by Nancy Besonen
A Michigamme restaurant with a cinematic history is enjoying its own sequel. Mt. Shasta Lodge on US-41 is now open for business. Closed three years ago, the restaurant featured in scenes from the 1959 film, “Anatomy of a Murder” was purchased this past June and has been fully renovated, incorporating state-of-the-art technology while preserving the log building’s built-in charm. Scott Holman is the man behind the restaurant whose rebirth is being celebrated by both the community and an increasing number of happy diners. The Ishpeming native is a founding director of 1st State Bank and Chairman Emeritus of Bay Cast Companies, which he also founded. He is past president of the Steel Founders Society of America, past Chair of the Michigan Chamber as well as Vice Chair and Director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Holman also boasts close ties to Michigamme, which fed his interest in bringing back its landmark restaurant, Mt. Shasta.  To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue
Attorneys for L’Anse Township have filed a response in the case challenging building permits and construction of meteorological evaluation towers (MET) for wind testing on Weyerhaueser property. Friends of the Huron Mountains brought the case against the township in August. Attorneys Michael Homier and Laura Genovich of Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, Grand Rapids, MI, filed the township’s response in Baraga County Circuit Court on Sept. 11, 2018. Friends of the Huron Mountains, (FHM)a Michigan non-profit corporation, is seeking injunctive relief, claiming L’Anse Township did not follow its ordinances in granting building permits for three MET towers that have been built. The township response claims that FHM lacks legal standing to bring the case against the township.  To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

A note to the reader: I imagined how a reporter would write this story and it morphed into this. Enjoy. –Dr. Michael Loukinen

During the 1971 deer hunting season, Michael Loukinen, a Michigan State University graduate student, was about to begin his doctoral dissertation research on what sociologists call “exchange theory.” He wanted to study how inter-household labor and non-monetary material exchange helps rural communities survive. Funded by a Ford Foundation Fellowship, his advisors: Professors Bo Anderson and Fred Waisanen, a second generation Finnish American from Point Abbaye, advised him to go to the Copper Country. Shortly after shooting a four-pointer in Jacobsville, MI, where he had spent his childhood summers on his uncle’s dairy farm, Loukinen found himself in the Baraga County MSU Extension Service office. Dick Breyer, then the MSU Extension Agent, advised, “Go to Pelkie. There is a lot of cooperation out there….” To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue
A wave of state-mandated election computer and software changes created a months-long challenge for election personnel prior to last Tuesday’s primary election. When all was done Baraga County results came through perfectly. “Our township clerks and precinct workers did a great job,” Baraga County Clerk Wendy Goodreau said last Thursday. “There are so many moving parts with all the new equipment. The last few months we have been in training. Township clerks are Lisa Maranich in Arvon, Michelle Fish in Baraga, Amy Leaf, Covington, Brian Jentoft, L’Anse, and Linda Legacy in Spurr. “Everyone’s work came in perfect. The clerks and the precinct inspectors are amazing. They take their job very seriously,” Goodreau said. “They had a lot to learn.” The State of Michigan Bureau of Elections funded the new hardware and software for the precincts following national concern about election security in the 2016 Presidential election. The voting equipment must be stand-alone and cannot be connected to the internet or any network. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.

by Barry Drue
The Baraga County Fair survived a couple bouts of showers, a generator breakdown on the midway, and everybody went home happy! Good crowds roamed the fairgrounds in Pelkie Friday, Saturday and Sunday and a long list of scheduled events kept folks entertained. “Overall it was very successful,” third year fair manager Mindy Lantz said. “We had a decent crowd Friday for Senior Day, the queen presentation. . .everything on the schedule happened. Saturday there was rain in the morning. We had lots of teams for the Country Mudder and they were going to get wet anyway, and the small animal show was inside. “We had the jump horse show and there were lots of trucks for the mud bog. Rain Saturday night put a damper on the carnival,” Lantz said. “Sunday went well. We had a big turn-out for everything. Tri-State brought the midway and other than one generator going down affecting some rides, the kids loved it. To read more, subscribe to the L’Anse Sentinel online, or buy a print copy at our local retailers.