PHANTASMAGORIA: Photography by Eric Munch opens Thursday, Aug. 7, at Community Arts Center in Hancock

PHANTASMAGORIA: Photography by Eric Munch will open August 7, 2025, at the Copper Country Community Arts Center in Hancock. The exhibit continues through August 30, 2025, with a reception on Thursday, August 7. Click on poster for larger version. (Poster courtesy Copper Country Community Arts Center)

HANCOCK -- PHANTASMAGORIA is the new exhibition at the Copper Country Community Arts Center's Kerredge Gallery featuring photographs by Calumet artist Eric Munch. The exhibit will be on display from August 7 through August 30, 2025. 
 
When Eric Munch is going out to shoot photographs, he looks for the unusual, the subtle or the odd in the landscape. Over the years he has spent a lot of time photographing the rugged shoreline of Lake Superior, the quiet places on the mainland, the wilds of Isle Royale and the night sky. He approaches photographing natural subjects such as trees, waves, and ice formations in a sculptural sense, adding a bit of surrealism to the familiar landscape. In addition to fine art photography, Eric's professional career also includes commercial work as a wedding photographer and photojournalist.

Everyone is welcome to the opening reception for this exhibition from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 7. Eric will give a brief talk about his work and inspiration, and refreshments will be served. This exhibition is supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. The Copper Country Community Arts Center is located at 126 Quincy Street in Hancock. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. For more information call (906) 482-2333 or visit the website www.coppercountryarts.com

Join Stronger Together Fundraiser to Wipe Out Medical Debt locally by attending event July 29 in Hancock

Poster courtesy Keweenaw Indivisible.

HANCOCK -- Keweenaw Indivisible is sponsoring a fundraiser to wipe out medical debt in our community (the First Congressional District). A fundraising event featuring music, food, and hope will be held from 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. on Tuesday, July 29, at Small Craft in Hancock (next to Porvoo Park).

Medical debt ruins lives in our community. Together we can fix that by providing debt relief in the short term and by working toward the day when healthcare is a human right, not a commodity. Every dollar brings relief. 100 percent of your tax-deductible donation goes to wiping out undue medical debt in our community.

In addition to live music, the event will include a silent auction. Some of the items for the auction include a mushroom hunt, art items, dessert, coffee, and even a donation of $8,000 worth of orthodontic care from a new orthodontist in town! This is not a pot luck. Food trucks will be on hand. Guest speakers will talk about the impact of the new Bad Budget Bill ("Trump Care") on rural hospitals losing Medicaid funds and the impact of that Budget Bill on health care for individuals locally.

Valorie Troesch, who has done much of this fundraising by contacting county Democratic Party organizations, says the purpose of the fundraiser is to raise awareness of the urgency of the need for universal health care in the U.S.

"We are hoping to hear personal stories -- from people who attend the event -- about the impact this new bill may have on their own health care," Troesch said.

Admission to the event is free, but organizers are asking for a $20 donation per person. All the money collected goes to Undue Medical Debt, who have created a Web site for this fundraiser. Click Here for the fundraiser Web site and option to RSVP for the event.

Hancock awarded 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture following Juhannus Solstice celebration

By Michele Bourdieu

During Hancock's June 20 Canal Rock music event, City of Hancock Fire Department personnel supervise a bonfire for Juhannus, the Finnish Summer Solstice celebration, one of Hancock's many Finnish American cultural events that contributed to the  recent designation of Hancock as the first American community to receive the Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture Designation. (Photo © and courtesy John Peiffer)

HANCOCK --  Following Hancock's Juhannus Summer Solstice celebration last weekend, the City of Hancock received word of a historic international honor: Hancock has been designated the 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture, becoming the first-ever community in the United States to receive this title.

Awarded annually by the Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture, this designation spotlights communities that actively preserve and promote Finno-Ugric cultures, languages and traditions. Past recipients include towns in Estonia, Hungary and Russia with deep Finno-Ugric Roots. Hancock’s selection recognizes its vibrant Finnish-American Heritage, long standing cultural traditions, and the city’s commitment to honoring its immigrant past through festivals, education and community spaces like the Finnish American Heritage Center.

David Maki, left, executive director of the Finnish American Heritage Center, introduces speakers at a June 25, 2025, press conference presentation on Hancock's Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture Designation for 2026. Pictured at right are Jim Kurtti, Honorary Consul of Finland, and Brad Barnett of Visit Keweenaw. (Photo by Keweenaw Now) 

According to Jesse Wiederhold, Public Relations/Events coordinator of Visit Keweenaw, the Capital of Culture designation for next year will bring an international spotlight to the city in 2026 -- with cultural exchanges, performances, lectures, and special events (like Juhannus and Heikinpäivä) expected to draw visitors and partners from across the Finno-Ugric world. The program aims to strengthen ties among indigenous and diaspora Finno-Ugric communities in the modern world and promote their values -- including sustainability, resilience, and cultural diversity.

During a press conference held in the Finnish American Heritage Center on June 25, 2025, Jim Kurtti, honorary consul of Finland, spoke about Hancock's application for the Capital of Culture designation and the importance of keeping Finno-Ugric culture alive.

During a June 25, 2025 press conference in the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, MI, Jim Kurtti, honorary consul of Finland, speaks about historical background for the recent designation of the City of Hancock as the 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture, a historic international honor. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Kurtti said the designation would offer the opportunity for learning -- to share experiences and events with Finno-Ugric people outside the U.S. who, like Finnish Americans here, are trying to maintain their cultural identity.

