Breaking News

Industry Day finalized

GRAHAM JAEHNIG HOUGHTON – The Houghton County Jail Committee has formalized what it refers to as an Industry Day. The committee will host the event from 5-7 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15 at the Franklin Township Firehall. The open forum will serve as an initiative to gather Rough Order of ...

In the dark

HOUGHTON — A major storm event hit the Copper Country Monday evening, causing several blackouts in the region. According to Power Outage maps as of 2 p.m. Tuesday, Ontonagon County had been hit the hardest. At press time Tuesday, the county reported 830 UPPCO customers without power and ...

A temporary fix

HOUGHTON — A power outage at the Portage Lake District Library did not stop Board of Directors from holding a special meeting to discuss and eventually approve the Hancock School Public Library’s contract and budget. The board unanimously approved the two items. Hancock Schools ...

Appellate Court upholds deputy’s sentence

(Note: The opinion of the Michigan Court of Appeals, which serves as the primary source for this article, remains subject to revision until its final publication in the Michigan Appeals Reports.) MENOMINEE — The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld the prison term for a former Menominee County sheriff’s deputy convicted in 2024 of sexually abusing a student while serving as a school resource officer. A Menominee County jury in March 2024 had found 62-year-old Brian William Helfert guilty of second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a weapon. He was sentenced in the 41st Circuit ...

The circus is coming to town

HOUGHTON — Kingdom of Wonders, a Renaissance-themed circus, will be in Houghton for six days, beginning Saturday at Ray Kestner Waterfront Park. This circus is advertised as family-friendly and animal and clown free. It immerses the audience into the story about a knight and his sidekick as ...

A rainy month

MARQUETTE — If you thought the month of June felt a bit wetter than normal, you'd be right. And if you thought it was colder as well, you'd be wrong. Joseph Phillips, meteorologist with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration office in Marquette said that June, as a whole, in the ...