Local News

Michigan’s COVID-19 rate continues to climb. The current seven-day rolling diagnoses average stands at 2,623 per day. One of every 11 tests given is producing a positive result. The increase is statewide, but the worst outbreak continues to be in the Upper Peninsula, particularly in counties near the Wisconsin border. …

Ontonagon County has recorded its first COVID-19-related death. The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department tells us the elderly victim was an in-patient at an Upper Peninsula hospital. It is the 26th death in the five-county region since the pandemic began.

The Baraga Area School District will move exclusively to online instruction beginning Monday. In a statement released Friday, Superintendent Richard Sarau said the move had been recommended by the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department. It has been brought about by the recent spike of Covid-19 cases in the community, along …

From the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department: Ontonagon County, MI – The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department (WUPHD) has identified the Citizens State Bank of Ontonagon, located at 501 E River Street, Ontonagon, MI, as a potential exposure site for COVID-19. Dates of possible exposure run October 16 through October …

Despite advice to the contrary from the Centers for Disease Control, trick-or-treating is expected to happen across the Copper Country tomorrow. While not endorsing the tradition this year, local governments have set their usual trick-or-treating hours for those who choose to participate. In alphabetical order… • Baraga: 4:00 until 7:00 • …

Gray wolves are no longer under federal endangered species protection. The Trump Administration delisted them yesterday. That turns wolf management over to state officials. Wolves nearly disappeared from Michigan, but federal protection helped them make a comeback over the past 30 years. The current population in the U.P. is estimated …

Four more western Upper Peninsula residents have died from COVID-19 and its complications. All four recent deaths occurred in Gogebic County. They are included in the Western U.P. Health Department’s most recent summary, which was released last evening. Since the previous report was released Monday night, 83 more confirmed positives …

While many of the Copper Country’s traditional Halloween activities have been shut down by the COVID-19 pandemic, new options are still offering some seasonal fun. The annual “Haunted Mine” event at the Quincy Mine has been turned into a drive-through event. Students and staff from the MTU Department of Visual …

Two leaders of a Michigan white supremacist group that allegedly wanted to set up a racist regime in the Upper Peninsula have been arrested. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel says 25-year-old Justen Watkins of Bad Axe and 35-year-old Alfred Gorman of Taylor are leaders of a neo-Nazi organization called The …

Houghton County Clerk Jennifer Kelly has responded to a lawsuit recently filed against by an employee in the clerk’s office. Thursday afternoon, she released this statement: “While I am disappointed in my employee choosing to file her employment lawsuit a week before the busiest time of the year for our …