New URL, Calumet cemetery feature story, Hancock and Calumet village council meetings

Front page, week of Oct. 23, 2021

Oct 23, 2021

The wind blowing fog off of Portage Lake on Monday morning.

CopperBeacon.org is live!

You no longer have to remember ‘LateEdition.Substack.com’, the new URL is simply www.CopperBeacon.org. I’m so elated to finally roll this out! It looks like I was able to do it in a way that no links were broken, and no sign-ups need to be redone. I’ll be making some tweaks to the site here and there, including adding an “About Copper Beacon” section that will include the editorial policy, contact information, and more. If you have any other requests or recommendations as I move forward with development, feel free to reply to this email with them.

I’d also like to invite you to follow the new Copper Beacon Facebook page and Twitter if you happen to use those services.

There’s still a lot more work to do to get the nonprofit off of the ground, but having the real name out there instead of the placeholder is a huge relief.

A big thanks to all of my readers for their continued interest and support!

A gravestone inside the Schoolcraft Cemetery, just north of Calumet.

Awaiting Eternity

Graveyards in the Calumet area returned to life by volunteer caretakers

I really enjoyed putting together this feature story for this week. It has some seasonal photography, October-appropriate stories (perhaps not suitable for the faint of heart), and a spotlight on volunteer efforts in the community.

Hancock City Council, Oct. 20, 2021

Hancock had a busy meeting as they continued to work toward controlling blight and other nuisances in the city. On the lighter side, they announced their holiday theme for this year’s home decorating contest.

Calumet Village Council, Oct. 19, 2021

Stretching to cover the Calumet Village Council continues to be a little rocky, although this month it’s entirely the fault of some technical issues I failed to anticipate. I was able to put a short summary together of some of the goings-on, but there’s no watchable video, the files were corrupt.

Next month, their meeting falls on the same day as the rescheduled Houghton County Commissioners meeting, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to hit both. The county will have to take precedence, though.

The Inside Scoop (and a photo of my cats)

The Inside Scoop is the paid-subscriber-only portion of Copper Beacon. You aren’t missing too much, but it’s how we communicate with and thank the people who find enough value in the work we do to support us financially.

It includes a variety of things from week to week, sometimes including editorials, letters to the editor, opinion columns, personal notes, an open comment section, and sometimes photos of my pets.

Michigan Tech COVID-19 requirements change

In a communication sent out yesterday, MTU President Richard Koubek announced that federal regulations would require all employees, including student employees, to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination or receive a medical or religious exemption by Jan. 10, 2022.

Also, beginning on Monday, face coverings will be required indoors on MTUs campus in accordance with their Health and Safety Level protocols. Increased rates of transmission in the community and on the campus dictate that they increase their precautions according to the previously instituted plan.

Other News (aggregated, not sponsored)

//Click on the headlines to read the full story.

Coborn’s to acquire Tadych’s EconoFoods

The Mining Journal

The headline pretty much says it all. Nobody is supposed to lose their job over the sale, Coborn’s has said they will hire all of Tadych’s employees.

Beaumont Health says 370 people could lose jobs over vaccine

The Associated Press

“Beaumont Health had set an Oct. 18 deadline. The 370 employees now have until Nov. 16 to get a shot or they will be discharged, spokesman Mark Geary told Crain’s Detroit Business.”

People of the Heart Water Walk offers hope for area lake

Theresa Pitts, KeweenawNOW

In a lovely guest article for KeweenawNOW, KBIC member Theresa Pitts writes about growing up near Torch Lake and participating in the PotH Water Walk as an adult.

Michigan moves to fund mental health like physical health

Anna Liz Nichols, The Associated Press

Michigan is trying something. They’ve selected 13 mental health and addiction clinics to receive full Medicaid reimbursement, much like other healthcare services.

Gov. Whitmer vetoes 2 more election-related bills

David Eggert, The Associated Press

For the second time in two weeks, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has vetoed Republican-led efforts to change the registration and voting process.