8/01/2025

UPPER MICHIGAN - A new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows housing is reaching unaffordable levels in the U.P.  The report says minimum wage workers may have to work multiple jobs to afford fair market rent, which ranges from $750 to $1,200 per month for a 2-to-3-bedroom home in the Ironwood area.  The report considers housing to be “affordable” if it costs 30% of a person’s income.  The report shows that Michigan and the U.P. are not doing particularly worse than the rest of the country.  If you are facing homelessness in Gogebic or Ontonagon Counties you can reach out to the Gogebic-Ontonagon Community Action Agency in Bessemer for help and resources. 

8/01/2025

UPPER MICHIGAN - Six roadside parks around the U.P. will be closed for upgrades over the next few weeks. The Michigan Department of Transportation is closing several seasonal roadside parks to make upgrades to the vault toilets. Unlike rest areas and welcome centers, roadside parks utilize pit toilets. Many haven’t been upgraded in more than 25 years. MDOT will add new buildings with deeper tanks to reduce issues with smell. Other upgrades, like ADA-compliant sidewalks, will take place at the time of the closures as well.  Upcoming closures include the M-28 Ewen Pines Roadside Park, Ontonagon County, which will close starting on Thursday, Aug. 7. The upgrades are expected to take 2 weeks to complete.

8/01/2025

ALGER COUNTY - The Michigan State Police say M-28 has reopened after a plane landed on the highway late yesterday afternoon.  The MSP says the plane had to make an emergency landing after its engine blew mid-flight. The plane landed safely and no one was hurt.  The MSP says the plane was loaded onto a flatbed tow truck and was transported to Hanley Field Airport in Wetmore.