ALPENA — While the national unemployment rate remains steady at 3.5% and consumer confidence continues to increase, businesses continue to turn over and buildings around town remain vacant. Mike Mahler, economic development director for the Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce and economic ...

ALPENA — An Alpena company that is nearly three-quarters of a million dollars behind on its property taxes and facing foreclosure by Alpena County is seeking tax forgiveness from the city. A foreclosure hearing for the company, GranBio, is slated for Feb. 4. GranBio can pay its 2017 taxes ...

ROGERS CITY — While waves and ice driven by high water levels continued to eat away at Rogers City’s shoreline on Thursday, Mayor Scott McLennan traveled to Lansing to give testimony on how those waters have impacted the city. McLennan was among a handful of representatives from cities ...

ALPENA — Being 13 is tough. “They want to be themselves, but they don’t know how to do it,” said Emily Modrzejewski, a polite, cheerful eighth-grader at Thunder Bay Junior High School in Alpena, talking Thursday about girls who populate the classrooms and hallways of middle ...

INDIAN RIVER — The Cheboygan-Otsego-Presque Isle Educational Service District has worked the past few months on a plan for a new administration building. The current building, located in Indian River, went up in flames on Sept. 20. An electrical issue at the front end of the building caused ...

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz The owner and staff of Clearview Car Wash in Alpena had a special message for now-former Alpena Area Chamber of Commerce President Jackie Krawczak and former Chamber Economic Development Director Jim Klarich on its marquee Friday. Krawczak and Klarich both ...

Five people have been promoted at mBank, the institution announced in a news release: ∫ Tifanie Tremble has been promoted to senior vice president of treasury management from vice president of treasury management, ∫ Josh Bal has been promoted to vice president mortgage loan officer ...

ALPENA — The effort to make Alpena a premier destination for Great Lakes cruise ships is taking another step toward reality. Earlier this week, Viking Excursions announced it is building a new ship and increasing its cruise options, featuring Alpena as one of the ship’s ports for ...

ALPENA — Violence at the county jail and intimidating and resisting police officers will probably lead an Alpena man to spend three years in state prison. Terry Suszek appeared in the 88th District Court on Thursday, agreeing to plead guilty to assaulting prison employees, destruction of ...

ALPENA — More than 2 million pounds of plastics, paper and cardboard were collected by the Alpena Resource Recovery Facility, exceeding a countywide recycling goal set by government officials. The facility had already collected 1.2 million pounds of recyclables from Nov. 1, 2018 to July ...

ALPENA — Running a school store is helping Alpena High School students gain real-world experience. The store, Campus Closet, offers Wildcat apparel, like sweatshirts, T-shirts, and more, along with lots of different items. The store is open to the public and people can access it through ...

ALPENA — On Saturday, child care providers, preschool teachers, parents, and others will gather at Alpena Community College to learn about helping young children with literacy, behavior, and other issues. A conference called Building Blocks for Kids Birth to 5 happens from 8 a.m. to 3:15 ...

ALPENA — A local dog given a reprieve by the Michigan Court of Appeals was represented again in Alpena’s District Court by its owner, Katrina Kramer, who vowed to take the necessary steps to preserve her dog’s life. In 2017, the German shepherd was ordered by the local court to be ...

Recent actions by law enforcement agencies in Northeast Michigan. This has been only lightly edited. PRESQUE ISLE COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE For the period of Jan. 15-21 Complaints: 57 Police runs: 35 People investigated: 192 Traffic stops: 13 Citations: 1 Business/house ...

News Photo by Julie Riddle Alpena Fire Department personnel address a fire that broke out at Decorative Panels International on Wednesday morning. Nobody was injured, according to AFD Chief Bill Forbush, but frozen hydrants on the DPI property and at nearby intersections required fire hose to ...

ALPENA — Giant propellers buzzed in the cold air, perched on the shoulders of the gray behemoth that lurked at one end of the runway. Small-caliber machine guns and devastating cannons protruded from the beast’s belly, ready to fire with deadly precision in the dark of the night. “It ...

ALPENA — Several Northeast Michigan school districts are asking voters to approve tax proposals this year to help improve their schools. On March 10, Alpena Public Schools is asking for permission to sell $33.9 million in bonds that would be used for facilities repairs and renovations ...

ROGERS CITY —Developers with Sstar Ridge-Run Energy have been in contact with Presque Isle County officials, but have yet to submit formal documents for a planned wind energy project. “There has been no type of application for any type of zoning permit,” Toby Kuznicki, chairman of ...

ALPENA — In 2019, the Huron Humane Society took in 551 cats and dogs from Alpena County, 348 of them from Alpena, a shelter official told the Alpena Municipal Council this week. The cost to care for each animal is roughly $460, Huron Humane Society Vice President Mary Eagan told the ...

ALPENA — Downloading photos of unclothed children led an Alpena man to stand before both a district and a circuit court judge on Tuesday. Loren Beard, 59, waived his preliminary exam, at which the court decides if there is enough evidence to continue the case toward trial, in Alpena’s ...