TEN MINUTES OF almost indescribable beauty and poignancy. That's what UP filmmaker and photographer Aaron Peterson has given us this week as we marked the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Peterson has put together and posted a film intriguingly entitled "24 Leeches." It's the story of a family camping trip in the Slate ... Continue Reading
“I’m Afraid Some of Them Won’t Make It”
SO WE'RE LOOKING at a possible partial reopening of Michigan on May 1st. It can't come fast enough for most businesses in the Upper Peninsula. A recent Federal Reserve survey of the UP and six states to the west of us (but not Lower Michigan) revealed this: nearly sixty percent of UP businesses said if things didn't ... Continue Reading
UP Businesses Big and Small: Getting Help but Facing the Unknown
IT'S DIFFICULT TO find anybody in the Upper Peninsula--individuals, businesses, institutions, or non profits--who hasn't been crippled economically by the COVID-19 shutdown. The big boys have gotten most of the headlines. Namely... Cleveland Cliffs, with 700 workers soon to be laid for two months because of reduced ... Continue Reading
Coronavirus Shutdown and Domestic Abuse: a Deadly Mix
"PEOPLE ARE OUT of work, they're close together all day long, they have more time on their hands, they're drinking more, and they're taking out their anger and frustration on others." The words of Beth Casady, the executive director of the Women's Center in Marquette, warning us that domestic abuse will likely be on the ... Continue Reading
Outward Calm, Inner Turmoil
SCENES FROM THE Queen City of the North, Springtime, early evening, forty degrees Light from the setting sun is filtering through the trees, Casting shadows. A j0gger, clad in NMU green, pounds the pavement, A father and daughter play catch on their front lawn, A solitary bicyclist pedals her way ... Continue Reading