Local News

The Portage Lake District Library’s popular 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program has gone online. The project encourages families to read to youngsters, with a goal of reaching 1,000 books before they begin kindergarten. Families can set their own pace. Along the way, kids can get a sticker from the library …

The Houghton city police department is asking for the public’s help in solving a break-in at the Suomi Restaurant. The incident took place early Sunday morning. The suspect is described as a white male in his early 20s, who was wearing eyeglasses. He may go by the name Kendrick. Images …

Former Houghton City Manager Scott MacInnes will step in as the interim CEO of the MTEC SmartZone. MacInnes will take over for Daniel Jamison, who announced his resignation September 3rd. MacInnes served as Houghton city manager for 17 years, before retiring in 2014. Since then, he has worked as a …

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed another event at the Calumet Theatre. The Red Metal Music Fest benefit scheduled for November 7th has been canceled. Executive Director Marlin Lee said those who purchased tickets have three options – turning the ticket purchase into a donation to the theatre, exchanging the tickets …

The flow of red ink slowed a bit for Cleveland-Cliffs in the third quarter. The mining giant reported $150 million in positive cash flow on total revenues of $1.6 billion. Some charge-offs still resulted in two-cent loss per diluted share. Cleveland-Cliffs has lost $155 million in the first three quarters …

Local veterans can get free flu shots tomorrow. The drive-up flu shot session will be open between 8:30 and 2:00 at the Hancock VA Clinic. No appointment is necessary.  Veterans may also request a flu shot at their regularly scheduled VA appointments. And, this year, they can get flu shots …

Michigan set a new, single-day record for COVID-19 diagnoses Saturday, with more than 3,300 reported. That dwarfs the numbers we saw last spring, in which the seven-day rolling average peaked at half that. The Saturday surge pushed the current seven-day rolling average to 1,876 diagnoses per day. In a statement …

School districts in Ontonagon and Gogebic Counties will suspend all face-to-face instruction and other activities, beginning today. The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department recommended the move, as the two counties have seen increased COVID-19 numbers. Online instruction will continue. Officials hope to resume in-person instruction November 9th. Gogebic Community College’s …

Aspirus says it’s handling the COVID-19 load at its facilities in the Western U.P. and northern Wisconsin – for now. In Wausau on Friday, Aspirus President and CEO Matt Heywood said their testing results showed a marked increase in cases several weeks ago, and levels have remained high ever since. …

Officials believe a drunk driver was responsible for a traffic crash in Marquette County that killed one man, and severely injured a child. The crash occurred on M-553, just south of Marquette Mountain, around 5:30 Friday afternoon. The preliminary investigation by the Michigan State Police indicates a southbound vehicle driven …