11/17/2025

N. WISCONSIN - The Arbor Vitae-Woodruff school board has decided to launch a search for a new principal to replace Rich Fortier, who will retire at the end of the school year.

Board member Judi Nelson announced nine applicants were received. The personnel committee selected four for interviews to be held on Tuesday, including the district’s school psychologist Katie Bachman, but Bachman declined. The committee (including board members, a parent, two teachers, Hardy, and Fortier) will select the principal or re-post the position. Nelson urged parents to run for Randy Quade’s seat in the April 7, 2026 election, as she, the Woodruff town chair, will not seek re-election.

11/14/2025

IRONWOOD - Aspirus’s decision to close the OB department in Ironwood has sparked concerns regarding the quality of healthcare in the western U.P. Michigan Regional President Natalie Seaber attributed the closure to a declining birth rate, noting only 83 deliveries last year, and difficulty in recruiting and retaining necessary staff. However, Ironwood nurse Sarah Trudgeon called the cutting of essential services “unacceptable,” arguing it endangers U.P. residents and demonstrates a lack of investment. She added that nurses are consistently asked “to do more with less.” Seaber countered that Aspirus is still committed to investing, pointing to a new CT scanner in Ironwood and significant renovations at the Keweenaw and Houghton Clinics. Both Seaber and Trudgeon agree on the ultimate goal: the best possible healthcare for U.P. residents. Trudgeon stressed that nurses remain dedicated, vowing to “continue to put patients first.”

11/14/2025

UPPER MICHIGAN – The Michigan 2025 firearm deer season starts tomorrow and runs through the end of the month. Hunting will be open statewide on public and private lands.  Online harvest reporting is required for all Michigan hunters who successfully take a deer. You can report your deer through the DNR Hunt Fish app or online at Michigan.gov/DNRHarvestReport we have a link on our website and Facebook Page.  Reporting your harvest gives the Michigan DNR a real-time snapshot of how the season is going.  Last year, Michigan hunters harvested nearly 180,000 deer during the two-week regular firearm season, which was about half of the total deer harvest from all seasons combined.