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The votes are in at the Daily Mining Gazette.

The editorial staff did not debate, question nor ponder the undisputed No. 1 headline of 2023 in the Copper Country. The choice was obvious in the spring when Finlandia University made its announcement to halt operations.

The closing of this longstanding educational institution in Hancock has impacted students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, business owners and residents of the region. Displaced students and student-athletes scrambled to ensure their educational paths were not derailed. Staff, faculty and administration sought employment and opportunities elsewhere. Alumni were heartbroken by the demise of their alma mater. Local business owners and residents were left wondering what affect the loss of the institution would have on their community.

With the auctioning of Finlandia’s assets, much of the spirit of the former Suomi University has been dispersed throughout the Keweenaw. Real estate properties were purchased by the city of Hancock and private owners, all with vision for preservation and progress. The Finnish American Heritage Center is now operating under the leadership of the Finlandia Foundation National, which was named as the 2024 Hankookin Heikki recipient for its commitment to Heikinpäivä and the future of the region’s Finnish American culture.

Finlandia’s closure is not the only story in the Copper Country this year. The Gazette’s list includes other devastating headlines: the Douglass House Saloon shooting, the sentencing in Caleb Lynum’s death and a multiagency child sex sting; and other forward-moving headlines: an agreement between Houghton and Walmart, the demolition of Houghton’s parking deck and Calumet Electronics’ $51 million expansion.

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The Gazette and its readers have also been able to follow the ins and outs of the disputed Greenland Township water source and the notable staffing changes at Hancock Schools and in the Houghton County Prosecutor’s Office.

2023 has been a year to remember in the Copper Country.

1. Finlandia University closes

HANCOCK — Finlandia University ended operations at the conclusion of the spring 2023 semester. The board cited multiple reasons for closing the private university, including demographics — fewer high school graduates, who also have less interest in going to college — and an “unbearable” debt load.

Patrick O’Keefe & Associates, a Bloomfield Hills-based financial and strategic advisory firm, was appointed as receiver over Finlandia, quickly going to work to secure buyers for university assets, large and small.

Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette The Houghton City Council voted to begin the process of tearing down the existing drive on Lakeshore Drive. A public engagement process will be part of deciding on a replacement.

O’Keefe sought to abandon six properties. The city of Hancock voted to buy Nikander, Mannerheim and Wargelin halls, while the Jutila Center, Old Main and a one-acre lot at the intersection of White and Finn streets went up for auction in December.

The university’s decision to close cast doubt on the future of the Finnish American Heritage Center, but because of the center’s importance to the preservation and promotion of Finnish culture nationwide, it is now under the ownership of the Finnish Foundation National.

David Maki, FAHC director, said the FFN stepped in to preserve the Heritage Center, the North Winds Book Store and all of its contents, so that FAHC operations would continue without interruption.

Finlandia was founded in 1896 as Suomi College and Theological Seminary by Finnish immigrants who wished to educate their children and train Finnish-speaking clergy for the Suomi Synod (Finnish Evangelical Lutheran) congregations, according to Finlandia’s 125th-anniversary site.

Suomi later became a liberal arts college, and was renamed Finlandia University in 2000.

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2. Fatal shooting at Douglass House

On November 13, Houghton Police responded to a fatal shooting at the Douglass House Saloon at approximately 7 p.m.

The Suspect, Evan Dixon, 59, a prominent local attorney, was taken into custody at the scene and subsequently charged with one count each of first-degree murder-premeditated and possessing a firearm during commission of a felony for the death of Theron Duncan, 53, of Houghton.

During his arraignment on Nov. 17, Dixon was denied bond in 97th District Court. Judge Nicholas Daavettila concurred with Assistant Attorney General Richard Cunningham, who said Dixon should be denied bond due to the serious nature of the charges.

David Gemignani, of the Tri-County Public Defenders Office, was at the jail with Dixon and represented him at the arraignment. He said however that he would be unable to properly represent Dixon due to their friendship and professional relationship, which has included both working together and against each other. Daavettila, previously a local attorney, also recused himself from further proceedings in the case for the same reason.

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A probable cause conference scheduled for Dec.1 did not occur and a preliminary examination for Dixon was scheduled for December 8, but was rescheduled for 11 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, according to the 97th District Court Clerk’s Office.

Anna R. Talaska District Court Judge for the 98th District, Gogebic County will preside in the case.

Dixon continues to be lodged at the Houghton County Jail.

3. Houghton-Walmart dark store dispute

HOUGHTON — Houghton’s battle with Walmart over taxes ends.

The Houghton City Council in late September approved a settlement agreement with Walmart regarding the city’s civil suit in U.S. District Court.

The settlement lays out the terms of a new service agreement with Walmart that will replace the development agreement it made with the city upon expanding to a Supercenter in 2004.

In 2018, Walmart sought to lower its tax valuation through the Michigan Tax Tribunal, making the “dark store” argument that its value should be based on that of the empty building, based on the likely difficulty of finding another buyer if the store closed.

