The state’s facade program that the Escanaba Downtown Development Authority depended for many years went away as the COVID-19 pandemic hit, stranding several downtown businesses looking to participate in it.

Now, DDA Director Scott Czasak says they are putting more money in their budget to take advantage of other, similar programs that could help renovate downtown businesses.

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Private transport companies would be allowed to take court-ordered mental health patients to facilities, in our case, from the U.P. to downstate rather than use law enforcement officers under legislation by State Sen. Ed McBroom.

Gladstone State Police Post Commander 1st Lt. Gregg Cunningham met with McBroom and state health director Elisabeth Hertel to talk about the need to find alternative ways to transport clients. It’s become even more important as law enforcement struggles with finding employees.

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Reservations for camping at Delta County parks begins in March for the 2022 season. Rory Mattson with the Delta Conservation District who manages the parks says he expects campsites to be in high demand this year. To handle the influx, reservations are staggered and only available for walk-ins to begin with at the park office at Pioneer Trail Park. Those wanting to stay at Fuller Park can begin making reservations on March 18. At Pioneer Trail Park it’s March 25.

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With COVID-19 number dropping, K-12 schools are looking back at the last two years to determine what might need to be done to help students to catch up academically. Jay Kulbertis, superintendent of the Gladstone and Rapid River schools, says are looking at ways on how to step in for those students who aren’t meeting their educational goals.

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Members of the Upper Peninsula Sportsmen Alliance are asking Congressman Jack Bergman to help delist wolves from the endangered species list through legislation. A federal appeals court threw out a federal order to delist wolves. It’s been done before which promoted Bergman to tell sportsmen at a meeting Saturday in Escanaba that he is “all in.”

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Bay College will continue to require masks be worn on campus despite the state no longer requiring masks for K-12 schools or other public places. Bay President Laura Coleman says masks will likely be required through end of the semester. She says they will be watching what the federal CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, might do and when state employees might return to work.

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Delta County Commissioners voted to end the county’s zoning obligations with a 3-2 vote Tuesday. A new ordinance still needs to be approved that would replace the current zoning ordinance.

Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo says it would not only affect the solar ordinance that the county board is currently considering but also eliminate the county’s wind turbine ordinance and any other zoning ordinances that the county has passed. Instead, zoning would be left to the townships.

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Delta County Commissioner Bob Barron called the county’s proposed solar ordinance “garbage” after the Delta County Board of Commissioners agreed on a 3-2 vote to ask Attorney General Dana Nessel whether Barron has a conflict of interest in voting on the proposed solar ordinance. Barron proposed that the board decide if they needed a solar ordinance at all.

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A new woman’s recovery home in Escanaba is expected to begin operating in March. Kyle Rambo, executive director of Catholic Social Services of the Upper Peninsula, says they want to get the facility operating as soon as possible because of the need to help women struggling with addiction.

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The Michigan Court of Appeals let the latest Tax Tribunal ruling on the Menard’s property in Escanaba stand. Thursday’s ruling keeps the value of Menard's Escanaba property at $5 million for tax years 2012, 2013 and 2014.

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Escanaba School Superintendent Coby Fletcher says Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s budget proposal for K-12 schools is a “welcome sign.” The education proposal for fiscal year 2022-23 includes a boost of the state’s per pupil funding to a record $9,135. It’s a 5 percent increase on top of a large increase in the current school.

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Crystal meth in large amounts not seen before is being seized during traffic stops in Delta County. Delta County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Lauren Wickman says the drugs are moving through the area to other parts of the Upper Peninsula.

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The state House passed a resolution yesterday in support of a wolf hunting and trapping season as a way to manage the wolf population in the Upper Peninsula. The resolution urges the Michigan Natural Resources Commission to allow a wolf hunting and trapping season in the U.P. State Rep. Greg Markkanen of Hancock sponsored the resolution.

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The Escanaba City Council agreed to use Energy Waste Reduction funds to pay for a new Clean Energy Program that offers rebates for energy efficiency efforts. Escanaba Electric Superintendent Jerry Pirkola proposed using $175,000 of the $355,000 to fund the program.

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The Escanaba City Council is looking to remove the mayor as a voting member of the Downtown Development Authority. The first hearing on the ordinance change was held last week. City Manager Patrick Jordan says it would bring Escanaba in compliance with enabling legislation for DDAs passed in 2018.

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Delta County Sheriff Ed Oswald says his view on recreational marijuana has changed since his visit to a marijuana dispensary on tribal land in Escanaba. He decided to walk in one day to the Lume Cannabis Company on Spruce Street to see what the facility was all about. What he found was not what he was expecting.

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Five proposals were submitted for development of the former Delta County Jail and city properties in Escanaba. A committee will review the proposals next Monday. Delta County Administrator Emily DeSalvo says they are similar to the hotel and retail project that was accepted before. The city ended that contract last year.

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A demand for nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic is pitting community colleges against four-year universities as legislators considers bills to allow community colleges to offer four-year bachelor of nursing programs. Bay College President Laura Coleman has long supported the idea of allowing community colleges to offer four-year nursing degrees. She says it benefits rural communities.

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The number of COVID-19 cases in Delta County are increasing at a slower rate. Delta County has seen 1,339 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks, an 18 percent increase over the previous two weeks when COVID-19 cases increased by 40 percent. Mike Snyder, health officer at Public Health of Delta Menominee Counties says that means the county is going in the right direction.

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