See our right-hand column for announcements and news briefs. Scroll down the right-hand column to access the Archives -- links to articles posted in the main column since 2007. See details about our site, including a way to comment, in the yellow text above the Archives.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Michigamme Moonshine Art Gallery hosts new exhibit, "Neon"

"And Spring Will Come," mixed media by Martha Fotopulos. (Photo courtesy Michigamme Moonshine Art Gallery)

MICHIGAMME -- "Neon," a new exhibit at the Michigamme Moonshine Art Gallery, features paintings and mixed media by Martha Fotopulos, Michael Friend and Laura Stahl Maze. The exhibit continues through Apr. 30, 2014.

A reception will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 23. Refreshments will be served.

Spring gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The Michigamme Moonshine Art Gallery is located at 136 E. Main, Michigamme, Mich. For more information call 906-323-6546.

Friday, March 21, 2014

Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home to hold 6th Annual Music Event, Silent Auction fundraiser Mar. 23

HANCOCK -- The Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home for victims of domestic abuse will hold their 6th Annual Music Event and Silent Auction fundraiser from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 23, at the Orpheum Theater (Home of Studio Pizza) in Hancock.

Rhythm 203, from left, Sue Ellen Kingsley, Phyllis Fredendall and Norman Kendall perform folk music favorites at the 2013 Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home fundraiser in the Orpheum Theater. (2013 file photos by Keweenaw Now)

Rhythm 203 and Viney Willa will perform live musical entertainment. Listen to great music, eat great pizza and bid on great items!

Silent Auction items donated by local artisans and other supporters of the Shelter Home are an important part of the fundraiser.

The Orpheum Theater is at 426 Quincy Street, Hancock.

To learn more about the Shelter Home visit their Web site.

Michigan Tech's 2014 International Night is Sunday, Mar. 23

HOUGHTON -- Michigan Tech's 2014 International Night will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, March 23, in the MUB Ballroom on the Michigan Tech campus. The event is sponsored by the Michigan Tech International Club.

Visit the Facebook page for details.

Community Arts Center to offer class on encaustics and beeswax collage with Melissa Hronkin

HANCOCK -- Painting with pigmented beeswax is an ancient art form that is having a contemporary resurgence. Join Melissa Hronkin in an introduction to encaustics and beeswax collage course. Experiment with materials and learn about what you would need to dive into the process. 

The class will take place from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on two Saturdays -- April 5 and April 12 -- at the Copper Country Community Arts Center, 126 Quincy Street in Hancock. Register by TOMORROW, Saturday, March 22, for a discounted rate. Deadline to register is March 29. Call 482-2333 for more information.

Fee: $60 if registered and paid by March 22; after March 22, $70. Deadline to register, March 29.

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Democrats to hold March 22 Day of Action: nominating petition signing for candidates Peters, Schauer and Cannon

HANCOCK -- The Houghton County Democratic Party (HCDP) will hold a Day of Action on Saturday, March 22, to gather signatures on a nominating petition for Democratic candidates Gary Peters, Mark Schauer and Jerry Cannon. Peters is running for U.S. Senate (for retiring Sen. Carl Levin's seat), Schauer for Michigan Governor (against Gov. Rick Snyder) and Cannon for 1st District U.S. Representative (against U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek).

This year the deadline for filing a petition to run for office is April 22. The HCDP hopes to play a significant role in helping these candidates achieve their goal.

Volunteers will be collecting signatures locally from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the following locations:
  • Outside the Houghton Post Office, 701 Shelden Ave., Houghton.
  • Outside the Hancock Post Office, 221 Quincy St., Hancock.
  • Jutila Center, 200 Michigan St., Hancock. (During the UPEC "Celebrate the UP" event)
  • HCDP Office, 323 Quincy St. in Hancock. 
Rick Kasprzak, HCDP co-chair, is looking for volunteers to help with the petition signing. If you wish to help, please contact Rick at 906-369-1517 or by email at rickkasprzak@yahoo.com.

