2/25/2026

ASHLAND COUNTY - After a years-long court battle, construction is now underway on Enbridge’s Line 5 re-reroute project in northern Wisconsin just hours after the final permit was approved.  That ruling from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers came down yesterday. Part of that route takes the pipeline through the Bad River Reservation.  The reroute project is expected to bring millions of dollars in construction related spending to Ashland, Bayfield and Iron counties.  State permits were upheld in a court decision earlier this month resulting in the band river band of Lake Superior Chippewa filing a petition for a judicial review on the administrative law judge’s decision.  Line 5 starts in Superior and runs through northwest Wisconsin and into Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

2/25/2026

N. WISCONSIN - U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany are demanding the Lac du Flambeau tribe repay the town $600,000 paid for road access. Tiffany called the tribe’s 2023 road barricades over expired easements and the subsequent federal trespassing lawsuit “extortion.” Tribal President John Johnson Sr. rejected Tiffany’s claims as “false and inflammatory,” asserting the town trespassed on tribal trust land and that access payments were “voluntary and lawful”. A U.S. District Court Judge ordered the roads to stay open in August, and the Department of Justice withdrew its appeal. The tribe remains focused on resolving the road issues while upholding its sovereignty.

2/25/2026

MARQUETTE - Search efforts for NMU Student 21-year old Trenton Massey have been suspended.  In a Facebook post yesterday, Marquette Police Department announced the search will remain on the waters of the lower harbor near Founder’s Landing. Massey was last seen on video at 3:25 a.m. on Sunday. Police say camera footage shows that Massey appeared to be disoriented and had difficulty walking, he may have fallen through the ice.