Local News

Some good news greeting motorists in Houghton County on Wednesday morning. M-26 is fully reopened after a 15-day closure to replace a culvert at Quincy Creek, just north of Mason. MDOT crews were pulling barrels and other signage off of the road late Tuesday evening to get it back to …

At 12:15 Monday afternoon, a 75-year-old man died after falling into the Sturgeon River Gorge in Laird Township. Douglas Brent Welker of Pelkie slipped while hiking down a trail and stumbled over the edge of a 20-foot cliff. He hit his head at the bottom and passed away on scene. …

It has been over a decade, but driver’s education is set to make a comeback in the Houghton-Portage Township School District. Superintendent Doreen Kramer says a new hire is a certified driving instructor and that provided too good of an opportunity to pass up. She says that it is difficult …

Just after 12:20 Monday afternoon, a call came in about an injured person on Fish Cove Road in Keweenaw County’s Grant Township. A Facebook post from Ahmeek Village Volunteer Fire and Rescue does not mention the cause of the injury and the department could not be reached for comment. Lac …

Tuesday marks the start of Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “UP Jobs Tour.” She is expected to focus on small businesses throughout the region, including locally. The governor will be joined by representatives from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Last week, both MTEC SmartZone CEO David Rowe and Houghton City Manager Eric …

AAA is reporting that gas prices decreased five cents statewide last week to $3.25 per gallon. Marquette’s average, which measures all markets in the Upper Peninsula, is about a cent lower. The Copper Country has routinely trended well below that number. A check of the Gasbuddy app shows that prices …

Houghton County was a bastion of growth last decade, around two percent, amid population declines throughout the rest of the Upper Peninsula, according to the Census Bureau. Recent data suggest the good news may be understated given the scope of newer residents calling the Copper Country home. At Monday’s Board …

Pasty Fest is this Saturday and it is set to live up to its name. Main Street Calumet’s Leah Polzien says there will be more businesses and organizations selling the Cornish comfort food than ever before. It’s not all eats. There are lots of wares to peruse if you attend. …

Michigan Technological University, Finlandia University, and now Gogebic Community College’s Portage Township location all have mask mandates in effect. Gogebic was the last to announce the policy, with it being enacted this morning. The precautions come as COVID-19 begins to spread in the Western Upper Peninsula again. Following a trend …

Walking on the waterfront trail through Houghton or the Quincy Mine grounds has never sounded better. The Listen at Michigan Tech app features compositions from Adam Meckler and Libby Meyer. It is available from the Rozsa Center in the Apple App Store or Google Play. The program is “geotagged” so …