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Need support for MSU Extension, 4-H

Dickinson County residents had no choice when the Michigan State University Extension and 4-H, both more-than-100-year-old programs, were stripped away by the four new Dickinson County Board members in their very first meeting in January. Since that meeting, county residents have continuously stood up in front of the board and voiced how important both are to our community ... to our lives,our youth, our local economy. The MSU Extension director and the 4-H program director have debunked every piece of incorrect information certain board members used to defend their unfortunate ...

MSU Extension and 4-H worth funding

As the son of a Purdue University County Extension Agent and a former member of 4-H, I have more than a passing interest in the $81,000 defunding of the Michigan State University Extension and the 4-H coordinator after Dickinson County Board Chair Dan Harrington called 4-H "a woke, crazy organization" and the Extension the rich stealing from the poor taxpayer of the county. That is rich, as Pro Publica reports Harrington got more than $340,000 in PPP loans forgiven on Nov. 3, 2020, for his company. The 4-H Pledge — "I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my ...

Millage an investment in students

On Tuesday, Dickinson County voters will have the opportunity to renew the Bay College Iron Mountain Campus millage — a renewal, not a new tax — that has supported local students, families and businesses for nearly 20 years. Bay College is more than a campus; it’s an economic engine and a lifeline for affordable, local education. Since 1977, more than 8,300 students have taken classes at the Iron Mountain campus, with 1,879 graduates earning degrees that have fueled our workforce. More than 81% of students come from right here in Dickinson County. Without Bay College, many of our ...

The ongoing assault on education in US

Why is there this continuous assault on education? It is being applied at all levels, with President Donald Trump attacking Harvard and Columbia universities, Congress clawing back money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and our own Dickinson Country Board defunding the MSU Extension system. And now there is this push to end funding for Bay College Iron Mountain campus. Having an educated population is central to having a well-running economy and for creating wealth in a community. You will find more blight and poverty in communities that are less educated. Those of the past ...

Chamber supports Bay millage renewal

The Dickinson Area Chamber of Commerce proudly supports the renewal of the 0.9987-mill property tax for Bay College’s Iron Mountain Campus, which will appear on Tuesday's ballot. This is not a new tax, but the continuation of vital funding that has sustained our local campus since 2007 and will allow it to remain a cornerstone of education, workforce development, and economic growth in Dickinson County through 2046. Bay College’s Iron Mountain Campus has been a critical driver of opportunity in our community: — More than 8,300 students served, including 1,900 graduates and more ...

Need show of support for 4-H program

Does anyone else feel like our federal and local governments are run by emotional, adolescent, white cis gender boys? If you have raised a boy or spent years in the classroom with that age, you know they exhibit the following traits: a feeling of indestructability, underdeveloped critical thinking skills, no cause or effect reasoning and a sense that they are always right. Each day our news feed is full of the cruelty that our current administration has for: children, the undocumented, women, LGBTQIA, health care, the poor, the disabled, education and freedom of speech. It seems that ...