In Marquette, a petition signing will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturday, March 22, outside the Marquette Post Office, 202 W Washington St., Marquette.

Dickinson County residents can sign petitions from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. outside the Iron Mountain Post Office, 101 W Ludington St., Iron Mountain.

Jerry Cannon for Congress to host petition signings, fundraisers

Jerry Cannon for Congress will also have petitions available for signing at three Upper Peninsula Fundraisers this weekend:

Marquette: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 22. Home of Carol and Tom Cappuccio, 55 Oak Hill Dr, Marquette. Click here to RSVP.

Sault Ste Marie: 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, March 21. Island Books and Crafts, 101 E Portage Ave, Sault Ste Marie. Click here to RSVP.

Gladstone: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 22. Home of Ralph and Ann Miller, 19 Mulberry Cir, Gladstone. Click here to RSVP.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

UPEC to host 6th annual "Celebrate the UP" March 21-22 at Jutila Center, Hancock

HANCOCK -- The Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) will hold its sixth annual "Celebrate the UP" Friday and Saturday, March 21-22. All presentations will take place at Finlandia’s Jutila Center, Hancock. This is a free event and a great antidote to cabin fever, bringing together people who enjoy the region's outdoor environment.

The event will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, March 21, with "At Home in the Northwoods: Reflections on Belonging to a Place," a presentation by author and naturalist, John Bates.

Between 9:30 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, a variety of speakers will give three simultaneous one-hour presentations, with a break for lunch. The Kangas Café in the Jutila Center will be open all day Saturday for delicious snacks, lunch, desserts, and drinks.

At 3:30 p.m. Saturday three speakers will participate in a Panel Discussion: "50 Years of Wilderness."

The day’s event will conclude with a public reception from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Click here for the Schedule.

Rozsa Center presents "H.M.S. Pinafore" by New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players TONIGHT, March 19

HOUGHTON -- The Rozsa Center welcomes the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players as they present H.M.S. Pinafore, at the Rozsa Center at 7:30 p.m. TONIGHT, Wednesday, March 19. Don’t miss the intrigue on the high seas and romance among very different classes in this charming, fully staged production, where according to The New York Times, "broad comedy and stylish singing carry the day."

As their first international hit, this seaworthy satire put the wind in Gilbert and Sullivan's sails. It opened in London in 1878, and within a year more than 150 unauthorized productions cropped up across the United States. Catch a faithful new full production -- complete with live touring orchestra and full sets -- by the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players.

Now in its fourth decade of operation, New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players (NYGASP) is America’s preeminent professional Gilbert and Sullivan repertory ensemble. Under the dynamic leadership of Artistic Director Albert Bergeret, who has been hailed as "the leading custodian of the G and S classics" by New York Magazine, NYGASP has created its own special niche in the cultural mosaic of New York City and the nation.

And, to make your day complete, the Rozsa has arranged a special deal for the H.M.S. Pinafore audience! Present your HMS Pinafore tickets, and receive a 10 percent discount on your "Afternoon  Tea" or "Full Afternoon Tea."

Seats are still available, but limited! To purchase tickets, call (906) 487-2073, go online at rozsa.mtu.edu or visit Ticketing Operations at Michigan Tech’s Student Development Complex (SDC). Tickets are $24 for adults, $12 for youth (17 and under) and $5 for Michigan Tech Students.

Please note the Rozsa Box Office is closed during regular business hours, and will only open two hours prior to show times. 

Green Film Series to present "Gasland" -- part of World Water Day observance at Michigan Tech

HOUGHTON -- The Green Film Series at Michigan Tech will present the film Gasland as part of several events scheduled on campus to observe World Water Day.

This 100-minute documentary will be shown from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 20, in the Atrium and G002, Hesterberg Hall, in the Michigan Tech Forestry building. It will be followed by a discussion facilitated by Richelle Winkler, Michigan Tech assistant professor of sociology and demography. Coffee and dessert will be served. (Please bring your own mug.)

The event is free and open to the public; a $3 donation is suggested.

