Stronger than steel, fire-resistant and sustainable, mass timber is an emerging building material catching the interest of architects and tradespeople throughout the U.S. and Europe. Closer to home, building industry leaders, tradespeople, lumber manufacturers and forest managers will meet April 20-21 at the Michigan Mass Timber Summit in East Lansing to explore new, innovative possibilities for wood-based construction.

Mass timber framing uses large solid or engineered wood columns. These techniques allow for tall buildings to be created out of renewable timber instead of concrete or steel, meaning that future skylines could include wooden skyscrapers. Read more

Eight people are confirmed dead after an overnight fire Sunday destroyed dozens of boats docked at Jackson County Park in Scottsboro, the authorities said. Read more

Portions of Mackinac and Chippewa counties continue to feel the effects of recent snow and ice storms that hit the area, including portions of snowmobile trails administered by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

On Jan. 6, there were an estimated 120 miles of storm-damaged snowmobile trails in the eastern part of the region. As of today, about 30 miles remain impassable. Read more

SWANSBORO, N.C. –– High Speed Gear® kicked off the new year with two new products, the ReFlex™ IFAK System medical kit and Duty Mini Multi-Access Comm TACO®.

These products were designed to meet popular demand and will be on display at SHOT Show 2020 in Booth 11162. While the Mini MAC is currently available for retail, HSGI® will fully launch the ReFlex™ immediately following SHOT Show.

The ReFlex™ is a two-piece system that was developed with direct input from active-duty medical personnel. This system is designed to organize and hold the contents of the U.S. Army-issued IFAK ambidextrous accessibility. The system comprises the ReFlex™ Carrier and Med Roll. The carrier can mount horizontally and vertically on belts, as well as on MOLLE platforms as small as our Operator Belt, while the roll can hang from a car head rest or IV rack without spilling its contents. These can be purchased together or separately. Read more

Applications are being accepted for the Porcupine Mountains Artist-in-Residence Program for the 2020 spring, summer and fall and 2021 winter residencies.

The Artist-in-Residence Program is open to artists and artisans whose work can be influenced by the unique northern wilderness setting of Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park.

Located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Michigan’s largest state park encompasses 25 miles of wave-washed shores, four inland lakes, entire river systems, countless waterfalls, enchanting wooded peaks, and an escarpment, which rises slowly from the edge of Lake Superior until it plummets abruptly into the Carp River valley. Read more

OVER $70,000 WILL BENEFIT FAMILIES OF 4-YEAR-OLD BOY FROM TEXAS AND 3-YEAR-OLD GIRL FROM OHIO

BAYONNE, NJ –– Henry Repeating Arms President and Owner, Anthony Imperato, first learned of 3-year-old Sadie Kreinbrink a few months after she was diagnosed with Embryonal Rhabdomyosarcoma, a malignant childhood tumor requiring 66 weeks of chemotherapy treatment. When Sadie’s mother reached out to Henry Repeating Arms, Imperato immediately offered assistance through Henry’s Guns For Great Causes program, a charitable arm of the American firearms manufacturer focused on raising money for families of sick children and other worthy causes through the sale of customized limited edition rifles.

A few months later, a heart-wrenching photo of 4-year-old Beckett Burge of Princeton, TX went viral. The photo, taken by Beckett’s mother, shows Beckett hunched over a toilet sick from his chemotherapy and being comforted by his sister. As it pulled at heartstrings across the country it also caught the attention of Imperato. Henry Repeating Arms reached out to the mother, Kaitlin Burge, and offered to create and donate a series of rifles that would be sold to raise money for Beckett’s treatment. Read more

Plenty of good snow, plenty of trail hazards

The effects from a pair of severe late-November snowstorms are still being felt across much of northern Michigan as work crews continue efforts to clear and groom snowmobile and ski trails. “The number of downed trees and limbs is astonishing,” said Rob Katona, central Upper Peninsula trails specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Parks and Recreation Division. “We haven’t seen conditions like this in recent history.” Many trails remain open, but riders are urged to use extra caution, watching out for hazards obscured by snow, like logs, rocks or stumps, or trails left impassable. The storms brought more than 2 feet of snow to some areas, blocking trails and weighing down tree limbs. In many places, young birches, oaks and other small-diameter trees have been bent over, arched across trails to the ground, where treetops are held in place, buried with snow. Read more