high school, I didn't know what I wanted to be. My parents did not graduate from high school. My Dad raised me after my parents' divorce. As a result, I wasn't quite sure how life, and certainly college, worked.