On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol was attacked by a mob of Trump supporters objecting to the results of a free and fair election. The mob stormed the Capitol building, smashing windows, vandalizing, looting, and threatening the safety of lawmakers. By the end of the day, five people ...
The month of January provides us an opportunity to acknowledge a special group of volunteer elected officials in education. It is School Board Recognition Month, and it offers communities across Michigan a way to acknowledge the continuing efforts of local and ISD school board members in ...
The end of each year is a reflection period for many. What were the good and bad times we have experienced in the last 12 months? How did it compare to previous years? What does the year ahead have in store for us and our families? Many of us will find ourselves longing for the Good Old Days. ...
An issue currently playing itself out in Houghton is, writ small, an illustration of an issue now being played out on a national scale: What role do or should the facts, as best as we can establish them, play in public perception and public policy?
Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw said, ...
This is something that I rarely write but my concern for the redevelopment of the Houghton parking ramp area is a topic that I need to address and share with the residents of the area.
I was born in Laurium and raised in Houghton where I graduated from Houghton High School, attended Suomi ...
Over the past year, we have witnessed the value of technology in education. Technology has not only been an essential tool but an important bridge for learning when students could not attend school physically. Technology will continue to play an important role in education and we must teach our ...
Monday was a dark day for the thousands of people who work in Michigan’s food and beverage industry. The cooks, servers, bartenders and operators of the bars and restaurants in our communities have borne the brunt of the sacrifices required by the governor’s pandemic orders so far, and ...
In 1775, the East coast colonies declared war against, and independence from, Great Britain. The Colonial leaders expressed that their number one reason for leaving was a loss of liberty, that they were being held against their will by an empire that did not treat them as full subjects, but as ...
Daniel Chambliss, author of the paper The Mundanity of Excellence, researched the habits, backgrounds, and performances of competitive swimmers. What made some swimmers great, while others performed at well but not exceptional? He found the best swimmers had different strokes and conducted ...
The 2020 presidential election has been wild to say the least, and has had all American eyes on the Electoral College. What were the faces of the United States like when the Electoral College was first written into the Constitution?
The demographics and social make-up of the country was ...
Thanksgiving is a holiday grounded by legends from many sources. We Americans set the day aside for a special celebration as it has become, at least in “normal” times, a day for families and friends to get together, probably eat too much, and give thanks for any number of things. The ...
The Copper Country ISD provides many services to assist students who receive special education services and their families with making decisions about life after high school. This programming is coordinated by a transition coordinator, employed by the ISD, who works with local school districts ...
In 2012 a writer for the New York Times named Charles Duhigg wanted to explore how retailers were using the data they had begun collecting involving customer purchases. What he found was stunning for the times, what some might call “creepy.” As the pandemic has progressed in the world, a ...
If you spend much time on social media, you might come away with the impression that the political divide in our country is greater than ever. Scrolling through your Facebook and Twitter feeds, it’s easy to feel like no one can agree on anything.
The reality is that my colleagues in the ...
Militias continue to be a hot topic in recent news; what are militias, what are they supposed to do, and where did they come from? The idea of the American militia is older than the U.S. itself, and revisiting militia history could be key to figure out what’s going on now.
On national ...
Voting is the most fundamental right and responsibility of the American citizen. It’s an opportunity for each of us to pick the leadership of our country, and it’s what makes America a democracy; without free and fair elections, we cease to be a government of the people, by the people, and ...
A group of 12 politicians from both parties were asked to suggest how to make us better educated as voters. Here are the results:
1. Learn by carefully listening - logically, without emotion - to each candidate to hone and confirm your values by recognizing those of each of them.
2. Teach ...
On Sept. 24, the Western U.P. Health Department asked for an emergency meeting with all of the local school superintendents because they were concerned with the growing number of COVID cases in Houghton County. The meeting was arranged within a few hours and was attended by every local school ...
A wild strain of influenza ripped through Europe, beginning in Spain, which led it to be popularly known as the Spanish Flu. This momentous disease killed more than 50 million people the world over, but did the people it lived amongst take the threat seriously as it upended their ...
Researchers at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard found that a child’s most important educational experience occurs before the age of six. By then, 90% of their brain development will have occurred. At that age, they are developing more than one million neural connections each ...