IRON MOUNTAIN — Marquette-based Queen City Running Company opened its third location April 7 in Iron Mountain Kevin Thomsen started Queen City Running Company in Marquette nearly 10 years ago when he purchased Johnson Sporting Goods from his father and transitioned the business toward running gear He and co-owner Paige DuBois also have a store in Houghton Getting established in Iron Mountain was a long time coming With customers regularly coming from Iron Mountain to shop at the Marquette store plans to open in Iron Mountain got put on hold due to COVID and when the pandemic ended the opportunity in Houghton fell into place more quickly in November led to months of remodeling work Manager Chad Hause did much of the demolition himself New flooring and a new dressing room were among the changes made to the space Hause said that the downtown location is a good fit for Queen City Running “We really felt that the downtown area was attractive — clearly there is a lot of traffic,” Hause said “There were already some stores here locally that are causing a bit of a resurgence and we felt we wanted to be a part of what is hopefully going to be a kind of renaissance with a bunch of new stores opening and bringing a lot of life into the downtown.” Queen City Running’s arrival in Iron Mountain created 14 jobs including hiring some high school students Hause is an ultra runner and mountain biker who fell in love with the Upper Peninsula after coming up from Lower Michigan for races He recently moved to the Iron Mountain area to manage the new Queen City Running store Hause said his experience as a runner helps him work with customers “It has given me a background into different aspects of shoes “I have dealt with over the course of my career plenty of injuries People do not realize how important it is to take care of your feet.” But Queen City Running is not only for runners; in fact runners only make up about 40% of their business The other 60% are people who just need a good shoe Queen City Running Company had a relationship with the Oscar Johnson VA Medical Center and other area health care providers Hause said those who work on their feet all day or just want to be comfortable can find what they need: they stock more than 100 different types of shoes Queen City Running Company also carries running accessories and apparel They are the only licensed outlet in the U.P Queen City Running Company will soon carry Nike shoes and apparel as well what separates Queen City Running from other shoe stores is personalized service with customers “We really focus on not just selling a product but making sure that when our customers come in that we are fitting them to the correct product,” Hause said “We want to make sure we are developing a relationship with our customers long-term not just on a quick transaction basis.” Queen City Running Company intends to take an active role in supporting area runners “The Dickinson County Run Club has been gracious enough to let us be the host site for their Saturday morning runs and work with them to hopefully develop a large community of runners on Saturdays,” Hause said Queen City Running Company has reached out to assist with the Lake Antoine Classic run and also hopes to bring some new local races to the area Queen City Running plans to host clinics with podiatrists with the goal of becoming not only a shoe store but a hub for healthy living While Queen City Running opened in Iron Mountain quietly in April the official grand opening will be in June Discounts are available for return customers Queen City Running Company is open seven days a week and with later hours to better accommodate customers call 906-828-1038 or go online to www.queencityrun.com IRON MOUNTAIN — Temperatures this summer could be a degree or two above the historical average in the Upper .. (AP) — A Michigan school did not violate the free-speech rights of a third-grade student who was .. Copyright © 2025 Ogden News Publishing of Michigan | https://www.ironmountaindailynews.com | 215 E REITs invest in the majority of real estate property types Nareit’s REIT Directory provides a comprehensive list of REIT and publicly traded real estate companies that are members of Nareit The directory can be sorted and filtered by sector CEM Benchmarking’s 2024 study also reveals allocations and risk-adjusted performance of 12 asset classes over 25-year period Partnerships are occurring across a range of REIT property sectors is the REIT industry’s largest annual gathering of executives REIT industry by ensuring its members’ best interests are promoted by providing unparalleled advocacy continuing education and networking.  which operates more than 25 data centers across three continents understands the critical importance of sustainability in an increasingly digital future by committing to clean energy and sustainable operations Iron Mountain data centers announced their adoption of BREEAM globally for all new multi-tenant design and construction BREEAM is the world’s first environmental assessment method for new building design Iron Mountain became the first owner in North America to achieve BREEAM certification at the design stage for a data center site with its Phoenix-based AZP-2 facility earning an excellent rating for its sustainable design features Following AZP-2's successful design certification Iron Mountain has continued to prioritize sustainable benchmarking and certification across its growing portfolio of data center assets the company turned to BREEAM to achieve the next phase of certification for AZP-2 as well as design certification for an additional facility "Our commitment to green building certifications is adding real value It is an efficient way to communicate our focus on building performance it helps align our global construction activities and we're seeing increasing interest from analysts and clients on this topic,” says Chris Pennington director of energy and sustainability at Iron Mountain Data Centers Read more about Iron Mountain’s collaboration with BREEAM here are companies that own or finance income-producing real estate across a range of property sectors These real estate companies have to meet a number of requirements to qualify as REITs and they offer a number of benefits to investors REITs historically have delivered competitive total returns steady dividend income and long-term capital appreciation Their comparatively low correlation with other assets also makes them an excellent portfolio diversifier that can help reduce overall portfolio risk and increase returns These are the characteristics of real estate investment Nareit serves as the worldwide representative voice for REITs and real estate companies with an interest in U.S Nareit’s members are REITs and other real estate companies throughout the world that own as well as those firms and individuals who advise the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts®, is the worldwide representative voice for REITs and publicly traded real estate companies with an interest in U.S Nareit's members are REITs and other businesses throughout the world that own National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts® and Nareit® are registered trademarks of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (Nareit) Rona Wkazewski and Sally Holdke lead a crowd of about 200 protesters down Stephenson Avenue on Saturday from Iron Mountain City Hall to the Dickinson County Courthouse in downtown Iron Mountain IRON MOUNTAIN — Unhappy with the direction the country is headed under the Trump administration approximately 200 protesters showed up Saturday for the March For May Day demonstration organized by the Dickinson County Democrats as part of the 50501 movement Events have been occurring nationwide from Thursday through the weekend is observed to celebrate workers and their rights Many across the country and the world choose to mark the day with protests and demonstrations in response to perceived threats to workers’ rights and social justice Local protesters gathered behind the Iron Mountain City Hall before marching to the Dickinson County Courthouse the event’s organizer and chair of the Dickinson County Democrats said people turned out for a variety of reasons DAVID AND LYNN UKLEJA showed their dissatisfaction with the Trump administration at the March For May Day protest Saturday “It would be nice if it was just one issue but with all of the executive orders that are coming down at us it just keeps getting worse and worse,” Negro said Jay Gibbs of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union talked about the labor movement’s deep roots in the Great Lakes region and the need for unity “We see the Trump movement that seeks to divide us our beliefs or by our very identities,” Gibbs said “All distract from the real issue that working people are demanding more — that is why solidarity matters now more than ever.” Bob Koerschner of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers also spoke of the need for unity “The ruling class never forgave FDR for trying to make capitalism work for the people so they have been lying to us for decades,” Koerschner said “They are trying to convince us that the problem is not billionaires or board groups people of color and the poor and marginalized that have even less than you do.” spoke of the difficulties that deep cuts to the Feeding America program have caused for those in need This was the fourth protest in Iron Mountain in recent months Organizers said another is scheduled for June 7 THE NATIONAL WEATHER Service used lake-effect data to forecast the duration and severity of the 2022 Christmas blizzard in northwest Michigan LANSING — Proposed federal budget cuts could cripple the ability of Michigan forecasters to monitor extreme weather and climate shifts A draft plan from the White House would dismantle the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and shut down the Great Lakes Observing System That system powers hundreds of buoys and models that monitor lake conditions in real time President Donald Trump and his administration argue that cuts like these will reduce unnecessary government spending a lake-effect weather expert at the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research in Ann Arbor The loss of these monitoring tools would result in “crude” forecasts that fail to reflect the complexity of lake-driven weather According to the Great Lakes Observing System roughly 11 million meteorological observations are shared with the National Weather Service annually to inform public forecasts and weather alerts This data include lake temperature and ice cover readings — both essential for predicting the lake-effect snowstorms that frequently hit the Lake Michigan and Lake Superior coasts Wave height and current data also help forecasters predict flooding and storm surges “We’re not going to be able to predict where and how much snow we get,” Fujisaki-Manome said “If you don’t have that ability municipalities might over-prepare or under-prepare for storms.” Less reliable forecasts could mean unnecessary labor for salting roads and more preemptive school closures The National Weather Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration did not respond to requests for comment Less reliable lake-effect forecasts could leave communities and schools in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula facing more snow days and wasted resources The proposed budget cuts would also slash funding for university partnerships coastal resilience programs and long-term climate research connected to Michigan’s changing climate One major project at risk is the Great Lakes Coastal and Inland Flood Inundation Mapping Project Launched after a 2019 Lake Ontario flood caused millions of dollars in damage the project created a model to predict future flooding events It’s one of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s many models preparing Michigan’s coastal communities for the inevitable impacts of climate change hindering economic growth a climate scientist with the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research called the proposed cuts “disheartening.” “We’d be losing a leader in the world of research,” she said “It’s like saying you can’t use Tom Brady in the NFL.” Hutson noted that operational forecasters used lake-effect data to accurately predict the duration and severity of the 2022 Christmas blizzard in northwest Michigan and the Upper Peninsula The storm dropped up to 3 feet of snow in areas like Antrim County and forecasts from the National Weather Service helped local officials warn the public in time Hutson said losing the Great Lakes Observing System’s real-time lake monitoring network would have significant recreational impacts as well Its data is available online for snowmobilers anglers and others planning for safe travel Although Congress has the final say on the budget said he hopes to send a final version of the budget for the next fiscal year to Trump’s desk by Memorial Day Daniel Schoenherr is a reporter for Great Lakes Echo and Capital News Service at Michigan State University hits a two RBI double as Los Angeles Angels catcher Logan O'Hoppe watches during the second inning of a baseball game Sunday (AP) — Trey Sweeney and Kerry Carpenter each homered and had four hits and they combined to drive in 11 runs as the Detroit Tigers pounded the Los Angeles Angels 13-1 on Sunday to win three of four in the series After Sweeney singled in the first run off Jack Kochanowicz (1-5) in the second inning Carpenter made it 3-0 with a two-run double to the right-field wall that Jo Adell kept inside the park but couldn’t catch Carpenter’s eighth homer was a three-run shot off reliever Michael Darrell-Hicks for an 8-0 lead in the sixth Sweeney homered off Jose Fermin with two on in the seventh and added a two-run single in the eighth off Touki Toussaint Sweeney finished with six RBIs and Carpenter drove in five — both career highs Reese Olson (4-2) tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings allowing three hits and three walks while striking out eight Brenan Hanifee allowed a run in 1 1/3 innings Zach Neto had two hits and drove in the lone run for Los Angeles Kochanowicz was tagged for five runs in five innings Carpenter’s fifth double this season ignited the AL Central-leading Tigers in the middle of a 10-game trip that saw them lose two of three to the Astros on the first stop The Angels have scored five runs just twice in their last 21 games Tigers: At Colorado for a three-game series starting Tuesday night tied it with an RBI single with two outs in the sixth inning stole second base and scored the go-ahead run on Edgar Quero’s single as the Chicago White Sox rallied to beat the Houston Astros in a game shortened to seven innings by rain It was the White Sox’s second series victory of the season Last week the FBI arrested a Wisconsin state judge as she was walking into the courthouse where she works The feds had alerted the media — but not the judge — to this event The standard and preferred practice when arresting a nonviolent person who is a public official with deep roots in the community is to invite the person to surrender with counsel handcuffed behind her back — a technique reserved for the most dangerous or threatening individuals — and within minutes the FBI Director himself had posted still photos of this event on his X account The feds were unhappy at the manner in which a criminal defendant before this judge was permitted to leave her courtroom instead of through the doors where the feds were awaiting him his departure frustrated the feds who apparently expected the judge to accommodate them The technical charge against the judge is obstructing the administration of justice The true charge was failing to aid the feds The feds have grown accustomed to commandeering the states to provide assistance when needed — and many states routinely complied They did so either out of a sense of common purpose or because the feds had bailed them out financially addressed the strings attached to the grants of federal funds to the states Congress wanted to lower speed limits on highways and decided to bribe the states in order to achieve that goal It offered huge amounts of cash for paving state and federal highways in return for reducing speed limits to 55 miles per hour When South Dakota told the feds that it would take the cash but not the lower speed limits the Supreme Court ruled that so long as the strings attached to the financial grants are rationally related to the purpose of the grants South Dakota then took the cash and reluctantly lowered its speed limits Congress enacted gun regulations and ordered the states to enforce them the late Justice Antonin Scalia wrote for the Supreme Court that the states are still sovereign they can reject federal cash and federal strings and the feds cannot commandeer their officials and the power to commandeer state officials is not among them Both of these rulings unambiguously recognized the sovereignty of the states The South Dakota case led to vastly more congressional bribery — the states today simply do not refuse federal cash The Printz case led to federal frustration That frustration boiled over outside a Wisconsin courthouse last week when the feds did what was surely unthinkable to Justice Scalia — arresting a sitting state judge who refused to be commandeered by the feds Judge Hannah Dugan was presiding over an arraignment for a non-incarcerated defendant when her court officers told her that the feds were in the courthouse hallway seeking to arrest the defendant in her courtroom When she asked to see their arrest warrant Instead of an arrest warrant issued by a judge they presented an administrative warrant in which one federal agent authorizes another to arrest a person in a public place Judge Dugan shares the view of your author that the Fourth Amendment means what it says and thus administrative warrants are blatantly unconstitutional The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that only judges order arrests When her business with the defendant in her courtroom was completed she asked him to leave through the exit used by jurors She did not inform the defendant that the feds were looking for him but he apparently sensed that something was up; and when he left the courthouse and was met by feds who were waiting for him but the six feds captured the one defendant