May 3rd - Save the Date for Our Spring Fling

SAVE THE DATE!

THE 63RD ANNUAL SPRING FLING BANQUET AND FUNDRAISER IS SATURDAY, MAY 3

• Artists, crafters, and small business owners are invited to contribute items for the Silent Auction. 

• Advertising space is available in the Spring Fling program. Program ads are a great way to promote your talents or small business, or to honor/memorialize a loved one. 

• To arrange for donation pick up or to purchase an ad, contact Nancy Verive. [email protected] / 812-573-1403.

Watch future newsletters for more details and ticket information! 

HCDP February Meeting Next Wednesday

Our monthly meeting next Wednesday is an opportunity for all of us to get together to use our power — our voices — and work together on actions we can take to address our concerns.

EVEN IF YOU’RE NOT A MEMBER, YOU ARE WELCOME TO JOIN US.

Your voice and your power, together with those of your neighbors and friends. Collectively, we can be a more potent force for good.

With an assist from the statewide party we are now using a tool called ClickShift that can help us to spread the word about our events. Click on the graphic that’s a couple paragraphs below and you’ll be taken to the ClickShift announcement for our February meeting. There you can get all the information on time and location. You can let us know you plan to attend too.

BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY —

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD TO YOUR LIKE-MINDED FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS ABOUT OUR MEETING USING THE EMAIL OR SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CLICKSHIFT PAGE.

THANK YOU!

At 7 PM next Wednesday, click the button below to attend our February monthly meeting.

Open Council Seat in Village of Calumet

The Calumet Village Council has a vacancy for a Council seat that will be appointed to serve through November 2026.

If you are a resident of Calumet interested in serving on the Village Council you can complete the Council and Commission application found at this address: https://www.villageofcalumet.com/uploads/1/1/8/5/118509013/2023_commission_application.pdf

Once you’ve completed the application submit it for consideration as indicated on the form.

Michigan Democratic Party Spring Convention February 22

The Michigan Democratic Party’s Spring 2025 Convention will take place Saturday, February 22 at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center.

At the 2025 Spring State Convention, Michigan Democrats will gather by congressional district to elect district officers and members to the State Central Committee. On the Convention floor, Democrats will vote by congressional district to elect a Chair and two (2) Vice-Chairs of the State Central Committee.

All members of the Michigan Democratic Party are encouraged to attend the 2025 Spring State Convention.

The 3rd annual MDP Rural Caucus Summit will be held next April 10th through the 12th. The Kewadin Casino and Resort in Sault Ste Marie will once again be the venue. Top keynote speakers are expected again next year, along with training sessions on running for rural office, rural party building, messaging, and much more.

News from the Capitols

NEWS ITEMS OF INTEREST TO HOUGHTON COUNTY DEMOCRATS

In Washington

• The Opportunity for Untraceable Bribery: The first week of Donald Trump’s second administration produced a gusher of Project 2025-related Executive Orders, controversial actions on immigration and the border, and the confirmation of one of his most objectionable nominees, Pete Hegseth, as Secretary of Defense. One thing that didn’t get as much attention in the press is the extraordinary move Trump made to issue crypto “meme” coins on the Friday before his inauguration. Democratic lawmakers believe the move raises serious legal and ethical questions, and a clear challenge to the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. Long-time Democratic political strategist Joe Trippi characterizes the meme coins as a vehicle for Trump to accept “untraceable bribes”. MORE: Democratic Lawmaker’s Concerns: ABC News, Joe Trippi’s comments on his podcast: That Trippi Show

• Trump Overturns LBJ Anti-Discrimination Rules: Among the most serious of the Executive Orders Trump issued was his revocation of Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 landmark anti-discrimination measure, implemented at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Johnson’s Executive Order forbade federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity. Trump attacked it as “radical DEI preferencing,” while Democratic lawmakers fear his action will gut civil rights protections: MORE: HuffPost

• Foreign Aid Halted: Following a Trump Executive Order (and some say going further than required) newly minted Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered a halt to most US foreign aid, including to Ukraine. House Democrats have urged Rubio to lift the freeze on aid. MORE: The Hill

• Trump Takes Anti-LGBTQ Actions: Donald Trump issued two executive orders taking aim specifically at LGBTQ people while rescinding seven actions by the Biden-Harris administration that expanded rights and protections for the community. His administration also again told US Embassies that they cannot fly the rainbow Pride or BLM flags. Meanwhile GLAAD issued a statement on Tuesday saying that “the Trump administration has eliminated nearly all LGBTQ and HIV focused content and resources from the White House website, as well as eliminated LGBTQ and HIV content from key federal agency webpages.”

• Clearly Unconstitutional: Trump’s Executive Order denying US citizenship to children born on US soil to non-US citizen parents was immediately challenged in court by a group of 22 state Attorneys General, including Michigan’s Dana Nessel. By week’s end a federal judge had blocked the order, calling it “clearly unconstitutional”. MORE: Associated Press

• Government of the Billionaires, by the Billionaires, for the Billionaires: The “Tech Oligarchy” on display at (and having “donated” to) the Inauguration was unprecedented for a Presidential swearing in, and brought comments both domestically and internationally. MORE: ABC (Australian Broadcasting)

• ICE Raids: The Trump Department of Homeland Security revoked existing rules placing limits on immigration enforcement, thus allowing ICE agents in or near ‘sensitive’ areas in an action reminiscent of the first Trump administration. That action was followed by reports of ICE raids across the country. On Sunday the administration announced 956 arrests in 1 day following raids in Chicago. That number is three times the average daily arrests by ICE in the fiscal year ending last September. MORE: Axios 

In Lansing

• Whitmer Signs Nineteen Bills from Last Congress: This past Wednesday Governor Whitmer signed nineteen bills into law. The bills were passed in the last Democratically controlled state Congressional session that ended in December. The bills, among other things, update Michigan’s hate crime law, criminalize sextortion, and promote school safety. MORE: Michigan Advance

• Nine Bills in Limbo: Michigan Senate Democrats authorized their leadership to take the state House to court after nine bills, approved by both houses of the state Congress in the last session, were not advanced to the Governor for signature as constitutionally required. The bills were referred for legal review rather than advanced to the Governor by the new Republican House Speaker Matt Hall. It’s not clear why former Democratic House Speaker Joe Tate did not send Whitmer the bills at the end of the last session. MORE: Bridge Michigan

• Benson Officially in the Race: Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced her run for Governor Wednesday. Benson joins Detroit Mayor Mike Dugan, a longtime Democrat running for Governor as an Independent, and Republican state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt as announced candidates for the 2026 election. MORE: Detroit Free Press

Governmental & Community Meetings

TODAY, TUES JAN 28

The Calumet Village Council meets tonight at 6:00 PM in the Village Council Chambers. More information on the Council, it's committees, and minutes of past meetings can be found on the Council's webpage.

This newsletter is paid for with regulated funds by the Houghton County Democratic Party, and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

Contact us by email at [email protected] or by text or voicemail at 906-523-1233