"We're going to be looking east and they're going to be looking west," he noted. "Because we've been doing this for 150 years -- keeping Finnish identity alive -- maybe we have something to share with them. And they certainly have a lot to share with us." 

Kurtti mentioned plans to form a committee to direct events for the Capital of Culture year and welcomed ideas and suggestions from the public.* (See below for contact information.) 

During the press conference, representing Community Development for the City of Hancock Downtown Development Authority (DDA), Todd Gast said, "We are just so excited about this honor of being named the Finno-Ugric Cultural Capital."

Gast mentioned the City of Hancock working with Visit Keweenaw on the Juhannus celebration last weekend and experiencing the excitement to cap off that celebration with this news of the Finno-Ugric Cultural Capital designation. He added the City will be asking the community to help with planning events and he believes residents will be excited to do so.

"It's going to shine quite an incredible bright light on this area," Gast said. 

During Hancock's Juhannus Summer Solstice celebration on Quincy Green, Jesse Wiederhold of Visit Keweenaw, second from left, one of the main organizers of Juhannus -- and his parents, Shelley and Mike Wiederhold of Caro, Mich. -- chat with Keweenaw Now. They are joined by Jesse Justice, at far left, a Houghton resident who hails from New Mexico. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

One of the musical groups who entertained during Juhannus, John Snyder, at left, and Matt Bradley, play and sing a variety of fun and danceable songs on Saturday afternoon, June 21, on Quincy Green. (Photo © and courtesy John Peiffer)

Mary Babcock, Hancock city manager and zoning administrator, spoke with Keweenaw Now about the City's role in the 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture.

"We'll be partnering with the Copper Country Finns, [who] are part of the City of Hancock's structure and with Visit Keweenaw to create and celebrate this designation," Babcock said. "We will be looking for others to help with the celebration, to come up with ideas and to make sure we can make the events the best possible next year."
Inset photo: Hancock City Manager Mary Babcock. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Brad Barnett, Visit Keweenaw executive director, spoke at the press conference about the fact that this Cultural Capital designation is an opportunity -- not only for cultural preservation and tourism, but also for economic development, education, celebration and more.

During the June 25, 2025, press conference, Brad Barnett, Visit Keweenaw executive director, speaks about the importance of the recent designation of the City of Hancock as the 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

More views of Hancock's 2025 Juhannus celebration

Quincy Green in Hancock was the scene of several events for celebrating Juhannus, the Finnish summer solstice, on Saturday, June 21. Kids had opportunities to play lawn games, including the popular Finnish custom of a Hobby Horse Hoedown offered by Sew Cranky, a Hancock shop where visitors can make a colorful hobby horse with hand-cranked sewing machines.

Ginger Alberti and Mike Sabo, owners of Sew Cranky, are pictured here with hobby horses made in their shop. Next to their booth, kids and adults are offered a course for riding a hobby horse, a Finnish custom. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Visiting Juhannus in Hancock from the Hanka Homestead Museum are Colette McLauglin and Oscar Heikkinen, Hanka Homestead president. The Hanka Homestead, a Keweenaw Heritage site of the Keweenaw National Historical Park, allows visitors to learn about the life of immigrants on a 1920s-era Finnish farm in Baraga, Mich. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

During Juhannus on June 21, representing the Michigan Tech Social Sciences department and their research in renewable energy, are Yi Wang, from China, a PhD student studying local energy systems, and Elizabeth Amoah, of Ghana, a masters student researching sustainable communities. They offered visitors an opportunity to take a survey on renewable energy, which they may use in their research. (Photo © and courtesy John Peiffer) 

Wife Carrying Race

During the June 21, 2025, Juhannus Finnish Summer Solstice celebration, a couple finishes the wife-carrying course, a Finnish tradition, in 17 seconds, one of the fastest in the race. The announcer is Todd VanDyke, KBear local radio station host. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Two young women compete in the Finnish wife-carrying contest. These two women are also energetic members of Michigan Tech's Swing Dance group. (Anyone could compete in the event -- not necessary to be a wife or husband.) (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Among the fastest competitors are these two young men, also participating in the traditional wife-carrying event on Quincy Green in Hancock. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Finnish American Heritage Center

Throughout the year, the Finnish American Heritage Center in Hancock, supported by Finlandia Foundation National, hosts many activities and resources related to Finnish and Finnish American culture -- including a Folk School, a film series, an Art Gallery and a Historical Archive. During Juhannus, the public was invited to view an art exhibit in the Finlandia Art Gallery, attend Finnish American Folk School activities, and enjoy the Saturday Night Dance in the spacious Community Hall with music by the Back Room Boys.

In the Finnish American Heritage Center, the Back Room Boys band play a variety of music for the June 21 Juhannus Saturday Night Dance, including this folk dance as well as traditional Finnish partner dances, which were preceded by lessons. (Video © and courtesy John Peiffer)

In the Finlandia Art Gallery, visitors could enjoy The Folk School at Midsummer, an annual group exhibit presenting the work of the folk school instructors and students. Here are a few examples from the exhibit, which continues through September 10, 2025:

Unwanted socks #2. Rag rug, cotton warp, donated socks. By Sue Ellen Kingsley of Hancock Township. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Sculpture by artist Harriet King of Houghton. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Weaving by Phyllis Fredendall, instructor of fiber arts. Click here for a photo of Phyllis weaving. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

*Editor's Note: 

If you have ideas or suggestions for planning the 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture events in Hancock, CLICK HERE for Jim Kurtti's contact information.

