by Melissa Newland Republican Karl Bohnak, the newly elected Representative for Michigan’s 109th House of Representatives district and a familiar face for Upper Peninsula residents, hosted a Town Hall meeting at the Silver River Bakery in L’Anse. Known for his previous career as the local UP weatherman, Bohnak was met with a warm reception by the local community on Saturday, Feb. 22 from 1-2 p.m. amidst the smell of delicious bakery and fresh pasties. The  cozy atmosphere of the bakery provided an intimate setting for the public to voice their concerns and ask questions. Among the attendees was Cathy Stanaway, who  passionately addressed the shortage of schoolteachers and dentists in the area. She attributed these shortages to the high costs of education and the difficulty of accessing schooling in rural areas. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Melissa Newland Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College (KBOCC) recently had the esteemed honor of welcoming Michigan’s Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist for an extensive campus tour. During the visit, Lt. Governor Gilchrist took the opportunity to engage with key figures at KBOCC, including members of the KBOCC Board of Regents, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) Tribal Council, the Dean of Academic Affairs/Interim President, and the Dean of Student Services. This visit underscored the importance of higher education and its impact on local development and the group had an in-depth discussion about the college’s ongoing growth and its significant role within the community. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Melissa Newland The Baraga American Legion Post #444 scored big during its ‘Da Yoopers Souper Bowl Tackle Hunger Food Drive,’ collecting and donating many nonperishable food items to the St. Vincent De Paul’s Food Pantry in L’Anse on Monday. Serving those in need in the community is important to the members/volunteers of the Baraga American Legion Post #444 and during the Legion’s Tackle Hunger Food Drive campaign, which took place between January 5, 2025, and Sunday’s Super Bowl (Legion’s Super Bowl Tail Gate Party), the group took in many items along with monetary donations. The drive encouraged community members to bring in a can of soup or other non-perishable item(s) up to and  including on the day of the Super Bowl when visiting the establishment to receive $2 off the first beverage of choice, which is the average price of a can of soup today. The offer was available once per patron daily. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Melissa Newland Gathering once a year around Christmas for a mother/daughter event, eight young girls who have been lifelong friends came together once again to earn money and donate to a worthy cause. “We come together once a year to have a mother/daughter weekend here in town at our daughter’s house,” stated Mary Gasperich, grandmother to a couple of the girls. “We started this tradition when we moved to L’Anse eleven years ago and have only missed a couple of years. This year there were seventeen of us including the adults.” Gasperich noted that now that the girls are getting older and understand, the adults wanted to give them some experience with earning money and giving that back as a gift to those in need. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Melissa Newland Bay Ambulance held its mandatory annual training the beginning of January to refresh Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) skills and techniques as well as earn Emergency Medical Service (EMS) credits. The training session took place on Jan. 11, 2025, and according to Bay, the 8-hour course was demanding, but well worth it. “It was an  exhausting 8 hours, but all involved appreciated the training and EMS credits,” commented Bay Ambulance. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by John Raffel The Otter Lake Fishing Derby took place on Saturday at Otter Lake and sportsman club vice president Mike Bishop said there were 130 entries. “They came from all three surrounding counties,” Bishop said. “The weather was cold and windy; ice averaged eight inches.” The event started at daybreak and ended at 4:30 p.m. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Jamie Dove The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) held a Special Tribal Council Meeting at the Big Bucks Bingo Hall in Baraga this past weekend to approve the General Election results, swear in council members/Chief Judge, and hold its annual reorganization. The meeting took place on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025,and during the session, Election Board Chair Yvette Simmons gave the results from the Dec. 4 election to the council which were then approved and certified, solidifying the outcome of the democratic process within the KBIC. President Doreen G. Blaker paid tribute to outgoing Tribal Council members Susan J. LaFernier and Hope E. Laramore, recognizing their years of dedicated service to the community. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Melissa Newland The second half of the year 2024 in Baraga County, July through December, was a busy one and the L’Anse Sentinel again shared a lot of news and beautiful pictures from around the area. This recap will share some of the top articles and some of the top photos from that time. July The weather was beautiful and warm at the end of June/beginning of July and the Alberta Fest took center stage at the Ford Forestry Center the very end of June and was reported on in the first edition of the July paper. There were crafts and music, food, games and raffles and the very popular auto show featuring Model Ts and various types of older car models. A 30-year memorial took place at the Aura Hall the beginning of July for Roger Roth, a smokejumper who lost his life in the devasting, quick sweeping mountain inferno in  the South Canyon on Storm King Mountain in Colorado July 6, 1994. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by John Raffel The UP Whitetails of Baraga County had quite a Christmas Party at the otter Sportsmen’s Club on Saturday. “It was a night full of great food, great company and big bucks from this year and the past at the OSC,” chapter president Jake Ostermeyer put on his Facebook page. Huge shoutout and thank you to our Commemorative bucks of Michigan CBM scorers Josh Stein and Greg Dupuis. They scored for over five hours straight. “We had some incredible U.P legends in the building including the Usitalo, Roy, Johnson and Heikkinen bucks which all grossed between 180-200 inches. In addition we had 16 new bucks make CBM and got to see 3 bucks between 148-158 inches all shot here in our area in the past 3 years. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.