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Marquette board takes correct path on ‘people’s resolution’

A handful of sparks flew at the usually laid back, relatively speaking, Marquette County Board of Commissioners meeting earlier this month when the panel voted 3-2 in favor of a resolution titled, “Resolution in Support of the People.” This innocuous label obscured what the document was really about: keeping the federal government — specifically Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents — out of Marquette County or, as an alternative, somehow compelling them to behave decently if ever they do show up here. Commissioners Karl Numinen, Dana LaLonde and Karen Alholm voted yes on ...

DNR notes crucial role of dispatchers

Bouquet From the Michigan Department of Natural Resources: Ever wonder who officers are talking to on those radios clipped to their chests? Or what happens when they go back to their vehicles, with your license and registration in hand, while you ponder whether you’re going to get a ticket? Conservation officers are communicating with emergency dispatchers or, more specifically, the dispatchers behind the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Report All Poaching line. These valued team members are the eyes and ears of conservation officers, constantly monitoring where each ...

Court rules federal government can’t ban at-home distilleries

Judges occasionally declare federal laws unconstitutional. But usually when a law passed by Congress has been on the books for more than 150 years, it’s in the clear. Not so for the federal ban on homemade whiskey, vodka and gin. Last week, an appeals court invalidated a federal law dating to 1868 that criminalizes at-home distilleries. The spirited ruling is a boon to small-time liquor hobbyists and entrepreneurs — but also an important statement on the limits of the federal government’s taxing power. Congress imposed the ban as a companion to legislation taxing alcohol and ...