Judge Dugan was arrested for obstruction of justice Her arrest implicates not only the Supreme Court cases above — Wisconsin never agreed to have its officials assist the feds in immigration enforcement in return for federal cash and the feds cannot commandeer state officials to assist them — as well as the recent Supreme Court decision on immunity Though that case addresses presidential immunity it is instructive on the nature of government in America It teaches that government officials cannot be criminally prosecuted for the exercise of their core functions if the Secretary of Defense directs Air Force jets to attack a structure in a foreign country he mistakenly identifies as military but which turns out to be civilian If FBI agents raid and destroy the wrong house they cannot be arrested for breaking and entering And if a judge tells a defendant to leave her courtroom from door A and not door B because behind B are folks with a phony warrant We are witnessing an unprecedented assault on the separation of powers and the concept of federalism by a White House impatient with the constitutional process and largely indifferent to the role and function of the judiciary The role of the judiciary is to be anti-democratic — to protect lives liberties and properties from the other two branches If the feds succeed in intimidating judges and bending them to the presidential will To learn more about Judge Andrew Napolitano (AP) — President Donald Trump on Sunday said Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected .. Jockey Junior Alvarado celebrates after riding Sovereignty to victory in the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday (AP) — Temporarily sidelined by a hard fall jockey Junior Alvarado put it behind him with the ride of a lifetime in the Kentucky Derby Most satisfying was guiding Sovereignty past other horses in the slop before drawing a bead on 3-1 favorite Journalism and chasing him down to win the 151st running at Churchill Downs by 1 1/2 lengths The effort left Alvarado and his mount caked in mud worn proudly along with the garland of red roses that was draped over the winner to be honest,” the 38-year-old Venezuelan rider said of his breakthrough Coming from my country where the only race we would be able to watch back there was just the Kentucky Derby “I said that would be nice to be in the United States and ride in the Kentucky Derby Little by little I started to point that out to be Alvarado’s Derby win highlights a career of Grade 1 triumphs many on some of horse racing’s biggest stages He earned a Triple Crown win in the 2021 Preakness on Rombauer has a handful of Breeders’ Cup championships and won the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational two years ago aboard Bill Mott-trained Art Collector at Gulfstream Park in Florida Saturday’s impressive performance came after Alvarado fractured his shoulder in a March 23 fall at Gulfstream after his horse had a heart attack He returned to racing three weeks later at Keeneland and won a couple of claiming races at Churchill Downs this week — including another fall on Thursday — before bouncing back with a signature ride Riding Sovereignty was never in question despite the injury He missed the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 29 — where Manny Franco rode the bay colt to a second-place finish behind Tappan Street — but Mott reiterated that as long as Alvarado was healthy the horse he rode to two graded stakes wins on the Derby trail awaited him “It gave me peace of mind,” the jockey added The next step was clearing several obstacles as the 7-1 third betting choice coming out of the gate clipping heels with a competitor as the 19-horse field passed the grandstand the first time There was concern that Sovereignty might lose a shoe from the contact making sure he didn’t lose too much ground while rounding the turns he was still traveling very beautifully until we hit the five(-eighths) pole,” Alvarado said “That’s when he kind of said to me Alvarado steered Sovereignty into contention along with Journalism entering the stretch before finally clearing him in the stretch The finish earned firsts for Dubai-based stable Godolphin an outright win for Mott after getting the 2019 Derby via disqualification and vindication for Alvarado after a scary setback “Junior did a terrific job of getting him over,” Mott said It set up well for us because they had an honest pace … He tipped him out and got him in a spot that he was going to be clear down the backside.” is tagged out while trying to steal second base by Milwaukee Brewers' Brice Turang during the fifth inning of a baseball game MILWAUKEE (AP) — Freddy Peralta pitched six sharp innings to help Milwaukee beat the Chicago Cubs 4-0 on Sunday with the Brewers’ lineup breaking through after an injury knocked out left-hander Shota Imanaga in the sixth inning Milwaukee prevented the Cubs from earning their first road sweep of the Brewers since October 2015 The game was scoreless when Imanaga (3-2) strained his left hamstring while heading toward first base in an unsuccessful attempt to complete a 1-6-3 double play Imanaga grabbed the back of his left leg at the end of the play the Brewers had runners on the corners with two outs Julian Merryweather’s first offering was a wild pitch that brought home Chourio Merryweather also surrendered an RBI single to Daz Cameron and a two-run double to Caleb Durbin Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Shota Imanaga prepares to pitch against the Milwaukee Brewers during the first inning of a baseball game Cameron entered in the fourth after starting right fielder Sal Frelick departed with left knee discomfort Peralta (4-2) struck out seven while lowering his ERA to 2.18 He improved to 7-2 with a 2.92 ERA against the Cubs in his career The Cubs had a chance to take an early lead when Michael Busch drew a leadoff walk in the second inning and was awarded second base an out later due to an obstruction call on Brewers first baseman Rhys Hoskins Peralta recovered by retiring Pete Crow-Armstrong and Miguel Amaya to end the threat Peralta increased his career strikeout total to 997 The only pitchers to collect 1,000 strikeouts as Brewers are Yovanni Gallardo (1,226) Ben Sheets (1,206) and Teddy Higuera (1,081) The Cubs return home for a three-game series with the San Francisco Giants 5.10 ERA) pitches for the Giants and left-hander Matthew Boyd (2-2 The Brewers open a three-game home series with the Houston Astros tonight The scheduled starters are Astros right-hander Ronel Blanco (2-2 5.08 ERA) and Brewers right-hander Tobias Myers (0-0 RAPID RIVER — Four Forest Park athletes won individual events and the Norway boys captured the 400- and 800-meter relays to lead local competitors at the rainy Rapid River Invitational on Thursday Cole Davy and Mason Trudeau won both the 400 relay (49.87) and the 800 relay (1:42.27) to pace local finishers The Trojan boys posted three wins and the Lady Trojans added another senior Kevin Giuliani won the discus (124 feet sophomore Vic Giuliani won the high jump (6 feet) and sophomore Dietrich Rasner captured the 300-meter hurdles (48.15) Rasner added a second in the 110 hurdles (18.47) while Kevin Giuliani finished runner-up in the shot put (39-3) and Izaiah Tarter placed second in the 3,200 (11:49.65) The Trojans also received second-place points from their 1,600 relay team of Rasner Joey Mainville and Max Mainville (3:56.83) Anthony Pineda brought home thirds in the 200 (25.21) and the 400 (58.8) while Trudeau added a third in the long jump (17-2) Miles Lindholm (19.39 in the 110 hurdles) led the North Dickinson boys with a fourth-place finish North Central senior Lane Gorzinski paced the Jets with a fourth in the 100 (12.52) Newberry won the team boys title with 89 points The host Rockets finished second with 79 and Forest Park took third with 75 North Dickinson tied for ninth with seven and North Central finished 11th with six points Forest Park junior Elsie Williams captured the long jump in 13-10 to lead local girls Forest Park’s Ava Fischer finished second in the 100 hurdles (18.27) while North Dickinson’s Aubrey Applekamp placed second in the high jump (4-10) The Nordics recorded four third-place results — Aunika Lindholm in the 1,600 (6:14.58) and the 3,200 (14:24.74); Aly Steinbrecher (2:48.38) in the 800; and the 3,200 relay team of Steinbrecher Taylor Dennocenzo and Raina Ledzian (11:49.22) Norway registered individual third-place finishes by Abby Richter in the 200 and Lauren Adams (1:06.99) in the 400 Mary Cavagnetto and Jessa Rossler also placed third (58.64) Forest Park’s Lily Sarder finished third with a 13-5 in the long jump Natalie Willa led North Central with a fifth-place finish with a 22-5 in the shot put in front of Stephenson with 72 and Munising with 52 the Knights wound up ninth with 24 and the Jets placed 13th with two points FILE - Tomatoes imported from Mexico are for sale in a supermarket in Miami as the United States imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico starting a trade war with its closest neighbors and allies Wednesday Guacamole has been spared from tariffs for now While President Donald Trump put threatened tariffs on Mexican avocados on pause government plans to put a nearly 21% duty on fresh Mexican tomatoes starting July 14 A duty — like a tariff — is a tax on imports and this one would impact the 4 billion pounds of tomatoes the U.S Proponents say the import tax will help rebuild the shrinking U.S tomato industry and ensure the produce eaten in the U.S Mexico currently supplies around 70% of U.S “Unless we even the playing field in terms of fair pricing you’re not going to have a domestic industry for fresh tomatoes in the very near future,” Robert Guenther the trade group’s executive vice president but most of California’s crop is turned into sauces and other products Opponents say the duty will make fresh tomatoes more expensive for U.S a San Antonio-based company that grows tomatoes in Mexico as well as the U.S. said it will be paying millions of dollars each month in duties if the decision isn’t reversed “We will look for ways to adapt or streamline our operations we are always doing that so we run an efficient business already,” said Skip Hulett “Produce is not a large-margin business We’re determining what portion of the cost we could absorb but these added costs will most certainly need to be passed on to the consumer.” a professor at the Morrison School of Agribusiness at Arizona State University retail prices for tomatoes to rise by around 10.5% if the duty goes through Mexico’s government said last month it was convinced it could negotiate over the issue Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has hinted her country may impose duties on chicken and pork legs imported from the U.S The tug-of-war over tomatoes has a long history shortly after the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect Department of Commerce investigated allegations that Mexico was exporting tomatoes to the U.S government agreed to suspend the investigation if Mexico met certain rules including selling its tomatoes at a minimum price the agreement has been subject to periodic reviews but the two sides always reached an agreement that avoided duties the Commerce Department announced its withdrawal from the latest agreement saying it had been “flooded with comments” from U.S tomato growers who want better protection from Mexican imports said even though Mexican exporters are required to charge a minimum price industry because it costs 40% to 50% less to grow tomatoes there labor is cheaper and inputs like seeds and fertilizer cost less industry typically relies on immigrant workers through the H-2A visa program That program required farmers to pay workers an average of $16.98 per hour last year an amount that has jumped as labor has become harder to find Richards estimates that workers on Mexican tomato farms earn about one-tenth that rate NatureSweet acknowledges that it’s more cost-effective to grow tomatoes in Mexico but says climate is one of the biggest reasons The company’s Mexican greenhouses don’t need lighting heating or cooling systems because of the year-round weather conditions but you can’t relocate climate agriculture,” Hulett said the president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas which represents importers of Mexican tomatoes said Florida doesn’t produce the vine-ripened tomatoes that U.S Florida tomatoes are picked when they’re green and shipped to warehouses to ripen “Florida doesn’t grow the kinds of specialty tomatoes that have taken off but they want to get protection,” Jungmeyer said “Their market share is dropping for reasons of their own choice.” “If you put a Florida tomato up against a Mexican tomato I think it would do very well in taste test,” he said an upscale Mexican restaurant in Fort Worth He compares it to fine wine; if he wants a good cabernet sauvignon If he wants a good tomato that reminds him of his childhood “We know the flavors they are going to bring to the salsas and moles We don’t want to compromise flavors,” Burciaga said Burciaga said his restaurant uses 300 to 400 pounds of Roma tomatoes from Mexico every week He currently pays $19 for a 25-pound crate of tomatoes He doesn’t relish paying the additional cost Burciaga said the tomato duty — and the threat of Trump implementing the paused 25% tariff on many other products from Mexico — are making it difficult to run his business A small or medium restaurant budgets things out We know in advance that in six months things will increase so we’re able to adjust,” he said “But we don’t know these things in advance How do you plan and how do you react?” AP Reporter Maria Verza in Mexico City contributed LANSING — The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has announced changes to the examination .. MARQUETTE — The Upper Peninsula Construction Council will have a hiring event from 3 to 6 p.m MARSHFIELD — Marshfield Clinic region of Sanford Health and Security Health Plan are now accepting applications .. passed away peacefully in the comfort of his home on Thursday to Michael “Mike” and Dolores “Dee” Scholke Michael attended the Iron Mountain public school system and graduated from Iron Mountain High School in 2000 He later attended Michigan State University and graduated in 2004 with a political science/pre-law degree He went on to earn his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in 2007 Known affectionately and simply as “Scholke” to friends and classmates alike Michael looked fondly upon his days at all three alma maters and deeply cherished the friendships and memories made at each Upon admission to the State Bars of Michigan and Wisconsin Michael began his career as a solo practitioner in Iron Mountain where he was employed until December 2024 and he was elected as the Florence County Wisconsin District Attorney in 2024 Michael took his oath and was excited to start a new journey advocating for public safety in Florence County Michael was actively involved throughout the local community He frequently attended fundraisers as well as youth and community events He rarely missed Italian Fest or the annual Kingsford Music Boosters Spaghetti Dinner Michael served for many years as president of the Kingsford Music Boosters and he chaperoned trips to Florida for the band He was also involved in Project Graduation for Florence Michael particularly enjoyed coaching S.A.Y and Northern Stars soccer with his closest friend Graham culminating in nearly 20 seasons of coaching experience and mentorship as well as many broken clipboards and discarded baseball caps Michael cheered on his friends’ kids many of whom referred to him as “Uncle Woody” — a nickname dually inspired by the Toy Story character and his fondness for cowboy boots “Uncle Woody” could be found in the bleachers of swim meets and award ceremonies in addition to football and rooting for a multitude of beloved sports teams — particularly the Spartans and the Packers He also was a member of the Knights of Columbus He had an incredible gift for bringing people together “Scholke” welcomed everyone with open arms and an open heart Those moments live on in every story told and every smile he left behind Michael’s parents are proud not only of his accomplishments Michael shared a strong sense of camaraderie with both his younger brother and his little sister and strove to set a good example for both he was a source of sage advice or an instigator of shenanigans Michael was his brother’s confidante and partner-in-crime Michael enjoyed traveling to Canada to visit his brother and spend quality time with his family Michael was his sister’s first soccer coach he respected and valued her opinions and perspective he took as many opportunities as he could to explore Chicago with his sister He navigated his battle with so much grace “Scholke” often comforted those around him rather than seeking comfort for himself “We will figure it out” was a regular reassurance said to friends and family always more focused on how others were doing than his own pain He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents John and Ellen Kusmitch; his paternal grandfather Michael is survived by his loving parents; his paternal grandmother He is also survived by five aunts: Diane Magnuson and Eileen Matchett; and two uncles: John Scholke and Michael Kusmitch His memory will live on among his cherished extended family of friends which includes Hannah Goodman; Graham and Cindy Donahue; the Cavalieri brothers–Vince and Lucas and their families; Aimee Tatangelo; Chien-ting Chen; Ben and Shannon Sorensen; Brad and Stephanie Coe; Paul Picucci; Andy Flaminio; Matthew Peterson and family; Jon “Kentucky Jon” Edwards and family; and many others too numerous to name Michael’s selfless and caring nature and his dedication to others made him a true friend to many May this love and friendship continue to have a positive impact on the lives of those who knew and loved him most He had a special place in his heart for his niece and nephew Delaney and Finn Donahue; Dominic and Sierra Tatangelo; Ember and Grayson Goodman; his goddaughter His biggest smiles were always for the kids and it gave him great joy to be around them The family would like to express our immense gratitude to our friends and the community at large for their compassionate support Your generosity and kindness will never be forgotten