Breaking News

Editorial

Songs to wash your hands to

Put your hands together and rub them vigorously for the second edition of Songs to Wash Your Hands To: Rock and Metal Edition! As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, one of the most effective (and consistent) ways to protect yourself and those around you remains regularly washing your hands thoroughly, with soap. To ensure that thoroughness, experts say to suds up for at least 20 seconds. What follows are a few gritty, grungy (or a little goofy) rock and metal songs with choruses that you can growl quietly or shout out loud to help you keep time without falling asleep at the sink. Pick ...

Both sides need to serve the voters who elected them

Politics often seems to be an all-or-nothing contest — even when the American people are those who will get nothing. Whatever happened to common-sense compromise? When did putting off a battle in order to help the people survive a war become a bad idea? It was reported Friday that talks among Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, as well as White House representatives, had reached an impasse regarding a new COVID-19 relief bill. If you want details of the disagreement, you can read them elsewhere in the paper. You may have done so already. Suffice it to say that there are ...

Why Camp Kitwen will still not work as a jail site for county

We continue to see letters asking one simple question: “Why can’t Houghton County use Camp Kitwen as its jail site?” With the failure of the county’s attempt for funds to build an expensive addition to the current court house to improve the jail conditions in 2018, it has needed to do a large amount of soul searching before putting a new recommendation back in front of voters. One of the first steps in this search was the formation of the Houghton County Jail Task Force. The task force announced that they had voted on Camp Kitwen, which sits in Adams Township. The task ...

RATI volunteers from Houghton lead by example

Marquette’s downtown Friday was the scene of one of those circumstances that make the Upper Peninsula the great place to live that it is. Business people and passersby alike were surprised to see a group of principally young people washing windows. Clad in neon vests, these were missionaries of a type from the St. Albert the Great Catholic Church in Houghton. And who or what paid for this unexpected labor? No one. They were volunteers working on behalf of the Room at the Inn program, which operares a familiar warming center and community meal location along West Washington Street ...

Colleges have part yet to play

Many U.S. colleges and universities are preparing to reopen for the fall semester, with in-person classes scheduled widely. It is understandable that many students, parents and college officials are on edge. Science is on their side in a way. COVID-19 seems to be most dangerous for older people with pre-existing medical conditions. Younger people can contract the virus, but many demonstrate few, if any, symptoms. It is unlikely, then, that college campuses will become killing fields. A wakeup call may be necessary for many younger people, however. They are not safe. Well over 10% of ...

Mail-in voting is a bipartisan issue

Of all the irrational debates Americans should be having about the upcoming November elections, one reported last week takes the cake. Beyond any doubt, many voters will be leery of casting ballots at polling places. That has renewed the debate over absentee ballots cast by mail. Indeed, there is genuine reason to have some concern about mail-in ballots. Will everyone desiring to vote that way have access to the process? Will the unscrupulous attempt to use fraudulent ballots? But the answer to one question some are asking has an obvious answer. The issue — not one, really — ...