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Reading an invaluable skill

It's a skill that most of us don't give a lot of thought to. But unlike a great many things all of us are engaged in, reading is an essential skill that we cannot do without. If you’re able to read, and, hopefully, comprehend, this opinion, then you’ve got a skill that some people may never learn. Possessing the ability to read is something many of us likely take for granted. It’s a skill we learned years ago as children back in school, when the scrapes on our knees we got from recess meant more than the lessons we were taught on the chalkboard. But there’s a lifelong value ...

Kennedy stumbles on vaccine comment

It’s safe to say that the American people are being given mixed messages — and that’s putting it very politely. U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday announced that COVID-19 vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women — a move immediately questioned by several public health experts, reports The Associated Press. In a 58-second video posted on the social media site X, Kennedy said he removed COVID-19 shots from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendations for those groups. No one from the CDC was in the video, ...

Swimming is great fun but safety must always be first

Residents and visitors are fully into the outdoor recreation mode as Marquette's beaches are starting to draw big crowds. There’s no doubt Superior's chilly waters offers soothing relief when the air temperature rises into the 70s and 80s and above, but swimmers must be reminded of how dangerous those waters can also be. That same stretch of beach in Marquette where crowds gather is where a strong rip current races through. The current and shifting sands have made the area between the shore at Shiras Park and Picnic Rocks particularly troublesome for swimmers. Since the early ...

Warming weather means more bicycles

Warming weather means more bicyclists on the road, so it’s more important than ever for bicyclists and motorists to enjoy the journey and arrive safely by following the rules of the road. Bicycles on the roadway have the same rights and responsibilities as motorized vehicles. During National Bicycle Safety Month, drivers and bicyclists are called to do their part to help reduce deaths and injuries on our roads. According to Michigan Traffic Crash Facts, in 2023: • Bicyclists were involved in 1,487 motor vehicle crashes and 24 were killed • Of those total crashes, 76% ...

Summer’s here! Keep an eye on fire safety

With Memorial Day in the rear view mirror, summer has finally arrived in the Upper Peninsula. And although the area has received sufficient rain this spring and summer to keep wildfires at bay, history tells us that conditions can — and do — change very quickly. Experts at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources remind us that safety must always be paramount when using fire outside. While this is true year round, it is especially relevant in the summer months when many more of us are recreating outside. Here are a handful of sensible safety tips all of us should practice ...

Memorial Day much more than brats and beer

It’s never a very good idea, we believe, to become too proficient at war, especially when high tech is applied. We believe that's because technology, due to its very nature, is dehumanizing. While we agree that high tech can reduce casualties and minimize what’s known as collateral damage – innocent civilians who had the bad fortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time – seeing war through a video-game lens is nothing less than dangerous. Take Civil War Gen. William T. Sherman, for example. Credited with saying “War is hell,” no one knew more about war than ...