Local News

The Chartis Group has recognized UP Health System – Portage as a Top 100 Rural and Community Hospital. The company designs an algorithm that weights publicly available information, such as affordability and quality of care metrics, to determine the list. UPHS – Portage CEO Ed Freysinger says it is the …

The three Upper Peninsula smart zones are joining forces for a spring version of the Return North job fair. It will happen in a virtual setting and is free for those who are looking. Employers are responsible for a $200 payment, but Vice President of Business Development Jason Mack says …

RE/MAX Douglass Real Estate agents are beginning to prep for new home listings. The market is cyclical by nature, with spring seeing sellers begin to appear and buying peaking in the summer once kids are done with school. That didn’t happen last year as the emergence of COVID-19 threw a …

The Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home is nearly done with the moving process, and asking the public to put the “finishing touches” on the relocation. Executive Director Mary Niemela says the past year has been difficult to keep a high profile, at the same time the organization has asked for …

The World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and various doctors have raised the alarm about obesity’s magnifying effect on the severity of COVID-19. An outsized percentage of COVID deaths have occurred in countries with high rates of obesity, helping to explain why western European societies and the …

The City of Hancock originally gave notice for a council special meeting that was set to happen Thursday night. Member John Haeussler relays via email it was learned that a subject being discussed requires a public meeting to receive input prior to the council taking action on submitting an application. …

Your favorite radio stations wrapped up the Michigan Association of Broadcasters awards presentations with two additional merit plaques. KBear 102.3 nabbed a trophy Thursday for Best Special Show Broadcast for our deer hunters’ roundup coverage. On Friday, Keweenaw Report was recognized for its October 14th newscast. The lead segment was …

Finlandia University seniors will have an opportunity to walk across the stage at graduation this year. When they switch the tassel from one side of their cap to the other, they will be doing so only in front of fellow students and faculty though. The hybrid ceremony contains a video …

Michigan notched another decline in its unemployment rate for February, but for the wrong reasons. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget reports, “The state’s labor force experienced a second consecutive month of labor force withdrawal, down by 42,000, in February.” Throughout the decades the definition of someone who …

Thursday’s COVID-19 update from the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department was a mixed bag. First, the good news is that cases in Houghton County dropped from the prior update, falling from 30 to 27. Baraga and Keweenaw Counties saw seven new cases though so the area total jumped to 34 …