Applications for the Tiny News Collective opened this week, and I’ve been spending a lot of time with it. If accepted, Tiny News Collective has a great program that promises to train and support me for a couple of years until I’m ready to run a nonprofit with less support, at which point they’ll “graduate” the nonprofit to independence.

While I’m capable of doing journalism, running a business requires legal, financial, and business knowledge that I don’t have, and don’t want to spend too much time gathering. So Tiny News Collective is a great opportunity.

This month’s Patreon Q&A will be a sort of workshop for a part of that application. Tiny News Collective wants to know more about the community, and I feel I have a window into that community already, through Late Edition. It will also be a chance for participants to talk to me about different things I’ve done with Late Edition that might be carried forward into the nonprofit.

While the regular, monthly Q&A is meant for Patreon subscribers, I feel it’s important to collect a broad swath of opinions and viewpoints in this community canvas. If you’d like to attend without becoming a Patreon subscriber, send me an email or Facebook message, and I’ll find a way to include you.

Recognizing Women in History

Our Women’s History Month column this week is from Dr. Elizabeth Benyi, who practices general surgery at Aspirus Keweenaw Hospital.

She highlights the overlooked history of women in sports and puts the spotlight on a couple of stand-out women in Michigan sports history.

[Click here to read her article]

Sunshine Calendar

I’ve been planning and starting work on the Late Edition Sunshine Calendar for a couple of weeks now. It’s still a work in progress, but I have enough of it together that I wanted to share it with you.

You may have noticed that when you go to LateEdition.Live to read a story, there are three horizontal lines in the top-left corner. That’s actually the website menu! I like a simple style, and until now there hasn’t been much in there worth highlighting. But the top option in the menu is the Sunshine Calendar.

Unlike most community event calendars, this one is aimed at meetings that fall under the umbrella of the Open Meetings Act. This week, the Hancock City Council met. If you go to March 17 on the calendar, you can find an event for the meeting that includes a recording of the Zoom meeting and the board informational packet.

The most interesting thing that was discussed this week concerned the grant-funded purchase of waterfront property in order to extend the Hancock waterfront trail along Navy Street. They ended up tabling it.

My intention is to maintain this calendar for the cities of Hancock and Houghton, and the Houghton County Board of Commissioners. Hopefully, I’ll be able to expand to more public bodies as the process becomes streamlined. Complicating the project will be the public body’s reluctance to continue Zoom meetings next month. It doesn’t stop me from recording video, but it does make it significantly more difficult.

I could use help growing this calendar, if there’s a public body you already keep tabs on and you want to help get them on the Sunshine Calendar, let me know! I can help you learn how to record a public meeting and work to get the board information packets regularly, too.

[Click here to check out the in-progress Sunshine Calendar]

Are Ontonagon’s management woes seeing a turn-around?

Ontonagon recently let their manager go, and at a budget meeting earlier this month discovered there was even more going neglected than they were previously aware of. They’ve appointed interim management, who has managed to recoup some of what has been lost.

[Click here to read more]

Hey, that’s neat

Remember those Mercator projection maps in every classroom that we’re eventually told stretch certain countries out to disproportionate sizes?

Here’s what one would look like if it was perfectly centered on the United States.

Engaging Data created an interactive simulation of different global map projections, and it’s not only a great way of showing how different two-dimensional representations of our globe distort our perceptions, but it’s also fun.

[Click here to check it out for yourself]

The Foilies recognize the year’s worst in domestic government transparency.

This year, various government agencies were “recognized” for excessive delays, outrageous redactions, bloated fees, “doxxing” and suing of filers, and silly excuses when documents were legally requested of them.

Journalists regularly do the work of dragging governments back into the light as they try to shrink into the shadows. During Sunshine Week, we try to shine a light on that fight.

[Click here to see The Foilies on MuckRock.com]

Aggregated News - Endorsed, not sponsored

These are articles (and the occasional podcast) I’ve found that I thought should be shared. None of the work is my own, but it comes from colleagues and organizations that I find generally trustworthy, or am personally a member of.

Click on the headline to be taken to the story.

Group details ballot bill to open gov, lawmakers to FOIA

These ballot proposals would go a long way to increase the Michigan government’s transparency. Not that it would take much, we’re ranked worst in the USA.

Uncertain future for Michigan wolves

Nicholas Wilson wrote this extensive article for Keweenaw Now that highlights the scientifically-backed environmental aspects of a wolf hunt in Michigan.

Call for portraits, from self-portraits to pet-portraits

The Copper Country Community Arts Center is preparing a community show of portraits open to anyone. This is a great chance to show off some recent work or try your hand at something new. Exhibition to take place in April.

Celebrating Food in the Keweenaw

MTU’s Research blog put together a short story about the Western Upper Peninsula Food Systems Collaborative’s Food Stories Photo Contest. Some really great shots of local food in the making here.

Why Georgia attack spurs fears in Asian Americans

From the AP: “As details emerge, many members of the Asian American community see the Georgia killings as a haunting reminder of harassment and assaults that have been occurring from coast to coast.”

Michigan has 5th-highest virus rate in US over past week

Even as our vaccination rate climbs, the work we’ve done in the last weeks to keep the COVID-19 virus under control is already being undone.

Can’t get along? Ask a Canadian, maybe?

From the AP: “Leaders of a northern Michigan town desperate for peace have voted to chip in to hire a Canadian man who specializes in healing public conflicts.”

MTU’s In Conversation series

This series of talks in March and April promises to be interesting. Any brief description won’t do it justice, if you have an interest in attending talks of any kind, you should browse this schedule.

If you don’t already get this weekly email sent directly to you, hit the below button to get it weekly. I make every effort to send it out Saturday night so you can read it with breakfast on Sunday.