a special thank-you to the dedicated caregivers from Marshfield-Dickinson Home Health Hospice — Tammy and Sunshine — for their care and support Your compassion and guidance during this difficult time is greatly appreciated the following quote by Bob Marley sums up Michael’s life perfectly: “The greatness of a man is not in how much wealth he acquires but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” And that’s exactly what “Scholke” did and empathy had an overwhelming impact on his family the world is a better place because you were in it In the eyes of those who knew and loved you You will never be forgotten; instead you will remain in our hearts forever memorials may be in Michael’s name and directed to Incredible Bank May 9 at the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home in Iron Mountain Timothy Ekaitis will offer the Mass of Christian Burial Interment will be in Iron Mountain Cemetery Park Condolences to the family of Michael Scholke may be expressed online at www.ernashfuneralhomes.com The family has entrusted the Erickson-Rochon & Nash Funeral Home of Iron Mountain with the funeral arrangements POPE FRANCIS MEETS with President Donald Trump on the occasion of their private audience at the Vatican NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump posted an artificial intelligence-generated image of himself dressed as pope as the mourning of Pope Francis continues and just days before the conclave to elect his successor is set to begin Trump’s action drew rebukes from a group representing Catholic bishops in New York and among Italians shared Friday night on Trump’s Truth Social site and later reposted by the White House on its official X account raised eyebrows on social media and at the Vatican which is still in the period of nine days of official mourning following Francis’ death on April 21 Catholic cardinals have been celebrating daily Masses in his memory and are due to open the conclave to elect his successor on Wednesday The death of a pope and election of another is a matter of utmost solemnity for Catholics for whom the pope is Christ’s vicar on Earth where the papacy is held in high esteem even by nonreligious Italians The image featuring Trump in a white cassock and pointed miter was the topic of several questions during the Vatican’s daily conclave briefing Saturday Italian and Spanish news reports lamented its poor taste and said it was offensive given that the period of official mourning is still underway Left-leaning former Premier Matteo Renzi said the image was shameful “This is an image that offends believers insults institutions and shows that the leader of the right-wing world enjoys clowning around,” Renzi wrote on X economy risks recession and the dollar loses value which represents the bishops of the state in working with government “There is nothing clever or funny about this image “We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St Italy’s left-leaning La Repubblica also featured the image on its homepage Saturday with a commentary accusing Trump of “pathological megalomania.” The White House did not immediately respond to questions about the backlash to the image or why the president had shared the image a prominent far-right influencer and Trump ally who recently participated in a Catholic prayer event in March at Trump’s Florida resort We’ve all been making jokes about the upcoming Pope selection all week It’s called a sense of humor,” he wrote on X The episode comes after Trump joked last week about his interest in the vacancy That would be my number one choice,” the thrice married president “I was excited to hear that President Trump is open to the idea of being the next Pope This would truly be a dark horse candidate but I would ask the papal conclave and Catholic faithful to keep an open mind about this possibility!” Graham who is Catholic and was one of the last foreign officials to meet with Francis before the pope died also joked about Secretary of State Marco Rubio becoming pope suggesting Rubio could add it to the long list of titles he holds including national security adviser and acting archivist Trump also has put in a plug for Cardinal Timothy Dolan we have a cardinal that happens to be out a place called New York who’s very good So we’ll see what happens,” he said cardinals who will be voting in the conclave but Trump’s pitch might have cost Dolan support with cardinals sequestered for the duration is to prevent outside secular powers from influencing their choice There is an old saying about campaigning for the job of pope or of being promoted excessively especially by outsiders: If you “enter a conclave as pope While Trump attended Francis’ funeral bishops in general and Francis in particular over the administration’s hard line stance on immigration and its efforts to deport migrants en masse Right before he was hospitalized in February for pneumonia Francis issued a strong rebuke of the administration’s mass deportation plans and Vance’s theological justification of it elevating pastors who prioritized social justice and migration issues over culture warriors who were more favored by his more doctrinaire predecessors St A new pope who is more conservative could reverse that effort Trump has nominated as his ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch whose Catholicvote.org has been aggressively covering the pre-conclave days at the Vatican It was one of the main disseminators in English-speaking media of a report flatly and officially denied by the Vatican that Cardinal Pietro Parolin had had a health scare this past week that required medical attention Parolin was the secretary of state under Francis and is seen as a leading contender to be pope He is also the main architect of the Vatican’s China policy and its controversial 2018 deal with Beijing over bishop nominations — a deal that the was sharply criticized by the first Trump administration IRON MOUNTAIN — Both public and private lands in the Upper Peninsula are open for spring turkey Hunt 0234 Licenses for this hunt are guaranteed and do not require an application in a drawing you can only purchase one spring turkey license each season Licenses can be purchased at any license retailer online at Michigan.gov/DNRLicenses or through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish app Leftover spring turkey licenses for the U.P — which had a quota of 6,000 — are otherwise sold out hunting period opened April 19 and also ends May 31 Wisconsin’s general inland fishing season kicks off today The state Department of Natural Resources now offers a fishing finder at https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/fishing/outreach/wifishingfinder It’s a one-stop shop for fishing regulations as we’re still around the spawning timeframe for them owner of Sugs Fishing Guide Service in Eagle River All other species will be using the shallower water — shallow bays If you aren’t seeing anything in your spot paddlers and boaters to use caution when navigating waterways in areas affected by the late March ice storm Fallen trees and branches may especially be a problem in rivers and streams in the 12-county disaster area encompassing Alcona While fallen trees and branches are natural and expected in bodies of water additional woody debris may impact navigation in rivers or streams While the ice storm was destructive in many ways the additional trees and woody debris in rivers and streams are an aspect of the storm that will benefit fish For Michigan’s designated Natural Rivers a DNR permit is required for the removal of any embedded wood or vegetation below the ordinary high-water mark for navigation purposes Designated Natural Rivers in the Upper Peninsula are the Fox River system in Alger Schoolcraft and Luce counties and the Two-Hearted River in northern Luce County Munising: Anglers on boats were catching good numbers of coho salmon when trolling the bay Marquette: Anglers fishing out of the lower harbor reported a mixture of success anglers did quite well for coho salmon around the tip of the break wall and out towards White Rocks when trolling or jigging The steelhead numbers were reported to have declined in both of the rivers around Marquette Natural baits seemed to work best for the rivers and shoreline around Marquette Black River Harbor: Anglers fishing from the harbor break walls were successful in catching coho salmon in fair numbers Boats trolling shallow waters reported mixed catches consisting of coho salmon Little Bay de Noc: Perch anglers report mixed results Windy conditions resulted in limited numbers of anglers going out Perch anglers were fishing the narrows and the head of the bay protected areas and river mouths with success Big Bay de Noc: Anglers fishing Garden Bay reported slow fishing Smallmouth bass anglers reported fair to good fishing when casting for pre-spawn fish speaks at the executive session during the PBS Winter 2020 TCA Press Tour at The Langham Huntington The nation’s public broadcasting system — decades-long home to Big Bird Ken Burns documentaries and “All Things Considered” — faces the biggest crisis in its nearly 60-year history with President Donald Trump’s order to slash federal subsidies NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting all suggesting Friday that Trump’s order is illegal “We will vigorously defend our right to provide essential news information and life-saving services to the American public,” said Katherine Maher “We will challenge this executive order using all means available.” Her counterpart at PBS said Trump’s order was blatantly unlawful The public broadcasting system dates back to the late 1960s devised as an educational and public service-oriented alternative to commercial broadcasters available at the time Trump said the system has become politically biased and time has passed it by “Today the media landscape is filled with abundant diverse and innovative news options,” the president said in his order “Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.” and between PBS’ “NewsHour” and a robust reporting corps at NPR that’s an important part of their operations But public broadcasting also has entertainment programming educational children’s shows and Burns’ historical documentaries PBS and NPR get about a half-billion dollars a year in public funding funneled through the private Corporation for Public Broadcasting Roughly 70% of that goes directly to the 330 local PBS outlets and 246 NPR stations PBS says 15% of its stations’ budgets come from public funding But there are wide variations; stations in larger markets usually get more money through philanthropy and fund drives while smaller stations depend much more on the government Congress has been considering future funding levels for the public broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commission is questioning public broadcasting efforts at corporate underwriting author of the 2023 book “Shadow of the New Deal: The Victory of Public Broadcasting.” “It’s a three-pronged effort that is frankly very smart in its institutional understanding,” Shepperd said “They’re not just going after programs that they don’t like They’re going after the operations and the infrastructure that makes it possible to even air the programming.” Trump’s order instructs the CPB and other government agencies to “cease Federal funding” for PBS and National Public Radio and further requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing Department of Education for programming that helps build the reading math and science skills for children age 2 to 8 The administration’s plan might not threaten your favorite program — Burns gets plenty of corporate and philanthropic support — but it may impact local programming and potential growth Congressional Republicans aired some of their grievances about public broadcasting to Kerger and Maher at a public hearing in March Such complaints have been common over the years but the broadcasters have avoided funding cuts in large part because members of Congress don’t want to be seen as responsible if a station in their district shuts down Who wants to be the public official who killed “Sesame Street” public pressure from constituents is minimized because most Republicans don’t watch PBS or listen to NPR director of media analysis at the conservative Media Research Center “I have this morning habit of listening to NPR on my commute,” Graham said Graham’s group has issued reports with examples of what it says is bias against conservatives during an 18-month period that ended last November his researchers counted 162 examples of PBS journalists or contributors making reference labeling some politicians “far right” or some variation with only six called “far left.” He said he’s not trying to shut down these stations “Let the people who listen to it do the funding,” Graham said CPB president and CEO Pat Harrison said her agency has taken bias concerns seriously It has increased investments in fact-based local journalism and provided a grant to NPR to make changes in its newsroom to address issues of bias The court fight over public broadcasting has already begun The president earlier this week said he was firing three of the five remaining CPB board members — threatening its ability to do any work — and was immediately sued by the CPB to stop it The executive order is also the latest move by Trump and his administration to utilize federal powers to control or hamstring institutions whose actions or viewpoints he disagrees with — particularly those related to media Since taking office in January for a second term placed staff on administrative leave and cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to artists Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities Trump has also pushed to withhold federal research and education funds from universities and punish law firms unless they agree to eliminate diversity programs and other measures he has found objectionable The move against PBS and NPR comes as Trump’s administration works to dismantle the U.S including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty which were designed to model independent news gathering globally in societies that restrict the press Those efforts have faced pushback from federal courts which have ruled in some cases that the Trump administration may have overstepped its authority in holding back funds appropriated to the outlets by Congress AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report testifies Thursday in support of his House Joint Resolution B which aims to amend the state constitution to require proof of citizenship for voters Michigan House Republicans took votes on several policies aligned with President Donald Trump’s priorities on Thursday achieving mixed results on measures to ban sanctuary cities a proposed constitutional amendment intended to bar noncitizens from voting and legislation they say would end diversity Though House Republicans successfully advanced several policies tied to undocumented immigration Bryan Posthumus’s House Joint Resolution B which requires residents to show proof of citizenship when casting their ballot and registering to vote failing to reach the two-thirds supermajority needed to advance the effort to amend the state constitution is not quite dead moving to reconsider the vote and tabling the matter for another session Additionally members of the Board of State Canvassers approved the language and form for a proposal that mirrors the House’s resolution giving supporters 180 days to gather signatures in order to place the matter before voters on the 2026 ballot “There’s a potential that down the road we bring it back up and see what happens then,” Posthumus told reporters after Thursday’s session concluded that doesn’t mean it’s dead forever or whether it’s through the petition drive one way or another I’m going to make sure it’s on the ballot,” Posthumus said Posthumus first offered the effort in 2024 in response to reports of a 19-year-old University of Michigan student from China casting a ballot in Ann Arbor The Department of State has since identified 15 additional cases of noncitizen voting in the 2024 election out of more than 5.7 million ballots cast not a sledgehammer,” Benson said in an April 3 statement citizens can legally register and vote in elections “Our careful review confirms what we already knew — that this illegal activity is very rare While we take all violations of election law very seriously this tiny fraction of potential cases in Michigan and at the national level do not justify recent efforts to pass laws we know would block tens of thousands of Michigan citizens from voting in future elections.” Voting rights advocates have repeatedly warned that Posthumus’ proposal would have serious consequences on the ability of married or divorced women who change their names seniors and low-income voters to cast their ballot You have to pay money to produce documents in order to vote told reporters ahead of Thursday’s House session Though the policy does include a hardship exception to cover the cost for individuals who do not have the necessary documentation Koleszar questioned whether that would include the middle class he also pointed to the impact of a similar policy in Kansas which blocked 31,000 individuals who were otherwise eligible to vote from accessing the ballot the minority vice chair of the election integrity committee compared the proposal to the Kansas law alongside another policy in Arizona and the SAVE Act proposed in Congress all of which have drawn criticism for creating barriers to voting The only substantive difference between these policies is that Posthumus’s proposal would leave the implementation details to be hammered out by a future Legislature who previously chaired the House Elections Committee pitched several alternatives to the joint resolution “How about having our Department of State do more audits before the elections and not after What about using existing records to check new registrations on a rolling basis not-to-be-missed signage at every polling place laying out the consequences of voting as a noncitizen and let’s put it in some different languages that reflect the population of the district to avoid any potential language barriers,” Tsernoglou said Tsernoglou’s office later announced a set of three bills sponsored by Wooden in cooperation with the Secretary of State’s office as part of the first phase