Focusing on U.S. communities impacted by natural gas drilling (fracking), the director, Josh Fox, spent time with citizens in their homes and on their land as they relayed stories of natural gas drilling including a variety of chronic health problems directly traceable to contamination of their air, of their water wells or of surface water. Hydraulic fracturing was exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act in the Energy Policy Act of 2005. 

The Green Film Series is co-sponsored by Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative,  Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society, Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and Keweenaw Land Trust.

Next week the following events will be held in observance of World Water Day:

Lecture and Poster Session Wednesday, March 26:
Dow Lobby -- campus side -- 4 p.m. - 7 p.m.
Student authors present -- 4 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Lecture by Dr. Robert Howarth, Cornell University professor of ecology and evolutionary biology -- 5:30 p.m. in Dow 641. Reception following.

Panel discussion on hydrofracking, Thursday, March 27
Moderator: Dr. Jennifer Arrigo, Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) -- 10 a.m. to noon, GLRC 202

Water’s Edge Art Exhibit, March 20 - April 23
Artists Amy Arntson, Joyce Koskenmaki, Bonnie Peterson -- Great Lakes Research Center -- 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors. The public is invited to attend a "meet the artists" event from 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, at the Great Lakes Research Center.

World Water Day events are sponsored by Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society, Sustainable Futures Institute, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Keweenaw Land Trust, Great Lakes Research Center, Michigan Tech Dept. of Visual and Performing Arts, and Finlandia University. A grant/partial funding has been provided by the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI)

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Finnish American Heritage Center to host contra dance March 19

HANCOCK -- Contra dancing is coming to the Finnish American Heritage Center on Finlandia University’s campus TOMORROW, Wednesday, March 19, with music by The Thimbleberry Band with Oren Tikkanen and friends and guest contra caller Colin Hoekje.

Hoekje, a student at Michigan Tech, has recently returned from a major contra dance event in Lower Michigan.

The dance will be held from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. (with a teaching workshop from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.)

Contra dance -- popular in New England, Eastern Canada, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana and more -- is a fun and easy activity in which couples dance in two facing lines or a square.

All ages and skill levels are invited to attend.

Admission $6 per person -- free with a student ID. No partner nor experience needed. You don’t need a partner. Singles and children welcome.

Come one, come all! Left feet and right! Spread the word!!! For more information call 487-7302.

The Finnish American Heritage Center is at 435 Quincy Street, Hancock.

Monday, March 17, 2014

Citizens encouraged to attend March 18 Permit Workshop, March 25 MDEQ Hearing on Eagle Mine Groundwater Discharge Permit

By Michele Bourdieu, with information from Save the Wild U.P. and Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality

MARQUETTE -- Local grassroots organization Save the Wild U.P. (SWUP) will hold a Permit Workshop with a panel including former federal oil regulator Jeffery Loman, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Geologist Chuck Brumleve, and attorney Michelle Halley to educate concerned citizens about the problems with the proposed Groundwater Discharge Permit for the Eagle Mine project. The panel presentation will begin at 6 p.m. TOMORROW, Tuesday, March 18, in the lower level, classroom 3, of the Peter White Public Library in Marquette.

Poster announcing March 18 Permit Workshop in the proposed Groundwater Discharge Permit for the Eagle Mine. The workshop is intended to help concerned citizens prepare for the March 25 Michigan Department of Environmental Quality hearing on the permit. (Poster courtesy Save the Wild U.P.)

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) will hold a Public Hearing regarding a proposed Groundwater Discharge Permit for the Lundin Eagle Mine at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25, at the Westwood High School, 300 South Westwood Drive, Ishpeming. The MDEQ will begin by answering questions regarding the draft permit. During the public hearing, which will follow the question period, MDEQ officials will take comments from the public but will not respond during the hearing. In order to accommodate as many speakers as possible, oral presentations / comments are limited to five minutes.*

Citizens are urged to attend the March 25 MDEQ Public Hearing to raise questions and provide comments to the MDEQ on the proposed permit. The March 18 panel, sponsored by Save the Wild U.P., is intended to provide information to prepare citizens for the hearing.

