Events featured in our newsletter can also be found on the Events Calendar on the main page of our website.

FIRST HIGHWAY CLEAN UP OF 2026 WILL BE TOMORROW, WEDNESDAY, MAY 20

COME JOIN US FOR THE FIRST HIGHWAY CLEAN UP OF THE YEAR!

Join us tomorrow evening as the Houghton County Dems go out on the road again for our first highway clean up of this summer. We’ll be cleaning our stretch of highway as part of the Adopt-A-Highway program — M-26 from just past Goat Hill Rd heading out of Ripley, and on through to Dollar Bay.

IT’S STILL EARLY IN THE SEASON BUT ITS ALWAYS ADVISABLE TO BRING YOUR OWN WATER BOTTLES.

UPCOMING EVENTS

With Spring Fling now behind us, many summer events are coming up quickly. Our first event is the first 2026 Highway Clean Up on May 20. See above for more details. For Parades, we will share information about walking in them closer to each date.

We now have enough volunteers for Pridefest, but many volunteers are still needed for Tabling at Bridgefest.  Tabling involves greeting people who stop by, answering questions, and helping to make buttons. Email or text Events Chair Nancy Verive ([email protected] / (812) 573-1403) to sign up for any of the following shifts:

RURAL CAUCUS’S RURAL SUMMIT UPDATE

Joe Gutowski, chair of the Michigan Democratic Party’s Rural Caucus, and the Keynote Speaker at our Spring Fling earlier this month, sent an email last week to county party leaders, offering an update on the Caucus’s Rural Summit. Here is part of what he said:

Joe went on to list some of those already confirmed to be attending the Rural Summit. They include:

KELLI VAN GINHOVEN CAMPAIGN HOLDS FUNDRAISER IN HANCOCK

The Kelli Van Ginhoven campaign will hold a fundraiser at 5th & Elm in Hancock on Saturday, May 30th from 2 to 4 PM.

From the campaign:

FIND PRIMARY CANDIDATE INFO ON OUR WEBSITE

Just a reminder that we have a list of all the Democratic primary candidates for August on our website, along with links to their websites. The list has slimmed down a bit over the last month, with a few candidates dropping out.

You can find our list at https://www.houghtoncountydems.org/2026-primary-candidates.html.

SKIRTING OF RULES LEADS TO ETHICS COMPLAINT

The Detroit News first broke the story about Rep. Bergman’s top aide over two weeks ago. “The chief of staff for a Michigan congressman has a side hustle running a political consulting firm in Michigan, and his taxpayer-funded House pay is structured so that he has avoided having to disclose his business or what he's made from the company since it began nearly five years ago.” So began the News article by reporter Melissa Nann Burke on May 7th.

Last week the Detroit News and the Traverse City Record-Eagle followed up with reporting on an ethics complaint filed against Bergman by two of his constituents. A retired judge and a former Navy chaplain have asked the House Ethics Committee to investigate Rep. Bergman about his chief of staff running a political consulting firm while evading financial disclosures about the business. (You can read that Detroit News article here.)

Bergman’s chief of staff, Tony Lis, runs Right Way to Win LLC. The consulting company “has brought in more than $446,000 in consulting and other fees from various state-level campaigns and committees since 2021, and another $143,000 from federal candidates or committees, according to campaign finance filings.” the Detroit News says.

In 2025 Lis earned over $221,000 in compensation from the US House. Even though that figure exceeds the level at which reporting of outside income is required, Lis’s base pay had been adjusted by Bergman’s office to below the salary cap required for reporting ($150,000).

Commenting on the consulting scheme, Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel released the following statement:

ALL ROADS LEAD TO THE SOUTH

Thousands traveled to Selma and Montgomery Alabama over the weekend to protest the gutting of the Voting Rights Act by the Supreme Court. They were participating in the “All Roads Lead to the South” National Day of Action, organized by Black Voters Matter, the NAACP, the AFL-CIO and more than 90 other civil rights, labor and community organizations. Click on the video below to see Joseph King, Sports & Culture Reporter at Gulf States Newsroom file his report on TikTok from the rally in Montgomery.

COPPERWOOD & THE PORKIES - A FOLLOW UP

Last week’s newsletter included an item on an effort by the group Protect the Porkies. The item encouraged our readers to participate by providing comments on a permit being sought for wastewater discharge for the Copperwood Project. This brought a quick response from a newsletter reader who wondered if such an anti-mining action really belonged in the newsletter of the Houghton County Democratic Party.

It’s a good question.

Protecting our environment is an important principle for us, and for the tourism that our county depends on. It's proper for us to be elevating local actions when they align with our principles.

But protecting the environment is not the only principle the Democratic Party stands for.

Economic opportunity is another of our principles, and that means good jobs that support local people and local families. Mining has a long history in our county, to the benefit of many local families. The people behind the Copperwood effort have estimated that 300 to 700 temporary and permanent jobs would be created by the new mine in the Western U.P. Our own Senator Slotkin was quoted as saying “I’m a firm believer in bringing things home to the United States so that we’re not dependent on other countries, and we know the Western U.P. knows how to mine copper safely and effectively.” (Daily Mining Gazette, Sept. 30, 2025)

The Democratic Party has always prided itself on being a “big tent”. To be a big tent party means standing up for shared principles. But when principles seem to be at cross purposes, listening to our community is the first step in determining action.

So, we want to hear your voice. Where do you stand? Is this an issue the HCDP should speak out on, and if so, what should we say? You can reply directly to the emailed newsletter, or if you’re reading online, send us your thoughts at [email protected]. If enough of you share your thoughts, we’ll summarize what we’ve heard in a future newsletter.

MEMORIAL DAY

Next Monday is Memorial Day.

Originally called Decoration Day, Memorial Day began after the Civil War to honor fallen Union soldiers, and has evolved into a national day of remembrance for all U.S. military personnel who died in service.

Memorial Day is a time for visiting cemeteries and memorials to mourn military personnel who died in the line of duty. It can also be a quiet thank you to those who never came home. Their duty was to serve. Ours is to remember.

Whatever your plans this Memorial Day weekend, take a moment to reflect on those who never came home. And pledge to fight for the freedom that they gave their lives for.

TUE MAY 19

The Laurium Village Council meets tonight at 6 PM in the Council Chambers of the Town Hall. More info (including the GoTo Meeting link to attend virtually) can be found on the Village's web page. 

The Calumet Village Council meets tonight at 6:00 PM in the Village Council Chambers. More information (including the Zoom link to attend virtually) can be found on the Village’s News & Events web page.

WED MAY 20

The Hancock City Council meets at 6 PM in the Hancock City Hall Council Chambers.

A FULL LISTING OF ALL LOCAL CITY, VILLAGE AND TOWNSHIP GOVERNMENTS, WITH CONTACT INFORMATION, AND (WHERE AVAILABLE) TIMING OF LOCAL COUNCIL MEETINGS CAN BE FOUND ON OUR WEBSITE.