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Bridgefest fun despite wind and rain: photos available
Posted 06/21/2006  

HOUGHTON -- "It was real windy, and the waves were against us," said Anna Shoos, who, with her friend Lena Sutter, won first place in their 11-and-under age group in the Pirates of the Keweenaw Human-Powered Boat Races during Bridgefest on June 18. "We got the best design, the best costumes (Hawaiian) and the fastest ship," Anna noted. The girls used cardboard, paint and polyurethane to build their "Titanic" during the ACE Fitness Camp held at Keweenaw Memorial Fitness Center. While activities were held despite some wind and rain, the fireworks had to be cancelled on Saturday night and will be re-scheduled, probably for August. Visit S. Gowtham's Web site for Bridgefest 2006 photos and watch for Chain Drive bike race photos, coming soon.
Photo: Anna Shoos, left, and Lena Sutter paddle their award-winning "Titanic" in the Bridgefest Pirates of the Keweenaw cardboard boat race June 18, 2006. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © 2006 Mike Neuman)

12th Annual Keweenaw Chain Drive Festival begins
Posted 06/17/2006  12:15 p.m.

HANCOCK -- The 12th Annual Portage Health System Keweenaw Chain Drive Festival is underway in Hancock as mountain bikers compete in the 16- and 32-mile cross-country races at the Maasto Hiihto/Churning Rapids trail system. The finish is at the Portage Health campus on Campus Drive in Hancock, where the  the Junior Chain Drive for youth up to age 13 will begin (at about 3:30 p.m.), following the adult cross-country races. Click here for a map of the course. Tomorrow, Sunday, June 18, bikers will compete in "Gravity Events" -- downhill bike racing and the new Technical Dual Slalom at the Mt. Ripley Ski Hill. Mandatory practice for the Mt. Ripley events will be from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The downhill race will begin at 11 a.m., followed by the Technical Dual Slalom at 12:30 p.m. (tentative). A Gravity Awards Ceremony will be held at 2:30 p.m. Visit the Chain Drive Web site for details.
Photo: At the start of the 2006 Keweenaw Chain Drive cross-country races mountain bikers head under the Portage Lake Lift Bridge on Saturday, June 17, on their way to the Maasto-Hiihto/Churning Rapids trail system in Hancock. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © 2006 Michele Anderson) 

Stupak opposes House Resolution on Iraq War
Posted 06/16/2006  

WASHINGTON, DC -- Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI) today voted against House Resolution 861 on the Iraq War. During the debate on the Resolution, on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Stupak made several remarks explaining his wish that the Resolution be rejected. "The President must develop a strategy to bring our troops home," Stupak said. "I believe America should demand from the Bush Administration an Iraq Accountability Plan that will set clear and measurable goals. The United States has provided the Iraqis with an opportunity for freedom, democracy and self-governance. But it is the responsibility of the Iraqi people to seize the opportunity and set forth these principles in their land." According to the New York Times, the House voted 256 to 153 on Friday, June 16, in favor of the "non-binding but politically significant" resolution that would "oppose any 'arbitrary date for withdrawal' of American troops." Republicans were joined by 42 Democrats in the "yes" vote. Read Stupak's remarks on the Resolution.

MDEQ decision on sulfide mine to be postponed
Posted 06/13/2006  

MARQUETTE -- According to a June 1 article in the Marquette Mining Journal, Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Paula J.M. Manderfield in Lansing has ordered the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to postpone its decision on a Kennecott Minerals permit application for sulfide mining on the Yellow Dog Plains, Marquette County. Originally anticipated to be announced June 13, the MDEQ's decision is to be postponed until after the court conducts a June 22 hearing on an appeal filed by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, four tribal members of the community, the Huron Mountain Club and the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve Inc. Read the Mining Journal article, "Permit hits snag." Several letters to the editor recently challenged an editorial in the Detroit News endorsing the Kennecott mining project. See "State should reject flawed U.P. mine plan," by Michelle Halley, Lake Superior Project Manager for the National Wildlife Federation, and Brad Garmon, Land Programs Director for the Michigan Environmental Council, and read other letters that appeared in the Detroit News June 2. For more information see Save the Wild UP. 
Photo: View of the Yellow Dog River, a wild trout stream in northern Marquette County. The proposed sulfide mine sits on the cusp of the Salmon-Trout River and the Yellow Dog River watersheds. (File photo © 2004 and courtesy Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and Eagle Alliance. Reprinted with permission.)

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