of legislation aimed at tightening up Michigan’s election security — Requiring the secretary of state to compare driver data to voter registration information to identify records of potential non-citizens that need further review — Giving the secretary of state the ability to remove voters who haven’t voted in 20 years from the voter rolls after notice — Requiring the secretary of state to regularly review the instructions on the voter registration form to ensure citizenship eligibility requirements are clearly described Posthumus challenged the arguments put forth by Democrats While Koleszar noted the number of noncitizens barred from voting by the Kansas law was “statistically indistinguishable from zero,” Posthumus pointed to the 2000 Presidential election where former President George Bush defeated Al Gore by a 537-vote margin in Florida He also pointed to multiple recent elections in the Michigan Legislature that had been decided by double digit margins Michigan has the benefit of being able to learn from Kansas and Arizona’s mistakes Posthumus said before urging a yes vote on the proposal In the unlikely case that Posthumus’ proposal achieves the two-third margin needed to pass the House it would need to win support from two-thirds of members in the Democratic-led Senate before the matter could be placed on the ballot for a majority of Michiganders to decide in the next general election Republicans advance policies on undocumented immigration Prior to taking a vote on House Joint Resolution B the chamber cast its first votes of the day on a set of bills banning local and county governments from enacting or enforcing sanctuary city or county policies which typically limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement any locality with an existing sanctuary policy would have 60 days to eliminate it and comply with state policy with full support from Republicans’ 58 member majority House Bill 4342 — which would bar any city or village with a sanctuary policy in place from receiving state revenue sharing funds used to pay for key services like police and fire departments funding for roads and sewers and garbage collection — did see the dropoff of one Republican which aim to bar noncitizens from receiving welfare and housing assistance gained support from Xiong and fellow Democratic Reps the bills are unlikely to advance in the Democratic-led Senate as split control of the Legislature has led to deadlock Effort Republicans say would end DEI practices in hiring receives overwhelming support In an uncharacteristic show of strong bipartisan support nearly all members present in the House voted in support of a policy Republicans argue would end diversity equity and inclusion practices in hiring at state agencies states “a state agency shall not hire an applicant for unclassified employment unless the state agency bases the hiring on 1 or more objective and merit-based factors that include the applicant’s relevant education or work experience.” It does not mention diversity who introduced nearly identical legislation last year said she was surprised to see Byrnes reintroduce the bill when she began to mention DEI hiring practices House Minority Floor Leader John Fitzgerald noting that “the speech and debate on the floor of this house must contain and be relevant to the bill itself.” “I do not find that — in the absence of any diversity equity or inclusion language included in this bill — that that is relevant or germane to the debate here today,” Fitzgerald said telling the House “DEI has left us divided and lowered with lowered standards identity or anything other than merit will face a $10,000 fine.” The bill passed with support from 105 members of the 110-member body marked the sole vote against the legislation While Wegela requested his name be removed as a cosponsor of the bill Byrnes requested the board be opened for members to join in cosponsoring the bill with the bill gaining support from 74 members by the time the voting board was closed Fitzgerald later told reporters the bill was part of a larger pay-equity package calling Republican’s description of the bill as anti-DEI bill as “a really poor misunderstanding of the legislation.” “I think that really what we’re focused on is trying to make sure that people who are not necessarily relationally or have a relationship with their workplace that they’re applying to don’t get shut out indiscriminately We want to make sure that people on their merit have the opportunity to do that,” Fitzgerald said Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom MARQUETTE — The Michigan Department of Transportation is investing about $116,000 to pave an existing gravel lot .. FILE - This undated photo provided by Murray Osorio PLLC shows Kilmar Abrego Garcia NASHVILLE (AP) — Authorities in Tennessee have released video of a 2022 traffic stop involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia the Maryland construction worker who became the face of U.S immigration policy after his erroneous deportation to El Salvador The body-camera footage shows a calm and friendly exchange between officers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Abrego Garcia He was pulled over for speeding in a vehicle with eight passengers and said they’d been working in Missouri Officers then discussed among themselves their suspicions of human trafficking because nine people were traveling without luggage One of the officers said: “He’s hauling these people for money.” Another said he had $1,400 in an envelope Abrego Garcia was never charged with a crime while the officers allowed him to drive on with only a warning about an expired driver’s license according to a report about the stop released last month by the U.S The report said he was traveling from Texas to Maryland to bring in people to perform construction work The Trump administration has been publicizing Abrego Garcia’s interactions with police over the years despite a lack of corresponding criminal charges while it faces a federal court order and calls from some in Congress to return him to the U.S said in a statement Friday that he saw no evidence of a crime in the released footage “But the point is not the traffic stop — it’s that Mr Bring him back to the United States,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said When details of the Tennessee traffic stop were first publicized Abrego Garcia’s wife said he sometimes transported groups of fellow construction workers between job sites Kilmar is currently imprisoned without contact with the outside world which means he cannot respond to the claims,” Jennifer Vasquez Sura said in mid-April Abergo Garcia fled his native El Salvador to the U.S when he was 16 and lived in Maryland for roughly 14 years Immigration and Customs Enforcement deported him in March to a Salvadoran prison over a 2019 accusation that he was in the MS-13 gang Police in Maryland had identified Abrego Garcia as an MS-13 gang member based on his tattoos Chicago Bulls hoodie and the word of a criminal informant His lawyers say the informant claimed Abrego Garcia was in an MS-13 chapter in New York Abrego Garcia’s expulsion to El Salvador also violated a U.S immigration judge’s order in 2019 that shielded him from deportation to his native country The judge had determined that Abrego Garcia would likely face persecution there by local gangs that had terrorized him and his family After Abrego Garcia’s family filed a lawsuit District Judge Paula Xinis ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia on April 4 The Supreme Court ruled April 10 that the administration must work to bring him back Xinis then lambasted a government lawyer who couldn’t explain what She ordered officials to provide sworn testimony and other information to document their efforts But a federal appeals court backed Xinis’ order for information in a blistering ruling President Donald Trump acknowledged to ABC News on Tuesday that he could call El Salvador’s president and have Abrego Garcia sent back But Trump doubled down on his claims that Abrego Garcia is a member of the MS-13 gang Attorney Sandoval-Moshenberg said Friday that Abrego Garcia should be able to answer the allegations himself before the U.S immigration judge who heard his case in 2019 “I have represented Kilmar Abrego Garcia for more than a month and this bodycam video is the first time I’ve heard his voice,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said “He has been denied the most basic protections of due process — no phone call to his lawyer Rescue workers arrive to the scene after a deadly collision between a pickup truck and tour van near Henry’s Lake State Park in eastern Idaho on Thursday Idaho (AP) — A pickup truck and a tour van with foreigner visitors — including two people from Italy — collided on a highway leading to Yellowstone National Park leaving seven people dead and eight others injured Highway 20 near Henry’s Lake State Park in eastern Idaho The state park is roughly 16 miles (26 kilometers) west of Yellowstone National Park Police have not said what exactly caused the wreck but the Dodge Ram truck was traveling west while the Mercedes van was traveling east toward Yellowstone when it happened Video from the scene showed clear weather conditions at the time The driver of the pickup and six people inside the Mercedes passenger van died The truck driver was identified Friday as Isaih Moreno Identifying the others will take some time told The New York Times that she was waiting for DNA test results to identify the six others because the bodies were unrecognizable She said all six were from outside the U.S Two were from Italy and it wasn’t immediately known where the others were from The van was carrying a tour group of 14 people and the surviving occupants were taken to hospitals with injuries Two were flown to an Idaho Falls hospital and one was flown to a Bozeman The others were taken to area hospitals with injuries believed to be non-life-threatening was driving home when he saw flames engulfing the two vehicles as bystanders tried to care for survivors from the van on the side of the highway Merrill said he often sees tourist vans on the highway “It is a very dangerous highway because it leads to the main entrance of Yellowstone National Park,” he said Merrill captured video of the wreckage with smoke blanketing the van Merrill said he anxiously awaited the help of first responders “It took an unnervingly long time for help to arrive just because of the location,” he said Police said Friday that a Fremont County sheriff’s deputy arrived shortly after the crash and immediately helped injured van occupants as it caught fire The state is working with local officials to get “answers on what led to this terrible tragedy,” Idaho Gov The Idaho Transportation Department had identified the highway for safety improvements aimed at reducing the severity of crashes but the project was still in the research and planning phase An average of about 10,500 vehicles traveled that portion of the highway daily in 2023 Associated Press reporter Lisa Baumann contributed to this story from Bellingham A PAIR OF shoppers at a Kohl's in November 2021 in Everett Kohl’s said it has terminated its new CEO Ashley Buchanan after an investigation determined that he directed the retailer to engage in vendor transactions that involved undisclosed conflicts of interest Kohl’s named Chairman Michael Bender as interim CEO Bender will step down as a member of the board’s audit compensation and nominating and environmental according to the retailer’s regulatory filing The news comes less than four months after Buchanan who had been previously the CEO of arts and crafts chain Michaels Buchanan’s appointment marks the third CEO for Kohl’s in three years as the department store struggles to reverse sluggish sales Kohl’s said Thursday that Buchanan’s firing is unrelated to its performance results of operations and did not involve any of its other employees Kohl’s will conduct a search for a permanent CEO and said it will name a new chair in due course The company couldn’t be immediately be reached for comment Buchanan didn’t immediately return a message sent to his Linkedin account According to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing Buchanan’s termination follows a probe conducted by outside counsel and overseen by the board’s audit committee It found Buchanan had directed Kohl’s to conduct business with a vendor founded by an individual with whom Buchanan has a personal relationship on “highly unusual terms favorable to the vendor” and that he also caused Kohl’s to enter into a multimillion-dollar consulting agreement with the same individual who was a part of the consulting team It also found that in neither case did Buchanan disclose this relationship as required under Kohl’s code of ethics In connection with his termination and in accordance with the terms of his equity award agreements Buchanan will forfeit all equity awards he received from the company including the recruitment awards made as of January 15 Buchanan will also be required to reimburse Kohl’s for a pro rata portion of his signing incentive in the amount of $2.5 million As a result of Buchanan’s termination the board has determined to withdraw his nomination for election as a director of the company at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting to be held on May 14 who stayed on as an adviser and is retaining his position on Kohl’s board until his retirement next month Kingsbury served as Kohl’s interim CEO in December 2022 and was named its permanent leader in February 2023 The firing comes at a time when Kohl’s which operates 1,600 stores across the country Its middle income shoppers have pulled back on discretionary spending in the face of still-high prices for necessities It’s also faced stiff competition from Walmart and Amazon which have been improving their fashion offerings at affordable prices it is confronting uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump’s expansive tariffs Kohl’s offered a preliminary look at sales and profits for the current quarter that showed continued weakness though the expected results are on track to beat Wall Street estimates It said that it expects to report a decline in comparable sales — those coming from established physical stores and online channels — in the range of 4.3% to 4% and a loss of 24 cents to 20 cents per share for the fiscal first quarter Analysts expected earnings per share loss of 54 cents and a drop in comparable sales of 6.4% It expects to report final fiscal first-quarter results on May 29 a part of the Greater Iron Mountain Area MLS Kentucky Derby entrant Journalism gets a bath after a work out at Churchill Downs Wednesday (AP) — The Kentucky Derby is tough to win with a huge field of stampeding horses and 150,000 screaming fans in the stands Toss in a rainy forecast that could turn the Churchill Downs dirt strip into something resembling peanut butter and it gets trickier A field of 19 3-year-olds is set to run 1 1/4 miles for a $3.1 million prize and the garland of red roses today Mucking things up is a forecast of 65 degrees with a 90% chance of rain The soggy weather isn’t just a bummer for those wanting the fairest of track conditions The Derby is also a big party and fashion show and rain means pulling out ponchos — no umbrellas allowed — to protect the huge hats and floral dresses Thirteen of the Derby contenders — including early 3-1 favorite Journalism — have never raced on a wet track Clods of flying mud hitting their faces could be a turnoff “I may go through three pairs of goggles,” said Brian Hernandez Jr. The others are Neoequos and American Promise The last Derby run on a sloppy track was in 2019 when Country House won via a disqualification that had nothing to do with the weather Trainer Bob Baffert goes for a record-setting seventh victory in his return from a three-year suspension leaving him little choice but to get to the front before the rest of the field comes over “We’re going to tell him to get out of there like he just robbed a bank,” Baffert said was scratched Thursday with a bruised foot Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen tries to snap an 0 for 26 Derby losing streak with a pair of 20-1 shots: Publisher and Tiztastic Both are next to each other in the starting gate He’ll try to snap an 0 for 13 Derby skid for Godolphin the racing stable of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum “I know he loves this track,” jockey Junior Alvarado said “so I’m sitting on a good run with him now.” is the most expensive horse in the field at $1.2 million 30-1 shot Chunk of Gold was bought for $2,500 “There’s been a lot of expensive horses not pan out and there’s been a lot of cheap ones that have panned out,” Chunk of Gold trainer Ethan West said “It’s not like he’s a big Journalism looked the part of the Derby favorite while training during a mostly rain-free week on the track and breaks from the No “The history of the Derby is usually a pretty vibrant opening quarter-mile,” trainer Michael McCarthy said The Southern California-based colt’s mother’s name is Mopotism and wanting a name ending in “ism,” co-owner Aron Wellman took inspiration from his old gig as sports editor of the Beverly Hills High School newspaper journalists and responsible journalism is so important,” he said “It’s so poignant that a horse named Journalism is going to have all eyes on him.” Derby Day coverage begins at noon Eastern on USA Network and streaming on Peacock NBC and Peacock have coverage from 2:30 p.m All races at Churchill Downs except the Derby will be shown on FanDuel TV Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) goes to the basket against New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns during the second half of Game 6 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Thursday Cade Cunningham said he had learned more in four playoff games than he had picked up in the entire regular season the Pistons went into Madison Square Garden for Game 5 and kept their season alive with a 106-103 victory It was Detroit’s second win in New York it was another crushing last-second loss that ended Detroit’s postseason run Jalen Brunson hit a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left to put the Knicks up 116-113 and Cunningham’s pass to Malik Beasley sailed out of bounds as time expired “The biggest thing I’ve learned about the playoffs is that you have to raise your attention to details,” Cunningham said “Every possession means so much more than it does during the regular season Cunningham didn’t have his best game on Thursday but he missed all eight 3-point attempts and turned the ball over three times “There are so many plays that I would love to have back,” he said but there are so many little things that we could have done better.” the Pistons had a successful season by any reasonable standard A franchise that hadn’t broken 25 wins in the last five seasons jumped from 14-68 to 44-38 and the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference but they took them to six games in only the second NBA postseason series to have four straight games decided by three points or less Three of them were Detroit home losses by 2 “This was an amazing atmosphere and the crowd was hype,” Beasley said we have to make sure we protect home court The Pistons have a lot of work to do before they take another major step They aren’t consistent enough shooting 3-pointers — the starters went 2-17 in Game 6 — and they struggle to keep teams off the offensive glass The Knicks turned 13 offensive rebounds into 18 points on Thursday “There’s disappointment right now because these guys don’t have an opportunity to keep doing what they’ve been doing this season,” Pistons coach J.B because you can’t get playoff experience without getting playoff experience and these guys did a tremendous job of learning from moment to moment and game to game “They’ve learned what impacts winning.” — The Niagara Lady Badgers waited a couple weeks of the 2025 softball season to play a home game LAKE LINDEN — Tanner Nordstrom and Bristol Shamion led the West Iron County track teams with an individual .. Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell (11) stands in the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy and the Chicago Cubs’ Craig Counsell have a friendship that goes back well over three decades That wasn’t going to end now that they’re managing NL Central rivals “I’m sure all of you have great friends in the world people that you’ve been associated with for many many years in different way,” Murphy said Friday before the Brewers lost 10-0 to the Cubs in the season’s first matchup between the teams “Maybe the relationship changed a little bit you don’t have to call them on the phone every night and say Counsell and Murphy had worked together in some capacity for much of the last 35 years or so before Counsell left his job as Milwaukee’s manager to become the Cubs’ skipper after the 2023 season a key part of Counsell’s staff in Milwaukee Their relationship started long before either reached the big leagues Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy watches from the dugout during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco Counsell played college baseball on Notre Dame teams coached by Murphy from 1989-92 When Counsell was hired as the Brewers’ manager after the 2015 season They saw each other just about every day for most of the next eight seasons Now that they’re working for different teams Nor can they confide in each other the way they could while working on the same staff “It’s changed in that we’re competitors instead of teammates (the relationship is) different,” Counsell said “It’s stayed the same in kind of when we’re off game time That friendship continues even as they work for rivals “I know people would love to have us get in a fight and have a back-and-forth between the Cubs and us – fights and all that kind of (stuff),” Murphy said and I’m very grateful for the friendship.” Counsell’s decision to leave the Brewers enabled Murphy to get his first MLB manager opportunity since 2015 Murphy responded by leading the Brewers to a second straight NL Central title and becoming the Milwaukee’s first NL Manager of the Year “I’m happy for his success,” Counsell said You’re happy your good friend has tremendous success His wins don’t always bode good for me or for us You’re still happy for his success.” The Cubs’ blowout win Friday enabled them to maintain their two-game lead over Cincinnati in the NL Central IRON MOUNTAIN — Six Iron Mountain High School seniors have placed among the top 10% of the graduating Class of 2025 Iron Mountain High School will have its commencement at 6 p.m daughter of Chris Vicenzi of Iron Mountain and Anna Vicenzi of Iron Mountain Tri-Hi-Y and Key Club all four years of high school and serving as council secretary this year She has been a member of the Youth Advisory Council for three years and was service hour chair this year She was the Mountaineer Mindset vice president this year and a member of the club the past two years helping to destigmatize mental health issues at IMHS Vicenzi received the Michigan Technological University Society of Women’s Engineering certificate of merit in her junior year has been a member of the National Honor Society the past three years and received the Principal’s Academic Highest Honor award all four years of high school She played soccer and volleyball her freshman and sophomore year Vicenzi has received many volunteer recognitions Youth Spirit of Hope award and the Honor award for volunteerism; she has more than 280 volunteer hours she enjoys spending time with family and friends Vicenzi plans to study pre-pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison son of Todd Siemon of Norway and Bree Rittenhouse of Iron Mountain Rittenhouse-Siemon received high honors all four years of high school He has participated in Key Club and Youth Advisory Council He is an active member of Business Professional of America and will take part in the national competition in May in Florida in computer network technology Rittenhouse-Siemon is an early middle college student who will complete a fifth year at earning both his high school diploma and an associate degree fully funded by the district He participates in the Upper Peninsula Construction Council work-based learning program through the Dickinson Iron Intermediate School District tech center Rittenhouse-Siemon likes to work on his truck He is undecided if he will continue college immediately after he completes his associate degree but plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in applied science Pickett is the daughter of Mike and Stacey Pickett of Iron Mountain She received the Principals Academic Honor award all four years of high school maintained honor roll status all four years and has been a National Honor Society member for the past three years Pickett also received student of the week and student of the month honors several times she was selected to represent Iron Mountain High School at the Wisconsin Leadership Seminar a leadership conference for students in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula Pickett has been a fierce Mountaineer athlete She played volleyball for two years and received a varsity letter in both track and field and basketball for four years straight She has received numerous accolades as an athlete: Academic All State Track & Field (’23 All State Track & Field 100m dash (D1-’23 All State Track & Field 400 relay (D1-’23 All State Track & Field 800 relay (D1-’23 D2-’24) and All State Track & Field long jump (D2-’24) Mid Pen Conference Honorable mention (’25) and UP Track finals first place in 4×100 meter relay (’22) She received D2 All UP Honorable mention for tennis singles 4 last year track & field most improved sprinter in 2022 and 2023 track & field most valuable sprinter the past three years and served as track and field captain last year Pickett is a member of many clubs and activities: HOSA-Future Health Professionals serving as vice president and receiving first place in regionals for medical spelling qualifying her for state finals; Key Club for four years serving as secretary and president; Mountaineer Mindset for the past two years serving as president; Varsity Club for four years with one year as president; Youth Advisory Council for three years where she served as secretary for a year; and both Tri-Hi-Y and Environmental Club for four years Pickett has acquired more than 400 hours of volunteer service in the community and been recognized with the Community Service Honor award Community Service Ambassador award and the Michigan Community Impact award She plans to pursue a nursing degree at Bellin College — Ayla Nassen is the daughter of Lana Nassen of Crystal Falls She is a homeschool partnership student who has received high honors recognition the past two years Nassen was an active member of the IMHS figure skating team for two years and received the U.S Figure Skating Bronze award for graduating seniors this year She also volunteered her time as a junior coach for the skating club for two years Her plans after high school remain flexible — she may take a gap year and try to work on Mackinac Island or take community college courses She hopes to one day be an illustrator for children’s books — Benjamin Truong is the son of Michael Truong of Iron Mountain and Quy Balicki of Iron Mountain Truong has maintained honor roll status for seven consecutive semesters and has been a member of the National Honor Society for three years His club involvement includes three years in Environmental Club the Science Olympiad Team and Youth in Government He was on the E-sports team for two years and a member of HOSA as well Truong also participated all four years of high school in Youth Advisory Council he competed in varsity tennis all four years Truong was nominated to be an IMHS representative at the MyLead student leadership conference at Michigan State University his sophomore year and returned the next year as a youth mentor He was nominated to be the IMHS student representative at Boys State his junior year Truong was selected for Menominee River Conference Honors band the past three years He was first chair in concert band and jazz band for alto He played with pep band and marching band all four years and competed at Wisconsin School Music Association District Solo & Ensemble five times and at WSMA State Solo & Ensemble in his junior year receiving Division 1 rating for Class A Jazz He has tallied more than 200 volunteer hours snowboarding and frolicking in the North Dickinson County/Felch Township area Truong plans to study on a pre-med track at University of Michigan — Giovannie Saldana is the son of Juan Saldana and Jackie Geneva of Iron Mountain He has maintained high honor roll status all four years and been a member of National Honor Society for the past three years Saldana was a four-year member of Youth Advisory Council serving as class representative his sophomore year He was on student council this year and has donated blood with the blood drive all four years of high school Saldana was involved with athletics as well wrestling and competing in track and field over the four years receiving academic awards for wrestling and football He has logged more than 400 volunteer hours participated in the UPCC Summer Trades training camp and enjoys playing video games He plans to study construction management at Northern Michigan University NORWAY — A planned electric service outage of up to four hours will begin at 12 a.m ESCANABA — The Michigan Department of Transportation is investing about $1 million to resurface nearly 2 miles of .. FILE - Michigan State Athletic Director Alan Haller speaks during an introductory news conference Haller was appointed as vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics on Sept (AP) — Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller is leaving the school and deputy athletic director Jennifer Smith and men’s basketball coach Tom Izzo will serve as co-interim ADs university president Kevin Guskiewicz announced Thursday Guskiewicz did not disclose the reason for Haller’s exit “I’m grateful for Alan’s leadership since I joined the university and appreciate the success our programs have seen under his leadership,” Guskiewicz said in a statement “He is deeply committed to this university and has led with honesty and integrity.” Guskiewicz said a national search would begin to find a successor to Haller who was promoted from deputy athletic director in 2021 Haller played football and ran track at Michigan State and later worked 13 years in the school’s Department of Police and Public Safety He joined the athletic department in 2010 and had a number of roles Michigan State coach Tom Izzo reacts following an NCAA college basketball game against Oregon the Spartans won Big Ten championships in men’s basketball men’s hockey and women’s cross country as well as postseason appearances for several programs “This is a pivotal time for college athletics effective communications and community engagement are more important than ever,” Guskiewicz said “Our next athletic director will lead one of the nation’s more storied athletic programs a long legacy of academic and athletic excellence and Haller’s exit comes as Division I programs prepare for major changes in college athletics Schools will be allowed to share up to $20.5 million in revenue with athletes beginning July 1 pending final approval of a multibillion-dollar antitrust settlement The direct payments to athletes will be in addition to third-party name image and likeness deals facilitated by school-affiliated collectives Men’s basketball has continued to be the Spartans’ most successful revenue sport under Haller with Izzo’s team winning the 2025 Big Ten regular-season championship and reaching the NCAA Elite Eight The Spartans were 5-7 overall and 3-6 in the Big Ten last season and they are projected to finish in the bottom half of the conference again this year Haller earned high marks for his hiring of women’s basketball coach Robyn Fralick who has led the Spartans to back-to-back 20-win seasons and NCAA Tournament appearances and men’s hockey coach Adam Nightingale whose program has swept Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles two straight years It has been a tumultuous decade for Michigan State athletics off the field of play Haller was an associate athletic director when a female Michigan State graduate filed a complaint about disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse in 2014 MSU agreed to pay $500 million to settle claims from more than 300 women and girls who said they were assaulted by Nassar who is serving a life sentence in a federal prison 10-year contract for football coach Mel Tucker Two years later Tucker was fired after he was said to have sexually harassed activist and rape survivor Brenda Tracy during a phone call in April 2022 French President Emmanuel Macron and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus watch a Bastille Day parade on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris WASHINGTON (AP) — Detailed Army plans for a potential military parade on President Donald Trump’s birthday in June call for more than 6,600 soldiers seven bands and possibly a couple thousand civilians are dated April 29 and 30 and have not been publicly released They represent the Army’s most recent blueprint for its long-planned 250th anniversary festival on the National Mall and the newly added element — a large military parade that Trump has long wanted but is still being discussed The Army anniversary just happens to coincide with Trump’s 79th birthday on June 14 While the slides do not include any price estimates it would likely cost tens of millions of dollars to put on a parade of that size Costs would include the movement of military vehicles aircraft and troops from across the country to Washington and the need to feed and house thousands of service members High costs halted Trump’s push for a parade in his first term and the tanks and other heavy vehicles that are part of the Army’s latest plans have raised concerns from city officials about damage to roads Army spokesman Steve Warren said Thursday that no final decisions have been made added that the Army is excited about the plans for its anniversary “We want to make it into an event that the entire nation can celebrate with us,” said Butler “We want Americans to know their Army and their soldiers and we think that will be an excellent addition to what we already have planned.” who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans have not been finalized said they represent the Army’s plans as it prepares for any White House approval of the parade The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment Changes to the plans have been made in recent weeks and more are likely What would go into the potential Army parade Much of the equipment would have to be brought in by train or flown in Some equipment and troops were already going to be included in the Army’s birthday celebration which has been in the works for more than a year The festival was set to involve an array of activities and displays on the National Mall would increase the equipment and troops involved as many as 6,300 of the service members would be marching in the parade while the remainder would be responsible for other tasks and support The Army’s early festival plans did not include a parade but officials confirmed last month that the Army had started discussions about adding One The plans say the parade would showcase the Army’s 250 years of service and foresee bringing in soldiers from at least 11 corps and divisions nationwide Those could include a Stryker battalion with two companies of Stryker vehicles a tank battalion and two companies of tanks an infantry battalion with Bradley vehicles There would be seven Army bands and a parachute jump by the Golden Knights And documents suggest that civilian participants would include historical vehicles and aircraft and two bands military colleges and reenactor organizations the parade would be classified as a national special security event and that request has been submitted by the National Park Service and is under review And it is expected that the evening parade would be followed by a concert and fireworks One of the documents raises concerns about some limitations which include where troops would be housed and “significant concerns regarding security requirements” as equipment flows into the city It says the biggest unknown so far is which units would be participating Trump has long wanted a big military parade he proposed having a parade after seeing one in France on Bastille Day in 2017 Trump said that after watching the two-hour procession along