Celebrate Juhannus Summer Solstice Celebration in Hancock June 20-22

Celebrate the Summer Solstice at Hancock's Juhannus Celebration, Friday to Sunday, June 20-22. (Image courtesy visitkeweenaw.com) 

HANCOCK -- Hancock invites you to the 2025 Finnish Juhannus Celebration this weekend, June 20-22. Enjoy Juhannus events on the Waterfront, in Porvoo Park and on Quincy Green in Hancock.

Here is the Schedule from visitkeweenaw.com 

Friday, June 20: 

3 p.m. - 7 p.m. -- The Finnish Long Drink Experience at Small Craft and Takka Saunas Portage on Navy Street.

Start your Juhannus journey at Takka with a plunge into the Long Drink Ice Bath -- an invigorating cold dip complete with exclusive giveaways. Conquer the chill at Small Craft, where the waterfront celebration continues with lawn games, crisp sips, and festive swag. 

6 p.m. - 9 p.m. -- Canal Rock in Porvoo Park with music by Rewind

Enjoy Friday night music in Porvoo Park with the City of Hancock and local band Rewind. Get a good spot for the Juhannuskokko (Midsummer Bonfire) at 7:15 p.m. in Porvoo Park, sponsored by Keweenaw Waters Resort.

Saturday, June 21:

11:30 a.m. -- Midsummer Pole Raising and Opening Ceremonies, Quincy Green. Followed by Costume Fashion Show

Beginning at 10 a.m. -- Finnish Tori (Market), Quincy Green, Top of Stairway

Noon to 2 p.m. -- Finnish American Folk School Activities, Finnish American Heritage Center Includes: FREE family-friendly activities to get hands on with Finnish culture and folk fun! 

2 p.m. - 6 p.m. -- Long Drink Beer Garden, Quincy Green

EARLY BIRD ENTRY: 1-2 p.m. $10

2 p.m. -- Hobby Horse Hoedown, Quincy Green

​Join the Hobby Horse Hoedown at 2 p.m. during Juhannus. Kids and adults welcome! Trot, jump, and laugh your way through a fun obstacle course with Finnish flair. Bring your SISU and saddle up! 

Live Music:

​1 p.m. - 2 p.m. -- Copper Country Clown Band

2 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. -- John Snyder and Friends

4 p.m. - 5 p.m. -- Jan Arnold

3 p.m. - 5 p.m. -- Cornhole (Bags) Tournament, Quincy Green

​4 p.m. -- Wife Carrying Contest ($300 Prize), Quincy Green

Obstacle Course TBD. "Wife Carrying" Team can be any two people

Noon - 6 p.m. -- Lawn Games, on Quincy Green

Bubbles, Chalk, Hula Hoops Molkky

Finnish American Folk School Dance and Lessons, Finnish American Heritage Center 

Lessons: 5 p.m. - 6 p.m.

Dance: 6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Throw on your dancing shoes and tap your toes to lively folk music!

8 p.m. - 10 p.m. Concert and Comedy Fusion Show at The Orpheum Theater

Local comedy from Hailey Macias and Drew Stockero, and music from UP favorites Sea Hounds and Addicus.

Doors -- 7 p.m.

Show -- 8 p.m.

$10 Entry Fee

Sunday, June 20:

Pancake Breakfast, Porvoo Park

9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Click here for details and additional events.

Ukraine's little pocket of support in the Keweenaw

By Jennifer Donovan*

Led by Yoopers for Ukraine co-founder Nadija Packauskas, participants in the most recent Walk for Ukraine in Houghton, Mich., on May 14, display flags and signs near the Portage Lift Bridge. (Photo courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Local resident and activist Nadija Packauskas hasn’t stopped since.

The day they heard that Russia had invaded Ukraine, Vytautas Packauskas and his daughter, Nadija, were devastated. The elder Packauskas, 91 at the time, is Lithuanian, a close Eastern European neighbor of Ukraine. He had survived World War II, escaping the Russians on foot. He was then rounded up by the Gestapo, put in concentration and slave labor camps, and finally liberated by the United States. He joined the U.S. Air Force in 1950.

"Like every other person who survived World War II, when he saw all the tanks lined up and realized that 80 years later we could even be witnessing such a thing, he was horrified. He was crying," Nadija recalls. "'Let’s do something,' he said."

A protest march was planned in Chicago for the following Sunday. "Let’s put pain to power," she told her father. So they went to the march.

While in Washington, DC, for a Ukraine Summit in April 2024, Vytautas and Nadija meet with Denis E., who lost his leg in Luhansk as a Ukraine defender. (File photo courtesy Nadija Packauskas)

"We’re doing this because Lithuania has been and is next on the chopping block," Nadija explains. "And Ukrainians and Lithuanians, at one time, we were one country from the Baltic to the Black Sea, so we were brothers and sisters -- and we've always been supportive of each other's democracy."

At that march, Nadija met a Fulbright scholar from Russia, who invited her to meet two other Fulbright scholars from Ukraine, Adelina and Nazaar, who were demonstrating at Michigan Tech. Nadija developed a plan of action with them, and together they co-founded Yoopers for Ukraine.**

Since 2022, the group has marched on the Portage Lift Bridge  every week, on Wednesdays or Sundays, drawing supportive crowds, as well as a few catcalls and threats from those who object to their activism. 