Kathleen Heideman, SWUP president, said, "It’s a matter of public record that this proposed permit would exponentially increase the pollutants, compared with Rio Tinto’s own 2004 reported baseline data. In some cases, it would allow groundwater contamination to exceed the EPA’s legal limits for drinking water. Clearly, groundwater quality will be undermined by this permit."

According to data from the Community Environmental Monitoring Program, a joint venture of the Superior Watershed Partnership and Lundin Mining (previously Rio Tinto), the Eagle Mine has exceeded its permits over 40 times since the previous 2007 groundwater discharge permit was issued.

Attorney Michelle Halley, who has worked extensively on Eagle Mine issues, said, "This permit allows water that people drink to be polluted. MDEQ is making the same mistakes over and over. If you're relying on MDEQ or Lundin Mining to keep our drinking water as clean as it has always been, don't."

During a presentation on the National Wildlife Federation report, "Sulfide Mining Regulation in the Great Lakes Region: A Comparative Analysis of Regulation in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Ontario," in Ashland, Wis., in March 2012, Michelle Halley points out the first loophole in the Clean Water Act, which allows mines to dump untreated waste into waters of the U.S. by impounding rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands. (File photo by Keweenaw Now)

According to Halley's analysis of the permit for Freshwater Future, this permit's exceedances include pH, arsenic, copper, lead, molybdenum, silver, and vanadium.

"MDEQ has taken no enforcement action," Halley writes in her analysis. "In fact, the mine has exceeded its vanadium limit more than 20 times. Instead of enforcing the limit, in this renewal permit, MDEQ is easing the limit. This is completely backwards. The MDEQ’s role is regulator, not conciliator. The limits were set, supposedly based upon sound science, as MDEQ strenuously argued during the months-long contested case that encompassed the current groundwater discharge permit. Now, rather than protecting water quality, the draft simply increases the limits to industry’s preferred levels."

Steve Casey, MDEQ Upper Peninsula District Supervisor, Water Resources Division, told Keweenaw Now in February that he believes Halley's concerns can be appropriately addressed.

"These exceedences are not attributable to the Eagle Mine groundwater discharge," Casey said. "67 percent were before Eagle started discharging; 26 percent occurred after they started but were in the historical ranges for those wells; and the other 7 percent were copper and lead from a well that was disturbed during construction but is now compliant."

In her analysis, Halley also notes that "the scope of monitoring and compliance is far too small to assess impacts to the aquifer that inevitably extend beyond the postage stamp this permit purports to regulate."

Casey's replied to that comment, saying, "The right place to monitor the groundwater is close to the discharge so that if there is a problem we can find out quickly and take corrective action."

Casey admitted Halley's comment on the outdated contour map in the permit was justified.

"We mistakenly attached the old contour map to the new draft permit," Casey said. "Eagle submitted an updated contour map with their application for this permit re-issuance.  Some have said the new contour map is hard to read. We will get a clearer version of the updated contour map and put it on our website and attach it to the permit when it is finalized."

Both the old and the new map show that the water flows to the northeast, towards the Salmon Trout River, he added.

In her analysis of the permit, Halley also points out the following:

"MDEQ continues to refuse to regulate, as required by the Clean Water Act, the surface water discharge at the seeps (aka springs), where the water regulated by this permit indisputably expresses to surface water. The draft permit, in Part III, No. 1 on p. 22 states:

'Discharge to the Surface Waters

'This permit does not authorize any discharge to the surface waters. The permittee is responsible for obtaining any permits required by federal or state laws or local ordinances.'"

This photo shows how groundwater flows into springs, or "seeps" (considered surface water) that eventually flow into the Salmon Trout River. Some volunteers from the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community have been sampling these springs for several years. They note that the springs have a measurable physical flow in gpm (gallons per minute) that can be seen as running water, carrying audible sounds. Click on photo for larger version. (Photo © and courtesy Jeremiah Eagle Eye. Reprinted with permission.)

