Features

Feature Story welding

New welding center will strengthen U.P. economy

The new Daniel J. Kobasic Memorial Welding Center brings back trades skills instruction in the Delta Schoolcraft Intermediate School District. The new state-of-the-art welding center is also expected to bolster the local economy.

Feature Story saintslogo

Saints bring big sports experience to St. Ignace

The St. Ignace Saints are part of a four-team expansion that will create a new division in the league and provide a unique “big sports” entertainment to the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

Longform Rx Kids has provided for the Wright family stability during an unpredictable time.

More than a stipend: Rx Kids is transforming childhood beginnings

Rx Kids, the country’s first universal and unconditional cash prescription program for pregnant people and infants, provides financial support to every eligible family within a geographic area, no income requirements, no strings attached. Families receive a one-time $1,500 payment during pregnancy and $500 per month during the baby’s first year of life.  

Feature Story Kevin Fischer3

Medicaid cuts threaten Michigan’s mental health

Federal Medicaid cuts threaten the very lives of those living with serious mental illness, disabilities, and substance use disorders as well as the quality of life and livelihoods of those managing their mental health care with medications and support that Medicaid currently covers.  

Feature Story PA Medicine's inaugural class of 2024.

MSU's PA Medicine program helps fill the gap for medical providers in U.P. and rural Michigan

The first graduates of Michigan State University's PA Medicine program are working across the state -- some in medically underserved communities or in rural areas like the U.P., where there is a health care provider shortage.  

Feature Story A fundraiser for the "Big Annie" statue earlier this year at the Orpheum Theater in Hancock.

Plans for 'Big Annie' statue get major fundraising boost

The America 250MI Committee has awarded $50,000 to the Big Annie Statue Project in Calumet. The money will help build a statue to honor Anna “Big Annie” Klobuchar Clemenec, a prominent labor activist during the early 20th century.

Feature Story This sandstone building in downtown Ishpeming has been dormant for more than 50 years.

Placemaking grant gives three U.P. cities a facelift

Renovation projects in Marquette, Negaunee and Ishpeming will not only help spruce up buildings but add to the vitality of their downtowns. The communities are the recipients of the state's revitalization and placemaking grants.

Feature Story A drone view of the campground, perched 200 feet above Lake Superior.

Camping with a view: Kona Hills Campground opens in Marquette

Three lifelong Marquette friends with a passion for the outdoors and rustic camping have come together to create their campground: Kona Hills Campground. The unique 80-acre site boast views of Lake Superior, the Huron Mountains and Marquette.

Feature Story borderlandowners

Norway butcher finds success in his hometown

Norway native Jeff Muraro gave up a sales career in the tech industry to open a butcher shop in his hometown. He learned sausage-making skills from his family -- his butchering skills were honed by watching YouTube.

Feature Story laketroutboat

Back from the Brink: Lake Trout rebound in Lake Superior

A successful decades-long effort to restore native lake trout to Lake Superior marks a triumph for tribal, state and federal partners

Feature Story The popular Dune Climb at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

U.P. and Michigan national parks prepare for summer visitors amid staffing, morale concerns

Visiting a national park in the U.P. or lower Michigan this summer? Staffing issues have been a concern at national parks across the country in the wake of federal budget cuts. How will Michigan parks handle hordes of tourists?

Longform Pharmacists handle cancer medications at the cancer drug repository at the Trinity Health Reichert Medical Center in Superior Township.

Ann Arbor nonprofit and Sault Tribe of Chippewa partner to redistribute unused cancer drugs for free

Last year the nonprofit YesRx received a grant to work with the tribe over a two-year period, expanding access to expensive drugs that would otherwise go to waste.

Feature Story Demolition work has begun at the old hospital site and is expected to take about 18 months.

Private-public partnership spurs redevelopment of abandoned hospital site in Marquette

The 17-acre former Marquette General Hospital site is poised for a $166 million redevelopment project, including housing and retail and commercial space, thanks to the efforts of a public-private partnership.  

Longform PreK for All ensures that every 4-year-old in Michigan has access to a high-quality preschool experience, regardless of income.

“A lifeline for families,” PreK for All expands access and raises expectations

Enrollment in PreK for All is now open for all families, no matter their income. The program operates across a mixed delivery system, including local school districts, public charter schools, private child care providers, Head Start programs, and community-based organizations.    

Feature Story This sign stands at the site of the Copper Country Intermediate School District’s first home build.

Build U.P. invests in teens and trades

InvestUP's housing development fund this spring welcomes the completion of the first student-built home among its career and technology education partnership with intermediate school districts.   

Feature Story partridgecreek

Ishpeming farm looks to boost its yield — of food and friends— thanks to MDARD grant

With a $100,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ishpeming's Partridge Creek Farm plans to build a hoop, improve drainage and other measures to grow more food and expands it role in the community.  

Partner Content Boy in classroom

Blueprint for school funding would ensure equitable resources in special education

The MI Special Education Finance Reform Blueprint would ensure that Michigan adequately and equitably funds public special education in Michigan. 

Feature Story Michigan's first mass timber building built with Michigan wood.

DNR marks mass timber milestone with Newberry building

The new DNR Customer Service Center in Newberry is Michigan's first mass timber building constructed with Michigan wood.   

Feature Story trailshuttle

Aaron Rogers: Mountain bike trail builder extraordinaire

Outdoor enthusiast and innovator Aaron Rogers has transformed mountain bike trail design into a global phenomenon. His Rock Solid Trail Contracting is the world’s largest trail building contractor with 100 employees and offices in Copper Harbor and Bentonville, Arkansas.

Longform Lauren LaPine

Medicaid cuts would destabilize mental health care: How Michigan is responding

Proposed Medicaid funding cuts would dismantle critical services, especially for residents facing poverty, mental illness, or substance use disorders — and reduce access to mental health services for all.