Earlier this year, the city sued Walmart in federal court alleging it had violated the terms of the 2004 development agreement.

In that agreement, the city agreed to transfer property, conduct capital and public service improvements, and also provide environmental services, such as environmental monitoring in perpetuity. In exchange, Walmart agreed to a property tax increase of at least $1.95 million, which brought it to more than $4.5 million in 2005.

The amount Walmart sought was below that amount. The settlement on the Tax Tribunal case reached in June retroactively adjusted the 2018 taxable value to $2,354,975 — slightly more than half what it had been.

Under the new service agreement, Houghton will continue to provide environmental monitoring service, as required under the Department of Environmental Quality permit for construction around the Huron Creek wetlands. The city also agreed to continue providing municipal bus service to and from Walmart.

The new agreement also includes an annual $40,000 service fee Walmart will pay to Houghton for the services it provides. That fee will also be applied retroactively to each year since 2018, when Walmart began trying to lower its property taxes.

4. Houghton parking deck dismantled

HOUGHTON — The demolition of the Lakeshore Drive parking deck is complete.

Demolition began in early June, with crews working through the summer and into early November to complete the project.

MJO was the project’s main contractor. The large-scale demolition of the deck was subcontracted out to Minnesota-based Veit.

U.P. Engineers & Architects compiled a report with observations and findings from demolition of the deck. UPEA’s nine-page report, released in September, found the condition of the deck observed during its demolition supported Houghton City Council’s decision to tear it down.

“While one cannot speculate if a catastrophic failure was imminent, the past documented safety hazards and structural deterioration witnessed during demolition provided clear evidence that failure was eventual without extensive rehabilitation of the deck structure,” the report said.

Houghton City Manager Eric Waara concurred that the deck was on “borrowed time.”

To maximize parking in the downtown district, the city redesignated streets into parking lots or into one-way thoroughfares. Pewabic Street, which once ushered vehicles to the upper deck of the parking structure, is now a park-like pedestrian Waterfront Walk from Lakeshore to Shelden Avenue.

As part of the Lakeshore Drive Rehabilitation Project, the city borrowed $1.5 million to tear down the 1978 deck. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. added another $1 million for greenspaces, gathering areas and other placemaking elements.

5. Kreider sentenced in Arbor Green homicide

HOUGHTON — Luke Kreider, of Hancock, was sentenced to 15 to 45 years in prison in August for the 2022 murder of Caleb Lynum, of L’Anse.

Kreider, 20, pleaded guilty in June to second-degree homicide in the killing of Lynum, 24, during an early-morning altercation Sept. 1 at the Arbor Green Apartments in Houghton. Lynum was hospitalized in Marquette and placed on life support, later dying from his injuries.

In exchange for the plea, a charge of open murder was dismissed, as was a charge of first-degree criminal sexual conduct stemming from a separate incident in August 2022.

Kreider said he had been heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident. During the sentencing, he apologized to the Lynum family.

“I was very out of sight and out of mind at the time,” he said. “None of this would’ve happened if I’d stayed sober. My sobriety now is very much out of remorse for what I did. Caleb was a friend of mine, and it hurts me that any of this happened.”

6. Greenland Well

The Department of Natural Resources announced on Jan. 27, 2023 its order to permanently shut down what the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) said was an unregulated water source, located in Greenland Township. The source is on the site of the old Lake Mine, near a recreational trail originally part of the original Copper Range Railroad.

Greenland Township officials and the DNR worked together to trace the source. EGLE granted several extensions on its order. In July, a DNR crew found a wellhead a short distance off the trail, roughly a half-mile from the unregulated spigot, situated a few hundred feet east of M-38.

EGLE originally said the water could not be used because its source could not be determined. That was subsequently resolved in the Annual Report for the Lake Copper Company for 1909/1910. In the report of the Mine Superintendent, T.H. Bennett.

Bennett wrote that in March, 1910, a 4-inch pipe was driven 186 feet vertically through clay and quicksand to a bed of gravel, where a considerable flow of water was encountered which reaches the surface under a head of about 28 feet, sufficient to “enable us to to pipe it about the location for domestic use.”

The water source was thought to have been initially tapped by the surrounding community of Lake Mine during the area’s 19th-century copper mining heyday, stated a subsequent DNR release. Bennett’s 1910 report, however, invalidates that claim.

EGLE continued to persist, now claiming that the piping and the water main and pipes of the well were unsuitable for continued use because of their aged, delicate and deteriorated condition. The DNR persisted, too, however.

EGLE granted a one-year extension on its order to shut down the well. The plan now, according to the DNR, is for the DNR and local officials to have a well-drilling company drill a new well closer to the homes and the trailside stop that could be developed as a safe drinking water source endorsed by EGLE. Greenland Township, though has produced proof of regularly having the water tested through White Water Associates and the tests have consistently shown the water to be safe for human consumption.

