News

Drug houses, derelict homes, plummeting property values–these aren’t the slums of a major city, but how some people are describing living in Hancock. Some Hancock residents spoke before the city council at Wednesday’s regular meeting to try spur the city’s leaders to do something about what they perceive is happening …

Hancock residents could vote to join the Portage Lake District Library as the result of a resolution passed by the city council Wednesday. Currently, non-district residents can pay to join the library located on the Houghton waterfront. But recently the library has proposed the Hancock elect to adopt a millage …

The case against a Hancock man accused of attacking a woman in Lake Linden is moving forward. 41-year-old Jeremy Vernon Looper waived his preliminary hearing in 97th District Court and was bound over to circuit court. Looper is charged with 1st Degree Home Invasion which is a felony punishable by …

NOTE – ACCORDING TO THE MICHIGAN STATE POLICE, SERVICE WAS RESTORED AROUND 9:00 THIS MORNING. Verizon customers in Keweenaw and Houghton counties may have some trouble getting phone service, including making 911 calls. The Michigan Public Safety Communication System says that there was a fiber optic cable cut near Bumbletown …

A pair of House Democrats want a commission to redraw legislative districts instead of the majority party in the state. State Representatives Jon Hoadley and Jeremy Moss have introduced a bill to create that commission. They say having a non-partisan group draw new maps every ten years is fairer to …

A two day session for the Michigan House came and went without any vote on a road funding plan. Republicans lawmakers, however, aren’t hanging their heads about the lack of floor action. State Representative Jeff Farrington, who chairs a special House committee on road funding, says they’re making progress in …

Measures cracking down on puppy mills in Michigan have been introduced in the Michigan House. Together, they’ll create the Puppy Protection Act. State Representative Sarah Roberts says one bill will force dog breeders to be licensed and inspected by the state and the second will require clean, safe conditions for …

A Senate committee is looking at energy reforms that would keep electric choice, however a customer could only make the choice once. Senator Mike Nofs, the bill sponsor, says a customer can choose to stay with an alternative supplier, or return to their local utility. However, they must give their …

Energy reforms being considered by state lawmakers would eliminate the state’s 10-percent renewable energy standard. State Senator Mike Nofs says the renewable energy sector has been a success story in Michigan, but now it’s time for them to prove they can compete. The standard would be gone by 2019. But …

A bill introduced at the start of the legislative session seems to be gaining a bit of traction — or at least enough traction to attract the attention of the state’s top insurance regulator. The measure, sponsored by State Representative Pete Lucido, would skim money from the Michigan Catastrophic Claims …