Opinion

Almanac for Aug. 14, 2026

Today is Friday, Aug. 14, the 226th day of 2026. There are 139 days left in the year. Today in history: On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act into law, ensuring income for elderly Americans and creating a federal unemployment insurance program. Also on this date: In 1936, in front of an estimated 20,000 spectators, Rainey Bethea was hanged in Owensboro, Kentucky, in the last public execution in the United States. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter, which ...

From Drone to Door

There's a new delivery system in town. Well ... maybe not in your town. In some places, drones are now allowed to deliver small packages, groceries and takeout. Companies like Wing and Zipline bring people hot meals in under 10 minutes. I had to watch it to believe it. You can see it in my ...

It’s time to check trees for invasive Asian longhorned beetle

Residents in the region need only look at what likely is a dead ash tree -- perhaps already a stump -- in their yard or neighborhood to know the devastation that can be done by an invasive species. Since first being discovered in the U.S. in 2002 in Michigan, the emerald ash borer has all but ...

Editorial cartoon for Aug. 14, 2026

A much needed recharge

“Country roads, take me home, to the place I belong,” – John Denver I had just pulled out of the drive-through line and grabbed my container of French fries out of the paper bag. I hit the highway like a man possessed, and by that, I mean I felt like I was breaking down inside, ...

Fair week farmers

ESCANABA — Fair week brings out the farmer in all of us! Corn fields, country roads, and cotton candy are all in vogue right now. Sunflowers stand tall, tomatoes ripen and cucumbers are kings on everyone’s kitchen cupboards. The annual U.P. State Fair creeps up on us like a barn cat on a mouse. Summer slips into the harvest season faster than a flash of lightening on the horizon. Fair week (August 17-23) is full of fantastic smells and sentiments. Food trucks, French fries, elephant ears, and roasting chickens, mixed with the smell of hay and a hint of manure are the hallmarks ...