With Needs Growing, City Weighs Priorities



The City of St. Ignace is operating at a nearly “bare bones” level, and faces the challenge of maintaining or replacing a fleet of police, fire department, and snow removal equipment that is almost worn out. City Council has been listening to its department heads about the needs of various city departments at recent budget workshop meetings. These have taken […]

Saints Advance To State Semifinals Saturday



Library Millage Passes

All Incumbents Keep Their Seats

The library millage in St. Ignace passed by a margin of 124 votes, with 351 votes for it and 227 against, in the Tuesday, November 8, election. The millage will raise about $75,000 for the St. Ignace Public Library and $10,000 for the Downtown Development Authority. Mayor Paul Grondin and three incumbent city councilmen, Paul Fullerton, Merv Wyse, and Willie […]

Rural Cuts Could Pinch U.P. Most

Here, Farm Bill Aids Rural Development Projects Like Sewer Systems, Businesses

The Upper Peninsula and northern lower Michigan could be the regions with the most to lose if federal funding to rural development programs provided by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is drastically cut or eliminated in a new farm bill, according to the Center for Rural Affairs. This rural research and analysis program, based in Nebraska, is concerned […]

WWII Service Recognized



More To Pay Full Fare at Little Bear



The St. Ignace Recreation Advisory Committee adopted the new fitness center rates that have been in discussion for months at its meeting Wednesday, November 9. New rates will be effective Thursday, December 1. The committee had postponed the decision because members wanted a Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians representative on the board. The tribe’s seat had sat vacant […]

New Tobacco Products Are Hard To Distinguish From Mints But Carry Risks



Some look like breath mints, others like chocolate-covered toothpicks. Some look like dissolvable breath strips, while others look a lot like gum. They are actually new tobacco products, which give off no smoke. It is difficult to tell when someone is using these products. While that means less secondhand smoke, anti-tobacco activists are worried that these new tobacco products are […]

Bridge May Be Lit Blue In April



The Mackinac Bridge may be lit in blue in April 2012 for Autism Awareness Month. The Mackinac Bridge Authority will hear the proposal and make a decision at its meeting Friday, December 9, in St. Ignace, said executive secretary Bob Sweeney. The proposal will be made by Corner Pieces, an organization focused on improving the lives of children and families […]

Christmas Collection Underway



Donations will be accepted for Operation Christmas Child at several locations between Monday, November 14, and Monday, November 21. Local volunteers will fill and drop off shoeboxes containing school supplies, toys, hygiene items, and notes of encouragement for needy youth overseas. Operation Christmas Child, a project of international Christian relief and evangelism organization Samaritan’s Purse, uses whatever means necessary to […]

City Council Pay for October

St. Ignace

For October, payments to members of St. Ignace City Council for attendance of meetings and events totaled $1,250. Council members are paid $70 for regular meetings, which are on the first and third Mondays of each month. They also receive $60 for committee meetings and gatherings when representing the city. The mayor receives $80 per council meetings and $70 when […]