Heikinpäivä 2016 included community favorites like a parade down Quincy Street, a Tori market in the Finnish-American Heritage Center, games on the Quincy Green, the Polar Bear dive on the Hancock waterfront and a dance with live music by the Finn Hall Band. Each year the title of Hankooki Heikki …

Organizers of an effort to expand Michigan’s civil rights law for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have decided to put off their ballot initiative. The group Fair Michigan had hoped to put an equal rights proposal on the 2016 ballot, but called it quits following opposition from some …

Michigan’s union membership went up in 2015. The Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that labor groups across the state added up to 36,000 members last year. The unions say their main concern right now is what they describe as an attack on prevailing wage. Ron Bieber is the president …

Two lawmakers on opposite sides of the immunization waiver debate are weighing in on a drastic drop in the number of parents who requested a waiver in 2015. State Representative Pam Faris a Democrat, is eyeing legislation to make the rule requiring parents to request a waiver from their county …

The 48th annual International 500 kicks off this week in the Upper Peninsula. Ric Federau is chairman of the I-500, a 500 mile snowmobile race on an ice-covered, oval track in Sault Ste. Marie. He says over 60 teams from around the world will vie for the 38 slots on …

A move is underway in the Michigan Legislature on a bill that environmentalists say will open a wide door for caged fish farming in the Great Lakes. Supporters of so-called “net pen” fish farming say it’s a way to turn Michigan into a much larger fish producer. Supporters include State …

Bills introduced in Lansing would make it more difficult to designate historic districts in Michigan. The bills would update the 1970 Historic Districts Act to give the local public more influence in the process of establishing and keeping the districts. Currently, new historic districts are determined by commissions at the …

A new phone scam is targeting residents in the area. The Michigan State Police say a Calumet resident received a phone call from a number listed as Aspirus Keweenaw. The caller stated that the resident had been selected to have their debt forgiven. The called informed the resident about always …

A South Range woman is now being charged with three felonies in connection with a robbery of the Range Lounge in South Range. 36-year-old Sasha Anderson had been charged with making a false report of felony—punishable by up to four years in prison, which was dismissed on Wednesday. Appearing in …

What better way to spend a winter weekday evening than learning a new skill, and embracing your ancestral roots? That’s what the staff at the Finnish American Heritage Center had in mind when they crafted this semester’s lineup of community enrichment programming. This term’s lineup includes several language opportunities. These …