In her analysis of the permit, Halley expresses her concern that state regulators have not required the Eagle project to apply for a federal permit for discharge to surface waters.

"Michigan has been delegated by the United States the authority to regulate surface water discharges via the Clean Water Act’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)," Halley writes. "Its failure to do so is egregious."**

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community members have also commented on this draft Groundwater Discharge Permit.

"The MDEQ's proposed revised Groundwater Discharge Permit is inconsistent with federal law, fails to protect the Yellow Dog Watershed -- and the process for issuing this revised permit violates both state and federal administrative procedures act requirements," said former federal offshore oil regulator and KBIC tribal member Jeffery Loman. "I intend to hold the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) accountable for these failures as they are the trustee for treaty-protected tribal resources threatened by this reckless regulatory fiasco."***

Jessica Koski, KBIC mining technical assistant, told Keweenaw Now she believes the present draft Groundwater Discharge Permit is actually less protective in many ways than the original permit that KBIC and coalition partners challenged in 2007.

"Reporting requirements largely 'report' only on a weekly, monthly or quarterly basis with no maximum daily limits specified," Koski said. "Such lax reporting requirements are unacceptable when discharges will enter the aquifer at a rate of 504,000 gallons per day. How may the company ever be found in violation of discharge limits if there are no numeric permit limits for many constituents? Sounds pretty convenient for the permit holder, in this case a Canadian mining company with no previous mining experience in the United States."

Koski also questioned the wastewater treatment technologies being used at Eagle Mine.

"Michigan's first permitted sulfide mine in the Lake Superior watershed is an experiment in that the company is using an untested combination of wastewater treatment technologies, which, while reasonably successful at treating water individually, may prove difficult and unreliable given its complexity -- especially if the company underestimates the maximum amount of inflow into the treatment system and/or if the influent water is more contaminated than predicted once mining begins," Koski notes. "Uncertainty and risk are further heightened in the current era of climate change, in which our region is expected to experience more frequent and intense rain events that will challenge existing mine infrastructure."

This Reverse Osmosis system in the Eagle Mine Water Treatment Plant removes ions from water that has already gone through previous purification steps. (Keweenaw Now file photo © and courtesy Rio Tinto)

Casey said KBIC has submitted good comments on how MDEQ can do a better job on the allowable operating range for the (reverse osmosis) wastewater treatment plant.

"The allowable operating range should be set in a way that we're more sure that copper and other contaminants won't be above the limits in the permit," Casey explained.

The permit already has a requirement that Eagle stop discharging immediately if the water quality falls outside the allowable operating range.

"They'd have to stop the groundwater discharge right away, even if it meant that they'd have to stop the mining," Casey added.

Dan Blondeau, Eagle Mine advisor in communications and media relations, said in February, "Since issuance of Eagle’s original GWDP (Groundwater Discharge Permit) we’ve collected additional groundwater data. Thus, the permit parameters were adjusted to align with the natural conditions of the water reflected in the data. This does not change the quality of Eagle’s treated water. Our water treatment plant has performed exceptionally and continues to treat water to better than drinking water quality standards."****

The comment period for the draft Groundwater Discharge Permit now extends to April 1, 2014. Written comments can be sent to the following address: Department of Environmental Quality, Water Resources Division, Permits Section, P.O. Box 30458, Lansing, Michigan 48909.

MDEQ officials have been reviewing comments. After the comment period ends they will summarize their responses to comments in writing, Casey said.

*Click here to access the proposed permit, public notice, and application. These documents are also available at the Water Resources Division's Upper Peninsula District Office located at 1504 West Washington Street, Marquette, Michigan 49855. Telephone: 906-228-4853.

**Click here for Michelle Halley's analysis of the permit as posted on Save the Wild U.P.'s Web site.

*** Click here for our May 2013 video clip with Jeffery Loman's questions on groundwater and surface water during a Rio Tinto Community Forum in L'Anse. See especially the second part of the video.

**** UPDATE:  Lundin Mining Company has posted "Water Questions" explaining the Eagle Mine Groundwater Discharge Permit from their point of view.

