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Editorial

Schools need help on graduation rates

A couple of percentage points may not seem like much, but every slip in the graduation rate means fewer students getting a timely start to their careers or college life. That’s why it concerned us to read that graduation rates remained deflated at Northeast Michigan schools amid the coronavirus pandemic, dropping from 86.5% in spring 2019, before the pandemic hit, to 86% in 2020 and 83% last spring. Everyday stressors at home can make it hard for some students to succeed, despite teachers’ best efforts. The stressors of the pandemic — from the loss of loved ones to parents’ ...

Suicide fund will help survivors when they need it the most

Dealing with the loss of a loved one can be an overwhelming experience and someone who is grieving should not be faced with financial issues on top of it. This is an issue that the Community Foundation of Marquette County is addressing, as it announced Monday the creation of a resource to provide financial help to area residents who experienced the loss of a loved one to a violent suicide. The Marquette County Emergency Cleaning Fund was created to distribute funds to ensure that the site of the suicide will be cleaned quickly and without expense to those who lost the friend or family ...

MDARD marks Weights & Measures Week

Each day as commerce moves and consumers shop, a lesser-known program housed within the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) is out there making sure weights and measures devices being used by retailers are functioning properly. This program works diligently to ensure a fair playing field within Michigan’s economy. This year, MDARD is celebrating March 1-7, 2022, as Weights and Measures Week in Michigan in conjunction with the National Conference on Weights and Measures. These dates are designated every year to commemorate President John Adams’s signing ...

Superiorland supports Ukraine

The news story that has enveloped the world the last few days is Russia’s appalling invasion of Ukraine. Warnings of an impending invasion had been given, but it really happened, to the shock and horror of the entire world. However, so far it hasn’t been the easy takeover Russian President Vladimir Putin might have expected. Under the admirable leadership of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who has refused to leave his country, Russia has experienced stiff resistance from Ukraine — probably a lot stiffer than anticipated. Putin also might not have anticipated the ...

PAWS act should be passed into law in Washington

Tariq Ramadan once said, “To be courageous is to be a voice for the voiceless.” That is exactly what a bipartisan group of senators is striving to do. The office of Sen. Gary Peters announced last week that he is leading a bipartisan group 30 US senators in urging $3 million in funding for the Pet and Women Safety Act. The PAWS act would use the funding to support facilities which protect and support individuals and their pets who have been victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking violence. The money would be added to the 2022 fiscal year budget and is a ...

Pandemic forced homeless youth further off the radar

The pandemic has disrupted all of our lives, but few more than young people who struggle to secure stable housing. Teens without a permanent home, who in normal times struggle to stay safe and warm at night, to stay in school, to navigate society without a parent to guide them, struggled even more during the pandemic. Typically reluctant to reveal their homeless condition to classmates and authorities, they tend to live under the radar. They put up the best front they are able of living a normal life, when their lives are anything but normal. They travel a roundabout of sleeping ...