Local News

The U.P Regional Blood Center is still in need of all types of blood. Rachel Heath, Coordinator of Blood Collections asked for help, from people who are able to donate. The U.P. Regional Blood Center supplies 13 UP Hospitals. Hancock has a collection site. Please donate if you can.  

Houghton-Portage Township School District will continue providing breakfast and lunch for students, beginning Wednesday, March 18th. Contact the school office at 906-369-0449, for instructions on how to take advantage of this. The Baraga, L’Anse and CLK School Districts are working out the logistics for staffing, inventory and distribution, as the …

Starting at 3pm today, all Michigan Bars and Restaurants will close. Carry-out services will still be available. This is in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Other businesses ordered closed are clubs, movie theaters, fitness centers and indoor and outdoor performance venues. The order to shut down does not include office …

Houghton’s WalMart Superstore, which is normally open 24 hours, will now be on reduced hours until further notice. According to management, the store will be open from 6a til 11pm, giving employees time to disinfect the store, as well as get the store caught up, as the COVID-19 outbreak left …

A quick note from the City of Hancock, City Offices will close at noon today, so employees can attend funeral services for City Manager Barry Givens, who passed away last Monday. Regular hours will resume Tuesday, the 17th. 

In more COVID-19 outbreak news, Michigan Secretary of State Offices have switched to appointment only, for the next three weeks. It is advised you schedule your appointments now to avoid long waits, and also remember, most Secretary of State transactions can be completed online. Only new driver’s licenses/state ID’s, title …

All K-12 schools in Michigan are now closed until April 5th, in hopes of slowing the spread of the virus. Governor Whitmer closed the schools in a press conference last week. Some schools will be giving out homework assignments online, and some school districts are working on a plan to …

Michigan now has 53 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 Virus. To date, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula still has no known cases, although several people from the Copper Country have been tested, and are awaiting results. In other COVID-19 news, the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department has established a call center to …

Yesterday Governor Whitmer held a press conference, outlining the latest efforts taken by the state, to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. Governor Whitmer advised  residents to assume they have the virus, and act accordingly. The Governor also stated this outbreak is a challenge, and fighting it, has created significant, but temporary …

The Michigan Department of Corrections has suspended visitations to all state prisons, including volunteers and groups, which routinely visit prisons. So far, none of Michigan’s reported 12 cases of COVID-19, have been traced to a correctional facility, and prison officials, would like to keep it that way. The Department of …