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Alzheimer’s walk Saturday was great success

We like the results of an annual local event that raises money for the Alzheimer's Association. The Walk to End Alzheimer’s was staged Saturday in the city of Marquette's Mattson Lower Harbor Park. It raised a good amount of money while attracting a substantial number of people. “The impact of Alzheimer’s and other dementias continue to grow,” said Alzheimer’s Association’s Regional Director for the Upper Peninsula, Jack Vanderlug. “It keeps affecting individuals, families and communities in profound ways.” The Alzheimer’s Association reports that one in three senior ...

Advice on handling aggressive driving

Exposure to aggressive driving fuels more aggression behind the wheel, research from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety showed. In a survey of licensed drivers, 96% admitted to at least one aggressive driving behavior in the past year, including red-light running, speeding, tailgating, honking or cutting off other vehicles. The study reveals a self-perpetuating cycle: the more drivers encounter hostility on the road, the more likely they are to respond in kind and escalate tensions behind the wheel, AAA states in a news release. “Driving often turns into a high-stress ...

Learning how to avoid taking a fall

During the recent Falls Prevention Awareness Week, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services partnered with the Michigan Falls Prevention Coalition, GetSetUp and the National Council on Aging to promote online tools designed to help older adults reduce their risk of falls, one of the greatest causes of serious injuries and death among people older than 65. As part of this effort, an online falls risk assessment was made available at no cost to individuals across the country. Michiganders and Superiorland residents are encouraged to go to NCOA’s Falls Free CheckUp — ...

Fall migration means bird flu could spread

While highly pathogenic avian influenza has not been detected in Michigan’s domestic animals since March, the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development encourages animal owners to remain vigilant and take preventative measures as wild birds that may carry the virus complete their fall migration. “Since the current outbreak of HPAI began in February 2022, the most common cause of disease spread has been wild birds. As wild birds have started to migrate this year, the virus is already being detected in poultry from North and South Dakota,” State Veterinarian Dr. Nora ...

People endangered by ransomware

Internet experts call it ransomware, a very particular type of virus that infects computers and restricts users’ access to their files or threatens the permanent destruction of their information unless a ransom — anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars — is paid. The virus typically announces themselves by popping a message up on screen — supposedly from the FBI or another federal agency — saying that because you violated federal law your computer will remain locked until you pay a fine; or, you get a pop-up message telling you your personal files have been encrypted ...

Veteran suicides should shock everyone

A page 1A story in Wednesday's Mining Journal should have shocked all who read it: in a nutshell, the piece underscored the fact that 17 veterans each day die by suicide in this country. That's more than 6,000 per year, for those readers wondering about the math. Considering that all demographic groups these days seem to be beset by suicide, the fact that veterans find themselves included in these grim statistics comes as no real surprise. But the sheer number, might we say, is jarring. Overall, Wednesday's story told of an origami display at the Oscar G. Johnson Veterans ...