Celebrate the UP! with UPEC March 29-30 in Marquette

Celebrate the UP! with the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC), Friday, March 29 - Saturday, March 30, in Marquette. Music, videos, presentations, panel discussions and more. Free and open to all. (Poster courtesy Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition)

MARQUETTE -- All are invited to join the 11th annual Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition (UPEC) event CELEBRATE THE UP! featuring keynote speaker Dave Dempsey on "The Sixth Great Lake," videos, live music, dozens of speakers and panelists, and informational sessions highlighting the U.P. environment!

Kick-off events Friday, March 29

Events begin on Friday with the Quarterly meeting of the UPEC Board, 1 p.m. - 4 p.m., followed by the UPEC Annual Meeting, with review of the year and the Board election, at 4:30 p.m., at the Federated Women’s Clubhouse.

The Ore Dock Brewing Company will be the scene of Friday's evening events.

Enjoy UPEC short video contest winners and dance to Conga Se Menne on Friday, March 29, at the Ore Dock Brewing Company. (Poster courtesy UPEC)

UPEC's short video contest award winning videos will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Live music by Conga Se Menne (Yes, Finnish Reggae!) will begin at 8 p.m. Bring your dancing shoes! A $10 donation is suggested.

Events all day Saturday, March 30

David Dempsey, author and environmental policy specialist, will deliver the keynote address, "The Sixth Great Lake," at 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Federated Women’s Clubhouse.

Individual sessions will be offered from 10:15 a.m. - 3:15 p.m. They include the following:

• Rolf and Candy Peterson, Canoeing around Isle Royale

• Michael Loukinen, filmmaker, Burbot Fishing in the Copper Country

• Panels on wind power and mineral rights

• Phil Watts, local climbing adventures

• Mark Doremus, filmmaker, the Back Forty Mining Proposal on Menominee River

• Michele Tuccini, open-air landscape painting

• Ryne Rutherford, amphibians and reptiles

• Karena Schmidt, lichens

• Michael Neiger and Chris Ozminski, Arctic expeditions and survival

• Joe Kaplan, bird habitat restoration

• Brandon Gerig, fisheries and aquatic ecology 

Click here to learn about the panelists. Click here for the Program with photos of the presenters.

See details in this Schedule:

Presentations and Panels will be held in the Federated Women's Clubhouse, the Landmark Inn and the Peter White Public Library Community Room. Click here for a larger version of the Schedule with times and locations.

At 3:30 p.m. in the Peter White Library Community Room the Plenary Panel "Catch a Moment in Time" will feature Iconic UP Images.

All are welcome to the Closing Reception at 5 p.m. Saturday in the Federated Women's Clubhouse. Enjoy snacks, refreshments and live music with singer-songwriter Terri Bocklund.

For more information about the event email upec@upenvironment.org or call 906-201-1949. To learn more about UPEC visit upenvironment.org or find them on Facebook.

Save the Wild U.P. to host "Poets of the Wild U.P." April 2 in Marquette

"Poets of the Wild U.P." poetry reading poster courtesy Save the Wild U.P.

MARQUETTE -- Save the Wild U.P. (SWUP) invites the public to celebrate "Poets of the Wild U.P." with a poetry reading featuring Milton Bates, Janeen Pergrin Rastall, Kathleen M. Heideman and Russell Thorburn from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 2, at the Peter White Public Library’s Shiras Room. The event will lend a uniquely environmental emphasis to National Poetry Month. The reading is free and open to the public.

"Our goal in sponsoring this reading is to highlight the special connection between yoopers and the environment, through the work of four local authors who draw inspiration from Lake Superior, U.P. environmental issues, and the natural beauty of Upper Michigan’s wild places," said Alexandra Maxwell, SWUP’s interim director.

The U.P.’s environment figures differently in the work of each poet.

"There’s a strong spirit of place, an identification with wildness and struggle, at the heart of our stories," says Jon Saari, Northern Michigan University emeritus professor of history. Saari -- whose wife, Christine, is a poet and artist -- serves as Save the Wild U.P.’s vice president.

Milton Bates, the winner of Save the Wild U.P.’s "Putting the Wild into Words" 2014 poetry contest, taught English literature for thirty-five years at Williams College and Marquette University. During that time he was also a Guggenheim Fellow and a Fulbright lecturer in China and Spain. He has published half a dozen books on subjects such as the poet Wallace Stevens, the literature and film of the Vietnam War, and the natural and human history of the Bark River Valley in Wisconsin. On retirement he and his wife moved to the Upper Peninsula, which provides material for many of his poems.

