7/17/2026

UPPER MICHIGAN (AP) - Michigan agencies have issued key permits for the controversial Line 5 tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac, stating the project’s benefits outweigh its drawbacks. The permits from the departments of Natural Resources and Environment, Great Lakes and Energy allow the US Army Corps of Engineers to proceed with approval. However, the project’s future remains uncertain due to ongoing legal challenges. Native American tribes and environmental groups oppose the project, citing disruption to burial sites and harm to wetlands. Enbridge Energy supports the project, claiming it will improve safety and ensure energy flow in the region.

AIR QUALITY ALERT

U.P. / N. WISCONSIN - AIR QUALITY ALERT are in effect again for our entire listening area again today and all of Michigan and Wisconsin.  Thousands of visitors have been told to evacuate a remote Minnesota wilderness area because of wildfires sending heavy smoke across the U.S. Midwest and Northeast. More than 100 wildfires are burning in Canada, with winds carrying the smoke southeast.  Rangers are working to evacuate 6,000 to 10,000 campers from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  Officials warn that large fires could burn for months, affecting air quality across several states including Wisconsin and the U.P.

7/16/2026

IRONWOOD - The Red Alert: Save Our Hospitals Tour heads to Michigan's Upper Peninsula this month. Nurses with National Nurses United say the campaign, which is visiting 30 cities across the country, will stop in Ironwood on July 18 to raise awareness about federal Medicaid changes, including new work requirements for some adults and more frequent eligibility reviews. Kalamazoo registered nurse Cindy Evans, who works in Beacon Hospital's behavioral health annex, says she's especially concerned about what these changes could mean for patients in a mental health crisis.

                    0:12  "You know, our patients, the psychiatric patients, would have to be put into the main ER, which then causes a backup where we could put patients that are having potentially a stroke or a heart attack."

More than two and a half million Michiganders rely on Medicaid for their health coverage. Federal officials say the changes are intended to strengthen Medicaid, encourage work and community engagement among eligible adults, and preserve the program for the people who need it most.