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Editorial

Upper Peninsula fire risk is high; be careful out there

Warm, dry weather and windy conditions are expected in the Upper Peninsula over the next few days, boosting the risk of a wildfire. "Grasses have dried out and leaves are starting to drop, which adds a layer of fuel that can feed and speed the spread of a wildfire," Paul Rogers, fire prevention specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, said in a news release. "Make sure to check for a burn permit before you burn any yard debris and be careful of heat or sparks from equipment and off-road vehicles." Unseasonably warm temperatures reaching the 70s and strong southerly ...

Helen Dymond search: Never say never

Let's be clear. Forty-five years is an extraordinarily long time to live with an unanswered question. Yet for the family, friends and community of Helen Dymond, the question has never gone away: What happened to her? Dymond disappeared in 1981 after leaving a party at the Tilden Township Club to walk home. She was never seen again. No one was arrested in connection with her disappearance, and despite the passage of decades, the case remains unresolved. That alone is reason enough to keep looking. But the recent search of property in Negaunee demonstrates something equally important: ...

Guest column

Michigan is one of roughly half of the states in the country that allows citizens to collect signatures for voters to consider approving a law on the November statewide ballot. A certain threshold of signatures is required, as well as approval from the state's board of canvassers. This year, voters will have a campaign finance law to consider — known as Prop 2 — that would prohibit many companies with government contracts, as well as state regulated utility companies, from making contributions to policymakers. The only other proposal facing voters is whether to hold a constitutional ...

Discussion on data centers worth attending

If there is one thing a community should not do when it is faced with a potentially significant development, it is wait until the decisions have already been made before asking questions. That is why Marquette County residents should make an effort to attend tonight’s community informational session on data centers, hosted by the Lake Superior Community Partnership from 6-7:30 p.m. at Peter White Public Library. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The subject may seem highly technical. Data centers are facilities built to house the computer systems and infrastructure that power an increasingly ...

Guest editorial

Being a journalist isn’t a sure path to popularity. But we journalists don’t go into the profession to make new besties. Rather, to paraphrase William Shakespeare, we journalists have always suffered the slings and arrows of outraged people, and we still do. In recent years, however, it seems like individual journalists – not just their newspaper, broadcast or online outlet – are targets of snarky, snide, contemptuous, coarse and sometimes threatening remarks by people and institutions unhappy with how they do their jobs. President Donald Trump tells a Bloomberg News ...

AAA: Fall’s the time of year to beware of deer

Fall is the most dangerous time of year for deer-related crashes, AAA warns. Deer-vehicle collisions peak between October and December during mating season, with more than 1.5 million crashes occurring annually, resulting in roughly $1 billion in vehicle damage and about 150 human fatalities, AAA advises. In fact, deaths from collisions with animals — mostly deer — increased from 89 in 1975 to 210 in 2024, according to AAA. Drivers face the greatest risk at dawn and dusk, particularly on rural roads near wooded areas, waterways and farmland, AAA advises. All of which the Upper ...