Janeen Pergrin Rastall lives in Gordon, Mich, population 2. She is the author of the chapbook In The Yellowed House (dancing girl press, 2014). Her poetry has appeared in several publications, including The Midwest Quarterly, Midwestern Gothic, Border Crossing, The Michigan Poet, and Dunes Review. She has been nominated for two Pushcart Prizes.

Kathleen M. Heideman, SWUP's president, will receive the City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center’s 2015 Outstanding Writer Award. She has completed artist residencies with watersheds, forests, the National Science Foundation, and the National Park Service -- including Isle Royale and Sleeping Bear Dunes. Informed by landscape and environmental concerns, her work has garnered recognition from the Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition, the Wurlitzer Foundation, and the Bush Foundation.

"For me, 'Saving the Wild U.P.' means naming, cherishing, and protecting what makes the Upper Peninsula of Michigan such an incredible place -- our creative culture, our clean water, and our wild lands," Heideman says. "When I consider the beautiful work of our local artists creating pottery, landscape painting, woodworking, etc., their material connection to place is obvious at a glance. Poets are really doing the same thing -- using woods, water and rocks to create our work."

Russell Thorburn served as the U.P. Poet Laureate from 2013-2015. He lives in Marquette with his son and wife. A manuscript consultant for poets, he takes orphan poems that don’t fit together and arranges the pieces in a way that not only makes sense, but makes beauty. He is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. Salt and Blood, an experimental noir, is forthcoming from Marick Press -- who also published his third book of poetry, Father, Tell Me I Have Not Aged.

National Poetry Month, founded by Academy of American Poets, is the world’s largest literary celebration, involving millions of readers, teachers, students, librarians and authors and celebrating the critical role of poetry in our lives each April.

The Peter White Public Library is at 217 N Front St. in Marquette.

Green Party Candidate Ellis Boal to speak in Marquette TONIGHT, Oct. 23

MARQUETTE -- Ellis Boal, anti-fracking activist and Green Party candidate for U.S. House of Representatives (1st District), will speak at 7 p.m. TONIGHT, Thursday, Oct. 23, at the Peter White Public Library, Lions Room 1st floor, in Marquette.

Ellis Boal, Green Party candidate for the District 1 U.S. Congressional seat now held by Republican incumbent Dan Benishek, will speak at the Peter White Library in Marquette tonight, Oct. 23. (Photo courtesy ellisboal.org.)

Boal is a labor/environmental attorney and long time Green Party member from northern Michigan who last year won an injunction against 13 huge frack wells, three of which would have been the largest in the U.S.

The public is invited to meet the candidate, ask questions about issues of concern and learn more about the political party that is challenging the two corporate parties.

League of Women Voters Forum in Traverse City to be broadcast

Ellis Boal participated in a League of Women Voters Forum in Traverse City, which will be broadcast on Interlochen Radio, available online, at 9 p.m. TONIGHT, Thursday, Oct. 23. The forum was recorded on Tuesday, Oct. 21. UpNorth TV videotaped the forum and will feature it TODAY, Thursday, Oct. 23, at 4:30 p.m. It can also be viewed on a cablecast Friday, Oct. 24, and after that, online.

Republican (incumbent) Congressman Dan Benisheck, and Democratic candidate Jerry Cannon also participated in the forum.

To learn more about Ellis Boal, visit his Web site, ellisboal.org.

Portage Library to host Bergonzi String Quartet children's concert Aug. 2; more Bergonzi performances this week

HOUGHTON -- The Bergonzi String Quartet, celebrating their 20th year with the Pine Mountain Music Festival, will perform Pamela McConnell’s version of Peter and the Wolf in a children’s concert at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 2, in the community room of the Portage Lake District Library.

Children in attendance are invited to come dressed as characters in the performance: Peter, Grandfather, Bird, Miss Duck, Cat, Forest Rangers (no guns, please) and Wolf.

