Local News

State Representative Greg Markkanen has introduced a plan to restore funding for critical access hospitals that was axed from this year’s budget by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The money supports 35 hospitals in rural areas where alternate care may be many miles away. On Monday’s Morning Coffee program on KBear 102.3, …

Non-union hourly and salaried employees of the CLK School District will receive a modest raise this year. At last night’s meeting, the Board of Education approved a 1.25 percent increase. The Board also appointed Philip Halonen to fill out an unexpired term, and named Jason Wickstrom as vice-president. Amy Gonigam …

Hearings will take place in Detroit today and tomorrow in the lawsuit filed by a Houghton business owner who is trying to overturn Michigan’s ban on selling flavored, nicotine-based vaping products. 906 Vapor’s Mark Slis filed the suit in Houghton County after Governor Gretchen Whitemer announced the ban several weeks …

A move in Lansing to limit the scope of practice of Licensed Professional Counselors could affect the availability of mental health treatment in the Copper Country. The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs wants to prevent LPCs from diagnosing and using psychiatric procedures to treat patients in a clinical …

It’s not cheap to gear up for a Copper Country winter, especially if you have kids. The Salvation Army in Hancock is preparing to lend a hand with a winter coat drive… That’s recently-arrived Envoy Brenda DeLacy, who tells us their Koats for Kids drive can also use other winter …

Birds have trouble figuring out windows. Because they don’t understand the concept of clear glass, flying headfirst into window panes is one of the leading causes of accidental bird deaths. The trouble has been particularly bad at the Portage Lake District Library – located right along the Houghton waterfront, with …

Baraga Village President Wendell Dompier has been re-elected to the board of directors of the Michigan Association of Mayors. Dompier, Lee Kilbourn of  Auburn, and James Rynberg of Fremont will each serve three year terms. The Michigan Association of Mayors includes the elected leaders of more than 100 Michigan cities, …

The water in Lake Superior continues to rise. The level of the big lake usually drops in autumn, but frequent rains have kept water near record levels. In September, the Army Corps of Engineers reported that the Lake Superior water rose by an inch. In an average year, it would …

An Iron River man has been arrested following a stabbing yesterday morning. The Iron River Police Department was called out to a gas station shortly before 8:00 yesterday. They met the victim, who had a puncture wound and a cut on his face, and superficial stab wounds on his abdomen. …

In the Copper Country over the past 24 hours, Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist wasn’t making any promises about restoring state budget money headed for our area that was cut by Governor Gretchen Whitmer… Nor was he ruling it out… And, as far as the money for rural hospitals that was …