Art and Ukraine

But that’s not all they’ve done. During a Keweenaw Faiths United Art for Peace project in 2023, Nadija led a program where children learned what it feels like to live in a country that’s at war. She gave them paper, crayons and markers to draw what peace meant to them. The Copper Country Commmunity Arts Center in Hancock exhibited the children’s artwork, along with the art from several other projects Keweenaw Faiths United had sponsored that summer.

Artist Miriam Pickens (at head of table), a member of Keweenaw Faiths United, helps local children create Art for Peace at the Chutes and Ladders park in Houghton on Sept. 1, 2023. Children ages 3-18 participated in the project. (File photo © and courtesy Nadija Packauskas)

Yoopers for Ukraine sponsored a Pysanky workshop, where the public could craft Ukrainian Easter eggs. They also put on a borscht workshop. Nadija has also presented programs on different situations happening in Ukraine.

At Copper Harbor's 2023 Art in the Park, Nadija is pictured with a display of Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter Eggs), sent from Ukraine. Sales of these help support an orphanage in Ukraine. (Keweenaw Now file photo)

At their Ukrainian Cultural Center at 314 Shelden Avenue in Houghton, Yoopers for Ukraine hold public unveilings of Ukrainian artwork and talk about the artists. 

On October 1, 2024, Nadija honored Ukraine Defenders with an event in the Cultural Center that included lighting a candle and reading names of Ukrainian Defenders. 

Nadija Packauskas welcomes visitors in the art-filled Ukrainian Culture Center in Houghton on Oct. 1, 2024, Ukrainian Defenders Day.  (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

During the Oct. 1 event, Nadija opened new art sent by Ukrainian artists to the Center and displayed it to visitors. She also thanked the artists personally through livestream, thanks to Miriam Pickens, an active member of Yoopers for Ukraine, who was able to contact the artists via her cell phone.

During the event for Ukraine Defenders Day, Oct. 1, 2024, Nadija displays art by Ukrainian artist Irena Boichek and thanks her personally via livestream in the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Houghton, Mich. Miriam Pickens of Yoopers for Ukraine makes the livestream connection with her phone. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Dawn Nulf of Chassell was also present at the Oct. 1 event and prepared special bread for the occasion.

During the Oct. 1, 2024, Ukraine Defenders Day event in the Ukrainian Culture Center in Houghton, Nadija Packauskas expresses appreciation for the special bread with a sunflower decoration baked for the occasion by Dawn Nulf of Chassell, seated in the background. Nadija's Dad, Vytautas, is at right. Miriam Pickens, not pictured, records the event on livestream with her phone. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Nadia has plans for more Ukrainian cultural activities at the Center in Houghton, including a plan to bring a Ukrainian cellist and pianist to play there.

"Our goal is to have weekly movie premieres from Ukraine and art programs there to study Ukrainian culture," she says.

Yoopers for Ukraine recently sponsored a concert of Ukrainian folk music at the Orpheum Theater in Hancock.

This poster announces the April 10, 2025, Ukrainian folk music concert held at the Orpheum Theater. (Poster courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

Yoopers for Ukraine in Washington, DC

But their efforts don’t stop at the borders of Houghton and Hancock. Nadija is team leader for Michigan of the American Coalition for Ukraine, a coalition of American and Ukrainian supporters across the United States. They hold fall and spring summits in Washington, DC, where they speak to their legislators and promote legislation supportive of Ukraine.
Nadija and a team from Michigan has gone to six summits so far.

In February, Nadija, her Dad and her team attended three events the same week in D.C.: Ukraine Week, National Prayer Week and its much-publicized National Prayer Breakfast and the Religious Freedom Forum. They were invited by the European Union because of all the work they’ve done on behalf of peace in Ukraine. They participated in a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

Ukraine Week included a meeting of various church and business leaders concerned about the situation in Ukraine. 

Here Nadija introduces two young Ukrainian girls from Zaporizhzhia, who were exhibiting art at that meeting.

During Ukraine Week in February, 2025, in Washington, DC, Nadija Packauskas introduces two Ukrainian sisters, Karolina and Sabrina, of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, who explain art made from shrapnel by school children on display at the Ukraine Week event. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Besides attending many meetings during Ukraine Week, Nadija met with other members of organizations for Ukraine, including Catherine Peterson, a resident of the Washington, DC, area, who is Outreach and Engagement Co-ordinator of the American Coalition for Ukraine.

During Ukraine Week in Washington, DC, Catherine Peterson of the American Coalition for Ukraine speaks about talking to US legislators about support for Ukraine. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Nadija also spoke with Keweenaw Now about the prayer breakfasts during the event and a protest that occurred after one of them.

During Ukraine Week in February 2025, in Washington, DC, Nadija Packauskas of Yoopers for Ukraine speaks about the opportunities to meet with church and business groups for Ukraine as well as Ukrainians and their European supporters. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Most recently, Nadija and her Dad attended the Spring Summit for Ukraine this past April in DC. As she mentions in the above video, the purpose of the summits is to communicate with legislators on supporting Ukraine.

"We bring every congressman and senator the same message -- the four pillars of peace -- and we're looking for peace with security guarantees," says Nadija. "We're looking for children to be returned to us, the stolen children. The known number is 19,500 but we know there's many, many more that have been stolen from Ukraine and kidnapped into Russia."

