Local News

Mass City and Greenland will welcome Santa with a parade of lights Saturday. Area residents are invited to decorate their vehicles, and meet at the Mass City Fire Department at 5:45. Santa will lead the parade to Greenland, and will then greet children in a safe, drive-by format at the …

The Northern Michigan University Alumni Association is accepting nominations for its annual alumni awards program. Graduates will be honored during the 2021 Homecoming celebration in four categories…• The Distinguished Alumni Award is the highest honor.• The Alumni Achievement Award recognizes graduates who have notable professional achievements on a local or …

The public could get its first look at Houghton’s proposed Lakeshore Drive Redevelopment Project on December 15th. The Houghton city council, planning commission and downtown development authority have scheduled a joint meeting. The actual purpose of the session is to fulfill a requirement set by a program that maintains the …

Sunday’s Finnish Independence Day celebration in Hancock will be downscaled because of COVID-19 restrictions. Jim Kurtti from the Finnish-American Heritage Center says the plan is to replicate the silent, memorial parades that are held in many Finnish communities… “It’s a very dramatic thing, because it’s dark in Finland when they …

The COVID-19 spotlight has shifted back to Houghton County. After a dropoff in diagnoses over the Thanksgiving Weekend, last night’s report from the Upper Peninsula Health Department includes a whopping 139 more confirmed positives across the five-county area, and another 62 probable cases since the last update was released Monday …

Michigan Tech will hold its final online COVID-19 Town Hall discussion tonight. The topic will be “Health Disparities and COVID-19.” After an update on the virus situation in the community, two guests will discuss the national and international disparities in the effect of the virus, and how developing nations are …

The Upper Peninsula’s CBS affiliate has been removed from the Dish Network satellite television lineup. WJMN-TV is one of 164 local stations across the U.S. that were pulled when Dish couldn’t reach an agreement with Nexstar, the nation’s largest television broadcaster. Superstation WGN is also blacked out. It is also …

The Houghton City Council has set a public hearing date for two controversial proposed zoning changes. Both parcels are located off the Canal Road, near the mouth of Coles Creek. Both are currently zoned residential. One parcel is owned by Jon Rector, who operates the Isle Royale Seaplane Service. He’s …

The operators of the Rock House/Mine Shaft in Houghton are scheduled to face an administrative law judge tomorrow to defend their defiance of Michigan’s current pandemic order. The Michigan Liquor Control Commission suspended the Rock House liquor licenses last week, following reports that it hosted illegal gatherings. After tomorrow’s hearing, …

Yesterday’s Portage Health Foundation Giving Tuesday campaign produced nearly $200,000 in online donations alone. PHF Marketing and Communications Coordinator Mike Babcock reports that giving through their website reached $197,023. Donations received by check have not yet been tallied, and are sure to push the total well past $200,000. The Foundation …