Local News

Heikinpäivä activities begin this week.  After two years off because of COVID-19 issues, the mid-winter celebration is back. Opening events include a two-part inkle band weaving class that starts Wednesday, and additional enrichment classes through the month. While the schedule includes many of the traditional activities, Jim Kurtti of the …

Ice cover is developing slowly on Lake Superior this winter. The latest map issued yesterday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows just four percent of the lake surface frozen – mostly in shallow areas near Duluth, Ashland, and Thunder Bay. That’s just a third of the amount of …

Gasoline prices continue to rise. AAA Michigan’s ongoing survey puts the statewide average price of a gallon of unleaded regular at $3.32 this morning. That’s 14 cents higher than a week ago, and basically the same price as a month ago. Prices on the Keweenaw Peninsula continue to be among …

A veteran Heikinpäivä organizer will reign over this year’s event as the 2023 Hankookin Heikki. Mary Aho Brunet was awarded the honor this year, as the mid-winter festival returns after a COVID-19 hiatus.  Jim Kurtti from the Finnish Theme Committee said Brunet will be featured in an event she usually …

As preparations begin for this year’s Winter Carnival snow statue competition, some nationally-recognized experts will visit the area to offer some advice. The group Sculptora Borealis will be in town this weekend, and has set up several sessions that are open not only to Michigan Tech students, but to all …

High school students from across the Copper Country will be dancing for fun, and for a good cause, tomorrow night. The Copper Country Snow Ball semiformal has been put together by seniors at Houghton High School. Organizer Stella Wickstrom thinks it will be a unique opportunity for students… Most schools …

Approximately 150 soldiers assigned to the Michigan Army National Guard Headquarters 107th Engineer Battalion are preparing for an overseas deployment. The 107th is based in Ishpeming and Marquette. The unit is scheduled to spend up to a year in southwest Asia. They’ll be part of Operation Spartan Shield, with a …

A Michigan Tech fraternity donated nearly 2,000 dollars to Dial Help, from a recent philanthropy event. Yesterday the crisis hotline provider announced they received 1,916 dollars from the Sigma Pi Fraternity – Zeta Epsilon chapter. Sigma Pi explained that they wanted to help support Dial Help due to the growing …

One year later Isiah Strieter has been sentenced for his mother’s murder. Judge Charles Goodman presided over the courtroom in Houghton County 12th Circuit Court this morning. Strieter has been sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison for the murder of, Ashley Harvey, in January 2022. He is convicted …

Non-union employees of the City of Hancock will receive a four percent raise this year.  The increase was approved at last night’s city council meeting, and follows the city’s usual practice of keeping non-union pay increases in line with increases granted to union workers. The city will continue to make …