3/17/2026

UPPER MICHIGAN - Free naloxone, funded by opioid settlement dollars, is now available at Upper Peninsula Michigan Department of Health and Human Services offices.

Michigan will receive over $1.8 billion by 2040 from these settlements. Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian noted that naloxone has contributed to a 35% decrease in overdose deaths since 2023. Residents can pick up free kits during business hours while supplies last; use is protected by the Good Samaritan Law. Since 2020, Michigan has distributed over 1.7 million kits and logged more than 34,000 reversals.

3/17/2026

UPPER MICHIGAN - Efforts to expand free pre-K in Michigan have led to struggles in finding and keeping enough child care workers and teachers. One tactic officials are using is to make the job attractive enough that paraprofessionals who are already in the classroom will become full-fledged teachers. The MiEarly Apprentice is a new program from the Michigan Educator Workforce Initiative that aims to pay current childcare and pre-K workers to get a college degree, coaching and ultimately, higher wages. MEWI piloted the program last year in Marquette and Alger counties in the U.P.. Now, it is expanding to eight more counties and hopes to expand statewide with more funding.

3/17/2026

ASHLAND COUNTY - Marengo has secured a $238,000 state grant to fix chronic flooding on Eade Road, which caused culvert failures and required National Guard help after torrential rain in 2016. The Ashland Daily Press reports the two-year project will design better culverts and restore water flow to lessen downstream erosion affecting Hanninen Road, County Highway C, the Marengo and Bad Rivers, and Lake Superior. Town Chairman Stephen Walston emphasized that “smarter improvements now” will reduce future damage and costs.