7. Three area men nabbed in child sex sting

HOUGHTON — Three Houghton County men were charged with attempting to have sex with children as part of a multiweek investigation by a multiagency task force in July.

Each of the three suspects chatted with undercover deputies who were posing as minors, and were subsequently arrested when they arrived at a location to have sex with a minor, according to the Houghton County Sheriff’s Office.

They faced four felony counts:

• child sexually abusive activity, a felony with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or $100,000. People convicted of the offense are required to register as sex offenders under state law.

• use of a computer to commit child sexually abusive activity, a felony with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and/or $20,000. The sentencing court has discretion to issue a sentence consecutive to one for related charges.

• accosting a child for immoral purposes, a felony with a maximum penalty of four years in prison and/or $4,000. People convicted of the offense are required to register as sex offenders under state law.

• using a computer to commit a crime, punishable by four to 10 years in prison.

The men are currently at different points in the judicial process.

Peter Hallesy, 38, of Kearsarge, pleaded guilty to a two-year high-court misdemeanor of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct with a victim age 13 to 16, and was sentenced to 330 days in jail.

Juan Marin, 47, of Hancock, pleaded guilty to attempting to accost a minor for immoral purposes, a two-year high-court misdemeanor, during a hearing in Houghton County Circuit Court in October.

Trenton Kyllonen, 36, of Lake Linden, was placed on the January trial docket in Houghton County Circuit Court.

8. Changes to Houghton County courts

The retirement of Judge Charles Goodman from the 12th Circuit Court in April set in motion a series of changes in the Houghton County judicial system.

To replace Goodman, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed Houghton County Prosecuting Attorney Brittany Bulleit to fill a partial term on the 12th Circuit Court for Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw counties, leaving a vacancy in the role Bulleit had occupied since 2019.

Resigning from his position as mayor of Hancock, Paul LaBine was appointed to replace Bulleit as Houghton County prosecuting attorney. He began his brief stint in the county role in July and submitted his letter of resignation Sept. 7, citing workload caused by understaffing as one reason for his decision.

The vacancy left by LaBine was filled by Bulleit’s next appointment, Dan Helmer, who officially took office Dec. 4, becoming the county’s third prosecutor this year.

Bulleit’s judicial term will expire at noon January 1, 2025. If Bulleit wishes to serve the remainder of Goodman’s term, expiring January 1, 2027, she would be required to run for election in November 2024. The same would be required of Helmer, whose term ends next year.

9. Calumet Electronics $51 million expansion

In October, it was announced that Calumet Electronics plans to invest $51 million in the development of the nation’s first substrate factory. The plan is to add the factory to its existing manufacturing operation, which will position the company to apply for U.S. Department of Defense contracts and grants.

Calumet Electronics specializes in the engineering and manufacturing of high-quality printed circuit boards (PCBs). InvestUP said this project aligns with Calumet’s long-term strategic plan to become a global leader in producing next-generation technologies. Calumet’s series of successes in producing substrates for advanced packaging, which have passed rigorous customer field testing, underscores the need for the company to prioritize capacity expansion, which includes additional space, equipment and workforce training.

The company is working to expand its operation in response to demand from the Department of Defense for producing leap-ahead electronics in the United States. As one of the industry’s leading manufacturers, the electronics firm is committed to closing the U.S. technology gap with Asia.

Included in Calumet Electronics’ $51 million investment, the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) board approved support through a $7.5 million Michigan Business Development Program grant and a 15-year, 100% State Essential Services Assessment Exemption with an estimated value of up to $758,877 for its $32,613,252 eligible investment in Eligible Personal Property.

10. Patchin resigns from Hancock Schools/Salani hired

The Hancock School Board in July voted to accept the resignation of Superintendent, Steve Patchin. Patchin’s resignation became effective as of Sept. 30, 2023.

Board President Dale Karo told the board that he and fellow Trustee, Catherine Jordan, had talked with Patchin and asked him to finish out his contract term, but he declined.

“He initially said he was going to be here for five years,” said Karo, “but September is more in line with his retirement eligibility in September.”

Patchin said that for the record, that he, in fact, is not retiring.He explained that his vision for the school district is just different from that of the school board’s.

“That’s the official story I’m telling you,” said Patchin. “My vision and the board’s vision are different and that’s why it was time to move on.” Beyond that, he refused to elaborate.

In August, the Board unanimously approved the nomination of High School Principal/Athletic Director Chris Salani as interim superintendent until the Board can post and fill the position.

Working with the Michigan Association of School Boards on conducting a thorough search for a permanent superintendent and superintendent evaluation training, in Nov. the Board named Salani as the school district’s new superintendent. The board had the option to post the superintendent position externally, Board President Catherine Jordan said, but budget concerns and timelines prompted them to post the position internally first.

Jordan also said that because Salani was the high school principal and the district’s athletic director, contract details would be a stumbling block, but the issues were resolved and at the regular December Board meeting, the School Board unanimously approved the new Superintendent’s contract.