Hello!
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I hope everyone has been able to enjoy the warm weather this week. I’ve gotten out for a few minutes here and there. Worked on The Lawnmower for a couple of hours on Tuesday, but it’s not up-and-running yet. Next week, hopefully. I’ll share a video with my Patreon once I get it started and I’m tuning the carburetor.
And remember, sharing is caring!
Portage Health Foundation, community organizations, pull together to fight the impacts of COVID-19
By Joshua Vissers
This is an important story. The amount of volunteerism and donations in this community is pretty huge compared to the population. That’s not an official statistic, it’s just what I feel I’ve noticed since moving here. Not only are there some unique organizations here always providing assistance, but there are even more people who step up in times of great need. Inspiring stuff.
Community group hosts garden beautification event
By Joshua Vissers
‘Growing from the Heart’, a local organization working to support local food production, is part of a series of garden-focused events this spring. This Saturday, they shared compost and helped people create garden signs like the one above.
Sunshine Calendar
This past week was the Houghton County Board of Commissioners meeting. Public comment was lively, as quite a few people attended the meeting in person to express their concerns over election security.
I recorded the live stream and added some labels along the way for your convenience.
The board passed a resolution requesting Sen. Ed McBroom investigate local election security at the end of the meeting.
The Houghton City Council also met. The bulk of their meeting was the passage of a series of resolutions and ordinances related to the ongoing water and sewer project. I attended this meeting in person to record it. The audio and video are both much better than the stream from last time, but I’m unable to add the labels like I did with Houghton County.
You can review the video and resolutions in the board packet on the Sunshine Calendar.
This coming week, Hancock City Council meets on Wednesday at 6 p.m..
Media Matters
Stopping misinformation means fixing the relationship between journalism and PR
I’m not going to try and add anything to this article, written by Jaigris Hodson for The Conversation. Not that there isn’t more to say, but this is enough.
The article highlights the typically healthy tension and changing relationship between journalists and public relations professionals.
While this isn’t something that every person needs to get involved in, it’s important to understand how the news you hear is reaching you, why it’s reaching you that way, and how that’s different than before.
Other News (aggregated, not sponsored)
You may have noticed this section has changed. In an effort to bring you more local, Upper Peninsula-centric news, I’m going to be trying to review stories from more local outlets and writers. These outlets don’t always bring top-notch journalism, but that’s not to say what they do has no value. And sometimes their writers still knock it out of the park, so credit where credit is due.
Click on the headlines to read the full story.
Michigan lifts indoor mask requirement for vaccinated people
By David Eggert and Ed White, Associated Press
People in Michigan who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 don’t need to wear a mask any longer, and people who aren’t vaccinated don’t have to wear one outdoors, officials said Friday, also declaring that the state’s indoor mask requirement will expire in July.
Twelve wind turbines planned for Houghton County
By Joshua Vissers, Late Edition
I actually published this at the beginning of March, but it came up at the Houghton County Board Meeting this week, so I thought it was worth re-sharing.
Poll: Most in US who remain unvaccinated need convincing
By Lauran Neergaard and Hannah Fingerhut, Associated Press
The poll says people need convincing, and that government-sponsored advertisements and celebrities on TV aren’t going to cut it. Talk to your family.
Starting a conversation: Houghton alums rally support for antiracism programs
By Garrett Neese, Daily Mining Gazette
Four recent alumni of Houghton-Portage Township Schools have launched an initiative to get the district to add more education on racial discrimination and social justice.
Groups sue over maneuver that weakened wage, sick time laws
By David Eggert, Associated Press
Michigan Republicans’ lame-duck maneuver to weaken voter-proposed minimum wage and paid sick leave laws was unconstitutional, organizers of the ballot initiatives said in the lawsuit filed Tuesday.
Nonprofit acquires massive recreation area for public
By Jesse Wiederhold, TV6/Upper Michigan Source
With all the other pieces combined, this creates the Gratiot River Recreation area. It includes 2.6 miles of lakeshore, 3.4 miles of river and more than 1,600 acres of untouched upper Michigan wilderness.
Did US hiring slow because of a ‘labor shortage’?
By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press
The broadest explanation is that any time an economy has to recover from a severe shock, it isn’t likely to proceed smoothly. But the pandemic may be causing a broader reshaping of the economy as companies, workers and customers adapt to a new normal.
Thanks for reading!
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