| Greetings!
Please take a moment to review these updates from the UPWard Initiative.
Thanks to the many UPWard members along with others that have provided content for these updates. If you have information you would like to share with the group, please email it to me. Holly Peoples
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Natural Resources
Hoop house prepared for growing season
MARQUETTE - Though the structure has been dormant for two years, students at the Marquette Alternative High School and AmeriCorps members - as well as several area community groups - will begin work today to ready the school's hoop house for a plentiful growing season.
"(Today's) focus is, let's build this thing," said MAHS Principal Andrew Crunkleton.
The group will spend much of today building raised flower and garden beds, digging a trench to bury a hose out to the hoop house and moving manure and compost into the beds. Crunkleton said the group hoped to begin planting today as well.
"Once it's built, the learning component will really start taking place," he said. "We have a cooking class as an elective. It will be amazing for them to come in in the fall and be able to have fresh produce and herbs and actually incorporate that into what they cook in their kitchen."
AmeriCorps members helped spearhead the project as part of their Upper Peninsula-wide service project. As part of the program, members must complete a certain number of service hours in the community they work in.
Also involved in the project are the Superior Alliance for Independent Living, the Marquette Food Co-op, Northern Michigan University and the Marquette Growth Committee.
Committee coordinator Miriah Redmond said her group - which was formed just one year ago - works to initiate community gardens in the city.
"We're trying to use the hoop house as a community garden space to bring all different kinds of members of the community together - children, the teenagers at the alternative high school, adults - and use it as an educational facility," Redmond said. "We're just trying to get the community together and garden. It's about growing food and food sovereignty." more->
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Education and Workforce Development
Yes, we (DC)CAN
Network helps prep students for college
ESCANABA - A local college access network is one of many involved in a national movement aimed to reach a 60 percent college attainment goal by 2025, and has implemented a number of initiatives to inch closer to this goal.
The Delta County College Access Network (DCCAN) has been in existence for approximately two years, and is part of the larger Michigan College Access Network (MCAN), which in turn is part of a national movement. DCCAN was originally created from grant funding through MCAN, as well as from local grants and community support.
According to DCCAN director Sara Cole, the network consists of representatives from K-12 education, higher education, business, industry, government, philanthropy, and youth-serving non-profit groups. DCCAN is currently working with Escanaba, Gladstone, Bark-River Harris and Nah Tah Wahsh schools, and Bay Middle College.
DCCAN strives to: increase college admissions and financial advising; offer college preparation and academic support; increase college readiness, motivation, and self-management; provide students with career exploration tools and career counseling to increase awareness of future jobs; and provide family advising and engagement services to foster a life-long learning mindset in the community.
"What we're out to do is identify what other people are doing to serve our youth in Delta County," explained Cole. "Everything that we do is to reach that 60 percent of college level attainment by 2025, so the economic significance for our population having high-quality post-secondary credentials is huge. We can't attract businesses if we don't have a skilled workforce to begin with."
Cole highlighted one program the network implemented to promote academic readiness at James T. Jones Elementary School in Gladstone.
"We took a pilot group of third, fourth, and fifth-graders who were not at benchmark...and we had the teachers identify who they thought we would most likely be able to help," she said.
The students met twice a week after-school with eighth-grade honors students who helped the students with their homework - particularly in areas of math and reading. more->
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Natural Resources
Rio Tinto reports on progress of Eagle Mine
L'ANSE - Rio Tinto representatives provided an update on the Eagle Mine, collected survey results through a community scorecard and fielded an array of questions and comments during a mining forum recently at the L'Anse American Legion Post 144.
Matt Johnson, manager of external relations at Rio Tinto Eagle, gave a brief historical overview of the mine, starting with explorations dating back to the 1950s, the discovery of the ore body in 2002, the permit process and the start of underground drilling in 2011.
"We do have a goal of being in production in 2014," he said. "A few months ago we announced a moderated schedule, so we pushed our schedule back. (Work on the Humboldt Mill) has been postponed for the time being."
Production was originally slated to start in early 2014, but now it'll likely be toward the end of the year, but that's not the only reason the life of the mine will extend farther.
"Over the last six months to a year or so, we've been able to find more ore, so we're very happy to announce that we've been able to add 20 percent to our resource, which extends the life of the mine probably about a year," Johnson said.
That'll push the life of the northwest Marquette County mine, which will produce copper and nickel concentrate, to about eight years.
After fielding a few questions and before turning the floor over to Chantae Lessard, principal advisor for communities and social performance, Johnson said the community scorecard method of receiving feedback is a new concept for Rio Tinto.
"We don't do this at any other project in the world, but it's also a learning experience," he said.
