News

Houghton Rotary Club’s 30th annual BridgeFEAST fundraiser is returning to the Ray Kestner Waterfront Park in Houghton this summer, June 19th and 20th. For the second consecutive year, UP Health System-Portage is the lead sponsor, joining several other community sponsors in supporting BridgeFEAST. BridgeFEAST is the largest official fundraiser of …

Lane closures on the Portage Lake Lift Bridge means motorists will have to detour through downtown Houghton again before crossing the bridge. The contractor for the Michigan Department of Transportation will be doing deck repairs on the bridge, part of ongoing necessary maintenance work. This work will require closing the inside …

All 32 Michigan Department of Transportation roadside parks in the Upper Peninsula will be reopened for the season on Monday. U.P. roadside parks usually open in mid- to late April each year but some of those openings were delayed this year. Most parks reopened April 27. A handful had remained …

Community members in Baraga got a unique chance to learn more about cultural diversity. Baraga County TRIAD, a group dedicated to developing and implementing crime prevention and education programs for seniors, holds a conference annually to help inform the community about changes in the world and in the community itself. …

The nation’s top correctional supervisor is from the Upper Peninsula. The American Jail Association recently named Sergeant James Herrington of the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office the National Correctional Supervisor of the Year. Sergeant Herrington has been with the Marquette County Sheriff’s Office since 2005. For the last four years, Herrington …

The Michigan Senate isn’t rushing into finding a long-term funding fix for the state’s roads. Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof says lawmakers have other priorities to tend to first — like the state budget. Meekhof isn’t ruling out a tax increase as a possible solution and also expects lawmakers to spend …

State lawmakers have introduced a bill that would require that the state compensate the wrongfully convicted. Democrats, Senator Steve Bieda and Representative Stephanie Chang, announced legislation Thursday that would create the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act. Bieda says the state currently offers nothing to exonerees, but under his bill the state …

The Michigan House has unanimously approved a bill that would do-away with a fee parents who wanted to adopt had to pay to be added to a statewide database. The fee, $100 up front and $50 a year, was becoming a disincentive for parents who wanted to adopt foster children …

The Michigan House, by an overwhelming margin, has approved legislation prohibiting new Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) tax credit agreements. The MEGA program had been blamed for what was called an unexpected $9 billion tax liability to the state. MEGA agreements offer big tax credits to businesses that locate in Michigan …

The Michigan Senate is set to become “Ground Central” for the prevailing wage debate next week. Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof says a bill to repeal the state’s prevailing wage act, which requires contractors to pay union wages and benefits to workers on government funded projects, will go before a …