the famed Champs-Elysees that he wanted an even grander one on Pennsylvania Avenue That plan was ultimately dumped due to the huge costs — with one estimate of a $92 million price tag — and other logistical issues Among those were objections from city officials who said including tanks and other heavy armored vehicles would tear up the roads Trump said in a social media post in 2018 that he was canceling the event over the costs and accused local politicians of price gouging as plans progressed for the Army to host its birthday festival in Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser acknowledged in April that the administration reached out to the city about holding a parade on June 14 that would stretch from Arlington where the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery are located across the Potomac River and into Washington Bowser at the time said she didn’t know if the event was being “characterized as a military parade” but added that tanks rolling through the city’s streets “would not be good.” they should be accompanied with many millions of dollars to repair the roads,” she said A memo from the defense secretary’s staff said plans for the parade — at that time — would include only wheeled vehicles and no tanks to minimize damage to local infrastructure FELCH TOWNSHIP — Both the Forest Park boys and girls track teams earned team championships in the North Dickinson Booster Club Invitational Wednesday in Felch Township The Trojan boys won six events and totaled 122 points on the day while Florence-Niagara finished third with 99 Wilson Hannahville-Nah Tah Wahsh (15) and Republic-Michigamme (6) rounded out the field The Lady Trojans posted three victories and eight runner-up finishes to record 131.75 points Bark River-Harris was next up with 112.75 and the host Nordics took third at 96.75 Wilson Hannahville-Nah Tah Wahsh (3) filled out the field sophomore Vic Giuliani paced the Trojans by winning two events Izaiah Tarter was victorious in the 3,200 (11 minutes Gabe Quevedo topped the field in the pole vault (9-6) and the 3,200-relay team of Tarter William Hoffman and Max Mainville (9:29.44) posted a victory as well Both Florence-Niagara and North Central recorded two event wins Truth Settner won the 400 (55.96) and Christian Anderson crossed first in the 800 (2:12.20) Lane Gorzinski (25.29 in the 200) and Spencer Willa (39-5.5 in the shot put) scored wins for the Jets Florence-Niagara won the 800 relay (Luke Deterville Cameron Schiefelbein and Ely Marefke in 1:46.43)) and the 1,600 relay (Anderson Trenton Kramer topped the Nordic boys with runner-up finishes in the high jump and the long jump while Miles Lindholm took second in the 110 hurdles FP junior Elsie Williams led her team with victories in the 200 (28.7) and the long jump (14-8) while Vienna Price added a win in the 1,600 (6:12.19) Forest Park’s depth proved to be the key Junior Ava Fischer registered three individual runner-up finishes (both hurdles Price (800) and Lily Sarder (long jump) placed second as well The Lady Trojans also received second-place results from their 800-relay team (Sarder Audrey Williams) and their 3,200 relay team of Lily Curnow Florence-Niagara senior Kamdan Johnson brought home victories in the 100 hurdles (16.2) and the 300 hurdles (49.53) North Dickinson received wins from Aunika Lindholm (13:37.4 in the 3,200) and Aubrey Applekamp (5-0 in the high jump) The Nordics also posted a triumph in the 3,200 relay (11:26.4) with team members Lindholm Natalie Willa (29-11.75 in the shot put) and Mayce Murray (4-2 in the high jump) topped the North Central girls The big story last year were the four Coca-Cola Late Model rookies and how they all performed at a very high level and Joey Stankowicz are returning this season and will bring the same enthusiasm and a little bit more experience and skill You’ve heard the old saying “quality not quantity” and this fits Coca-Cola Late Model Rookie of the Year contender Devon Wilcox to a T and his brother Claude Wilcox and I raced together back in the early 70s when the track was dirt They were also part of the association that made the transition from dirt to asphalt While Claude is pretty much just a spectator now Claude’s son Bruce raced in the slammer and super stock divisions in the 90’s Steve has been active for many years getting both of his sons involved in the sport was a successful slammer driver in the 90s and did a short stint in the Fab 4 division who raced in the Fab 4 division for 12 years and was one our first Fab 4 track champions back in 2005 who our racing family lost in an unfortunate car accident in 1998 He had the makings of a great young race car driver who was excelling in the slammer division and taken way too soon One of our key employees at the speedway happens to be Tim’s wife She works in the press box and handles all of our electronic scoring the Wilcox family is one of the most long-standing prolific families at our track and Norway Speedway Hall of Famer Tim Schultz Sr When I started racing back in the day there were no go-karts no prepping someone young to get them ready in the sport I got my driver’s license at 2 o’clock in the afternoon and was turning laps out at the speedway by 6 o’clock parked next to each other down on the far end of the pit area and we would always joke about how mean Steve Wilcox was as he never seemed to smile when we were out at the track and Steve Wilcox — who I think who could absolutely be a candidate for the Norway Speedway Hall of Fame — is still getting his family involved in the sport by backing our Rookie of the Year contender Devon Wilcox Devon has won several races in the Auto Value Super Stock division and I actually considered him a contender for the championship in 2025 when the news broke that they purchased a top-notch late model and cool behind the wheel in the race car and his demeanor off the track is very professional and gentleman-like He will be assisted in the pit area by grandpa It will be great having them move up and watching that young team develop Last week we welcomed a record number of Auto Value Super Stock Rookie of the Year contenders including Norway’s Tim Pollard Kingsford’s Jon Maenpaa and Florence’s Andy Secrist This week we are adding to that already amazing group of drivers including one of our top Fab 4 drivers who finished second in championship points last year and is a strong runner in the ISS Enduro Series — Kingsford’s Zach Hanson there is another Auto Value Super Stock Rookie of the Year contender by the name of Stewart Hornick out of Peshtigo which incidentally will be run this year Sept 19-21 Stewart has been the crew chief for his sister Sophi Hornick for the past couple of years and they have experienced success in both the Sportsman division and the Fab 4 divisions Stewart and his family purchased one of the top cars from Trevor Pankratz who has stepped away from the sport due to his work schedule This brings the total rookie contenders to seven We will need a big roll of yellow tape for the back bumper of all those cars In the 141 Auto Sportsman division Cole Neeley son of Auto Value Super Stock star Tommy Neeley and nephew of Sportsman Champion Joe Ostermann will be competing for Rookie of the Year honors His competition for the coveted award will be a young lady by the name of Emily Vincent she in not new to Norway Speedway as she has been a regular for Jim Chartre in the Spectator Eliminators Another rookie contender who got his feet wet at Norway Speedway is Escanaba’s Cody Turner He is a standout dirt track driver at Escanaba Speedway and participated in last year’s Fall 500 with his dirt car He won his qualifier at the Fall 500 and ran strong in the main event He will be running Norway as often as possible until he has scheduling conflicts between the two tracks But it will be great to have another young talent in our fold Next week will be all about the Coca-Cola Late Models and this season is shaking up to be possibly our best in many years President Donald Trump listens as Michigan Gov Gretchen Whitmer speaks to members of the Michigan National Guard at Selfridge Air National Guard Base (AP) — President Donald Trump announced a new fighter jet mission for an Air National Guard base in Michigan on Tuesday allaying fears that the base could close and delivering a win for a longtime antagonist Whitmer has softened her stance toward Trump in hopes of finding common ground with securing a new mission for Selfridge Air National Guard Base a top priority Their embrace as the Republican president arrived in Michigan was a remarkable development given how unpopular the president remains with Democrats and the rancor of last year’s hard-fought campaign “We shook hands and he leaned in to tell me congratulations and that I was a big reason that we were making an announcement today Selfridge has “stood as a crucial pillar of North American air defense.” many in Michigan have feared for the future of the base but the only one that mattered is Trump,” he said “Today I have come in person to lay to rest any doubt about Selfridge’s future.” State officials had been pushing for years to replace the base’s aging fleet of A-10 aircraft to help ensure Selfridge remains in operation Trump said Tuesday that the retiring A-10s will be replaced by 21 F-15EX Eagle II fighters jets that were “fresh off the line.” Trump said the governor — who shared a brief motorcade ride with him to the base as he arrived in Michigan to mark his 100th day in office — has been “very effective” in advocating for Selfridge “I am really damn happy we’re here to celebrate this recapitalization at Selfridge,” she said “It’s crucial for the Michigan economy it’s crucial for the men and women here so grateful that this announcement was made today and I appreciate all the work.” the base generates an estimated $850 million in statewide economic impact and supports about 5,000 military and civilian personnel Whitmer has pressed multiple administrations — including Trump’s in his first term and former Democratic President Joe Biden’s — to secure a new mission for the base calling it “a key defense hub and economic anchor.” The Air Force announced in 2017 that Selfridge had lost out on a bid for F-35A Lightning Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled separately from the president to Selfridge for the announcement Trump’s announcement handed Whitmer a victory — though it remains to be seen what political price she may have paid to secure it The governor has been frequently mentioned as a potential presidential candidate As she works to raise her profile nationally Whitmer has vowed to find commonality with Trump where she can But some Democrats view the president and his administration as so harmful that they’d rather see the party oppose Trump and his team whenever possible Asked later about the tarmac moment between her and Trump Whitmer tried to brush off the interaction and he leaned in to tell me congratulations and that I was a big reason that we were making that announcement today And I was grateful for that,” Whitmer told The Associated Press Whitmer traveled to Washington to meet with Trump to discuss Selfridge and other issues affecting Michigan including the steep tariffs Trump has imposed on Canada and other U.S The governor said she was unexpectedly ushered into the Oval Office where she stood awkwardly as the Republican president signed executive orders and assailed his political opponents during a photo opportunity a photo captured Whitmer trying to hide her face from the cameras by holding up a folder Trump had told Whitmer during her visit that he hoped to keep the base “open “It’s a great piece of property and it’s a great state,” Trump said “So I think we’re going to come back with a very good answer.” at a time when Michigan has seen its unemployment rate rise for three consecutive months Automaker Stellantis halted production at plants in Canada and Mexico after Trump announced a 25% tariff on imported vehicles Industry groups have separately urged the White House to scrap plans for tariffs on imported auto parts warning that doing so would raise prices on cars and could trigger “layoffs and bankruptcy.” Trump issued an executive order relaxing some of his tariffs on cars and auto parts Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the goal remained enabling automakers to create more domestic manufacturing jobs saying Trump is concerned with “jobs of the future Michigan will be important for Republicans in 2026 as their party tries to pick up a Senate seat in the state for the first time in decades and regain control of the governor’s office Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report LANSING — The Michigan Department of Transportation continues to adjust spring weight restriction on state roads .. IRON MOUNTAIN — Dickinson County will explore becoming part of a state-funded community corrections program based .. Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker MILWAUKEE COUNTY CIRCUIT Court Judge Hannah Dugan speaks during a rally marking the third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on Feb (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court suspended a judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities saying Tuesday that it is in the public interest to relieve her of her duties as she faces two federal charges The FBI took Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan into custody Friday morning at the county courthouse She has been charged with concealing an individual to prevent his discovery and arrest and obstructing or impeding a proceeding the court said it was acting to protect public confidence in Wisconsin courts during the criminal proceedings against Dugan The order noted that the court was acting on its own initiative and was not responding to a request from anyone “It is ordered … that Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah C Dugan is temporarily prohibited from exercising the powers of a circuit court judge in the state of Wisconsin effective the date of this order and until further order of the court,” the justices wrote Dugan’s legal team said it was disappointed “that the Court acted in unilateral fashion We continue to assert Judge Dugan’s innocence and look forward to her vindication in court.” A state court spokesperson said that a reserve judge began filling in for Dugan on Monday for an indefinite period Dugan is accused of escorting Eduardo Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer from her court through the jury door last week after learning that U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were in the building and seeking his arrest who court documents say illegally reentered the U.S was taken into custody outside after a foot chase Court documents suggest Dugan was alerted to the agents’ presence by her clerk who was informed by an attorney that they appeared to be in the hallway An FBI affidavit says Dugan was “visibly angry” over the agents’ arrival and called the situation “absurd” before leaving the bench and retreating to her chambers It says she and another judge later approached members of the arrest team inside the courthouse with what witnesses described as a “confrontational After a back-and-forth with officers over the warrant for Flores-Ruiz Dugan demanded they speak with the chief judge and led them away from the courtroom After directing the agents to the chief judge’s office Dugan returned to the courtroom and was heard saying words to the effect of “wait come with me” before ushering Flores-Ruiz and his lawyer through the jury door into a nonpublic area and in-custody defendants being escorted by deputies used the back jury door Defense attorneys and defendants who were not in custody never used the jury door.” Dugan’s arrests has sparked outrage among Democrats who have accused the Trump administration of trying to chill the judiciary Demonstrators gathered outside the FBI’s Milwaukee field office Saturday to protest her arrest She is set to appear in court for arraignment May 15 Her attorneys include Craig Mastantuono; Paul Clement a prominent conservative lawyer; and Steve Biskupic attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin who was appointed by President George W FILE - A Visa logo is displayed on a credit card in New Orleans Artificial intelligence “agents” are supposed to be more than chatbots The tech industry has spent months pitching AI personal assistants that know what you want and can do real work on your behalf Visa hopes to change that by giving them your credit card Set a budget and some preferences and these AI agents — successors to ChatGPT and its chatbot peers — could find and buy you a sweater “We think this could be really important,” said Jack Forestell Visa’s chief product and strategy officer on the order of magnitude of the advent of e-commerce itself.” Visa announced Wednesday it is partnering with a group of leading AI chatbot developers — among them U.S and France’s Mistral — to connect their AI systems to Visa’s payments network online payment company Stripe and phone-maker Samsung on the initiative ahead of more widespread usage expected next year The San Francisco payment processing company is betting that what seems futuristic now could become a convenient alternative to our most mundane shopping tasks in the near future It has spent the past six months working with AI developers to address technical obstacles that must be overcome before the average consumer is going to use it Visa’s backing could also boost their chances of competing with tech giants Amazon and Google which dominate digital commerce and are developing their own AI agents The tech industry is already full of demonstrations of the capabilities of what it calls agentic AI though few are yet found in the real world Most are still refashioned versions of large language models — the generative AI technology behind chatbots that can write emails they can scour the internet and bring back recommendations for things to buy but they have a harder time going beyond that “The early incarnations of agent-based commerce are starting to do a really good job on the shopping and discovery dimension of the problem but they are having tremendous trouble on payments,” Forestell said “You get to this point where the agents literally just turn it back around and say Visa sees itself as having a key role in giving AI agents easier and trusted access to the cash they need to make purchases “The payments problem is not something the AI platforms can solve by themselves,” Forestell said “That’s why we started working with them.” The new AI initiative comes nearly a year after Visa revealed major changes to how credit and debit cards will operate in the U.S. making physical cards and their 16-digit numbers increasingly irrelevant Many consumers are already getting used to digital payment systems such as Apple Pay that turn their phones into a credit card A similar process of vetting someone’s digital credentials would authorize AI agents to work on a customer’s behalf in a way Forestell says must assure buyers banks and merchants that the transactions are legitimate and that Visa will handle disputes Forestell said that doesn’t mean AI agents will take over the entire shopping experience but it might be useful for errands that either bore some people — like groceries home improvement items or even Christmas lists — or are too complicated some people might want an agent that “just powers through it and automatically goes and does stuff for us,” Forestell said are a form of entertainment and many customers still want to immerse themselves in the choices and comparisons he envisions AI agents still offering assistance but staying in the background The credit card balances of American consumers hit $1.21 trillion at the end of last year according to the Federal Reserve of New York Forestell says consumers will give their AI agents clear spending limits and conditions that should give them confidence that the human is still in control the AI agents are likely to come back to buyers to make sure they are OK with a specific airplane ticket those agents might get more autonomy to “go spend up to $1,500 on any airline to get me from A to B,” he said Part of what is attracting some AI developers to the Visa partnership is that an AI agent can also tap into a lot of data about past credit card purchases “Visa has the ability for a user to consent to share streams of their transaction history with us,” said Dmitry Shevelenko “When we generate a recommendation — say you’re asking ‘What are the best laptops?’ — we would know what are other transactions you’ve made and the revealed preferences from that.” Perplexity’s chatbot can already book hotels and make other purchases but it’s still in the early stages of AI commerce told a federal court it would consider buying Google’s internet browser forces a breakup of the tech giant in a pending antitrust case Former NFL head coach Bill Belichick and girlfriend Jordon Hudson pose on the red carpet at the NFL Honors award show ahead of the Super Bowl 59 football game North Carolina football coach Bill Belichick defended girlfriend Jordon Hudson for interjecting during a CBS interviewer’s questions about their relationship and said she was “simply doing her job.” The six-time Super Bowl-winning head coach and first-time college coach at UNC issued a statement through the school Wednesday which followed an appearance on “CBS News Sunday Morning” to promote his upcoming book on his coaching life Hudson objected to a question about how the two had met while Tony Dokoupil referred to her during the segment as being a “constant presence” in the interview “The final eight-minute segment does not reflect the productive 35-minute conversation which we had which covered a wide range of topics related to my career,” Belichick said in his statement it presents selectively edited clips and stills from just a few minutes of the interview to suggest a false narrative — that Jordon was attempting to control the conversation — which is simply not true.” Belichick also said he told his publicist with book publisher Simon & Schuster that any promotional interviews would “agree to focus solely on the contents of the book.” But CBS News pushed back in its own statement Wednesday it was for a wide-ranging interview,” the statement said “There were no preconditions or limitations to this conversation This was confirmed repeatedly with his publisher before the interview took place and after it was completed.” The awkward interview added to the attention and curiosity that has followed the 73-year-old Belichick hired as the Tar Heels’ head coach in December after his ultra-successful run with the New England Patriots who has frequently posted glimpses into their relationship with social media photos That has included her role in Belichick’s transition to college coaching such as a March public records report by The Assembly about Belichick’s request for an athletic official at UNC to copy in Hudson on emails sent to him Belichick said he shares “both a personal and professional relationship” with Hudson and that he expected the interview would focus solely on the book release instead of his personal life He said Hudson had “stepped in to reiterate that point to help refocus the discussion” in an effort to “ensure the interview stayed on track.” He also said the couple has “been open about the fact that Jordon and I met on a flight to Palm Beach in 2021.” Belichick shrugged off attention on his relationship with Hudson saying: “Never been too worried about what everybody else thinks just try to do what I feel like is best for me and what’s right.” Hudson — sitting at a nearby table — said flatly: “We’re not talking about this.” InkWell Management — a literary agency working with Belichick on his upcoming book — said the interview “veered” into a discussion of Belichick’s personal life and resulted “in a raft of hostile social media posts about his personal life.” “Bill has written an authoritative and entertaining book about success that should be judged by its contents not by the clicks generated by the segment,” the agency said speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday acknowledged that his tariffs could result in fewer and costlier products in the United States saying American kids might “have two dolls instead of 30 dolls,” but he insisted China will suffer more from his trade war The Republican president has tried to reassure a nervous country that his tariffs will not provoke a recession after a new government report showed the U.S economy shrank during the first three months of the year Trump was quick to blame his Democratic predecessor for any setbacks while telling his Cabinet that his tariffs meant China was “having tremendous difficulty because their factories are not doing business,” adding that the U.S did not really need imports from the world’s dominant manufacturer the shelves are going to be open,'” Trump continued maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls So maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.” His remarks followed a defensive morning after the Commerce Department reported that the U.S economy shrank at an annual rate of 0.3% during the first quarter Behind the decline was a surge in imports as companies tried to front-run the sweeping tariffs on autos And even positive signs of increased domestic consumption indicated that purchases might be occurring before the import taxes lead to price increases Trump pointed his finger at Biden as the stock market fell Wednesday morning in response to the gross domestic product report not Trump’s,” the Republican president and companies are starting to move into the USA in record numbers but we have to get rid of the Biden ‘Overhang.’ This will take a while But the GDP report gives Democrats ammunition to claim that Trump’s policies could shove the economy into a recession Democrats’ statements after the GDP report noted how quickly the economy which still has a healthy 4.2% unemployment rate appears to lose momentum within weeks of Trump’s return said that “we’ve only seen the beginning of the dangerous impacts from Trump’s random policies.” She noted that U.S manufacturers still depend on parts and components from China to assemble final goods and said Trump’s approach to trade reflected a misunderstanding of the investment and certainty that domestic companies need in order to construct more factories and create jobs “Chaos and dysfunction are not going to help build investment,” said DelBene who leads the House Democrats’ congressional campaign efforts “A strong economy needs stability and certainty The GDP report landed as Trump sought to put the focus on new corporate investments in the U.S as he spends the week celebrating his 100th day in office He delivered remarks on Wednesday afternoon and called out investments from companies such as Nvidia Johnson & Johnson and others that he said reflected the coming prosperity Trump’s economic message contains some clashing arguments and dismisses data that raises red flags He wants credit for an aggressive first 100 days back in the White House that included mass layoffs of federal workers and the start of a trade war with 145% in new tariffs against China He also wants to blame the negative response of the financial markets on Biden He’s also saying his tariffs are negotiating tools to generate trade deals but at the same time banking on hundreds of billions of dollars in tariff revenues to help cover his planned income tax cuts In a town hall Wednesday night on NewsNation Trump said he didn’t believe he had made any mistakes during the start of his second term and thought he could turn around a public that has severe doubts about his tariffs “I just think that I’ll be able to convince people how good this is,” he said Trump highlighted the positive aspects of the GDP report But that session revealed how his administration is also trying to take credit for policies that involve the Biden administration Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick talked about his recent trip to Arizona to see the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s computer chip factories The company notes on its website that it announced plans in May 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic disrupted the global economy The company announced a second factory in December 2022 After getting up to $6.6 billion in commitments in 2024 from the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act Trump dismissed the importance of the government support that Biden made possible for computer chip factories to open domestically “They’re building because of the tariffs,” Trump said Yet Democrats are quick to say that Trump inherited an economy on a steady course of low unemployment and declining inflation that his tariff plans have almost immediately disrupted stable growth to negative GDP,” said Heather Boushey a former member of Biden’s White House Council of Economic Advisers “This astonishing turn of fortune is directly due to the incoherence of his economic policy and his mismanagement of federal policy more generally.” If Joe Biden effectuated his immigration policy without due process why can’t Donald Trump do the same with his That’s the question raised by Biden’s effortlessly permitting millions of people to enter the country illegally and Trump’s having to go through extensive exertions to remove (or keep removed) one illegal immigrant Abrego Garcia shouldn’t have been deported to El Salvador but the point still stands — illegal immigrants can be imported by the millions with nothing more than a notice to appear and a bus ticket to their preferred destination while there’s a time-consuming process to attempt to remove them by the thousands This disparity inherently favors illegal immigration there’s a relatively easy way out of this box although it’s not what the administration is trying to do now The path to deportations without due process is not to invoke a dubious wartime power and perhaps ultimately defy the Supreme Court all toward the goal of … deporting several hundred members of Tren De Aragua with some other random illegal immigrants mixed in the numbers involved are a fraction of a drop in the bucket The way to get people out without due process is the same way they come in without due process — of their own volition People choose to come to the United States illegally when they believe that the dangers are worth it because they stand a very good chance of getting in and staying As we’ve seen the last several months We need to replicate this switch within the United States Illegal immigrants stay in the United States because they can work and are unlikely to be deported The goal should be to create an impetus for “self-deportation,” or going home without being forced to by our government The only way to achieve true mass departures is to target the jobs magnet The vast majority of illegal immigrants aren’t gangbangers here to prey on civilians or victims fleeing political persecution; they are people who’ve come here to work The game-changer would be an E-Verify system that requires businesses to confirm the validity of a new employee’s Social Security number with the Social Security Administration exactly because it would make hiring illegal labor much more difficult and raise the cost of doing business Trump is disrupting every business in America that is dependent on trade almost all of which have done nothing wrong knowingly hiring and employing illegal immigrants is unlawful That this happens on a gigantic scale is mass lawlessness that matches the mass lawlessness at the border; in fact The administration should be seeking to make an example of business offenders to convince every employer in America to think twice before hiring illegal immigrants The current arrangement is that employers have to fill out USCIS Form I-9 documenting an alien’s authorization to work in the United States and the government almost never asks to see them The first Trump administration was working on a regulation to require that the forms be filed with DHS which would have been a step toward a tougher approach but there’s a good case that E-Verify can be implemented under current statutory authority so long as President Trump shows little interest in E-Verify and forgoes the only realistic means to achieve extensive departures without due process Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo before Game 4 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers Giannis Antetokounmpo had to have known the question was coming “Do you think that you can still win that second championship here in Milwaukee after a third straight first-round exit?” The question came after the Bucks’ season ended in Indianapolis on Tuesday night Antetokounmpo is surely asking himself the same question right about now Antetokounmpo didn’t have a public answer for it following the 119-118 overtime season-ending loss in Game 5 of Round 1 against Indiana He probably doesn’t have a private answer to it But he needs that answer sometime over the coming days or weeks because he is now officially at the crossroads that plenty of superstars have reached over the years a fair question — though it’s not really Antetokounmpo’s decision He’s under contract to the Bucks for multiple seasons It could be great for Antetokounmpo; he’d pick a new spot and that team would instantly be considered a title contender It could be great for the Bucks; most teams after years of contending have to hit the reset button at some point anyway and they could get a haul of players and picks to begin anew I’m not going to do this,” Antetokounmpo said in response to the question I wish I was still competing and going back to Milwaukee Here’s what might figure into the answer whenever the time comes to formulate the real one: His place in Milwaukee lore is secure he’s brought an NBA championship to the city he won’t have Damian Lillard for much if not all of next season because of Lillard’s torn Achilles his team just got eliminated in the first round for the third consecutive season and the Bucks aren’t exactly loaded with draft picks or easy ways to bolster their roster He’s about to finish in the top four of the voting for the NBA MVP award — a trophy he’s won twice — for the seventh consecutive year He just averaged 30 points per game for the third year in a row and if he had scored eight more measly points in the 2021-22 season it’d be four straight years of doing that He just averaged at least 25 points and 10 rebounds for the eighth straight season; only Shaquille O’Neal Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone have more such seasons whether he’s in Milwaukee or elsewhere “There’s a lot of times that life has made me sad or frustrated since I was a kid I never gave up,” Antetokounmpo said I think it translates to the basketball court even though things might not happen the way I want it to happen and I have this optimistic mentality of coming back And there’s going to be a day that’s it going to be your turn.” Moving someone with two years and $113 million left on his contract — not to mention a player option that could extend it by another year and tack $63 million more onto the bill — will be difficult And players don’t always get traded where they want to go; the obvious case in point there is when Lillard wanted to be traded by Portland to Miami and wound up in Milwaukee instead teams will jump at the chance to make it happen “Giannis is one of one,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said they’re tired of voting for him for stuff But he had every bit of an MVP season this year What I’m most proud of is he has turned into a leader I’m not just talking about on the floor Antetokounmpo has received tons of praise in recent years for the way he has sometimes given long from-the-heart answers to important questions in postgame news conferences He handled a question about the postgame fracas that involved Indiana star Tyrese Haliburton’s father essentially taunting Antetokounmpo on the court seconds after the final buzzer with his traditional grace and charm It wasn’t the first time Antetokounmpo found the right words in an important moment STEPHENSON — Four Norway pitchers held host Stephenson hitless over the course of nine innings in the Knights’ .. MENOMINEE — The Kingsford boys track team won eight events and went on to take first place at the co-ed Menominee .. FILE - A customer checks his shopping receipts while waiting in line at the food court at Costco Wholesale store in Glendale WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy slumped for the fifth straight month to the lowest level since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic as anxiety over the impact of tariffs