The scorecard let attendees respond whether Rio Tinto exceeds, meets or falls below expectations, or whether they needed more information on the following five areas: environmental performance, safety, local hiring, transparency/communication and "leaving more wood on the woodpile" - or leaving more jobs in the area outside the mining industry to combat the boom and bust that often comes with mining, according to Lessard.
The vote on environmental performance was, with 19 votes: 32 percent exceeds expectations, 11 percent meets expectations, 42 percent below expectations and 16 percent needing more information. more->
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Tourism
DNR makes it easier to find family friendly fishing locations in Michigan
The Department of Natural Resources has a new section of its website designed to help inexperienced anglers find great spots to go fishing in Michigan. The Family Friendly Fishing Waters section of the website, www.michigan.gov/fishing, will connect interested individuals with local fishing opportunities and features a map of Michigan.
Visitors simply click on the county they are interested in fishing and are provided with a list of one or more family-friendly locations to fish. Every county in the state has locations featured.
"We are very excited to be launching the Family Friendly Fishing Waters section of the website," said Fisheries Division chief Jim Dexter. "We recognized more people would probably go fishing if they knew where they could go to do it. We hope to remove that barrier by getting interested individuals connected with our state's great fishing."
The DNR designated water bodies as family-friendly based on their ease of access, high likelihood of success in catching fish, identified amenities, and other details. To build this section of the website the DNR asks for the public's help in submitting locations and digital pictures from throughout the state that would be easy for new anglers to access and use.
Each water body's online profile includes its geographic location, driving directions, parking information, hours of operation, species of fish available, typical bait used, and much more.
Potential locations will continue to be accepted by the DNR. The Family Friendly Fishing Waters submission form can be found at www.michigan.gov/fishing
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Business Growth and Development
Prestigious federal award for GS
HOUGHTON - A local company has won a prestigious national award for small high-tech businesses.
GS Engineering of Houghton was one of 18 companies given a Tibbets Award by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The award honors companies that are part of the SBA's Small Business Innovation Research Program.
Companies are recognized for research and development, innovating and creating jobs. GS Engineering received the award for work on advanced lightweight vehicle components.
Since 2001, the company has received 13 Phase I awards from the U.S. military. In that first phase, the company competes against one or two companies to do a proof of concept with lab testing and simulation. The winning company then moves on to phase II, in which they do detailed testing and test prototypes.
Of 13 Phase I awards, GS Engineering has gone to Phase II in 11.
"We have an exceptionally high success ratio, and I think that's because we go after contracts where we can really do the work that they're looking for, and we can bring that all the way through into production and commercialization," President Glen Simula said.
In the third phase, where a contractor OKs the product and purchases it, GS Engineering has received 37 contracts. Simula said the company is in the top 2 percent nationally among SBIR companies in the dollar value of contracts received.
GS Engineering has been doing work on lightweight vehicles since its first contract with the Marine Corps. It has also transitioned into work with the U.S. Army, doing work on lightweight wheels for a new ground combat vehicle.
Simula said the award provides more evidence of GS Engineering's credentials.
"Now we don't have to prove to companies that we can do the work," he said. "We just say we're one of the best of the best of the SBIR companies, and we're ranked on commercialization within the top 2 percent of SBIR companies. Now we don't have to say anything more. That's a third party evaluating it." FULL STORY
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Higher Education
Students complete internship with LSSU journal 'Border Crossing'
Sault Ste. Marie - Four Lake Superior State University students recently completed a year-long internship with Border Crossing, the LSSU creative writing program's teaching journal. They are the first four students to complete the internship, which was established last fall.
The product of their work, Vol. 3 of Border Crossing, will be released this fall. The journal features fiction, nonfiction, and poetry by professional writers from all over the country, edited by LSSU students and LSSU English professors Julie Brooks Barbour, Mary McMyne, and Jillena Rose. This fall's issue will include the photography of Melissa Connors, an Ontario resident who won this year's cover art contest, which was judged by Barbour, McMyne, and local artist Jeanne Mannesto.
Two students worked with the fiction submissions to the journal, while two considered poetry submissions. Fiction students worked with McMyne to read and select the most well-written stories for publication "blindly" - that is, without looking at identifying information or author biographies - from submissions sent by professional writers from all over the United States and Canada. Poetry students worked with Barbour to read and select poetry using the same "blind" submissions process.
Students working on fiction included John Keller, a senior from Harbor Springs majoring in creative writing, and Janessa Stutz, a senior from Cheboygan majoring in elementary education. The students working with the issue's poetry were Laura Gamble, Sault Ste. Marie, a math and literature major, and Adam Uhrig, Sault Ste. Marie, a sophomore majoring in literature with a minor in creative writing.
Keller, whose work has appeared in Heroic Fantasy Quarterly, Strong Verse, and Snowdrifts, says the most enjoyable aspects of the internship were getting exposure to the work of contemporary writers, and the chance to see each selected piece evolve during the editing process. His own work, he says, has grown from the experience.
