city notes

Bridgefest celebrating 63 years

Bridgefest returns to the Portage Canal shoreline in Houghton, celebrating the 63rd year of the Portage Lift Bridge connecting the cities of Houghton and Hancock. The festival is set to take place from June 15 to 18, and will feature several events, including helicopter rides, a lighted boat parade, live music at the Ray Kestner Houghton Waterfront, the Thatcher Markham Memorial Run, the Bridgefest Parade, tennis, pickleball and cribbage tournaments, and much more. Visit bridgefestfun.com for a full list of events.

Marquette City Band to perform summer series

The Marquette City Band has announced its summer concert series for 2023. Concerts will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Presque Isle Park Bandshell on June 8, June 22, July 13, July 27 and August 3. The band will also perform at 6:30 p.m. on July 3 at Mattson Lower Harbor Park, and during the UP Community Band Festival in August. Concerts are free and open to the public, with donations accepted at events.

UPCM offers new exhibit

The Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum recently announced the opening of its Heart Exhibit. Kids can hear the sound of a beating heart as well as take a ride down a twirly slide. The Heart Exhibit is now open to the public for hands-on play. The museum, located along Baraga Street in Marquette, is open to the public daily. Single-day tickets are available for purchase at the desk, as are annual family passes.

10th annual Iron Range Roll set for June 3

The 10th annual Iron Range Roll is scheduled for Saturday, June 3. This 16 mile bike race is a family friendly yet competitive event. There is no time limit and there are plenty of places to stop and rest along the race route. New this year, sign up as a team and have your own mini race while biking the Iron Range Roll. Complete against each other, or other teams. The event starts at the Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum in Ishpeming at 2 p.m. The race begins on the Heritage Trail and follows that through Negaunee, Negaunee Township and Marquette Township before ending at the Marquette Commons in downtown Marquette. Dinner and awards will be presented at the Ore Dock Brewing Company following the race. Awards will be given out to the top racers in each age bracket. The 2022 Iron Range Roll was the largest fundraiser yet for the event, with over $10,000 raised for the YMCA of Marquette County’s Youth Programs, and an additional donation made to Ainsley’s HALO. Over the past 10 years, the Iron Range Roll has donated over $40,000 to the youth programs at the YMCA.

League of Women Voters of Marquette County hosts annual meeting

The League of Women Voters of Marquette County will host its Annual Meeting from 6 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 7, at the Ore Dock Brewing Company. Community members are welcome to join the meeting and learn about the LWV. League members will hold their elections and set their budget and priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. The brief business meeting will be followed by League and community member recognitions and a social meet-and-greet. Attendees can talk with local League members and enjoy pizza. League leaders will be available to talk about LWV voter guides, voter registrations, observer corps, candidate forums, and other League projects. League members will be available to answer questions about membership and volunteer opportunities with the League. League membership is open to all men and women 16 years of age and older. Currently, the membership fee is being waived for students. For more information, contact the League email at lwvmqtco@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page.

Baraga County rummage sale set for June 10

The Baraga County Chamber of Commerce will be facilitating a county-wide yard sale on June 10 from 9 a.m. to noon. Registered sites will be listed on a county-wide map. Shoppers can find links to the map on Facebook, Twitter, and the Chamber website, keweenawbay.org. Printed maps will be available at Northern Oil in Baraga, at the chamber’s office located at 1 N Main Street, L’Anse (in the outside building display case), and at the selling sites. In addition to finding great treasures to purchase, shop- pers are eligible to enter into a prize drawing at each selling site they visit. The more sites visited, the better the chances of winning.

DNR to replace bridge in Houghton County

Abridge replacement project along the Donken-Tapiola Road is expected to delay motorists over an 8-week construction period, beginning early June. Mobilization of the project to install an arched culvert over the Misery River, south of Donken and just east of M-26 is scheduled to begin June 6. “This will close down a fairly well-traveled road for that duration,” said Brad Carlson, Baraga unit manager for the DNR’s Forest Resources Division. “It will not block access to any private property as there is alternative access, it just may take longer and through travel will be restricted.”

West End rummage set for June 9 to 11

The Greater Ishpeming-Negaunee Area Chamber of Commerce has organized a town-wide rummage sale for the West End of Marquette County. The event will take place on Friday, June 9 through Sunday, June 11. Sale participants will be in Negaunee, Ishpeming and surrounding townships.

Cliff’s Shaft Mine Museum open for summer

The Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum’s regular season will run through Sept. 30, with regular operating hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Hour-long, guided tours will run at 10:30 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2:15 p.m. The annual fall festival is also being planned for September. The working forge will be fired up with David Arbelius, the museum’s resident blacksmith, at the anvil with his handmade wares for sale. A variety of products, including local food items, will be available in the gift shop along with many popular books, rocks, apparel, toys, and souvenirs. Cliffs Shaft Mine Museum is located at 501 W. Euclid Street in Ishpeming. For further information, visit their Facebook page, cliffsshaftminemuseum.com, or call the museum at 906-485-1882.