The Bergonzi String Quartet, with Glenn Basham on 1st violin, Scott Flavin on 2nd violin, Pamela McConnell on viola, and Ross Harbaugh on cello, has been Quartet-in-Residence at the Pine Mountain Music Festival since 1995. The Bergonzi Quartet was formed in 1992 and is Quartet-in-Residence at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, where they are all faculty members. The members have extensive collective experience, performing in virtually every major center in the world -- with concerts throughout Europe, North and South America, New Zealand, and Asia. The quartet has generated enormous excitement around the world for their superb blend of seasoned and sensitive virtuosity and is an important cultural asset for the Pine Mountain Music Festival and the Upper Peninsula.

Adults are welcome to attend this concert if they bring at least one child. There is no admission for this concert and all are welcome to attend.

For more information, please call the library at 482-4570 or visit www.pldl.org.

More Bergonzi concerts ...

With a repertoire including Mozart, Janáček, and Schubert for the adult concerts, the Bergonzi String Quartet will also perform at the following concerts this week:

At 7:30 p.m. TONIGHT, Wednesday, July 30, the Bergonzi will perform at Immaculate Conception Church, 500 East Blaine St., Iron Mountain, Mich. General Cost: $30. Student/Child Cost: $10.

The Bergonzi will perform another children's concert at 1 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1, at Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front St., Marquette. The concert is free.

At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1, the Bergonzi String Quartet will perform at Reynolds Recital Hall, Lee Hall Drive and 7th Street, Marquette. General Cost: $30. Student/Child Cost: $10.

Finally, the Bergonzi will perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 3, at the Calumet Theatre, 340 6th St., Calumet. General Cost: $30. Student/Child Cost: $10.

For more information about the Pine Mountain Music Festival, click here.

Lake Superior Binational Forum to hold public meeting on impacts of nonferrous mining Sept 28 in Marquette

ASHLAND, WIS. -- The Lake Superior Binational Forum will hold an open public meeting called "The Impacts of Nonferrous Mining in the Lake Superior Basin: Overview and Updates" from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 28, in the Community Room at the Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front Street, in Marquette, Michigan. Forum meetings are free and open to the public with no need to pre-register, although seating at the library is limited to 150.

Lake Superior Binational Forum meetings are free and open to the public. Pictured here are members of the audience offering public comment at the March 23, 2012, Forum in Ashland, Wis. -- the first of three open public meetings about the impacts of mining activities in the Lake Superior basin. The second meeting will take place Friday, Sept. 28, 2012, in the Peter White Library in Marquette. (Photo by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now.)

Speakers include representatives from the Lake Superior Binational Forum, the Lake Superior Binational Program, Michigan Tech University's Center for Water and Society, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, National Wildlife Federation, and employees with Rio Tinto mining company. (See below for the agenda)

"We have scheduled speakers that represent different perspectives about mining so we can learn from each other and understand more about how mining activities in the Lake Superior basin affect the economy and environment," said Bruce Lindgren, Forum U.S. co-chair.

Bruce Lindgren, Lake Superior Binational Forum U.S. co-chair, introduces speakers at the March 23, 2012, Binational Forum in Ashland, Wis. (Photo by Allan Baker for Keweenaw Now.)

Members of the public are invited to a public comment period starting at 4:30 p.m. when anyone is welcome to express comments about mining and other issues as they relate to Lake Superior.

The Lake Superior Binational Forum offers this second of three public meetings about the impacts of mining in the Lake Superior basin at this upcoming meeting in Marquette. A third and final meeting about nonferrous mining activities is scheduled in the Minnesota Iron Range in March 2013. The meetings are funded through a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grant administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Susan Hedman, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 administrator, speaks at the March 23, 2012, Lake Superior Binational Forum in Ashland, Wis. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

The first public meeting--held in March 2012 in Ashland, Wisconsin  -- focused on the historical, environmental, and economic impacts from ferrous mining in the basin. All
audio and video recordings of that meeting are available on the Lake Superior Binational Forum's web site.*

September 28, 2012, Meeting Agenda:

1 p.m. Welcome to Marquette and this Meeting -- Lake Superior Binational Forum Members Jon Magnuson and Ron Sundell, Marquette
1:10 Welcome to Marquette -- Commissioner Jason Schneider, City of Marquette
1:20 Presentation of the Lake Superior Binational Program's 2012 Environmental Stewardship Awards to Michigan Recipients -- Jon Saari and Chauncey Moran, a tie in the U.S. Adult Individual category
1:40 Historical Environmental Impacts from Nonferrous Mining in the Basin -- Mike Ripley, Lake Superior Binational Program, Superior Work Group Mining Committee, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.**
2:10 A rare glimpse into the past: Lake Sediments Reveal Long-term Methylmercury Records from Mining -- Dr. Charles Kerfoot, Professor of Biological Sciences, Michigan Tech University, Houghton**

