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Smaller government needed

Letters To The Editor

To the Journal editor: Recently, The Mining Journal ran an article of the U.S. Forest Service closing all four of its research offices in Michigan. In the article, which described the positions using an acronym that to most suggested these people were in fact research scientists. A comment from Michigan Tech University stated these people are needed to make sure timber harvest is done using the best, most recent scientific data. The reality is that after looking up exactly what the acronym stood for, I found that the people being relocated are actually “data analysts” and not field ...

State offers resources for dealing with flooding

Editorial

With many parts of Michigan experiencing severe flooding due to melting snow and rain, state officials are advising residents what to do if in an area under threat. If more rain falls — the National Weather Service predicts up to 3 inches in some areas — conditions could worsen, with additional flooding and even flash flooding possible. Risks from flooding, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, can include — — Exposure to contaminants in flood water, including E. coli, heavy metals and petrochemicals; — Injury from floating debris; — Power ...

What the end of Viktor Orban means for the New Right

Columns

Viktor Orban, the proudly "illiberal" prime minister of Hungary, beloved by various New Right nationalists and MAGA American intellectuals, was crushed at the polls this (past) weekend. Over the last decade or so, Hungary became for the New Right what Sweden or Cuba were to the Old Left. For ...

Organized religion in trouble

Letters To The Editor

To the Journal editor: And I must tell you, with great respect for the effort being displayed, this thing is over. Mainline protestantism has been bleeding out since 1965 and has not yet had the decency to acknowledge the wound. The Methodists split over homosexuality like a nineteenth-century frontier congregation and lost a third of their membership in the divorce. The Presbyterians count their remaining faithful in numbers that would embarrass a moderately successful restaurant chain. The Episcopalians hold magnificent real estate and virtually no one under 60. The evangelicals, ...

Farmers markets offer many positives

Editorial

Maybe it's just our appreciation for freshly grown produce, great music and artisan goods, but we believe area farmers markets provide a nice accent to living in this area. One of the largest and most robust of the markets — and there are more than handful — takes place in the Marquette Commons each Saturday. In fact, the people that organize the Marquette market, the city's Downtown Development Authority, has invited community members to its annual market preview from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, April 25. This special event offers a first look at the upcoming market season and ...

Opposes forest management plans

Letters To The Editor

To the Journal editor: I am very disturbed by changes the Trump administration has proposed for management of our National Forests. These include transferring the headquarters of the Forest Service from Washington D.C. to Utah, closing regional Forest Service headquarters, and shutting down Forest Service research facilities and experimental forests. There are four U.S. Forest Service research facilities in Michigan, located in the Lower Peninsula (East Lansing and Wellston) and in Houghton and L’Anse in the Upper Peninsula. Collaboration with the Michigan Department of Natural ...