Features

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 All Gods Children teacher

No-cost pre-K for all Michigan 4-year-olds enrolling for 2025-26 school year

QA with Jeffrey Capizzano, Policy Equity Group, on the implementation of Pre-K for All no-cost preschool for Michigan 4-year-olds.

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.

Feature Story trainrailyard

Railroad program flourishes where there are no rails

A three-year pilot program to teach rail transportation education and research at Michigan Technological University is still rolling along two decades later. The nationally recognized program has attracted more than 1,000 students and continues to grow.   

Feature Story maplefallscene

Sweet News: U.P. maple syrup producer receives state grant to modernize, expand

A family-owned maple syrup producer in Iron County has been awarded a $100,000 state grant to modernize and expand operations. 

Longform A stream diversion project at the Copperwood site.

Copperwood Mine: Bringing prosperity back to the communities of the Western U.P.

Canadian-based Highland Copper is poised to begin mining in Gogebic County. Both the company and the communities surrounding the mine believe the project will bring prosperity back to the western U.P.

Feature Story Trees cloaked in ice on Mackinac Island.

Community foundations rally to raise money to help victims of historic ice storm

Community foundations on Mackinac Island and across Northern Michigan are raising money to help support organizations providing food, shelter and services to residents impacted by the historic ice storm.

Longform Summit Pointe Youth Services staff, from left, Matt Jones, Beth Decker, Sam Stover, Melissa DeDie, a

Community mental health and child welfare collaborate to care for Michigan’s vulnerable children

Michigan’s community mental health (CMH) agencies are the lead in providing mental health care for children in the child welfare system.

Feature Story universityresearchcorridor

What Michigan Tech's partnership in the research corridor means for the university and the U.P.

Michigan Tech's recent inclusion in the prestigious University Research Corridor bolsters the state's overall competitiveness in science, engineering, and innovation and serves as catalyst for economic growth in the U.P.  

Feature Story picturedrockscruises

Pictured Rocks Cruises expansion sets stage for potential growth in Munising

In Munising, a newly created special tax district will help the popular Pictured Rocks Cruises expand and improve its operations and -- it is hoped -- spark economic growth in the tourist-friendly community.

Feature Story classroom

Talent Together: Addressing teacher shortages in the U.P. and across Michigan

Talent Together, a state-funded initiative to increase the number of certified teachers across Michigan, is finding success, drawing plenty of applicants. In the U.P., many prospective teachers are enrolled in the online program available through Northern Michigan University in Marquette.

Feature Story The Ruppe Building reflects Calumet's role in America's industrial growth during the copper boom.

Keweenaw Community Foundation launches fund to help preserve downtown Calumet

A new fund aims to help in the preservation of Calumet's historic district while also fostering economic growth and redevelopment. 

Partner Content porcupinecabin

Some things never change

Inside rustic cabins and yurts at the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park there are log books. For more than 70 years, visitors have written in them. We went into this time capsule to see if people’s experiences here had changed much over the changing decades.

Longform Jessica Rickert

Breaking Barriers: Dr. Jessica Rickert inspires native dentists

Jessica Rickert, DDS, the first American Indian female dentist, advocates for oral health equity and inspires Native youth through mentorship and representation.

Feature Story woodworkingstmauds

Rural woodworking school teaches carving and life skills to Michigan and Wisconsin students

Saint Maud’s Makerspace operates on the Sloyd principles, an educational model founded and developed in 1800’s Sweden. Students are learning woodworking skills but also strengthening themselves for the journey of life.   

Feature Story The beloved resort at Iron Mountain added 34 cozy cabins before the ski season.

Update: New cabins and other improvements at Pine Mountain Ski and Golf Resort

Improvements at the beloved Pine Mountain Ski and Golf Resort include cozy new cabins, a mountain bike trail network and a park.