Breaking News

Local columns

Almanac for July 17, 2026

Today is Friday, July 17, the 198th day of 2026. There are 167 days left in the year. Today in History: In 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, after its $17 million, yearlong construction; the park drew a million visitors in its first 10 weeks. Also on this date: In 1862, during the Civil War, Congress approved the Second Confiscation Act, which declared that all enslaved people taking refuge behind Union lines were to be set free. In 1902, Willis Carrier produced a set of designs for what would become the world’s first modern air-conditioning system. In 1918, ...

North shore ghosts of summers past

Escanaba often refers to its “north shore” area near Basic Marine and the Reiss Coal Dock. But that’s what the city wants you to believe! Esky’s true “north shore extends far beyond that nearly all the way to the mouth of the Escanaba River. It’s a huge, haunted area of rust, ...

Smoke on the water

“Smoke on the water, a fire in the sky,” – Deep Purple There’s a smell I occasionally get a whiff of when the damper on the fireplace is open and I’m sitting on the short couch in the living room. It’s the smell of charred wood – an aroma that’s pleasant around a campfire or ...

What a 700-year-old fresco can teach America

There are moments when history reaches across the centuries with startling clarity. Standing in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena, Italy, and looking at Ambrogio Lorenzetti’s “Allegory of Good and Bad Government,” I had one of those moments. Nearly 700 years old, the series of fresco ...

Hegseth announces new policy to test troops for low testosterone

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Wednesday that he is rolling out a new screening program for “testosterone deficiency” among troops, calling it necessary to allow them to operate at their “absolute best.” The screenings will be conducted annually as part ...

Almanac for July 16, 2026

Today is Thursday, July 16, the 197th day of 2026. There are 168 days left in the year. Today in History: In 1945, the United States detonated its first experimental atomic bomb in the desert of Alamogordo, New Mexico; the same day, the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis left Mare Island Naval Shipyard in California on a secret mission to deliver atomic bomb components to Tinian Island in the Marianas. Also on this date: In 1790, a site along the Potomac River was designated the permanent seat of the United States government; the area became Washington, D.C. In 1862, Flag Officer David ...