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Editorials and columns

The electoral integrity issue isn’t Israel — it’s Islam

More than any political cycle in memory, the 2026 primary campaign season has been marked by frequent, and often hysterical, condemnations of the influence of the so-called "Israel lobby." After the conspiratorial anti-Trump gadfly Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) lost his Republican congressional primary in northern Kentucky in May, he quipped about the Trump-endorsed former Navy SEAL officer who defeated him: "I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede, and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv." Way to question the patriotism of a decorated SEAL ...

Trump promised to be a dictator. Now we know which one

It was already one of the most clownish (if sinister) moments in the Trump administration -- the Department of Justice actually brought criminal charges against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn for sabotaging the president's big, beautiful reflecting pool. It then dropped them for legal ...

Support what we have

My heart has been a little heavy since Thursday night, but at the same time, it’s also incredibly full. I’ve been thinking about this nonstop since my sister, my niece, my mom and I visited the Otsego County Fair in Gaylord for the Ashley Cooke concert. I love county fairs. I really, really do. The Alpena County Fair is the one week of the entire year that I look forward to the most. My favorite part has always been seeing the animals and watching the youth show their projects. I know firsthand how much work, time, dedication and love goes into those projects because I’ve been ...

A technicality overrides the will of 4,300 voters

The grassroots effort to recall three Alpena Public Schools Board of Education members was not certified, not because we lacked support, not because we were unable to gather signatures, and not because voters didn’t participate. It was stopped because the Alpena county clerk accepted a ...

It’s time to set the record straight

As a person who personally circulated recall petitions, I cannot let the recent letter from a board member go unanswered. The claim that circulators told people petitions were “just a poll” is false. I was trained on petition procedures. We knew exactly what we were circulating, and we explained as people were signing recall petitions. To suggest otherwise is an insult to volunteers. She also claims circulators spread misinformation. The reasons for the recall were not fabricated by us. Judge Curtis determined the recall language met the legal standard to proceed. ...

The responsibility in the brevity

It was a meeting-heavy week. They were mostly one-on-one, which I like best, but those tend to take the most effort. The morning of day three, bracing for more meetings and sitting outside a cafe with the creeping heat starting, I watched a mother and son walk past me into the shop. Cute, I thought. Then, a continuation: Even though those two likely loved each other and were sharing an easy morning, both of them would die. One of them would carry the grief of the other. My brain wanders into strange neighborhoods when left unsupervised. While other people are noticing the weather or ...