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News & Opinion from Marquette, Michigan

NMU’s Game Plan

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NMU PRESIDENT FRITZ Erickson knows, like all educators, that there is some risk to resuming school this fall. It could create a  health crisis. It wouldn't be good for public relations, either. "We'll be bringing 8000 people here on campus and we don't want to be the source of a significant spread of COVID," he ... Continue Reading

An Alarming Rise in Numbers, But Some of Us Say ‘So What? It’s Summer!!’

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NO, WE'RE NOT done with the first wave of the pandemic. Not even close. No, the hot weather--as we had desperately hoped--is not making a dent in the COVID numbers. No, the UP is not immune to the spread of COVID. These are the unfortunate truths we face, backed up by stubborn and depressing facts. ... Continue Reading

The Valle’s Deal is Close, and the Tourists Are Here

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Financing is in place STEP BY STEP, the conversion of the old, abandoned Valle's market into something more vibrant and exciting--the Third Street Marketplace--is coming closer to reality. Restaurateur Joe Constance is working on a deal to buy the property. "It's not finalized yet but I'm very optimistic," he says. ... Continue Reading

Anchor Shuffle at TV6

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THE RECENT DEPARTURE  of Sophie Erber from WLUC has led to wholesale changes in the anchor lineup at the local TV news leader. Let's start off with Sarah Blakely, who's been the morning co-anchor for the last two years and has won a lot of fans with her news savvy and her charm. She'll become the new co-anchor with Steve ... Continue Reading

Defamation Lawsuit Unresolved, News Media Squeezed, and Hope for New COVID Financial Aid

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Negotiations continue STILL NO RESOLUTION in the local Black Lives Matter/defamation legal case. And now a fourth business, Lake Superior Pizza, has joined the suit, charging that a local man, Raymond Little, defamed them by describing them on Facebook as racist and calling for a boycott of their businesses. The other ... Continue Reading

Searching for Solutions on the Ski Hill and in the Theater, and Pleading for Help for Families in Crisis

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No bikes, no weddings CHALLENGING TIMES FOR Marquette Mountain. First, biking on the Mountain, which was to take a major step forward this summer, hasn't happened. COVID restrictions have basically ruled out using shuttles to bring bikers up the mountain. And the rules aren't likely to loosen up. Second, weddings on ... Continue Reading

Beacon House Plans Accelerating, Tourism Trying to Revive, Farmers Market Getting Livelier, and Partridge Creek Harvest Is Surging

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General contractor chosen "WE WILL BEGIN construction before the end of summer." The promise of Beacon House CEO Mary Tavernini, who concedes that her group hasn't quite raised enough money to complete Phase One (with 20 guest rooms) of the project. At one point, Tavernini had insisted they wouldn't start building until ... Continue Reading

Crowded Beaches, Farmer Q’s Closing, La Catrina’s Plans, and BeWell Set to Open

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How to enforce an executive order? SOME PHOTOS FROM Marquette's beaches this weekend were not reassuring. Hundreds of mostly young people crammed together enjoying the sun, the sand, and the lake, and totally ignoring any guidelines about social distancing. Could anything have been done about it? A few police officers ... Continue Reading

A Welcoming Mural, Somber COVID Numbers, Sawyer Is Picking Up, and the Distillery Progress Is Slowing

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An artist with a message IT'S HARD TO miss if you're entering downtown Marquette from the south on Front Street. A bold, beautiful, new mural with the words, "Evolve & Stay Involved" with clasping black and white hands. Huge, on the side of the LoyalTee's building owned by Brandon Sayen. Local artist Chelsea ... Continue Reading