New gardens installed at Lakeview Elementary School

The Lions’ Clubs of Negaunee and Ishpeming built raised garden beds in Lakeview Elementary School’s courtyard this spring. Community members were able to attend the event, which created 20 garden beds, two of which are wheelchair ac- cessible and one that will be used for demonstration. A similar program was established at Birchview Elementary School in Ishpeming, where students learn to grow their own vegetables to be served as part of the school’s lunch program, also known as a Farm to School Program.

Free fishing day returns to Lakenenland

The South Shore Fishing Association will host its annual Kid’s Fishing Day at Lakenenland outside Marquette, on M-28 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 17. In 2019, SSFA gave away 300 fishing rods to future anglers. The event is a family friendly day filled with fishing, exploring a sculpture park, and a picnic lunch prepared and donated by Elks Club Lodge #405 of Marquette.

Negaunee Beautification Committee seeks volunteers

The City of Negaunee Beautification Committee is looking for volunteers to repair and replace damaged or dead plants, restore the city’s beauty with native plants, and revitalizing Negaunee with a mix of old and new beauty. Donations of time and or money are acceptable. Those interested can email beauty@cityofnegaunee. com.

Kids Fishing Day returns to Delta County

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Annual Kids Fishing Day, which will be held Saturday, June 10 at the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Pocket Park, located on the Upper Peninsula State Fairgrounds in Escanaba. Registration for Kids Fishing Day will be from noon to 1:30 p.m. and the event will run until 3 p.m. All activities are free of charge and open to youth ages 16 years old and younger. The first 300 participants will receive a goody bag. Familiar activities returning include bluegill fishing, minnow races and face painting, along with free food and raffle prizes. Greg Karch, certified angler instructor and founder of the non-profit organization Learn 2 Fish with Us, will be returning to the event this year to teach kids how to cast a fishing line and tie fishing knots. In addition, Smokey Bear will be wandering the grounds and the DNR will have an animal furs display (where youth can touch and learn about various animal coats), a scavenger hunt and opportunities for kids to learn how to shoot at the Pocket Park’s archery and pellet gun ranges. This year’s Kids Fishing Day event will be held in conjunction with the DNR’s Free Fishing Week- end. Camping is available on the fairgrounds. For more information, or if you would like to volunteer to help at the event, please contact Jo Ann at 906-786-2351.

The Gallery, Marquette celebrating five years

The Gallery, Marquette is going into its fifth year of providing regional artists with venues to exhibit and sell work. The gallery is a project of the Marquette Artist Collective, formed in August of 2017 with the mission to support the arts, artists and art events in the Marquette area. As a part of that the members opened the gallery at 130 West Washington (formerly the Oasis Gallery) in 2018. The Gallery is run by its members and it has exhibited work by more then 150 artists throughout the years. This summer they are featuring works by twenty two regional artists. You’ll find jewelry, paintings, ceramics, photography, woodwork, printing, and more. The Gallery will celebrate the summer with special Maker Market Pop Ups, the City of Marquette’s Art Week, Wednesday Evening Farmers Markets, as well as introducing several new artists. Open seven days a week, including open evening hours, there’s plenty of opportunity to see what’s new. For more information go to thegallerymqt.com or check out their social media on Instagram and Facebook.

Self-paced online nutrition class available

Michigan State University Extension is now offering My Way to Wellness, a self-paced online nutrition education program that can be completed at participants’ convenience, using a computer or handheld device with internet access. My Way to Wellness is comprised of 10 video lessons based on the Dietary and Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and includes interactive activities and knowledge checkpoints to aid in learning. Each lesson is about 30 minutes in length and includes closed captioning and voiceover narration. Lessons cover topics such as healthy food choices, physical activity, goal setting, food safety and reading a food label. This selfpaced, online course is supported by MSU Extension community nutrition instructors who are available to virtually answer questions and facilitate interactive discussions. Classes are offered in two-month blocks, starting May 2023 through December 2023. Once participants begin a class, they have until the end of their two-month class session to finish it. For example, participants in the May-June session can register any time from May 1 until June 19 and complete their session by June 30. New sessions will begin every other month and participants can sign up for a two-month session by visiting msu.edu and searching “My Way To Wellness.” There is no cost to participate in these online classes, and participants must be 18 years or older and live in the Upper Peninsula. If participants are part of the UP Food as Medicine program, they can earn $40 in farmers market vouchers by completing this course and taking a pre- and post-survey.

MRHC to host bus tours

The Marquette Regional History Center will host several Historic Marquette Bus Tours this summer. Tours feature local history through stories of Marquette and the people who lived here. Historical reenactors take participants back in time. The 90-minute outings depart from and return to the History Center. Tours will take place at 1 p.m. on July 18 and 25, and on August 1 and 8. Additional tours will take place at 6 p.m. on July 19 and 26, and August 2 and 9. Visit marquettehistory.org to order tickets or call 906-226-3571. Each tour has 31 tickets, at a cost of $25 each. Tickets on sale now.

Bay College summer series set to begin

Strings on the Bay, the summer chamber music series presented by Bay de Noc Community College returns this summer with a slate of