2/10/2026

UPPER MICHIGAN - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released the final version of its Environmental Impact Statement for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 Tunnel Project under the Straits of Mackinac.  The USACE has been examining the scope, construction and need for Enbridge’s Line 5 project for several months. The proposed project would replace the current Line 5 Pipeline and place it in a tunnel buried underground in a one-foot-thick concrete liner.  The USACE just released its final statement on the environmental impact, which assesses the possible risks to the Great Lakes and the surrounding environment. It also assesses possible alternatives to the proposed project. The review will be used to determine if the permit can be issued.  Several groups and tribes have opposed the project, even filing legal challenges with the Michigan Supreme Court. Flow Water Advocates is one of those groups.  A final permitting decision from the Army Corps of Engineers is expected within 30 days.

2/10/2026

UPPER MICHIGAN - Michigan’s cage-free egg law is now under legal fire. The Justice Department is suing the state, arguing the rules drive up prices and clash with federal law. The case puts a spotlight on how eggs are produced, what consumers pay at the checkout line, and whether states can set their own animal welfare standards. Wayne Pacelle is president of the animal welfare advocacy group Animal Wellness Action. He says cage-free laws are about changing how hens are housed.

               0:14  "The alternative is battery cage confinement, where six or eight birds are jammed into a space about the size of a large microwave oven – and they stay in that extreme confinement for 12 to 18 months without relief."

The Justice Department contends the state’s cage-free rules raise prices for consumers and that federal law preempts state standards for eggs sold in interstate commerce. Data from the U-S Bureau of Labor Statistics show the average price of a dozen eggs spiked to almost five dollars last January, nearly double what consumers paid a year earlier.

2/10/2026

CHOCOLAY TOWNSHIP, Mich. - Police are investigating a snowmobile crash that resulted in the death of a 44-year-old woman on Friday.  The accident near the Marquette and Alger County line.  The investigation is being conducted by the Chocolay Township Police, Marquette County Sheriff Special Operations and the Michigan DNR. It is still ongoing.  The release says it is believed that the woman hit a dip in the trail, which caused her and her sled to leave the trail.