They’re seeking co-sponsorship of legislation that supports Ukraine. Two bills have been introduced -- one seeking return of the children and the other asking for stricter sanctions on Russia if they break the ceasefire. Neither has been acted on yet.

During this April 2025 Ukraine Action Summit, organized by the American Coalition for Ukraine, Nadija and Vytautas visited Michigan's First District Congressman Jack Bergman in his office. With them was Pavlo Nazarenko, a wounded Ukrainian soldier who is a member of Revived Soldiers Ukraine, a 501(c)(3) U.S. charity that has been providing medical and humanitarian help to Ukraine for many years. They deliver medical equipment and supplies, arrange humanitarian aid, and provide medical treatment to injured Ukrainians.

Nadija, her Dad and other members of the American Coalition for Ukraine Michigan delegation, along with Ukrainian soldier Pavlo Nazarenko, meet with Michigan First District US Congressman Jack Bergman (center, holding Ukrainian flag signed by Ukrainian children) in his office in Washington, DC, during the April 2025 Ukraine Action Summit. (Photo courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

The Revived Soldiers Ukraine team was part of the delegations from Florida and Pennsylvania at the Ukraine Action Summit 2025.

Nadija said Pavlo Nazarenko shared with Congressman Bergman his journey of recovery after losing a limb and vision. 

Revived Soldiers Ukraine stated the following about their delegation to the Summit:

"The purpose of our meetings was to convey a crucial message to American lawmakers: the war in Ukraine is not just about geopolitics but about the human lives irrevocably changed or lost due to Russian aggression. We shared the stories of our wounded soldiers, who may have lost limbs but have not lost hope for victory. The testimonies of Ukraine’s defenders are not pleas for pity but calls to action! We cannot allow the aggressor to retain its gains, and we will not accept 'peace' without justice."

During the recent Summit, Nadija and Vytautas also met with other legislators.

Nadija and her Dad are pictured here with Congresswoman Rachida Tlaib. Born and raised in Detroit, Rachida represents Michigan’s 12th Congressional District, which includes the cities of Detroit, Dearborn, Southfield and many surrounding communities. In 2008 Rachida became the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan legislature. (Photo courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

Participants in the April 2025 Ukraine Action Summit pause for a photo near the US Capitol building. (Photo courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

The U.S. is already holding Russian assets totaling $5 billion to pay for the damages Russia has caused Ukraine, but they weren’t earmarked properly, so they aren’t being distributed. And until the U.S. distributes the Russian funds it’s holding, Europe won’t release theirs.

"There's no accountability for it," Nadija says. "It's $5 billion, and it took us three years to be able to push this act through, get it approved, and now it's a terrible thing to waste."

According to Nadija, Yoopers for Ukraine tries to keep their work nonpolitical.

"This is a bipartisan issue. It has been from the very beginning. At the very beginning of the invasion, we had bipartisan support. Republicans were right on board and Democrats were right on board, because Ukraine has been our ally for years."

 Weekly actions for Ukraine

Nadija holds a sunrise service for Ukraine early on Sunday mornings, usually on the Centennial Park boat dock in Chassell -- or wherever she happens to be at that time. Supporters are welcome to join her.

Nadija holds her sunrise service for Ukraine in Centennial Park, Chassell, on Sunday, April 27. (Photo courtesy Yoopers for Ukraine)

The weekly marches in Houghton and Hancock have moved to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays for the summer, although they’re also thinking about conducting one a month on Sunday. Nadija invites everyone concerned about peace in Ukraine to attend.

On May 14, 2025, participants in the Wednesday Walk for Ukraine walk across the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton, Michigan. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Nadija's husband, Ted, who often leads the march across the bridge, had this comment on the latest news from Ukraine: "Ukraine and Russia have been using the most modern techniques and weapons in new and innovative ways; and Russia, North Korea, China and Iran have had a front seat and participation while the United States has just been a spectator."

John Loosemore of Hancock, right, a veteran, and his children -- Jethro (with sign), Jacob (with flag) and Kaitlyn -- have participated in the Ukraine walks almost every week since they began. Here they are beginning the Walk for Ukraine on May 14, 2025. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

During the May 14, 2025, Walk for Ukraine in Houghton, Mich., Nadija speaks about the need for a just peace in Ukraine. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Since May 14 was the day before Vyshyvanka Day in Ukraine, Nadija wore an embroidered Vyshyvanka shirt for the occasion, which is a national day of strong resistance to the Russian occupation. It is also a day to promote Ukrainian culture and unity. 

"We as Yoopers for Ukraine, we'll do everything we can to support Ukraine in securing all of its occupied territories," Nadija added, "because occupied territories mean rape, genocide and murder for the Ukrainian people. Every city of Ukraine deserves liberty."

Everything Yoopers for Ukraine has done has come from the Packauskas’ personal savings.

"And every dollar that we get as a donation we send directly to Ukraine," she says. "We have people write checks to the individual organizations there or send the money directly, so that it doesn't even pass through our hands."***

Editor's Notes: 

* Guest author Jennifer Donovan is a freelance writer based in Houghton. She has decades of experience as a journalist, magazine writer and university communications specialist, most recently as director of news and information at Michigan Tech University.

