News

Upwards of 2,000 people are expected to descend on Ontonagon between now and Sunday during the village’s 65th annual Labor Day Festival. Organizer Tanya Weisinger says this year’s event is scheduled as normal. Businesses welcome out-of-town visitors for one final gasp of summer on the shores of Lake Superior. River …

The Copper Island Academy welcomed in new student and families on Wednesday for the schools first open house. CIA enrolls just over 300 students, with some slots still open. School Principal, Steve Aho, said that they want to get students outside more. The school is basing some of their curriculum …

Every three years the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department sends out community health surveys as part of a larger effort to ensure public health programs across the region meet the needs of residents. Recipients are randomly chosen. In a bid to get as many coming back as possible, thus enhancing …

Crews were using a crane Tuesday afternoon to put a bulkhead into place on a hydroelectric dam in Mastodon Township when the ordinary became fatal. The boom snapped and a cable struck a superintendent on site, killing him. Forty-eight-year-old Neil Boser of Hillman, Minnesota worked for Waterworks Marine out of …

The Kent District Library announced yesterday was the start of the Write Michigan Short Story Competition. And Hancock Schools Public Library will be the liaison for the Upper Peninsula’s authors. The competition encourages kids, and adults, to get their creative juices going and write up to 3,000 word stories. Library …

The enhanced federal unemployment benefits that have been in place since last year end this weekend. Debb Brunell of Michigan Works! says her organization has yet to see an uptick in people coming into the office to dip their toes back into the labor pool. Brunell says it is not …

UPDATE: Hancock finished in sixth place, one spot away from the cash prize. There is plenty to be excited about for Hancock’s new dog park, but the milk bone on top of the frosty paw sundae remains just out of reach. Petsafe announced its Bark For Your Park contest winners …

M-STEP standardized test scores were released earlier this week, and in some cases they represented a pleasant surprise. For the state as a whole, scores were down across the board in reading and math for grades three through eight. Many districts had trouble getting students to show up after they …

Thanks to a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the City of Hancock’s Fire Hall will have a new generator soon. The council approved Erico Electric’s bid to install the potentially life saving power backup for a little over $42,000. Manager Mary Babcock says that the federal agency is …

During Sunday’s Copper Country Today, MTU Associate Professor Sigrid Resh discussed the Keweenaw Invasive Management Species Area, and where it finds funding for its activities. Resh says that over the summer three projects supported the employment of nine students. KISMA works near Lake Gratiot, the Swedetown Trail System, and many …