"Learning to read so closely, and to really sort of dismantle a piece of writing to see what makes it work, or where problems are present, has shined a spotlight on those same sorts of issues in my own writing," he says. He says it was gratifying to see the level of commitment to helping students understand the process. "I always felt like a real part of the editing team," he said. "That is a great feeling!" Stutz, who will graduate in 2014, says the internship really opened her eyes about what it means to be an editor.
"There is a lot involved and it is such an interesting process," she says. "The most enjoyable aspect was being able to read so many different stories from different people and hear what some people like to write." more->
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Tourism
Tourism: Experts predict a good season
ESCANABA - Experts are predicting tourism this summer will be better than previous years as tourists travel to the the Upper Peninsula to enjoy new local events and attractions.
"I think we're going to have a great summer. We've had three or four years of increases and that's a good indication of where we're going," said Tom Nemacheck, executive director of the Upper Peninsula Travel and Recreation Association.
According to Nemacheck, more than 80 percent of U.P. tourism happens during the summer and fall months. For the last two years, tourist spending during these seasons has been up by between 5 and 7 percent.
"I think we could be up 5 or 6 percent this year if the weather holds up," said Nemacheck.
Even though not all areas of the U.P. are affected by weather in the same ways, tourism in the U.P. as a whole is very weather dependent - even off shore.
"If we can get some really great weather and get some fishermen into our championship waters that will help," said Steve Masters, director of the Bays de Noc Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The AYA Fishing Tournament, B.A.S.S. State Championship, Masters Walleye Circuit World Championship, and other fishing tournaments held in Delta County are events that bring in large crowds.
However, the fishing tournaments are not the only events expected to draw in tourists this summer.
"We're looking forward to the benefits of the Esky150 celebration," said Masters, referencing Escanaba's 10-day sesquicentennial celebration set to kick off July 5.
While Masters believes that the celebration will bring a boost in tourism to the area and that many of these visitors will stay in area hotels and motels, he is not concerned about a lack of hotel vacancies.
"I think we're going to have plenty of room for people," he said.
Though not technically part of the Esky150 celebration, Masters predicts that the Heritage Half Marathon taking place during the celebration will draw in tourists, and will tap into a strong community of local runners. more->
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Education and Workforce Development
Program recognized
DOLLAR BAY - The Dollar Bay High School Student Organization of Aquatic Robotics has won another award, and at their regular meeting Tuesday, the members of the Dollar Bay-Tamarack City Area Board of Education heard the details of the award.
Bob Staple, account executive for the Upper Peninsula region of School Employers Trust School Employers Group insurance agency, said the SOAR program received the SETSEG Education Excellence Award for Community Engagement for the robotics program, which has been used to help employees at the Isle Royale National Park determine the level of infestation of zebra mussels at the park's docks and other locations.
Staple said 26 schools in Michigan received awards in eight categories. There is also an Intermediate School District category.
"Dollar Bay is the only U.P. district to get the award," he said.
He's very impressed with the work teacher Matt Zimmer and his students have done in the robotics class. "What an innovative program," he said. Staple presented to the board a trophy, a sign indicating the district is an award winner, and a check to the district for $400. "You've got a great school district here," Staple said. more->
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Business Growth and Development
Basic Marine: Project will boost economy
Company rep says plans to aid region
ESCANABA - Dock and pier expansions underway at an Escanaba shipyard are expected to develop the region's future economy, according to a company representative.
Basic Marine, Inc., at 440 N. 10th St., is extending its dock and pier in Little Bay de Noc and plans to dredge to accommodate larger ships to the area, said Lyle Berro, business development manager for the company.
"Once it's completed... it's going to be a gem," Berro told Escanaba City Council which approved a tax abatement for the business during its regular meeting Thursday.
Last March, council approved a 30-acre water/bottomsland area be designated as an industrial development district, allowing Basic Marine to apply for an Industrial Facilities Tax (IFT) Abatement.
IFT legislation promotes the expansion of industrial properties within the state. Benefits to the property owner include a reduction of annual local property taxes for new construction for up to 12 years.
City Assessor Daina Norden explained to council that Basic Marine will receive a 50 percent reduction in taxes for 12 years for its seawall development.
Construction on the dock project began in March. Steel sheet pilings are being put in place along the shoreline to extend the existing dock to about 1,400 feet - the same length of Escanaba's original wooden dock from the 1800's, said Berro.
Construction of the dock is close to completion but work is at a standstill now because of the fish spawning season, he said. In addition, because of Mother Nature delaying construction, the company is also waiting on a permit extension from the Department of Environmental Quality.
Infrastructure will be installed on the land southwest of the dock including electric, storm sewer, regular sewer, and a natural gas line, Berro explained to council. There are also plans to extend the railroad track 1,900 feet into this area, he said. more->
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