Boxley trial sparks criticism

August 19, 2026

To the Journal editor: Jenna Nelson should resign as Marquette County prosecutor. The burden of proof for the government in any criminal case is beyond a reasonable doubt. Not kinda, sorta, maybe.  As public defender Patrick Crowley said, "Undetermined cause of fire is . . . the literal definition of reasonable doubt." Judge Andrew Griffin should consider finding a new job too, or at least take a continuing education course on how to run a criminal trial. He should have dismissed this case or at least have granted the motion for acquittal after hearing the evidence or lack of ...

Help slow dangerous human-caused climate change

August 18, 2026

To the Journal editor: I'm a retired National Weather Service meteorologist with two degrees in atmospheric science. The great majority of the most qualified scientists in my field believe human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, much of which come from burning dirty fossil fuels like oil and gas, and other short-sighted irresponsible actions like mass deforestation are responsible for a dangerous climate change and that urgent action is necessary to avoid the worst impacts. In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports the concentration of the greenhouse gas ...

History recalled

August 7, 2026

Thank you for publishing the article about Hilda Holmgren, my mom. She didn’t talk much about the election, but she was very pleased with Ken Lowe’s editorial about her integrity. We should emphasize that her victory would not have been possible without the strong and dedicated women in the Women’s Civic League. Without Holmgren, the council had eight members with most votes resulting in a 4-4 split. In order to conduct business, a ninth member was needed. Larry Arnold was the logical choice, as he was next in line according to the vote count. However, members of the council ...

Saying no to data centers

August 6, 2026

To the Journal editor: Ryan Soucy’s Letter to the Editor in late July, “We Need A Better Conversation About Data Centers” needs some clarification. His comment that data centers “generally cannot be prohibited throughout an entire community", is not correct. If a community feels that the infrastructure needs that a business requires to produce its product, and, or, the product produced is incompatible with the stated values for that community, they may declare that a data center business is not allowed. Examples would be rocket launch sites, strip clubs or cannabis ...

Happy 250th Birthday America!

August 5, 2026

America has been a very long time in its making. It has taken 4.6 billion years to get from initial formation of the Earth to today. During that time, plate tectonic processes created pieces of land that "drifted" around the world, colliding with each other to make larger land masses like Pangaea, then rifted apart into smaller land masses that drifted apart. About 1.1 billion years ago, the Mid-Continent rift began to tear our region apart. Lake Superior overlies a segment of this rift. The Grenville Province, another drifting land mass, subsequently collided with the eastern edge of ...

Bergman challenged

August 4, 2026

To the Journal editor: It’s understandable that U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, does not know much about forest wilderness, living as he does, in New Orleans. But to propose sanctioning Canada for allowing its smoke to cross our border? Does he think Canada controls rainfall wind, humidity and temperature? Does he think they should have crews out thinning brush in forests that have no roads? I know he supports the president who would rather blame someone for a problem than try to fix the problem but give me a break. This is the Upper Peninsula. When neighbors have a problem, we ...