** To learn more about Yoopers for Ukraine, visit their Facebook page.

*** If  you wish to donate to humanitarian aid for Ukraine, see Ukraine Trust Chain or Razom for Ukraine.

UPDATED: Local residents support labor rights with May Day march for International Workers' Day

By Michele Bourdieu

Participants in the May 1, 2025, march for International Workers' Day, sponsored by Keweenaw Socialists, walk from Bridgeview Park to the Portage Lift Bridge (pictured in background), displaying their signs and flags. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

HOUGHTON -- Inspired by May Day speeches on the history and merits of organized labor as well as warnings about the present Administration's autocratic threats to unions and workers, a dedicated group of protesters marched peacefully on the Portage Lift Bridge presenting their signs and flags to oncoming traffic last Thursday evening, May 1.

Keweenaw Socialists sponsored the march, supported by the presence of members of Keweenaw Indivisible and members of other Copper Country groups that defend democracy.

Griffin, of Keweenaw Socialists, welcomed participants in Bridgeview Park with a speech that began with the history of International Workers' Day, May 1, including references to workers' struggles in the Copper Country during the mining days of the early 20th century, when Big Annie Clemenc led marches here.

Griffin, of Keweenaw Socialists -- sponsors of the May 1, 2025, march for International Workers' Day in Houghton --kicks off the event at Bridgeview Park with a speech, beginning with the history of May Day and the labor movement. (Videos by Keweenaw Now)

Griffin continued his speech with comments on the Trump Administration's attitude toward the rest of the world and his tariffs.

Griffin tells participants why Trump's attitude that workers in the rest of the world are our enemies -- to justify his tariffs and anti-immigrant policies -- is wrong.

Finally, Griffin reminds his audience of the Trump Administration's illegal and inhumane abduction and deportation of migrants as well as his revocation of student visas.

Griffin gives examples of Trump's arrests, abductions and deportations that warn of a pattern that could mean danger to American citizens as well.

Next, participants at the May Day march heard from Rich Canevez -- Keweenaw Indivisible organizer, Michigan Tech  assistant professor of Communication, Culture, and Media in the Humanities Department, and son of Filipino immigrants.

Rich Canevez of the Keweenaw Indivisible leadership team, speaks to participants in the May 1, 2025, march for International Workers' Day.

Heather Mroz, also a member of the Keweenaw Indivisible leadership team, said the speech by Rich was one part of Keweenaw Indivisible's support for the event and solidarity with sponsor Keweenaw Socialists.

"While the Keweenaw Socialists hosted the event, Keweenaw Indivisible supported it in solidarity by helping with logistics, sharing resources, and showing up to uplift the message of worker power -- collective action that resists exploitation," Mroz told Keweenaw Now.

Following the speeches, Griffin led participants in singing the union song, "Solidarity Forever.""

Following the speeches in Bridgeview Park, participants sing the chorus to "Solidarity Forever," led by Griffin of the Keweenaw Socialists, sponsors of the march.

Next, the marchers headed up to Shelden Avenue and the Portage Lift Bridge.

Following speeches in Bridgeview Park, participants in the May 1, 2025, march for International Workers' Day display signs and flags as they march to the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton.

Marchers stood on the bridge displaying their signs to oncoming traffic. One of these was Cynthia Drake of Ripley.

Cynthia Drake of Ripley displays a sign she also carried in the 2017 Women's March in Washington, D.C. Her daughters helped her create the sign, which Cynthia said she believes still applies. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

"My feeling is we need to keep coming together and not dividing further," Drake told Keweenaw Now. "I feel the more divided we are we are going to keep falling and we'll never be a country again. The only way is if we come together." 

As her sign says, "Together we rise, divided we fall."

Drake said she is more concerned with looking ahead and visioning what we want rather than protesting. Her vision is one of community or a collective.

"I would like to see us see each other in our full humanity and respect each person in their full humanity and continue to draw on our strength of diversity so that we can create a country where all gifts and all talents can be utilized toward the greater good for all of us," Drake noted. "We're never doing anything alone. We're always doing things on the backs of our ancestors or on the skill sets of those in our neighborhood or the hands that raise the food for us."

Marchers held tightly to their signs and flags in a cold wind on the bridge.

Participants in the May 1, 2025, march for International Workers' Day return to Houghton on the Lift Bridge.

Cathy Campbell Olszewski, a member of Keweenaw Indivisible and AWAVE (Advocates for those Without A Voice Everywhere), proudly displays her sign for rights along with others gathered on the corner of Shelden Avenue following their march across the Portage Lift Bridge. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Local resident Cathy Campbell Olszewski, who is active in several Copper Country groups defending democracy, agreed to speak with Keweenaw Now about her reason for marching.

Following the march across the Portage Lift Bridge, Cathy Campbell Olszewski tells Keweenaw Now why she participated in this march for International Workers' Day.

After crossing the bridge, Barb Turuc, secretary of the Houghton County Democratic Party, displays a sign to oncoming traffic in Houghton. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Barb Turuc, Houghton County Democratic Party secretary, also told Keweenaw Now why she participated in this march for labor.

"It is important to support labor especially when it is under such fierce attack," Turuc said. "We will not quietly watch our rights, fair pay, safe work places, and a living wage taken away." 

Valorie Troesch of Torch Lake Township displays a sign that implies a great deal about the actions of the Trump (and Musk) Administration during the past three months. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

"Labor rights -- unions, anti-discrimination and civil rights -- have been eroding in this country over the past 40 plus years," said Valorie Troesch of Torch Lake Township. "The most destructive attacks have come from Ronald Reagan and now Donald Trump, Project 2025, and DOGE. So it's necessary for people to publicly express support for the working class and labor. That's why I am here today."

