Local News

The current staff shortage across the nation has begun to affect areas of local government, especially with local law enforcement and emergency services. And forcing some departments to rethink how they market law enforcement to perspective officers. One thing that is helping departments such as Houghton police, are first responder …

A trial date has been set for a Covington man charged with drunk driving resulting in the death of two people. Ryan Orzechowicz, of Covington, is scheduled for a jury trial on July 10th, after waiving his rights to his circuit court arraignment on February 15th. On November 4th, Orzechowicz …

The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department board has approved the new regional health code.  Citizens expressed a wide range of opinions on the document during a public hearing last night. Contractors who install septic and sewage systems generally agreed that the new regulations will help when creating new developments in …

Iron River police are looking for the person who robbed a bank in that city yesterday morning. Officers were called to the Flagstar Bank Branch around 9:30.  Surveillance video captured images of the suspect wearing sunglasses, a yellow and black jacket with a hood, and Khaki pants. The suspect fled …

The Houghton City Planning Commission’s meeting tonight will include a public hearing regarding a request for a special use permit. NU Group, LLC, wants to open a marijuana retail outlet at 1301 Ridge Road, in the former Bambu Restaurant building. The commission could act on the request, following the hearing. …

In a rare appearance, some residents caught a glimpse of the northern lights last night night. The Keweenaw Trails Report page re-posted several facebook posts from the local area, showing photos of the Aurora Borealis as far north as Copper Harbor. One commenter even posted a photo from Alpena, in …

The Feeding American Mobile Food Pantry is set to return to Ontonagon very soon. The Portage Health Foundation plans to bring Feeding America West Michigan to the Ontonagon Fire Hall next week on  Thursday March 9th. The foundation hopes to bring the mobile food pantry back to the area at …

The Hancock Planning Commission has a couple of major items on its plate this evening. They’ll consider approving the city’s five-year capital improvement plan, and endorsing the proposed Solar and Wind Energy Ordinance. The energy ordinance would be forwarded to the city council for final consideration and improvement. The meeting …

The Western Upper Peninsula Board of Health will hold a public hearing on the new regional health code tonight. The hearing will begin at 5:30, and will be followed by the board’s regular monthly meeting at 6:00. To accommodate an anticipated larger-than-usual crowd, tonight’s meeting has been relocated to the …

The Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center in Iron Mountain welcomes a new director today. John Shealey will take over from acting director Christine Kleckner. Shealey served eight years in the U.S. Army, and has 20 years of healthcare experience in the VA and private sector. He was most recently …