takes a heavy toll The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.9 points in April to 86 Nearly one-third of consumers expect hiring to slow in the coming months nearly matching the level reached in April 2009 when the economy was mired in the Great Recession The figures reflect a rapidly souring mood among Americans most of whom expect prices to rise because of the widespread tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump About half of Americans are also worried about the potential for a recession according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center “Rattled consumers spend less than confident consumers,” said Carl Weinberg chief economist at High Frequency Economics “If confidence sags and consumers retrench A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income business conditions and the job market plunged 12.5 points to 54.4 How this gloomy mood translates into spending and growth will become clearer in the coming days and weeks economic growth during the first three months of the year and economists are expecting a sharp slowdown as Americans pulled back on spending after a strong winter holiday shopping season And on Friday the Labor Department will release its latest report on hiring and the unemployment rate economists expect it should still show steady job gains though some forecast it could report sharply reduced hiring The stark decline in consumer confidence also likely reflected the sharp swings in stock and bond prices that roiled financial markets earlier this month While all age groups and most income brackets reported lower confidence the decline was steepest among households earning more than $125,000 and among consumers 35 to 55 years old the S&P 500 is still down 6% for the year and the Dow Jones has lost 5% The growth-heavy Nasdaq is down 10% in 2025 The Conference Board said that mentions of tariffs in write-in responses reached an all-time high this month with the duties on the top of consumers’ minds Trump has imposed a tariff of 10% on nearly all imports as well as a huge 145% tariff on most goods from China He has imposed separate import taxes on steel More Americans are also now worried that the economy could tip into a recession with the proportion of consumers expecting a downturn in the next 12 months reaching a two-year high Fewer consumers said they were planning to buy a home or car in the next six months homes slowed last month in a lackluster start to the spring homebuying season as elevated mortgage rates and rising prices discouraged those looking And Americans also said they would spend less on services The proportion of Americans planning an overseas vacation in the next six months fell to 16.4% And the proportion of consumers planning to spend more on dining out plummeted by nearly the most on record in April News | Apr 3 Iron Mountain Hot Springs is getting a fresh look just in time for its 10th anniversary this summer — and guests will soon have more ways than ever to soak The hot springs destination kicked off a major spring remodel this week including a full renovation of its locker rooms and the addition of a global-themed wellness circuit to the WorldSprings section of the property “We’re celebrating 10 years in July so this spring was the perfect time to make some upgrades,” Iron Mountain General Manager Aaron McAllister said “We’re excited about the direction we’re heading and what we’re going to be able to offer guests by the summer.” The locker room renovations officially began March 31 and will continue through May 22 Iron Mountain will close entirely from April 7–10 and again from April 21–24 The facility will reopen at 4 p.m on April 11 and April 25 guests will still have access to showers and restrooms through mobile units located just outside the building all food and beverage purchases will be 25% off throughout the remodel period McAllister said locker room improvements include upgraded tile and better-placed wall-mounted shower heads to accommodate guests who prefer not to get their hair wet The expansion portion of the project will add multiple new soaking pools with temperatures ranging from 55 to 104 degrees These new pools will support cold and hot therapy which McAllister said is increasingly popular “We’ll definitely be able to lean into that contrast therapy with the new pools,” he said “And the idea is to also help educate our guests on how to get the most out of it.” That education will come through staff guidance and new wellness-focused programming planned as part of the expansion The property’s WorldSprings area — recently rebranded as Premier Access 21+ — will feature a globally themed wellness circuit designed to promote a slower “We want guests to understand how to use the hot and cold pools in a way that brings the most benefit,” McAllister said “It’s not just jumping from one to the next — there’s a real rhythm and science to it.” Guests will also see improvements to the General Access area Iron Mountain has rolled out several new guest offerings: McAllister said the locals’ discount functions like a lottery system Iron Mountain releases hundreds of discounted tickets for the following month Local residents can find and purchase them online until they sell out “It’s been a big win,” he said “It’s not something where a local can walk in anytime and get 50% off — they have to grab those discounted slots when they go live McAllister said the team is focused on maintaining a smooth guest experience — and building excitement for what’s to come “We know construction isn’t ideal,” he said. “But we’re going to come out of this in mid-May looking really good — and that’s just the start. We’ve got more coming this summer that we can’t wait to share.”For more information about Iron Mountain Hot Springs and to reserve tickets, visit ironmountainhotsprings.com Readers around Glenwood Springs and Garfield County make the Post Independent’s work possible Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage Colorado has seen five known cases of measles this year View Results KINGSFORD — Sunshine made a perfect setting for the weekend of Easter Plans were made and executed on Saturday around town for some serious egg hunting events Aromas of special Sunday dinners wafted through the air It was a much anticipated time for families to share quality activities Still feeling euphoric from the holiday festivities a spattering of rain didn’t hinder the Golden K seniors from their Monday meeting Anticipation ran high for a special presentation by the Iron Mountain High School Jazz Band Chairman Brett Calcari began opening ceremonies with Alyce Derwinski on piano followed with Lois Outcelt leading the singers Some familiar old tunes filled the room with music as the Iron Mountain Jazz Band students began to arrive Some of the songs from long ago were familiar to the seniors “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” “Yes Sir That’s My Baby,” and “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” were the day’s choices Pat Polzin had the lucky 50-50 ticket and Gary Proudfit read Happy Dollars Iron Mountain High School Band Director Craig Recla took center stage Recla has been working with the Iron Mountain Schools for several years and has brought students and music to the Golden K many times Members are consistently treated to outstanding talent from these dedicated young people That says a lot about the students bringing responsibility and dedication to the music Recla gave a brief background about the world of jazz playing where their heart flowed with no written sheet music to follow Today’s students are glad to have sheet music; however each piece is independent and the flavor of improv still shines through Adding challenge to this amazing display of talent most of the students play two or more instruments Included in the repertoire was “Running of the Bulls” by Doug Beach “Shuffle on Down” by Bruce Pearson and “Birdland,” made famous by a group called Weather Report Also included was a special number composed by Dr Mark Flaherty from Northern Michigan University called “Bye Bye Brontosaurus.” The Iron Mountain High School Band will present a free concert at 7 p.m May 9 in the Iron Mountain High School auditorium We were treated to a delightful program featuring excellent music interjected with solos from various students Set aside that time and date and be ready for some outstanding musical talent directed by Craig Recla Monday at the First Presbyterian Church in Kingsford with Joe Rizzo representing Marshfield Medical Center-Dickinson Dear Annie: I formed a close bond with my former daughter-in-law when she married my son QUINNESEC — The 2025 Quinnesec Community Rummage Sales will be Saturday IRON MOUNTAIN — The Uren-Cooper-Johnson American Legion Post 50 will host a fish fry from 4:30 to 7 p.m New York Knicks center Mitchell Robinson (23) and Josh Hart fight for a loose ball with Detroit Pistons forward Paul Reed during Game 5 in an NBA basketball first-round playoff series Tuesday NEW YORK (AP) — Cade Cunningham had 24 points and the Detroit Pistons stayed alive in their first postseason appearance since 2019 by beating the New York Knicks 106-103 on Tuesday night in Game 5 of their first-round series Ausar Thompson added 22 points and Tobias Harris had 17 for the Pistons who will have a chance to even things up Thursday night at home in Game 6 the deciding game would be back at Madison Square Garden on Saturday has lost an NBA record-tying nine straight home games since 2008 But the Pistons seem comfortable in New York where they were 2-0 in the regular season and now 2-1 in this series including their Game 2 victory that snapped their 15-game postseason losing streak OG Anunoby scored 19 points for the Knicks who were trying to reach the Eastern Conference semifinals for the third straight season Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges each had 17 but Jalen Brunson had his worst game of the postseason with 16 points on 4-for-16 shooting The game was tied at 95 before Jalen Duren made consecutive baskets and Cunningham scored for a six-point lead The Pistons got a good break when Brunson and Josh Hart both left the game with injuries with 2:57 remaining and play went on for a while without a stoppage when they were ready to return The Knicks cut it to 104-103 on Anunoby’s 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds remaining before Cunningham made a pair from the line with 5.4 to play for the final margin Brunson had scored 30 or more points in every game of the series and was averaging 33.3 through four games before not even getting halfway there Tuesday when the Knicks were trying to win a series on their home floor for the first time since the 1999 Eastern Conference finals IRON MOUNTAIN — Registration is now open for the upcoming season of the Central U.P celebrates with Rhys Hoskins after scoring on a two-run single by Caleb Durbin during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox in Chicago CHICAGO (AP) — Caleb Durbin hit a two-run single in Milwaukee’s four-run sixth inning helping the Brewers beat the Chicago White Sox 7-2 on Tuesday night Isaac Collins hit his first career homer for Milwaukee and Freddy Peralta pitched six innings of two-run ball The Brewers improved to 3-5 on a season-long 10-game road trip Chicago used an opener for the fourth consecutive game tying Tampa Bay in September 2018 for the longest such streak in major league history Tyler Gilbert became the first pitcher to start three times in a four-game stretch since Zack Greinke for Milwaukee in 2012 and Andrew Benintendi homered for the lowly White Sox Gilbert worked two innings before Bryse Wilson took over The veteran right-hander cruised into the sixth before running into trouble stole second and scored on William Contreras’ single to right Sal Frelick was hit by a Brandon Eisert pitch with the bases loaded and Durbin’s two-out grounder into left field gave the Brewers a 5-2 lead Wilson (0-1) was charged with three runs and two hits in 3 1/3 innings Collins hit a drive to left for Milwaukee in the top of the first but Benintendi and Robert responded with back-to-back homers in the bottom half of the inning Robert’s 415-foot drive to center was his second homer in his last three games and No Peralta (3-2) allowed three hits — all in the first — struck out five and walked three Chicago had a chance to add to its 2-1 lead in the fifth but Robert flied out with runners on the corners The Brewers improved to 11-1 in their last 12 games against the White Sox 4.50 ERA) and White Sox right-hander Shane Smith (1-1 2.30 ERA) take the mound on Wednesday night THE IRON MOUNTAIN City Council is working toward having Midtown Mall on South Stephenson Avenue return to being within the city’s Downtown Development Authority boundaries IRON MOUNTAIN — The Midtown Mall would again become part of Iron Mountain’s Downtown Development Authority under a proposal before the city council The mall was in the original DDA boundary but was removed in 2011 according to City Manager Jordan Stanchina Mayor Dale Alessandrini on Monday said he’s disappointed in a lack of activities and promotions at the mall “There are things they promised us that they never fulfilled,” Alessandrini said “They didn’t uphold their end of the bargain Properties within the DDA pay an additional tax to help organize downtown events attract new business and advance beautification and historic preservation owned by Osborne Properties Limited Partnership would generate about $5,740 annually under the current assessment Total revenues from the 2-mill DDA levy are budgeted at $62,574 in this year’s city budget An expansion of the DDA boundary first requires council approval of a resolution of intent after hearing from Alessandrini and holding little discussion the council voted unanimously to prepare a resolution Council members Kyle Blomquist and Mark Wickman were absent will establish the proposed new boundary and set a date for a public hearing About 450 to 500 letters will need to be sent to inform all property owners within the DDA of the hearing the council would have to wait at least 60 days to introduce an ordinance to adopt a boundary change the Midtown Mall directory lists 10 businesses along with a Michigan Secretary of State office and a U.S The DDA boundary now follows the corridors of Carpenter north from Woodward Avenue just past Brown Street on Carpenter and north from H Street to Chapin Pit on Stephenson but excluding the mall MARQUETTE — A Sands Township man died Wednesday after his side-by-side vehicle struck a tree in Marquette .. reaches for the ball against Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton during the first half in Game 5 of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series in Indianapolis INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers stole one from the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night Indiana forced two turnovers in the final 29 seconds of overtime and Haliburton blew past Giannis Antetokounmpo for the go-ahead layup with 1.3 seconds left to give the Pacers a 119-118 victory and a 4-1 series win The Pacers closed the game with an 8-0 run over the final 40 seconds of OT to eliminate the Bucks in the first round for the second straight season They will face top-seeded Cleveland in the Eastern Conference semifinals Haliburton had 26 points and 10 assists as he improved to 9-0 in home playoff games This chippy playoff series ended fittingly with a shoving match between the teams at midcourt Two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo tried to will the short-handed Bucks to victory made eight 3-pointers and scored 33 points for Milwaukee But Trent was also the culprit in the two turnovers late in OT His inbound pass was stolen by Andrew Nembhard Jr. leading to a three-point play by Haliburton with the Bucks leading by one and just needing to maintain possession and get to the free-throw line Trent couldn’t control an errant pass and lost the ball out of bounds with 10.8 seconds left After Haliburton converted the go-ahead shot all Milwaukee could manage was a nearly full-court heave by Trent that had no chance Myles Turner had 21 points and nine rebounds while Aaron Nesmith added 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers In an effort to avoid a third straight first-round exit Bucks coach Doc Rivers plugged guards AJ Green and Kevin Porter Jr The Bucks were missing 10-time All-Star Damian Lillard who tore his left Achilles tendon in Game 4 on Sunday night It’s the latest chapter in some bad postseason luck for the Bucks since winning their 2021 title A knee injury kept Khris Middleton out of the entire seven-game Eastern Conference semifinal loss to Boston in 2022 Antetokounmpo bruised his lower back in Game 1 and missed the next two games before returning in a 2023 first-round series loss to Miami Antetokounmpo also missed all six games against Indiana in 2024 with a strained calf HOUGHTON — Aubrie Moore cashed in two goals while Ingrid Holt and Onika Smeester added one each to lift .. IRON MOUNTAIN — Spring cleaning at the Iron Mountain City Park bocce courts will take place at 9 a.m An official website of the United States government Johnson VA Medical Center (OGJVAMC) invites the public media partners and stakeholders to attend its 75th anniversary open house on March 5  “We’d like to invite the public to the medical center for tours a reception and to learn more about our history and the services we have available to Veterans,” Medical Center Director John P “The open house will be held exactly 75 years after the OGJVAMC was dedicated With many Veterans returning home from World War II with injuries was chosen in 1945 by the Veterans Administration as a site for one of the 100 new VA hospitals being built across the U.S.  construction began on 31.5 acres that had once been the site for a large sawmill and lumberyard it was the largest building project ever to date in the Upper Peninsula 265-bed hospital with 360 staff was dedicated on March 5 OGJVAMC oversees eight Community Based Outpatient Clinics located in Gladstone The facility serves 24 counties across 25,864 square miles and provides care to approximately 22,000 Veterans each year Veterans and the public are encouraged to visit the Iron Mountain VA Facebook page for upcoming event information. For more information please contact Public Affairs at 906-774-3300