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Opinion

What happened to Fourth of July fun?

Editorials and columns

This summer, I’ve been increasingly interested in the stability of my community. Is Alpena growing its economic impact? Are community members making the community a better place to live? Are my peers ditching their phones to seek connections irl (in real life)? I haven’t come to a ...

World Cup, America 250, opens the eyes of the world

Editorials and columns

During the World Cup, the American 250 and Fourth of July celebrations, people from around the globe have seen our country from a different viewpoint from what they were sold in their homeland by government officials and the media overseas. The cool thing is, they liked what they saw. People ...

Ash Elegy

Editorials and columns

The fate of ash trees highlights one of the several tragic tales within the world of forest ecology. The exotic emerald ash borer struck a hard blow. Yet, the story is not over. Ashes (Fraxinus spp.) have never been a large part of the Michigan forest landscape. At most, about three ...

To change the world

Editorials and columns

"To change the world, we must be good to those who cannot repay us." — Pope Francis How true those words are. We must become the examples, the peacemakers, the ones who choose love. We must be lovers of our fellow human beings. Sometimes I catch myself whining or complaining about life and ...

In defense of data centers

Editorials and columns

New York just became the first state in the country to sign a moratorium on data centers. There are two paths forward on this issue. One path builds the infrastructure that runs the next 50 years of the American economy. The other bans the future, then acts surprised when the jobs show up ...

Be a citizen

Editorials and columns

In 1976, I was seven years old when America celebrated its 200th birthday. With the 4th of July celebration that year, the country was ramped up to celebrate bigger than ever. As a kid I was especially excited to see the parade, as there were supposed to be several special entrees supported by ...