Chief Arrives at Straits

100 Years Ago

Tuesday, October 18, marks 100 years since the venerable railroad ferry Chief Wawatam first landed at St. Ignace and Mackinaw City, a new, powerful, steel icebreaker slated to replace the smaller, woodhulled St. Ignace, built in 1888. Her arrival drew dignitaries, school children, and other community members to see the awesome coal-fired steamer, which, at the time, was “the largest, […]

Manager Hire May Come Wed.

Mackinaw City

Out of 46 resumes received, the Mackinaw City Village Council conducted four interviews for the village manager position, bringing four candidates to Mackinaw City, each with unique classifications. Each interview allowed for questions between the council and public who attended Friday, October 7, and Saturday, October 8. The village council plans to discuss the candidates at a special meeting Wednesday, […]

City Open To Main Street Idea



The Michigan Main Street program can empower a community to revitalize its downtown for the benefit of its residents, and it’s designed so that local people are the ones driving the effort. The program offers a framework and expertise to help small towns and communities realize their goals for making their communities a better place to live. Joining this program […]

Saints March In for Homecoming



Public Will Hear Details of Strategy

Local Economic Development

The public is invited to hear a presentation on the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance economic development strategy for Mackinac County Wednesday, October 12, at 6:30 p.m. at Little Bear East Conference Center in St. Ignace. The strategy includes suggestions for the county as a whole, including hiring a professional economic development director and an assistant and convening a committee to […]

Ferry Line Sold, Workers Learn



The following story is not accurate, The St. Ignace News has learned, and Star Line has not been sold, as this story announces. The letter received by employees, this newspaper has been told, did not state the company was sold.  The sale of Star Line Mackinac Island Ferry was announced to employees last week in a letter. Officials from the […]

State Releases Top To Bottom List, St. Ignace Elementary At Bottom of ISD

ISD, State and School Agree There Is More Than One Way To Measure Student Growth And Achievement

Schools throughout Michigan received a ranking from the Michigan Department of Education, with schools from the Eastern U.P. ranging from the 97th percentile to the 15th. Drummond Island Elementary School was the highest ranked in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District (EUPISD) and St. Ignace Elementary the lowest. The “Top-to-Bottom” list released by the state ranks each school based […]

New Student Proficiency Measures Passed By The State



The Michigan State Board of Education voted six to one, with one member abstaining, that students will now have to answer two-thirds of questions correct on standardized tests to be considered proficient in a subject. Students previously only had to get one-third of questions correct on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program and the Michigan Merit Exam. One member of the […]

Mackinaw Historical Society Will Celebrate Chief Wawatam



The Mackinaw Area Historical Society will conduct its annual meeting at the at the Mackinaw Area Public School on Central Avenue at 7:30 p.m. Monday, October 17, using the occasion to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Chief Wawatam, last of the Straits’ great train ferries. The event will take place in the multipurpose room of the school, where the […]

Michigan Politics

Mother Earth’s Legions of Northern Allies

For more than a century, northern Michigan has provided some of the state’s most vocal and effective leaders in conservation and, more recently, environmental protection. Republican Chase S. Osborn of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan’s only governor (1911-12) from the Upper Peninsula, previously was a staunch conservationist as the state game and fish warden. As Michigan’s longest-serving governor (1969-82), Republican William […]