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Breitung board hears appeal on dangerous building

QUINNESEC — The Breitung Township Board this week denied an appeal from Kerry Schinderle concerning dangerous building ordinance violations at 421 Henford Ave. in East Kingsford. At a Dec. 20 hearing, it was determined Schinderle had a long history of noncompliance with ordinances and his property was a safety and health risk to his neighbors. The hearing officer gave Schinderle a Dec. 30 deadline to clean up debris from a November fire. An appeal from Schinderle wasn’t heard at the Jan. 8 board meeting because written notice couldn’t be served. Despite still not being able to ...

Former deputy faces trial for sexual assault

MENOMINEE — A former Menominee County Sheriff’s officer and school resource officer who has already been found guilty of committing sexual crimes with teenage boys will face a jury later this year, following another victim coming forward with claims of abuse. Brian William Helfert, 60, of 1116 17th Ave., in Menominee, is charged with two counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct for allegedly raping a 13-year-old boy. Each count is punishable by up to life in prison. A trial is set for July 29 through Aug. 2 in Menominee’s 41st Circuit Court. According to information ...

More than 100 attend annual Keys Peak Winter Party

FLORENCE, Wis. — The Keyes Peak Winter Party was held from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday and more than 130 kids and young adults attended with parents and friends. There was free tubing, skiing, and/or snowboarding at Keyes Peak ski hill for those 3-19 years of age. “Keyes Peak Winter Party had a wonderful turnout with such amazing feedback from the community in attendance. Kids were smiling, playing with friends, and learning new winter sports,” said Ally Kalkofen, Florence County public health nurse. The event was sponsored by the Florence County Alcohol & Other Drug Abuse and ...

Northern Exposure winner has way with glass

ESCANABA — Alexander Fekete aims to bring as much soul as possible to each of his metal and glass sculptures, which juxtapose ideas about strength and fragility and minimalism and substance. “It’s the pursuit of form, and pursuit of form that is very unique to molten glass or to blown ...

Heikinpaiva marks Finnish American heritage

HANCOCK — Hancock’s annual mid-winter celebration reaches its peak Saturday with a parade, games, markets, dancing and other activities. Since 1999, the annual Heikinpaiva celebration has marked the point where “the bear rolls over in his den.” The bear itself can be seen walking down Quincy Street Saturday morning, along with figures from Finnish folklore and more recent Finnish American inventions like St. Urho. The days leading up to Saturday’s parade feature a series of traditional Finnish lessons, including the Vanhimmat class for folk and ballroom dances. That will be ...

Sewage data show drop in COVID-19

ESCANABA — The amount of DNA from the virus responsible for COVID-19 in Escanaba’s sewer water appears to be dropping, but the two most recent samples submitted to the state’s surveillance program offer very different pictures of the virus. According to the Sentinel Wastewater Epidemiology Evaluation Project, commonly known a “SWEEP,” the most recent sample submitted by Escanaba Waste Water Treatment Plant on Jan. 10 contained more viral DNA than 75% of samples collected at the wastewater treatment plant since the city began participating in the project in August of 2021. The ...