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Area judicial races decided in Delta, Menominee and Schoolcraft counties

ESCANABA — While there were several judicial elections in the area Tuesday, only some were contested — including the race for Delta County 94th District Court judge. Longtime attorney Trent Stupak and Andrew Hayse, domestic relations referee in the Delta County 47th Circuit Court, both vied for the bench in the 94th District Court. Stupak ultimately won, taking home 9,676 votes (65.64%) in Delta County. Hayse received 5,026 votes (34.10%). There were 29 write-in votes for the 94th District Court judge position, though none were certified with the Delta County Clerk. "Thank you ...

Communities vote on road commissioners

ESCANABA — Area voters headed to the polls Tuesday to decide several local races, including road commissioner positions in three Upper Peninsula counties. In Delta County’s uncontested race, Randolph L. Bjork (Democrat) and Dustin Stempki (Republican) were two incumbents elected to serve ...

Newcomer among four elected to EAPS Board of Education

ESCANABA — Voters have selected a new representative to serve on the Escanaba Area Public Schools (EAPS) Board of Education, bringing a new voice and perspective to the district's leadership. Of the five community members who ran to serve on the board, the four who were elected Tuesday night were Todd A. Milkiewicz, Steve Howes, Sage Dubord and Melissa Bonifas-Ness. Angela Gardner fell short of securing voters’ support. All candidates were incumbents except Bonifas-Ness, who was the only newcomer in the race. 3,991 residents (20.91% of the overall vote) voted for Milkiewicz; ...

Three to begin new full terms on Big Bay de Noc school board

COOKS — Lindsey Bleau, Ben T. Carley, Kathy Frankovich and Adam Gembel will soon enter new four-year terms on the Big Bay de Noc School District board. Of voters in Garden, Nahma, Fairbanks and Inwood Townships, 858 voted for Gembel, 825 for Frankovich, 815 for Carley, 745 voted for Bleau, and 652 for Ryan Stoken. All have been serving on the school board alongside Heather Pederson and Rachel Paulson. There is also a partial term available, for which there were 67 write-in votes, but no certified candidate. It is possible that at an upcoming meeting, the board may re-appoint Stoken ...

Mid Pen board change

ROCK — Michael O'Neal, Gary Kivioja and Cheryl Patrick appear to have secured board of education positions at Mid Peninsula School District following the vote count after Tuesday's election. The three seats had been sought by four individuals. John Albertson, Kivioja and Patrick were ...

Aging homes and tangled repair programs weigh on U.P. and rural homeowners

MARQUETTE — From Ironwood to the Soo, U.P. families who need help repairing aging homes face a statewide patchwork of programs that are hard to find, hard to combine and, for small rural agencies, hard to run, according to a new report funded in part by InvestUP. The study by Public Policy Associates (PPA) estimates more than 520,000 owner-occupied homes across Michigan, 17% of the state's total, may need subsidized repair. To ensure a rural focus with the report, InvestUP joined five other investors in financially supporting the study entitled Coordinating Homeowner Rehabilitation in ...