Local News

Flags at Michigan governmental facilities will fly at half staff for the next 10 days. Governor Gretchen Whitmer gave the order to commemorate the more than 10,000 state residents who have died from the COVID-19 pandemic. One out of every 1,000 Michigan citizens has now died from the virus. 5,909 …

The State of Michigan is sending nearly $2.5 million to help low-income families in the Upper Peninsula and the northern Lower Peninsula pay their home heating bills this winter. The Michigan Energy Assistance Program grant to the Superior Watershed Partnership is funded by a monthly surcharge assessed by participating utilities. …

Court proceedings are advancing in cases involving alleged sexual abuse by a former Upper Peninsula priest. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office reports that Gary Jacobs will face a pretrial hearing December 18th before Judge Michael Pope in Ontonagon County Circuit Court. Last week, a motion to suppress a confession …

From the Portage Lake District Library: The Portage Lake District Library is launching a new winter reading program, with a kick-off date of Monday, December 7. The program will challenge junior level readers, teens, and adults to read 5 books or more over the next several months. This year, the …

Northern Michigan University saluted more than 1,600 recent graduates at a virtual ceremony yesterday. NMU Board of Trustees Chair Steve Mitchell acknowledged that students’ final months may not have been what they had hoped for… “You were cheated out of parties in the spring, going to the bars with your …

Michigan set another new daily record for COVID-19 diagnoses Friday, as 8,689 confirmed cases were reported across the state. 81 deaths were reported Friday, following the 175 that were logged on Thursday. As of Friday afternoon, 389,032 Michiganders have contracted the virus, and 9,661 have died since the pandemic began. …

Residents of Baraga County and the surrounding area will be able to get more of their cancer examinations and treatments closer to home. Aspirus has expanded its oncology partnership with Baraga County Memorial Hospital. Aspirus Oncologist and Hematologist Dr. Divis Khaira and Aspirus Physician Assistant Audrea Williams are now seeing …

The Upper Peninsula Substance Enforcement Team was busy last week. On Wednesday, detectives received information that a known drug user recently purchased some household products that could be used in combination to manufacture methamphetamine. The suspect was located at a cabin in Ishpeming Township. He was arrested for possession of …

Michigan Tech has begun composting its food waste. Tech Today reports that a composting unit has been installed in the Wadsworth Hall kitchen. It’s about the size of a washing machine, and can process up to 250 pounds of food in a 12-to-15-hour cycle. The result is a dry, granular …

A young red-tailed hawk will be released back to the wild Saturday near L’Anse.  Officials from the Chocolay Raptor Center say the hawk was rescued in that area just over a month ago. It was unable to fly. An exam by raptor rehab expert Beth Maata revealed that the hawk …