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News & Opinion from Marquette, Michigan

Room at the Inn Hires New Director

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NICK EMMENDORFER, the district representative for Congressman Jack Bergman, has been selected as the new executive director of the Room at the Inn. He’ll replace Doug Russell who was terminated from his job a couple of months ago. Emmendorfer is only 28 years old, an NMU graduate, and a longtime volunteer at RATI. “He’s going [Read More]

Unrest at Room at the Inn

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ROOM AT THE Inn, Marquette’s program that provides lodging, meals, counseling, and warmth for the homeless, has hit a rough patch. Consider this. In the last couple of months, RATI has… Terminated its executive director, Doug Russell. Dismissed two paid staff members. Lost three members of its board, including Chairman David Payant, Vice Chair Mary [Read More]

A Different Kind of Christmas Story

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SHAWN SALO DOESN’T much believe in the joy of the holiday season. He lives alone, he’s not religious, and he’s been chronically depressed since he was fifteen. But wait! There’s more to this story than you might think. This isn’t just another one of those “Christmastime leads to depression” stories. Shawn’s forty years old now. [Read More]

The Room at the Inn Firing: What Really Happened

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IT CAME AS a surprise–even a shock–to many of us. Doug Russell, the highly respected executive director of Room at the Inn and this community’s leading advocate for the homeless, was terminated. Fired. It seemed to come out of the blue, totally unexpected. And unfair, as well. After all, the man wasn’t making a ton [Read More]

Shake-up at Room at the Inn

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DOUG RUSSELL IS out as the executive director at Room at the Inn. No reason given for what Russell refers to as his “termination” which occurred on Thursday. “The Board is looking for new leadership,” Ryan Redmond says. He’s been manager at the Warming Center and is now acting as interim executive director at Room [Read More]

The Latest on Coco’s, the Barricade Downtown, Room at the Inn Hopes, the Birth of Marquette Today, Skanska-Closner Building’s Future, Benri Sushi Plans, Sunny FM Changes, and Love for Munising and Marquette

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THE FOR SALE sign at Coco’s has disappeared leading some to wonder whether the restaurant’s been sold. Nope. It’s just being listed with a new realtor, Gina Feltner Bouws of RE/MAX. She tells us a new For Sale sign is being prepared and should go up soon. Coco’s, on Lakeshore Boulevard across from the beach, [Read More]

Contrast Considering Ishpeming, a Major Development for Downtown, Homeless Advocates Scouting Other Towns, Westwood Mall in Transition, Blackrocks Booming, Cold Spell Coming to the Mountain, and Ashley Fure Wows the Critics

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A CONTRAST COFFEE coming to Ishpeming? It’s a possibility. The owners of the growing UP coffee company have been looking around Ishpeming recently for possible locations, according to Alex Fields, the manager of the newly opened Contrast Coffee in Marquette. No specific location identified yet, but they like the area for expansion and think it [Read More]

Homeless Woman Finds a Home

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AUTUMN IS HER name. She’s 23 years old, a gal from Nebraska. She arrived in Alger County a couple of years ago with her father. She hadn’t been able to get along with her mother and stepfather back home so she thought she’d give the U.P. a try with her dad. Start a new life [Read More]

Hospital Stalemate, Hope for the Homeless, City Ordinance Controversy, Roundabout Costs, Wendy’s Modernizes, Burger King Builds, Salt Water Near Lake Superior, and the Continuing Coffee Craze

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SO THE NURSES are back at work after a three day “lockout” that was technically not a lockout. It’s just, we’re told, that UP Health System-Marquette didn’t need the nurses those three days since they were already staffed with replacements. Semantics. The nurses wanted to return to their jobs. They weren’t allowed to return. Management [Read More]