Local News

Included in the latest federal stimulus bill is money set aside to specifically help out the ailing restaurant industry. Local eateries began submitting applications to the Small Business Administration’s Restaurant Revitalization Fund this week. Jeff Ratcliffe, Executive Director of the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance, says the process is going more …

Gogebic Community College will host a virtual ceremony Friday night to honor its graduating class. Nearly 175 people will be recognized from the school’s Ironwood and Portage Township campuses. Seventy-nine of those are doing so with a GPA of 3.50 or above. GCC’s plans are somewhere in between what Finlandia …

Chairman Tom Merz looked at public input on the parking deck that was collated by city staff following the subcommittee’s last meeting, and pushed the group to begin narrowing down potential options for the aging structure. Using the outline created by City Manager Eric Waara that served previously as a …

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced a loosening of the state’s mask mandate for smaller outdoor gatherings, and athletes will be tested less beginning Thursday. The move comes as the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said 50 percent of eligible adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine. …

The Road Commissions of Houghton, Baraga, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties put out a joint statement advising that load restrictions will be taken off of local roads Thursday morning at 8:00 AM. MDOT restored normal weight limits on Monday for state and federal highways. Engineer Kevin Harju says the discrepancy has …

All new sheriffs participated in a conference downstate, including the top cops in Keweenaw and Baraga Counties. The gathering was hosted by the Michigan Sheriff’s Association, with Curt Pennala and Joe Brogan in attendance. Pennala says it was very informative and got him thinking about some issues that weren’t initially …

Calumet’s Zander Worm earned a state medal in the SkillsUSA Overall Automobile competition. Worm was the winner at the regional level in a contest that requires both a hand-on diagnostic performance as well as a written component. At states Worm had to properly evaluate an electrical board. Automotive Lab instructor …

The Houghton Planning Commission’s Master Plan subcommittee met Monday afternoon to look at how to strategically increase population density closer to Michigan Tech’s campus. The thought is that if students move closer to the university, that will free up the neighborhoods throughout the rest of the city to revert back …

The Copper Country Intermediate School District is celebrating what it terms Educator Appreciation Week. Superintendent George Stockero says he prefers that title to Teacher Appreciation Week because it better highlights the role that all staff have in preparing students for the future. Stockero says the district has been hard at …

The City of Houghton has put out a call for residents interested in participating in a Charrette Ready workshop at the end of June focused on downtown development. You have to be a resident of the city, an employee of a downtown business, someone who lives downtown, a property owner, …