By Journal Staff

MARQUETTE — Upper Peninsula communities in the 109th House District will benefit from the state’s fiscal 2023-24 budget.

State Rep. Jenn Hill, D-Marquette, and House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, held a press conference on Friday about the state’s fiscal 2023-24 budget.

“This bipartisan budget significantly reinvests in communities throughout the Upper Peninsula,” Hill said in a press release. “I’m proud that we’ve increased funding for rural school districts to help them cover the costs of transporting students. Recent events this year have shown how badly we need to improve water infrastructure; this budget includes hundreds of millions (of dollars) to repair dams, upgrade sewer systems and protect the Great Lakes. We’ve managed to make these generational investments while maintaining the largest rainy day fund in history and cutting taxes for seniors and working families.”

Benefits for communities in the 109th District include:

≤ $3 million to Baraga County for the construction of a new transportation maintenance facility and service center.

≤ $3 million for the restoration of the Vista Theatre in Negaunee.

≤ $1.8 million for the Republic Township dam and fish passage project.

≤ $300,000 to extend the Iron Ore Heritage Trail into Lakenenland in Chocolay Township.

≤ $150,000 to Chocolay Township for the purchase of firefighting equipment.

“I’m proud of the work that this budget will help us accomplish here in the U.P.,” Tate said. “This budget promises to make a tangible impact throughout the region, from repairing dams to providing better access to mental health care to building more affordable housing to safeguarding the Upper Peninsula’s spectacular natural resources. I look forward to seeing the difference these investments will make in Yoopers’ lives.”