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Editorial

Redistricting gives residents opportunity to get involved

While the 2022 election season may seem distant at this point, there is an important upcoming opportunity for citizens to participate in a civic process that will impact the 2022 elections: the upcoming Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission public hearings. Locally, the League of Women Voters of Marquette County is urging voters to attend Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission public hearings taking place from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Northern Center at Northern Michigan University. Participants can attend in person or virtually, with the virtual ...

New importance to Mental Health Awareness Month

After a year in which the COVID-19 pandemic challenged the mental resiliency of all Michiganders, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Service join mental health advocates across the nation in recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month. Observed nationally since 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month promotes mental health education and support in hopes of decreasing the stigma often associated with seeking help for mental illness. “This Mental Health Month and year-round, we must remember that it’s OK to not be OK,” Whitmer said. “I ...

Sturgeon deserve continued assistance

A sturgeon swam into the Boardman River in Traverse City last week. That doesn’t happen every day. The last time the Record-Eagle reported such a sighting was May 2019. We hope people get a chance to see more of the gentle giant in the Boardman and in other Michigan waters. The big fish is a spectacular example of long-term survival. Sometimes referred to as a living dinosaur, traces of the sturgeon’s ancestors have been found in fossil records more than 200 million years old. Once common in the Great Lakes, their population declined catastrophically in the 1800s under pressure ...

State of Michigan reaches significant vaccine milestone

As a result of Michiganders working together toward a common goal, the state was able to reach a monumental landmark in the fight against COVID-19 this week. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist on Monday issued statements as Michigan was set to surpass 7 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered. “We’ve put shots in arms of one in two Michiganders 16 and up and over one in three are fully vaccinated, including two in three seniors,” Whitmer said. “Our rollout continues to speed up. We administered 6 million doses in just over four months.” She cautioned ...

Lawmakers should publicly disclose conflicts

Michigan and only two other states — Idaho and New Jersey — have no statutory requirements for state lawmakers to disclose their occupations, business associations, property, or income to the public, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. That has to change. Multiple efforts in the Michigan Legislature to require disclosure have failed over the years. The current proposal has been watered down so lawmakers would only have to disclose information to a panel of other lawmakers — not the public. That’s not good enough. We entrust legislators with ...

Scammers using COVID-19 pandemic to make money

Just when one thinks they’ve seen it all, scammers have contrived a way to use the COVID-19 pandemic to make money — your money, as it turns out. Here’s the story. According to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, scammers are contacting survivors of people who have died of the coronavirus, seeking to “help” them register for death benefits paid by the federal agency FEMA. FEMA is offering funds to help pay for funeral expenses that people have paid since January 20, 2020 for loved ones who died of COVID-19, according to an AG press release. The fraudsters are targeting ...