Local News

Authorities in the eastern Upper Peninsula are trying to track down around 50 men who gathered for a retreat last weekend. A person with an active case of COVID-19 attended the gathering, which took place at the United Methodist Church in Pickford. Others who attended are at risk, but leaders …

Houghton County schools will resume face to face instruction this morning. With revised state rules in place, all students will be required to wear masks at almost all times at school facilities, including inside classrooms. Mask-optional policies enacted earlier by some local school districts are no longer valid. Similar restrictions …

Enrollment is down at Michigan Tech this year, but not as much as had been feared, given the challenges posed by COVID-19. Vice President for University Relations and Enrollment John Lehman told the Board of Trustees this morning that total enrollment is off by 170 students, with the foreign student …

Extended unemployment benefits for Michigan residents would continue under a bill passed by the state senate yesterday. Most of the provisions would remain the same as those included in Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order, which was recently struck down by the Michigan Supreme Court. One exception is that recipients would …

K-12 school students in Houghton County may return to the classroom on Monday. The decision was finalized by the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department yesterday afternoon. Health Officer Kate Beer said that COVID-19 infection rates have begun to moderate – falling from a high of 78 per hundred thousand residents …

Houghton County school will be allowed to resume in-person instruction beginning Monday. Although some districts had made announcements to that effect as early as Wednesday, the final green light from the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department wasn’t given until Thursday afternoon. Here is the release from the Western U.P. Health …

UPDATE: Zephaniah Luke Phillips was located in Copper Harbor Thursday evening. The Baraga County Sheriff’s Department is looking for a missing man. Officials say 21-year-old Zephaniah Luke Phillips was last seen on Monday night around 10:15, heading south on the Skanee Road toward L’Anse, after leaving The Finns. Phillips also …

The next Michigan Tech virtual COVID-19 Community Town Hall takes place this evening. This week’s topic is “The Importance of Staying Physically Active during the COVID-19 Pandemic.” Guests will include sports medicine physician Dr. Keri Denay, UP Health System Portage Health and Fitness Manager Angela Luskin, and MTU alum Steve …

Pheasant hunters won’t get much help from the state this fall. Because of COVID-19 budget cuts, no Department of Natural Resources Pheasant Hunting Initiative pheasant releases will take place during the upcoming hunting season. Budget reductions over the past several months have also limited the DNR’s ability to collect information …

There’s federal money coming to help local growers deliver food to low income residents in our region. A $746,480 grant to Michigan State University will be used to strengthen local food economies in the Upper Peninsula, and in Battle Creek. Jamie Rahrig with the MSU Center for Regional Food System …