News

Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers will be enhancing statewide efforts to enforce snowmobile decibel level rules this winter. Noncompliance of the rules could damage Michigan’s nationally recognized trail system because 50 percent of trails pass through private land. Enhanced efforts will focus on the DNR-managed trail systems, high-use …

The public is invited to a presentation and community discussion on waste and recycling in Hancock and Houghton. Graduate students from Michigan Tech will present their report bringing together information from multiple sources about how waste and recycling are handled in Houghton and Hancock so that community members can make …

A bill that would make it easier for small native copper mines to be regulated is headed to the Michigan Senate floor. Senate Bill 591, sponsored by Senator Tom Casperson (R-Escanaba), was recommended for adoption with immediate effect by the Senate’s Natural Resources committee last week. The bill is scheduled …

The state is launching a new website designed to help Michigan’s aging drivers. Secretary of State (SOS) Ruth Johnson says the Safe Drivers Smart Options website is designed to provide resources to aging drivers and their families to keep those drivers on the road as long as possible, but to …

Two former aides of former state Representatives Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat have filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the Michigan House of Representatives. The lawsuit by former House aides Keith Allard and Ben Graham claim House Speaker Kevin Cotter’s office failed to protect them from being fired by Courser and …

Michigan’s secretary of state says linking the elimination of straight ticket voting to no-reason absentee voting might be a good idea. A bill moving through the state legislature would drop the straight ticket checkoff box from the Michigan ballot, but local and county clerks say the change will increase wait …

Debate will continue today on a package of juvenile justice system reforms at the state capitol. It’s the second round of testimony for the 20 bills before a House committee and State Representative Harvey Santana, D-Detroit, says it likely won’t be the last. Santana, who’s the lead sponsor of the …

A coalition of Michigan-based data centers is calling for a change to legislation in Lansing designed to attract a giant data center to west Michigan. The Senate last week passed bills offering data centers a break on state sales, use and property tax. The House is considering similar legislation. But …

21-year-old Matthew Shultz is off the hook for now. The Michigan Tech student from Norway, MI had been charged with Disturbing the Peace, a charge which had sparked controversy for its perceived leniency following a social media post that appeared to target the campus’s black community. Though questions about what …

It’s that time of year when Santa comes to visit and spreads his holiday cheer to the Keweenaw community. His first stop was Christmas in Calumet, where children gathered at the Vertin Gallery to tell Santa their Christmas wishes. Santa says he is very proud of kids in the Copper …