This week marks the 79th celebration of National Newspaper Week in America, a week to reflect on the First Amendment and freedom of the press and all the good newspapers do for their community. The News celebrated in Saturday’s edition by inviting readers to take a look at a day in the life ...

It always has been an “us versus them” mentality for those of us who call Up North home. We refer to “downstaters” with a certain disdain in our voice. Who are “they” to try and tell us what we need, what we don’t have, or how backward we are up here? “Why, some of you ...

“Hail the ink-stained wretches The reporters, the tireless tradesmen who claw at the TRUTH buried under the soundbite” — poem, The Dallas Morning News I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I remember October in third grade, when my class was assigned to write a short story ...

Proper training is an important part of success. Just like humans, dogs need training, and over 320 canine units from across the nation and Canada were at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center this week for some of the best training being offered in the U.S. The training was being ...

No matter how responsible we are with our financial planning or how healthy our lifestyle, most of us will face a costly health care crisis in our lives, if only the expenses associated with old age. The cost of health care is one of the biggest threats to retiree savings and may become one ...

Over the past month, I’ve been busily harvesting beans, late peas, broccoli, cucumbers, cauliflower and beets. Heirloom tomatoes are finally ripening, and deep green pumpkins are transforming to brilliant orange. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? What I failed to mention is that, from the ...

I am concerned about the future of our democracy. Are you? In fact, I am more than concerned. I am worried we may be teetering on a point of no return. And I think we need to talk about it. I am inviting you to do just that at an open discussion sponsored by the Association of Lifelong ...

We are pleased the Plaza Pool received significant funding from the latest round of Alpena County Youth and Recreation Committee awards. The pool does not have an extensive means of raising funds and, without county and Youth and Recreation millage money, its future would be bleak. In ...

This question came in as a debate between family members. “Last weekend, we were traveling and talking about all the laws out there that law enforcement can potentially enforce. My brother didn’t believe me when I told him you can be cited for coasting in your vehicle. Who’s right ... ...

Fall is a great time of year in Northeast Michigan. All four seasons offer something great: the sweet smells of spring, the sunny splendor of summer, the white crispness of winter. But fall is when Mother Nature really seems to put on a show, dressing up in all her colors and dazzling the ...

A report released last year by the Center for Responsible Lending found that, from 2012 to 2016, payday lenders took more than $513 million in fees from consumers in Michigan, with fees and interest that can reach over 340% annual percentage rate (APR). Such high fees often cause borrowers ...

The leaders of the Republican caucus in the Michigan House of Representatives want to pull public notices from newspapers and allow governmental entities (cities, villages, township, counties, etc.) to satisfy notice requirements by putting them on their websites. That is an unprecedented ...

While September is recognized as National Suicide Prevention Month, groups in Northeast Michigan are recognizing the year-round responsibility of saving lives by offering suicide prevention training this month. As Lifestyles editor Darby Hinkley informed us in a recent edition, Abundant Life ...

Along this way we’re bound upon, we can awaken to find ourselves in a dark wood — or not. Either way, we may need a tow. To that dark wood, let’s add a swamp — that way we can get buried to our axles. I’ll not discuss scenarios of causation. I’ve never heard a good one and can ...

The lead in the Flint water supply probably did not impact your health, but it’s about to smack you right in the pocketbook. Michigan taxpayers will be on the hook for part of a likely multimillion out-of-court settlement that is inching its way through a federal court, where the judge has ...

We don’t envy the position in which Alcona County commissioners find themselves. They’ve cut costs. They’ve raised fees. They’ve instituted a hiring freeze, as reporter Crystal Nelson told us in a story in Saturday’s edition. As Nelson told us on today’s front page, county ...

Politico Magazine recently turned to some of the nation’s leading thinkers for a massive series called “How to Fix Politics.” I’d encourage you to check out the whole thing here: https://tinyurl.com/y2wna2am. But I was particularly drawn to a section about how to fix ...

On the 2nd Avenue bridge over the Thunder Bay River, you can find a small plaque commemorating the Sept. 24, 1819 signing of the Treaty of Saginaw, an agreement between Michigan’s American Indian tribes and Lewis Cass, then the governor of the territory of Michigan, for how northern Michigan ...

Come Heller high water ... ∫ Congressional Republicans are treating the Trump/Zelensky memo like it’s a particularly hard “Where’s Waldo?” Gosh, they just can’t find a quid pro quo anywhere! Let me help. Trump: “I will say that we do a lot for Ukraine. We spend a lot of effort ...

The Alpena News accepts guest columns of up to 800 words from individuals whose expertise in and/or personal experience with a subject can offer insights beyond the limits of a letter to the editor. Only subjects affecting Michigan —particularly Northeast Michigan —will be considered. ...