Local News

The McMorran Place Plaza is set to open to the public this June, and one of the features of the renovation is a beir garden on the south side of the venue. The city just announced that Casey Harris, owner of Casey’s Pizza, will be operating Casey’s on the Plaza as the beverage service provider at McMorran Plaza.

The beir garden will include indoor and outdoor seating and a firepit area for lounging. Concerts are planned throughout the summer on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights with Branden Pavlov kicking off the season on Thursday, June 2, 2022 from 6:30 – 8:30. The inaugural weekend of concerts continues with Big Pappa & the Machine on Friday, June 3rd, and Larry B & the Boomers on Saturday, June 4th. The music series concludes on Saturday, August 27th.

Nancy Winzer, Port Huron Parks & Recreation Director, said, This partnership is an exciting way to kick off our inaugural year with the new McMorran Plaza. Not only are we able to offer live music every weekend, this partnership will ensure that McMorran Place is the place to be this summer.”

To keep up to date with developments at McMorran and who is playing on the McMorran Plaza stage, follow McMorran Place on Facebook here:

https://www.facebook.com/McMorranPlace

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Young people in Michigan between the age of 16-18 years old who are interested in the Michigan Youth Challenge Academy can begin the admission process today.

The Michigan Youth Challenge Academy is a free alternative high school run by the Michigan National Guard that educates, trains and mentors youth in a quasi-military environment. It’s designed to help at-risk youth gain the discipline and leadership skills necessary to finish high school and realize their full potential.

The next cycle starts mid-July, and the first step in the application process is a virtual orientation for the youth and one of their parents or guardians. The program includes a 5 1/2 month residential experience where youth are trained and educated at the facility in Battle Creek, Michigan followed by a 12 month post-residential program.

The Eastern Region recruiter for the Michigan Youth Challenge Academy is Frank Vasquez, and her can be reached at 517-256-6682 or vasquezf@michigan.gov.

More information about the program is available at:

https://www.michigan.gov/myca

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

St. Clair County has contracted with Friends of the St. Clair River (Friends) to administer the Spongy Moth Suppression Program for the 2021/22 season.  St. Clair County is holding three (3) workshops about the sudden and severe spongy moth (formerly gypsy moth) outbreak and management options.

April 5 – Spongy Moth Aerial Spray Program, 6:30pm, St. Clair Township Hall 

April 6 – Spongy Moth Aerial Spray Program, 6pm, Clyde Township Hall 

April 14 – Spongy Moth Aerial Spray Program, 6:30pm, Columbus Township Hall 

The aerial suppression program’s goal is to provide relief to residents to reduce intolerably high populations of spongy moth caterpillars. St. Clair County is paying for 100% of the costs in 2022 associated with this aerial spray treatment. This will not eliminate the pest but will reduce the number of caterpillars, tree defoliation, and improve outdoor recreational activities.  At these workshops Friends of the St. Clair River staff will discuss the process for monitoring and reporting caterpillars, provide an overview of the 2022 aerial spray blocks, as well as provide a questions and answer session for citizens.

Friends Environmental Field Technician, Lydia Nicholas, said, “The aerial suppression program uses a biological insecticide called Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT). BT is a naturally occurring bacterium found in the soil and is not harmful to pets, birds, beneficial insects, or humans.”

For more information contact St. Clair County’s Spongy Moth Program at gypsymoth@stclaircounty.org or 810-294-4965 or visit www.stclaircounty.org/caterpillars.

Submitted by Friends of the St. Clair River

Construction will begin on a 1.5 mile stretch of M-25 from Hancock Street in Port Huron to M-136 in Fort Gratiot Township on April 4, 2022. The project is part of Governor Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan Plan.

Whitmer said, “We are continuing to fix the damn roads across Michigan to keep drivers safe and save them time and money. Since I took office, Michigan has repaired, rebuilt, or replaced over 13,000 lane miles of road and over 900 bridges, supporting nearly 82,000 jobs. I am proud of our record progress to fix our roads and bridges with the right mix and materials, so they stay fixed. The projects we’re kicking off next week will add to that total and support even more good-paying jobs in these communities.”

The improvements coming to M-25 will include repairs to the bridge that goes over the Black River canal along with paving, guardrail replacements, and drainage improvements. Cost of the project is $5.8 million and the work is expected to be complete in August 2022.

While work is in progress, traffic should be able to pass through the area as normal expect for a detour for southbound M-25 left turns onto Holland Avenue during bridge work. A detour will be posted at that time.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand

Organizers are preparing for this year’s Sturgeon Festival, and a limited amount of tickets are now available for the live sturgeon encounter aboard the Huron Lady II on June 4th.

Friends of the St. Clair River (Friends) will be celebrating their 15th anniversary at this year’s Blue Water Sturgeon Festival, the organization’s largest annual fundraiser to support its local conservation and education programs.

Tickets are available for the Huron Lady Sturgeon Cruise, an event designed to connect the community with the scientists who study Lake Sturgeon under the Blue Water Bridges. Tickets for the cruise are available for $30 <HERE>.

Along with the cruise, there will will also be sturgeon Festival events at Lighthouse park on June 4th from 10 AM until 3 PM. Admission is free, and there will be many activities available for visitors to learn about Lake Sturgeon.

Sheri Faust, Friends President, said “Sturgeon have been around for 136 million years, but in the last century they’ve nearly been wiped out. Numerous federal and state partners invested $4.3 million to construct three fish spawning reefs in the St. Clair River to study environmental cues to spawning and mortality.”

For more information visit http://www.sturgeonfestival.com/.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has identified cases of avian flu in the state’s wild bird population.

Cases of avian flu have been confirmed n free-ranging Canada geese and tundra swans in St. Clair County, snowy owls from Macomb County, and in a mute swan from Monroe County.

The birds identified with the flu in St. Clair County were collected at St. Clair Flats State Wildlife Area and sent to labs at Michigan State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s lab in Ames, Iowa.

Avian influenza is low risk to humans, so the danger lies in transmission to other bird species, including domestic poultry.

Multiple agencies will work together to monitor the spread of avian influenza and monitor the health of poultry, livestock, wildlife, and residents in Michigan.

If you notice the death of three or more free-ranging bird in your yard, report it to the DNR through the Eyes in the Field website <HERE> or by calling 517-336-5030.

If you notice illness or multiple deaths in your domestic poultry, contact MDARD at 800-292-3939.