Ruth Gill of Hancock did not wish to comment but displayed a sign that supported bringing back legal US resident Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was abducted unjustly and sent to El Salvador.

Ruth Gill conveys a message of support with this sign for freeing Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was illegally deported according to a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. (Photo by Keweenaw Now) 

Another local resident, who participated in the march but wished to remain anonymous, said, "It was an uplifting rally and march, connecting with others and building friendships. When songs of solidarity were sung, I had a difficult time holding back emotion because the songs had powerful messages in the lyrics. I’m glad I attended."

 

UPDATES:

 

Keweenaw Socialists will hold their next general meeting from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Monday, May 12, at Portage Lake District Library, 58 Huron Street, Houghton, MI 49931. For more info visit their Web site. 

Keweenaw Indivisible will hold their next meeting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, May 13, at the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist (KUUF) building, 604 Bridge Street, Houghton, MI 49931. The meeting is for members. If you wish to become a member you can do so at the door. For more info visit Keweenaw Indivisible on Facebook.

Sarah Green to Michigan Tech Board of Trustees: Oppose illegal attacks on universities

[Editor's Note: As part of her efforts to connect at as many local meetings as she can, Sarah Green -- Michigan Technological University professor emerita, former chair of chemistry and founder of CRAG (Citizens Rally for Accountable Government) -- has spoken  twice, in February and in April of this year, during the public comment period at the Board of Trustees meeting for Michigan Technological University. Here is her April 25, 2025, speech to that Board of Trustees.]

By Sarah Green
April 25, 2025, Statement to the Michigan Technological University Board of Trustees
Published here with permission.

I am Sarah Green, professor emerita and former chair of chemistry. Although I am still involved in several research grants here, today I speak as a concerned and outraged citizen.

Graduation is always an exciting time as newly minted alumni are launched into the world. However, this year they are heading into a profoundly uncertain future.

Graduates who aspired to careers of public service have been discarded as expendable, being fired from agencies that protect our health, improve our environment, design our infrastructure, manage our financial system, and conduct fundamental research.

Future graduates are having opportunities yanked from under them as visas are revoked with no explanation or research grants are canceled.

But this threat is far greater than the loss of a few jobs or grants.

Our democratic institutions are under attack. Historians, political scientists, economists, journalists, and leaders from across the political spectrum are raising the alarm that we are seeing a rapid authoritarian take-over of our system of government.

This is an emergency. I feel like I’m watching coyote suspended in the air after running off the cliff.

We are seeing ruthless and unprincipled attacks on research institutions, the press, and universities, in short any place that encourages critical thinking.

The easy response to this chaos for board members like yourselves is to make a few concessions, then a few more. But that’s a dangerous slope; with each capitulation the bullies return to demand more.

The only way to stop bullies and mobsters is to band together and fight back.

As of this morning, 443 university presidents have signed a letter "speak[ing] with one voice against the unprecedented government overreach and political interference now endangering American higher education."*

President Koubek’s name was not on this letter.**

I urge the university to be fully transparent about government pressures, including the number of revoked visas, impacted grants and other impacts. 

I urge you to join and support efforts to oppose the illegal attacks on universities.

I’ll finish with a few words from journalist Adrienne LaFrance who interviewed numerous people who have lived under dictators and autocrats:

"Today, right now -- and I mean right this second -- you have the most power you’ll ever have in the current fight against authoritarianism in America. Authoritarian leaders topple democracy faster than you can imagine. If you wait to speak out against them, you have already lost." (Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic, 2025)

Inset photo: Sarah Green. (Photo courtesy Michigan Tech University and Sarah Green) 

Notes:

* The statement in the letter was developed in collaboration with university and college presidents and other educational leaders across the country, after national meetings convened by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AACU) and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

** For the record, Michigan Technological University President Koubek’s name still does not appear on the AACU letter, which today shows 565 sigatures.

Editor's addendum: If you wish to join Sarah Green's CRAG (Citizens Rally for Accountable Government) email group, go to https://app.keila.io/forms/nfrm_qkVPbe38

NO KINGS march in Houghton: Local citizens defend democratic values on April 19 Day of Action

By Michele Bourdieu

On Shelden Avenue and the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton, Mich., participants in the April 19 NO KINGS march display signs and flags of protest against Trump administration policies and executive orders. (Photo © and courtesy Joanne Thomas)

HOUGHTON -- More than 200 protesters marched up Shelden Avenue and onto the Portage Lift Bridge on Saturday, April 19, 2025, in solidarity with this National Day of Action in hundreds of cities in all 50 states and internationally. The nonviolent protests were initiated by the group 50501 (50 protests, 50 states, one day), opposing the Trump administration's policies and recent executive orders. The Houghton County Democratic Party (HCDP) and the grassroots group AWAVE (Advocates for those Without A Voice Everywhere) co-organized the local protest in Houghton.

On the Houghton side of the bridge, William Keith, HCDP chair, welcomed participants gathered for the march.

William Keith, chair of the Houghton County Democratic Party (HCDP), welcomes participants in what some called the "No Kings" protest march on Saturday, April 19, 2025, in Houghton, Mich., near the Portage Lift Bridge. HCDP was a co-organizer of the march. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

About 200 people then marched up Shelden Avenue to line the bridge with their signs and flags. Some carried historic flags to commemorate April 19 as the 250th anniversary of the battles at Lexington and Concord -- the beginning of the American Revolutionary War.

