This year Heikinpäivä is scheduled for January 25th but the celebration begins today in Hancock. All this month, there will be activities and festival events to celebrate Heikinpäivä, the day of the passing of Findland’s St. Henry and the midpoint of winter. All leading up to the Heikinpäivä parade. Finnish …

More than 1300 UPPCO customers are breathing a sigh of relief after a lengthy power outage yesterday left them in the dark and without heat for almost nine hours. The outage effected almost 90 percent of communities in Ahmeek, Allouez, Copper City, Kearsarge, Mohawk and New Allouez and was caused …

The first city council meeting for the city of Houghton was a productive one, as some of the first proposals of 2014 were accepted. City Manager Scott MacInnes said 2013 was a good year for the city.  The first two approved resolutions of the new year deal with deficit elimination …

A Hancock man facing criminal sexual conduct charges is having his case bound over to Circuit Court. 37 year old Michael Kangas had a preliminary exam in Houghton County District Court yesterday. He’s charged with three counts of second-degree CSC. Two of the counts are said to involve separate incidents …

Insurers in Michigan say the past seven weeks of winter weather has resulted in a dramatic increase in auto and property insurance claims in Michigan. And with the increase in claims there’s always the chance it could mean higher insurance premiums. The Insurance Institute of Michigan says however it’s too …

The Sierra Club Michigan Chapter released its first gubernatorial scorecard Wednesday, that evaluates Rick Snyder’s performance on energy, environment, good government and related issues during his first three years as governor. Sierra Club Political Chairman Richard Barron says Governor Snyder scored a “somewhat pathetic” 22-percent reflecting a failing grade on …

Health officials continue to urge Michigan residents to get a flu vaccination, as influenza activity continues to rise. The Michigan Department of Community Health says there has been an increase in hospitalizations from the flu in every age group and at least six deaths have been reported this flu season. …

Taxpayers have footed the bill for more than $200,000 to assist a single controversial cattle farmer in the western Upper Peninsula against wolf attacks. That’s according to newly obtained documents by Mlive.com. The documents detail a Department of Natural Resources memorandum that shows growing frustration with 68-year-old John Koski, well …

Assistance to low-income utility customers in the U.P. will be available due to a grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission. SEMCO, the Salvation Army, Superior Watershed and TrueNorth were among the 14 organizations across the state to receive funding and will now have a chance to help those effected …

Tonight will be the first Houghton city council meeting of 2014 and there is much to discuss. Leftover from 2013 is a proposal to make amendments to the Houghton zoning code. The first two resolutions of the new year deal with deficit elimination plans, one for the Downtown Development Authority, …