Breaking News

Editorial

The time to speak out is happening now

For the Daily Mining Gazette Editorial Board, the last several days have been extremely difficult to navigate, both on the national stage and here in the Copper Country. On the one hand, we understand that there are members of the community who want businesses to reopen fully and reopen now. On the other, we also understand that there are many such businesses who are working very hard to make the best of a bad situation. For instance, a number of restaurants are offering takeout as a solution to keep serving their customers as best they can. While the Coronavirus pandemic has made ...

Time to accept that Biden won election and move on

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-1st District, along with state U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-7th District, announced earlier this week that they will formally object during the Electoral College certification process that begins today. “Since Election Day, constituents have demanded Congress launch a full investigation into potential fraud and election irregularities and ensure election integrity measures are enacted,” the two said in a joint statement on Monday. They said the “very foundation” of the nation’s democracy lies in the tenets of a free, fair and secure ...

Closing schools a tough call but the right decision

The social interaction kids get in the classroom with their peers is as important to their learning and development as arithmetic and biology. Many kids just don’t learn well in the kind of environment offered by online courses. And many parents struggle to balance watching their kids at home with the mandates of their job. We understand all of those concerns, but we still think the Northeast Michigan schools who decided to keep kids learning at home through winter break — including Alpena Public Schools — made the right call. Kids need consistency. Parents need ...

Help is finally on our way

For months, Americans’ pleas for Congress to give us more financial help in coping with COVID-19 have fallen on political ears — much worse than merely deaf ones — in Washington. Exactly why lawmakers were unable to agree on a second CARES Act is open to debate. Republican loyalists believe the problem with Democrat leaders’ chicanery. Democrats contend the problem was just the opposite of that. That tells us much about the matter, of course. It was a classic political standoff, with politicians avoiding blame by faulting their opponents — while the American people ...

Perna takes blame for poor vaccine planning

Hundreds of thousands of doses of COVID-19 vaccine expected by residents of and officials in many states will not be arriving as soon as we had been led to believe. After a few days of confusion — and finger pointing — about the shortfall, U.S. Army Gen. Gustave Perna fell on his sword a few days ago. “I’m the one who approved forecast sheets. I’m the one who approved allocations,” Perna told reporters. He explained he had mistakenly assumed that once a batch of vaccine was manufactured, it could be shipped out. He failed to take into account a lag needed to conduct ...

Take steps to prevent frostbite

Frostbite is a serious tissue destroying disorder. It is also something that can be avoided. The Michigan Podiatric Medical Association (MPMA) has some advice to share during these winter months. “When you’re out in the cold, your body works hard to stay warm by altering blood flow toward your heart and lungs,” said Dr. Jodie Sengstock, MPMA Director of Professional Relations. “This leaves your extremities – arms, legs and feet – vulnerable to cold injury, especially toes and fingers.” Depending on the severity of the exposure, frostbite can affect the skin or ...