Participants in the April 19, 2025, No Kings protest in Houghton head up Shelden Avenue to the Portage Lift Bridge and display their signs and flags to oncoming traffic. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

The variety of messages on homemade signs was evidence of a number of issues on the minds of concerned citizens.

Participants in the April 19, 2025, No Kings protest in Houghton display their signs as they walk up to the Portage Lift Bridge. About 200 people lined the bridge in a non-violent protest against the Trump Administration's undemocratic and illegal policies. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

Keweenaw Now interviewed some of the participants about their reasons for joining the protest. Here are the responses of four of them: Miriam Pickens of Hancock, Joan Chadde of Traprock Valley, Brianna Sleeman of Houghton and Dan Mares of L'Anse.

During the April 19, 2025, No Kings protest on the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton, four participants give Keweenaw Now their reasons for joining the march. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

Protesters on the bridge are undaunted by the chilly rain on April 19. (Photo © and courtesy Joanne Thomas)

 

Local performing artist and teacher Donna Armistead braved the damp, cold weather in a historic, 18th-century costume with only a wool shawl for warmth.

 

Donna Armistead, known in the community as a dance teacher and performer, wears an 18th-century costume and carries a Betsy Ross flag from that period of U.S. history. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

 

Armistead spoke with Keweenaw Now about the issues that concern her today.

Local performing artist and teacher Donna Armistead speaks about her "laundry list" of reasons for joining the march -- from the environment to women's rights, voting rights, firing of federal employees and more. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

Heather Mroz of Keweenaw Indivisible, the group that organized the April 5 "Hands Off" march in Houghton, commented on the connection between the April 19 march and the time of the American Revolution.*

 

"I  think folks were driven to march here today by the same sense of injustice that drove the Revolutionary War," Mroz told Keweenaw Now. "Then and now, folks are fighting to defend the idea that power is accountable to the people."

 

Heather Mroz of Keweenaw Indivisible chats with other participants in the April 19 No Kings march near the Lift Bridge. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

 

While some signs seen on the bridge bore a strong message of opposition to the Trump administration and its supporters ...

 

 Another sign might be seen as humorous, but meaningful:

 

This quite original sign attracted attention on the bridge. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Laurium resident Pam told Keweenaw Now how she found the idea for her sign.

 

During the April 19, 2025, No Kings march on the Portage Lift Bridge in Houghton, Pam displays the sign she made and tells why she joined the march. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

 

Pat Bacon of Hancock carried two large signs on the bridge.

 

Hancock resident Pat Bacon displays two large colorful signs on the bridge. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

 

Pat Bacon of Hancock expresses her concern for democracy and the need for Congress to take a stand. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

Elizabeth Flynn of Hancock Township carried a poster donated by a local artist. It is a portrait of a Maryland resident unjustly deported to El Salvador -- Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

Elizabeth Flynn displays a "Free Kilmar" poster during the April 19 protest on the Portage Lift Bridge. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

"Kilmar Abrego Garcia is being held wrongfully in a hellish prison camp in El Salvador despite a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that he must be returned to his American wife and children," Flynn said. "The administration has no right to leave him there, and in doing so, they are creating a Constitutional crisis."

Another sign seen during the march expresses concern for immigrants, who are being treated unjustly and deported illegally by the current administration. (Photo by Keweenaw Now) 

DeeDee Bloom of Trimountain, co-founder of AWAVE (Advocates for those Without A Voice Everywhere), one of the organizers of the April 19 march in Houghton, spoke with Keweenaw Now about the origin of this group.

During the April 19 No Kings protest in Houghton, Dee Dee Bloom explains how the group AWAVE, a co-organizer of the protest, was formed to express the views of people who don't have a voice. (Video by Keweenaw Now)

AWAVE and other groups have recently held meetings at the Fifth and Elm café in Hancock. During the April 19 march, Emily Fiala, co-owner with her husband, Frank Fiala, of Fifth and Elm, told Keweenaw Now her family is glad to open the facility to groups needing a place to meet.

Emily Fiala of Hancock chats with Keweenaw Now on the bridge during the April 19 No Kings march. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)

Sarah Green -- who founded the email group CRAG (Citizens Rally for Accountable Government) to encourage local citizens to speak out at local government meetings (county, city, township, etc.) -- used a bucket of candy to count the number of participants in the April 19 march and came up with 202 people.

"I tried out my new 'take a candy' counting method, starting with 331 pieces, letting everyone take one, and ending with 129 pieces," Green explained. "I measured by weight, which is more accurate than the number of pieces listed on the bag (and easier). This method for crowd estimation could work anywhere that people pass through a squeeze point."

Waving her Blue Marble earth flag, Sarah Green carries a bucket of candy to count participants at the April 19 No Kings march near the Lift Bridge in Houghton. (Photo by Keweenaw Now)**

The No Kings march in Houghton was one of more than 700 protest events in cities and towns across the U.S. on April 19, 2025.

Editor's Notes:

* If you missed our article on the April 5 "Hands Off" march, organized by Keweenaw Indivisible in Houghton, CLICK HERE.

** According to Wikipedia, "During 1969, peace activist John McConnell proposed his design titled the Earth Flag. The current version of the flag consists of The Blue Marble, a photograph of Earth taken on 7 December 1972 by the crew of the Apollo 17 on its way to the Moon."