All is not well: UP newspapers endure in era of COVID, cutbacks and social media
Despite immense challenges and an ever-changing landscape, newspapers in the Upper Peninsula have continued to survive. However, the future of print media in the region remains unclear.
Read MoreRural County Budgeting During a Pandemic
Marquette County Administrator Scott Erbisch provides an update on the County’s fiscal situation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreCOVID-19 Distance Learning Response in Rural Western UP School Districts
Longtime Marquette-area educator Pamela Spady gives a detailed account on what distance learning looks like for the four school districts in Gogebic County.
Read MoreExpansion of Telemedicine in Rural America
“The increased use of telemedicine and telehealth has been a breakthrough for rural health,” says Dennis Smith in his analysis of how telemedicine has expanded in America and the role this technology has played in rural communities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreNeighbor, How Stands the UP?
Paraphrasing Stephen Vincent Benét, William Vajda asks the question, “Neighbor, How Stands the UP?” and offers a heartening response to that question amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreChanging demographics and employment structure bring long-term challenges to the Upper Peninsula
NMU Professor of Geography and former Dean of Arts & Sciences weights in on the long-term challenges he believes the Upper Peninsula will face as a result of changes in demographics, employment structure, and economic diversification.
Read MoreCOVID-19 and its impact on rural independent healthcare
David Aro, General Manager and Partner at Superior Rehabilitation & Professional Services, gives his perspective on COVID-19’s impact on rural independent healthcare. “Our population base and infrastructure make virtually every aspect–prevention supplies, detection, treatment supplies, and alternative treatment options–more difficult.”
Read MoreRural students face unique technological challenges amid COVID-19 pandemic
Educational challenges affect students in rural areas differently than in urban and suburban areas. Without sufficient access to technology like computers and high-speed internet, rural students are not going to have the same educational opportunities simply because of where their family calls home.
Read MoreCan the UP economy overcome COVID-19?
Former Marquette City Manager Bill Vajda weighs in on a question occupying many people’s minds these days: can Upper Peninsula communities overcome the economic challenges wrought by COVID-19?
Read MoreBecoming a rural veteran
“Nothing was the same. The friends I had known two decades ago were gone, or exactly as they had been 22 years earlier; my family were older, many had passed, and the number of people crowded all around me was a difficult situation to adjust to.” Army Veteran Michael Rutledge, who served two decades in the service, provides insight into the challenges returning home and how the rural lifestyle of Marquette and the Upper Peninsula helped him readjust.
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