Breaking News

Opinion

Iranian goals questioned

Letters To The Editor

Here is a letter I sent U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, on March 9 through his Congressional portal. Congressman Bergman, The Trump administration’s multiple tariffs, threats to annex Greenland and Canada, attacks on Venezuela purportedly for drug trafficking, while pardoning a former Honduran president/drug kingpin, are baffling. The administration’s policies align more with the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland than a great nation. The policies, bereft of reason, are chaotic, out of focus, and consistently and needlessly cruel. The administration has killed American ...

Trump's war psychology

Columns

Two weeks after the start of the Iran War, the picture is coming into focus. Why would a president who promised countless times not to start new wars have leapt into this conflict? As always in the age of Trump, it's necessary to separate the president's motives and mindset from the old ways ...

Blizzard was one for the books

Editorial

The blizzard of 2026 is in the books, so to speak, although we’re told informally that plowing and shoveling leftover snow from last week’s historic dump continues in scattered locations. And what a blizzard it was. Much of the Upper Peninsula was impacted with the central U.P. and some locations elsewhere coming in for the heaviest snowfall. The light (in terms of weight) snow was driven relentlessly by winds that approached 65 mph, piling up drifts, blocking doorways and socking in vehicles for 48-plus hours. In general terms, the greater Marquette area received 2 feet of snow ...

It’s cloudy in Michigan this Sunshine Week

Editorial

Every Sunshine Week, the Michigan Press Association honors a public official who advances open government. This year, for the first time, we’re giving no award. That’s how cloudy it is over transparency in Michigan. “Unfortunately, this year’s legislative and policy landscape does not reflect the progress or commitment to openness that the award is designed to celebrate,” the MPA said in advance of Sunshine Week, which began Sunday. “Rather than closing that gap, the past year has seen little forward movement – and in some cases, proposals that would further restrict ...

Is affordability really a crisis?

Columns

At some point, the headlines turned "affordability" from a concern into a "crisis." But what does affordability mean? For most of us, that depends on what we consider our minimum requirements for happiness. If you look at TikTok, life in New York City is a fairy tale of chic bars, eggs ...

Iran is challenging a bedrock of American geopolitical power

Columns

The reason why we have the Fifth Fleet, one of the most awesome naval forces ever assembled in the history of mankind, is to protect the sea lanes in the Middle East. That the Strait of Hormuz is now effectively closed is not just a blow to the global economy and a key point of leverage for ...