When you get a chance, take a look at a documentary that Jason Swanson and I just produced. It's aired on TV6 and Fox UP and it's now posted on the web. You can link to it here Spirit of HiawathaIt's called "The Spirit of Hiawatha" chronicling the last Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival in July. I first went to Hiawatha 6 ... Continue Reading

A tough decision for us this week at TV6.We learned of four lawsuits being filed by current and former employees at the Marquette/Alger Women's Center. The charges deal with misappropriation of finances, harassment at work, threats, and unjustified terminations.Most important perhaps, the plaintiffs claim that officials at ... Continue Reading

I wouldn't say I'm undergoing a political conversion, but I would say my views, which have always trended toward the liberal, are evolving about government spending.Clearly, as a nation, as a state, and as communities, we're spending more than we're taking in, and it doesn't look like that balance is going to shift anytime ... Continue Reading

Hard to believe, but I've been in the Upper Peninsula for almost six years now. It was in July of 2004 that my dog and I headed north from Atlanta. I did the driving and she sat in the passenger seat, shooting me occasional glances as if to ask me when we were going to stop.We finally stopped in Marquette where I'd taken ... Continue Reading

We in the Upper Peninsula had our moment in the national spotlight last week. Reminded me of my days at CNN.CNN was here, along with Fox and NBC and several newspapers covering, first, the arrival of the Tea Party Express, and then the sudden, unexpected resignation of Congressman Bart Stupak. It was a front page story in ... Continue Reading

The Upper Peninsula's Congressman Bart Stupak certainly has a higher profile now than he had just two weeks ago. Not sure if he enjoys his new celebrity status.I talked to him on the phone a couple of times last week during the wrangling over the health care bill, and he was clearly conflicted: he supported the bill but he ... Continue Reading

Overheard in the WLUC newsroom this week, from one of our sports guys: "Do you think the UP is going to become the new Spring Break destination for college kids?" Not a bad question given the fact that we're edging up toward 60 degrees under sunny skies, and we haven't seen snow in weeks.You notice everybody's got a smile ... Continue Reading

We'll have a book-signing at Snowbound Books this Saturday from 2-4 pm. Come one, come all. I'd love to meet you and talk about the book or anything else on your mind.It's interesting, I haven't read "Money in the Ground since I finished the last draft about four months ago, so I'm kind of curious to see how I react to it ... Continue Reading

I'm happy to report that "Money in the Ground" got a nice review in the February issue of Marquette Monthly.Click here and you can link to it.I'm still getting the word out about the novel and hoping more of the newspapers in the UP will do write-ups on it.Next up is probably a signing or two at the local book stores. That ... Continue Reading

I've seen a lot of the UP over the last couple of weeks, ever since "Money in the Ground" was published. I've met with bookstore managers and owners, authors, and readers.I talked to Jerry Harju who's given me some advice on marketing. Says he liked the book alot, by the way. That's encouraging. Others have told me they ... Continue Reading