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Protections, funding for students with disabilities under threat, education experts say

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MARQUETTE — Michigan education experts say that the rights and protections for students with disabilities are under threat after President Donald Trump’s executive order to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. “Eliminating the department would be robbing these kids of their future,” said Thomas Morgan, the press secretary for the Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest union of school personnel. Julie Cassidy, a Michigan League for Public Policy senior policy analyst, said, “Education for disabled students is definitely at risk right now.” The ...

Michigan veterans worry about federal cuts, health care access

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MARQUETTE — “When I first filed a claim with the VA, it took years to go through because of staffing shortages,” said Tim Keenan, the president of the Northern Michigan Veterans for Peace chapter. “That changed over the years. It’s a lot faster than what it used to be, but I’m ...

Talk with the Doc

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Because it is so important to our health that we all avoid dehydration, let me again review the many health benefits of consuming enough fluids every day. Water is the principal fluid in the human body and makes up about 60 percent of the body weight of an adult. Every system in our body needs water to function properly. For example, water flushes toxins out of vital organs, carries nutrients to our cells and provides a healthy moist environment for our entire body, including our lungs, muscles, eyes, ears, mouth, throat, digestive system, and nearly all body tissues. Certainly, a ...

Health matters

Life

Some years ago, a beat cop patrolling our streets was called a flatfoot. Was this because they developed a flattened foot from walking the pavement all day? That particular variation on human anatomy used to be sufficient to keep someone out of the military. And yet, Walter Payton, the famous football player, had flat feet and it certainly didn’t stop him. How bad can it be to have a flatter foot type? Human variability is legendary. In many respects, we are all different, especially in how our bodies are shaped and how well all the bones and joints, ligaments and tendons, all work ...

Outdoors North: Patiently waiting for the bird’s song to return

Friday: Outdoors

“Bird on the horizon, sitting on a fence, he’s singing his song for me at his own expense,” — Bob Dylan Rolling along the highway with the window down, fence posts blur and the warm wind comes whipping inside the car, it swirls around me and goes out the open window on the passenger side. Tree swallows overhead twist back and forth as they fly. A bluebird sits on a fence rail, just a couple of feet away from a wooden birdhouse the bright male bird has claimed as his summer residence. I see a highway sign and slow down to make my right turn off the blacktop onto a graveled ...