Local News

The seventh annual Ride Against Abuse Community Awareness Event for the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home will begin tonight at 6:00 at the Calumet AmericInn. The event will start with a ceremony to remember victims and celebrate survivors. Participants will ride their motorcycles from Calumet along M-26 through Lake Linden …

Lots of Copper Country residents turned out Saturday for free COVID-19 tests. Western Upper Peninsula Health Department Health Officer Kate Beer said they were nearly overwhelmed… [BEER B]. “We had scheduled about 500 tests today, and I believe we’re going to hit the 600 mark rather easily.” In fact, with …

This year’s first Eastern Equine Encephalitis diagnosis has been recorded in the Copper Country. A horse in Baraga County tested positive for the virus. EEE is carried by mosquitoes, and can be transmitted to humans through mosquito bites. Cases are rare, but more than a third of those who become …

The KBIC fall cleanup begins today. The L’Anse District will be covered this week, and the Baraga District next week. Items to be picked up should be left at the curb by 7:00 am. There is no need to register. Only Tribal households will be served. Businesses will not be …

UPDATED to include Whitmer response. The Michigan Supreme Court today struck down Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s executive orders governing the state’s emergency COVID-19 response. In a 4-3 decision, justices ruled that Whitmer’s use of the 1945 Emergency Powers of Governor Act was inappropriate,, and the act itself is an “unlawful delegation …

From the State of Michigan: After a recent surge in COVID-19 cases in the Upper Peninsula, or MERC Region 8, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-192 moving the region back to phase 4 of the MI Safe Start Plan. The executive order will go into effect Friday, October 9 at 12:01am, although given the surge in …

As received from Aspirus: Aspirus is re-instating tighter visitor restrictions at its locations across Upper Michigan and Wisconsin to minimize the spread of respiratory infections like COVID-19, influenza, and RSV. Aspirus’ temporary visitor restrictions, which will be fully implemented before the weekend, apply to both inpatient and outpatient settings to protect …

With COVID-19 cases increasing rapidly in the Copper Country, free testing will be offered Saturday, October 2nd. Anyone who wants a test can get one between 9:00 and 2:00 at the Gates Tennis Center at Michigan Tech. No appointment, prescription or doctor’s order will be needed. Participants are encouraged to …

COVID-19 numbers in the Copper Country keep climbing. The Western U.P. Health Department reported 93 more positive cases and three more deaths across its five-county service area in the past week. 76 of those positives, and two deaths, were in Houghton County. The third death was in Baraga County, which …

At its special budget meeting earlier this week, the Houghton County Board of Commissioners encouraged residents to do their part to help control the pandemic. The board’s resolution noted that prevention methods such as mask wearing, social distancing and handwashing are simple, cheap, and effective. It acknowledges that most residents …