Michigan Tech Iranian Community to sponsor film March 17, New Year Celebration March 29.

Poster for Iranian New Year Norouz Celebration to be held at Michigan Tech on Saturday, March 29. (Poster courtesy Michigan Tech Iranian Community)

HOUGHTON -- The Iranian Community at Michigan Tech is sponsoring two events on campus this month -- a showing of the film The Color of Paradise TONIGHT, Monday, March 17, and a celebration of the Iranian New Year (Norouz) on Saturday, March 29.

The Color of Paradise will be shown from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. TONIGHT, March 17, in Fisher Hall Room 135. The film is free and open to the public.

This film, written and directed by Majid Majidi, is about a blind boy at a Tehran school for the blind who is waiting for his father to pick him up for summer vacation. The boy longs to go home to be with his family and enjoy life in the countryside. The film portrays beautifully the boy's closeness to Nature; yet his father's selfishness poses an obstacle ...

Click here to read about the film on the IMDB Web site.

The Iranian Community will celebrate the Iranian New Year (Norouz) for the first time at Michigan Tech campus beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 29 in the MUB Ballroom.

Norouz is the ancient Persian holiday to celebrate New Year on the first day of spring. Michigan Tech's first Norouz celebration includes a Persian banquet, dance performance, and live traditional music. It will be followed by a fun open floor after-party featuring A.D.Dj.

Tickets are available from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. from March 24-28 in the MUB Commons, and are $10 for students and $12 for non-students.

Gluten-Free Recipe Exchange to meet TONIGHT, Mar. 17, at Portage Library

HOUGHTON -- Regular meetings of the Gluten-Free Recipe Exchange are held on the 3rd Monday of each month, September through May, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Portage Lake District Library. The next meeting will be TONIGHT, Monday, March 17, and everyone is invited to participate.

Each month features a different type of food, and March’s meeting will focus on hot or cold pasta dishes. Participants are welcome to bring their favorite dish for sampling and are encouraged to share their recipes. Copies of the recipes will be made at the library. Please list all ingredients used in making foods that are shared at these meetings and identify the brand names of the gluten-free ingredients. Bringing food is not a requirement for attendance.

The Gluten-Free Recipe Exchange is organized by and for those who are interested in or required to follow a gluten-free diet. Gluten-free eating requires the avoidance of all wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Most people find it challenging at first, but are excited to find recipes and foods that are fun and easy to make and tasty to eat. The Gluten-Free Recipe Exchange is an opportunity to share those great recipes and learn from others. Everyone who is interested in learning more about gluten-free eating is encouraged to attend.

This program is free and everyone is welcome. For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Renowned ceramist Sadashi Inuzuka to visit Michigan Tech March 17, 18

HOUGHTON -- Sadashi Inuzuka’s transcendent ceramic art is celebrated for exploring the overlap between the natural world, science and society. Over the past 20 years, Inuzuka has exhibited his work to national and international audiences.

After having been deemed legally blind, Inuzuka was discouraged from pursuing a career in the arts, but he used his visual impairment as a motivation to reach out to other disabled individuals and to help develop their own artistic identities.

Inuzuka has been awarded a University of Michigan Thurnau Professorship, the highest award for undergraduate teaching. Inuzuka is considered a pioneer in the design and implementation of community engagement courses. He has created courses that enable students to see first-hand the role art can play in social change.

At Michigan Tech, he will help students move beyond their perceived creative limitations in an open, brown bag luncheon discussion from noon to 1:30 p.m. TOMORROW, Monday, March 17, in Walker 202. He will share images of his diverse artwork to help lead the discussion. The event is free, and all are welcome.

Inuzuka will also meet with Michigan Tech students in courses such as Creative Ceramics, Art Appreciation and Creative Drawing.

He will discuss his current artistic endeavors, especially "Whaletown" Project, at a lecture free and open to the public from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, at the U. J. Noblet Forestry Building G002.

Support for the visit comes from Michigan Tech's Department of Visual and Performing Arts and the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs.