Opinion

Families urged to vaccinate before the school year starts

With Michigan classrooms set to reopen in a matter of weeks, doctors and public health leaders Thursday urged parents to check their children’s immunization records and catch up on any missed vaccines before the first day of school. The call comes as the U.S. logs its worst measles year in 35 years, and as vaccine-preventable diseases such as whooping cough and chickenpox continue to circulate in the state, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports in a news release. As of July 22, the U.S. had recorded 2,321 measles cases nationwide, according to the Johns ...

The case for capitalism

I’ve failed! I make the case for free markets ... young people elect socialists! What are they thinking? Do they even think? Do they pay any attention to history? Or economics? Socialism always fails. Only markets create environments that let people prosper. “Getting the right ...

August guests — family reunion time

ESCANABA — It’s almost August and that means company is coming! Pack up the picnic basket, bake up a raspberry pie, it’s family reunion time. Fair week is fast approaching, crickets chirp louder at night now, and the short Upper Peninsula summertime is starting to wane. So go for a ride! It’s time to visit the relatives back home. Great Aunt Erma and Uncle Fred are on their way to your house. The old homestead, family farm, camp or cottage are good gathering places. Part of the day will be spent at the cemetery viewing gravestones of kinfolk long passed. An afternoon will ...

Poll shows shifting views on Trump’s handling of Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) — Most Americans say the war in Iran has not been worth fighting, and President Donald Trump’s approval rating on Iran has fallen slightly since last month, according to a new AP-NORC poll. The results are a stark repudiation of the Republican president’s approach to the ...

Editorial cartoon for July 31, 2026

A resident's lived experience with DATA

My name is Saundra, and I have been riding with Delta Area Transit Authority (DATA) for more than 16 years. When I moved to the Gladstone area from Chicago, I was raising two young children and knew very little about the community. DATA became one of the first services that helped me get established. At the time, I was healthy, could walk without assistance, and still had my vision. As I learned more about DATA, I became involved with Friends of DATA and later volunteered with Regional Interagency Coordinating Council (RICC). My two children and I even helped raise money by selling ...