2:40 BREAK

2:55 Protecting Water Quality through Regulations -- Michelle Halley, Attorney, National Wildlife, Marquette

At a meeting preceding the Lake Superior Binational Forum meeting in Ashland, Wis., last March, National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Attorney and Senior Manager F. Michelle Halley presents a summary of a recent NWF report on sulfide mining. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

3:25 The Roles and Contributions of Native American Tribes in Mining Issues -- Jessica Koski, Mining Technical Assistant, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Baraga

At the Ojibwa Senior Citizens' Center in Baraga last February, Jessica Koski, Mining Technical Assistant, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, shows maps of UP mining projects in her update preceding the film Locked Out, shown as part of her Mining Impacts on Native Lands Film Series. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

3:55  How Communities and Rio Tinto Eagle are Shaping Modern Mining -- Simon Nish, Director of Communities, Communications and External Relations, and Jim French,
Director Health, Safety and Environment, Rio Tinto Eagle Project

Aerial view of the Rio Tinto Eagle Mine, with Eagle Rock, an Ojibwa sacred site, at right. (Photo © and courtesy Jeremiah Eagle Eye)

4:30 Q and A and Open Public Comment -- Facilitated by Rita Hodgins
5:30 Adjourn

The Binational Forum has also developed an extensive section about mining throughout the basin on its site. Users can access information about all aspects of mining in
Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Ontario.

The Lake Superior Binational Forum is a citizen stakeholder group of American and Canadian volunteers who work together to provide input to governments about management efforts and to educate basin residents about ways to protect and restore the lake basin's natural resources. The U.S. Coordinator's office is located at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute on the Northland College campus, Ashland, Wisconsin, and is supported by a grant through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

For more information visit www.superiorforum.org, call (715) 682-1489 or email binationalforum@northland.edu.

* Click here for audio and video recordings of the March 23, 2012, Forum in Ashland: "Mining Impacts and Lake Superior: A Basinwide Approach."

** Click here for a short video clip from Mike Ripley's presentation, "Historical Impacts of Ferrous Mining in the Lake Superior Basin," at the March 2012 meeting in Ashland, where he spoke about the stamp sand in the Keweenaw and mentioned Dr. Kerfoot's work on mercury.

Reception for Lake Superior Art Association exhibit to be May 18 in Marquette

"Cycle of the Ages," oils on wood, by Gary Raether, Jr., is Best of Show at the 36th Annual Lake Superior Art Association Members' Exhibition, which continues through May 31 in the Lower Level Gallery of the City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, located in the Peter White Public Library. (Photos by Keweenaw Now)

MARQUETTE -- An artist reception for the 36th Annual Lake Superior Art Association (LSAA) Members' Exhibition will be held from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, May 18, in the Lower Level Gallery of the City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center, located in the Peter White Public Library, 217 N. Front Street.

"Momo," mixed media collage by Reneë Michaud, winner of the First Time Exhibitor award.

This exhibition, featuring the work of over 70 regional artists, continues through May 31, 2012.

Tiina Harris, director of Arts and Culture for the City of Marquette, says the location of the Gallery in the Peter White Public Library offers the opportunity to connect with people who otherwise might not often visit an art gallery.

Tiina Harris, director of Arts and Culture for the City of Marquette, whose office is next to the Lower Level Gallery of the City of Marquette Arts and Culture Center in the Peter White Library, says the location of the gallery attracts people to art. At left is "Barn Find Model A," an acrylic painting by Corbin Lutz. Harris says the painting reminds her to announce the coming convention of the Model A Ford Club of America, which will take place June 18-22, in downtown Marquette.

"Of the 11 exhibits that we host in this gallery every year, LSAA curates six of them," says Harris. "It's wonderful because we're located inside the Peter White Library. People wander in, having no idea what this is all about -- and it's a nice surprise."

Carol Phillips, an artist in her own right and curator of the Lake Superior Art Association Members' Exhibition, places labels on the pieces on April 30, just before the exhibit opened on May 1, 2012.

Editor's Note: We are having technical difficulties attempting to post on this page our slide show with some more art works from the LSAA exhibit. Click here to go directly to the slide show in our Picasa album. Click on slide show at the top left corner of the page of thumbnails.