Relying on One Another
People needing support, either in their struggle with mental illness or with helping a loved one, turn to the Mental Health Support Group of the Keweenaw Area.
If you’re struggling with your own mental health or a family member’s illness, you have to deal with extra appointments and supervision, finances and expenses, maybe even jail visits and court appearances, and more.
Most people have a personal support network, but for the unique problems a mental illness can present, a more educated, experienced, and patient ear is helpful but can be hard to find. Ones that understand the sensitivity and stigma associated with the illness and experiences can be even rarer.
One place those are freely available is at the Mental Health Support Group - Keweenaw Area, or “not-NAMI”, as the members sometimes call it. The group used to be a part of NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and many of its members still are individual members under the Alger/Marquette NAMI group, but heightened requirements and lowered membership caused the Houghton group to give up its national affiliation in 2018. Determined to continue supporting each other, they reorganized as an independent support group.
Several regular group attendees agreed to interview with me, and I was able to attend part of one of their confidential meetings.
“NAMI is a wonderful organization,” Catherine Paavola said.
Paavola is a regular attendee at the MHSG-KA meetings, has a degree in school psychology, and is also a board member with Copper Country Community Mental Health. Her adult son was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder with bipolar disorder in his mid-twenties and has struggled with the illness for more than a decade.
She said she prefers the term “brain illness” to mental illness.
“Nobody can tell me where their mental organ is,” Paavola said.
She said what the MHSG-KA offers is a place you can “actually pour your heart out…” without judgment, and without people tiring of hearing about the same recurring problem. Paavola said other maladies people usually either recover from or die from.
“Brain illnesses aren’t like that, they’re forever,” she said.
She said the support group can’t always offer help, but they can offer suggestions and encouragement.
“We pray for one another, you know,” she said. “But the most important thing is, we listen.”
One group participant agreed to speak with me but wished to remain anonymous to protect future employment opportunities in the face of stigma against their schizophrenia and obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnoses.
“I’m very fortunate, actually, to be fairly high-functional,” they said. “I hold down jobs, I manage my finances and other responsibilities, I engage in social situations.”
Other than the MHSG-KA, they also maintain a good support system of friends and, using coping techniques and medications, have learned to mostly manage as an individual.
Nonetheless, they see the value of support groups like MHSG-KA and even host other small, virtual groups in conjunction with the Schizophrenia Alliance.
One shortcoming of support groups in the pandemic was their reliance on streaming technology to overcome physical distancing requirements. Rural participants on unstable connections didn’t feel fully included.
“The video is in and out and the words are garbled…” Matt Olson said. “It’s better than nothing, but it’s not much better than nothing.”
Matt and Nola Olson have guardianship of their 20-year-old daughter, who’s been diagnosed with schizophrenia, anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder as well as some other general health issues. She sat nearby listening as I spoke with her parents.
“I’m not going to say our daughter has the worst case, but it’s pretty severe,” Matt said.
They’re happy to have her at home and that she’s being cared for by people who love her, but they don’t feel they get the support they need to make it truly work well. One thing they find is particularly lacking is the availability of respite care for Nola, who cares for their daughter almost all day, every day while Matt works as a well digger to support the family.
“She’s still our daughter, we love her very much, but there’s a point where most people, their children are having lives of their own,” Matt said. “And we’re not there yet, and it creates a lot of stress.”
To care for someone with their daughter’s needs requires someone with considerable knowledge and training, and while members of MHSG-KA are supportive, most of them don’t have that experience, and not all of the Olsons’ extended family is understanding or supportive.
“My mom came around, and she does help us,” Matt said.
However, his mother is getting elderly and can’t help out for very long, or for overnight periods. Nola has recently been diagnosed with fibromyalgia, which her doctor believes is stress-induced.
The Olsons do like attending in-person MHSG-KA meetings when they’re available, saying it’s an “awesome time for sharing, for support.”
Another problem with the groups is trying to get the word out. Paavola said they’ve received little response, let alone support, from local healthcare offices, and the Olsons, who are interested in a schizophrenia-focused respite care group, don’t have a way of contacting other families who might want to join them.
CCCMH and other health organizations and state agencies might have that information but HIPAA law prevents them from being able to share it with group organizers without gathering permissions from each individual.
The “not-NAMI” group has recently resumed meeting monthly, in person, where they share round table discussions about themselves and their loved ones. You can contact the Mental Health Support Group - Keweenaw Area by emailing MHSGKA@aol.com.
Is television production 'Northbound'?
For those tired of the Hollywood scene, one web series has been filmed in the Upper Peninsula for years and has pushed through the pandemic to continue production
Hannah, played by Alisha Mondloch, in a Northbound scene that was shot outside to MTU’s Great Lakes Research Center. All photos provided by Lullskull, Ltd. and used with permission.
With two short seasons already freely available on Seeka TV, the creators of The Northstar Saga weren’t about to let their season three production fall flat, but the COVID-19 pandemic did force a few changes.
Brothers Seth and Nathan Anderson, who grew up in the Iron Mountain area, launched the post-apocalyptic survival series with Jason Hagen, who grew up in Minnesota. The three first started working together in Los Angeles.
“My first thought was I’d like to show off the area and work with the talent that’s here,” Seth Anderson said.
The series includes many shots of the Upper Peninsula landscape in Houghton and Dickinson Counties, from all seasons, as the characters struggle to survive against the elements and each other after a mysterious cataclysm causes modern civilization to collapse. Northbound is a prelude, both in production and story, to their feature film named Northstar, which will include many of the same characters and build on the same narrative. The series is supported through a combination of sponsorships, crowdfunding, and volunteerism.
At the beginning of 2020, they were ramping up to begin shooting season three of their series. But the COVID-19 pandemic confused everything, arresting their production schedule while monthly costs drained their funds. They were able to shoot about half of the footage they needed for the four-episode season before 2020, but much of what they had to finish wouldn’t be possible under pandemic restrictions.
“We are a crowd-based show a lot of the time,” Anderson said.
Anderson said their set usually has at least 20 people on it, including cast, extras, and crew. Fortunately, the shots remaining for the first episode of the season, entitled ‘Hannah’s Way’, required minimal cast and crew, so the team devoted what they could to completing that episode.
Now they’re going to unveil that episode to the public in an advance screening at Braumart Theatre in Iron Mountain on Aug. 20.
“The big thing with the ‘Hannah’s Way’ screening is just to make sure people know what we’re doing,” Anderson said. “We’ve made some progress and … we’re almost there.”
Seth Anderson (left) and Jason Hagen, two of the creators of Northbound, joined me via telephone to talk about the series and how the pandemic impacted production.
Fortunately, many of the remaining scenes for ‘Hannah’s Way’ were in a medical atmosphere, so everyone wearing masks fit the situation.
“We really tailored that to work,” Anderson said.
“And we were able to put the resources we had into some really good sets,” Hagen added.
Hagen said that a lot of the things in The Northstar Saga, which was written about ten years ago, suddenly became very relevant. He and Anderson found a refreshed passion for their story because of its renewed relation to people’s day-to-day experiences.
“It was very eerie, but it was very motivating at the same time,” Hagen said.
Some scenes in Northbound, including the soon-to-be-released ‘Hannah’s Way’, were shot in Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center. The production team said MTU administration was helpful, with the former director of the GLRC, Mike Abbott, even appearing in the series and delivering a line in season one. A lot of other actors were connected through the school’s Visual and Performing Arts department, too.
The GLRC facility worked well for one of the key locations in the series.
“We needed a more high-tech facility for Allied Command, which is the focus of ‘Hannah’s Way’,” Anderson said.
Allied Command is the remnant government body in the Northbound fictional world.
The lakeside location also figures into the story. Anderson said he always wanted to include Lake Superior, too.
“We even got on the water,” Anderson said.
Hagen said there are several advantages to working in the rural Upper Peninsula, not the least of which is the Upper Peninsula itself. Between doing the work they enjoy and the environment they’re doing it, they said it doesn’t really feel like work.
“You have like this unlimited access to just a beautiful landscape,” he said. “It can not only be a character in your productions and everything… it’s a much better environment to shoot in.”
There are also some drawbacks. If they need to rent equipment, it’s difficult to get and oftentimes needs to be shipped into the area. However, they said they’ve developed some reliable relationships over the last seasons for acquiring that equipment when necessary.
Anderson said that the film industry is hard to break into in the 21st century, with streaming and other market forces creating a constantly shifting distribution landscape, paths to success re-arranging themselves to suit, and doors closing as fast as they open. He said the key is just starting to create something.
“And I was drawn to where I grew up,” Anderson said.
He said he’s also driven by the opportunity to create access to filmmaking work for other people in a rural area, and show that the industry is accessible to people outside of Hollywood and New York. Anderson’s hoping that the advent of remote work and streaming video will mean a local filmmaking talent pool can have access to a worldwide market.
“The connectivity is definitely happening,” Hagen said.
Ideally, Anderson said, filmmaking could become a new economic driver for the area.
Alisha Mondloch as Hannah
You can support Northbound’s production by attending their screening on Aug. 20, keep up with their latest updates by following their newsletter, or watch the first two seasons on Seeka TV.
Sharon Avenue reopens, PLLB work continues to snarl traffic, councilor comments on social media posts
Houghton City Council, Aug. 11, 2021
Meeting Highlights
During public comment, the organizer of the Verna Mize Triathlon gave a wrap-up report and said that support was still growing for next year’s event.
During City Manager Eric Waara’s report, he updated the board on a variety of happenings in the city. Repaving activity is ramping up, and Sharon Avenue should be reopened as of today. The bridge in NARA park is all but open. However, the lift bridge maintenance work is dragging on and traffic continues to lag and snarl. Waara and Police Chief John Donnelly have been trying different things to keep traffic flowing through the city.
A Community Night Out event is now officially happening on Sept. 4 between Hancock and Houghton, which will include live music, fireworks, and more. Public works employees and some other residents have donated shrubs that are being placed around the city, too.
Chief Donnelly reported that they’re still fielding a lot of calls from people about traffic resulting from the bridge work. They’ve had some limited success limiting leisure vessel crossings under the lift bridge, but not enough to prevent long rush-hour backups.
After the payment of bills—including some change orders for ongoing and completed projects—and the approval of a bid for environmental engineering of an infrastructure grant paid for by the MEDC, Waara shared some thoughts on the parking deck redevelopment and public engagement. He recapped the situation before saying he would be happy to talk to individuals about realities, numbers, and possibilities, particularly for funding other than city tax dollars. He said despite all the commentary online he’s been shown, nobody has called him or visited his office to ask questions or offer ideas.
Following Waara’s comments, the council approved up to $10,000 toward hiring a consultant to begin the public engagement process. Waara said he hopes to start that process as soon as reasonably possible.
During closing comments, Councilor Mike Needham addressed some comments he’d seen on social media. He said he was particularly concerned because the people commenting were downtown business owners, and it didn’t seem like they were very well informed on the situation, and that their negativity was unreasonable. Commissioner Dan Salo added that they’re doing the best they can for the city.
Annexation initialized, permit application expense increased, and election audit effort introduced
Houghton County Board, Aug. 10, 2021
Meeting Highlights
During the committee reports, Commissioner Gretchen Janssen highlighted WUPHD’s naming as a Community Health Champion by the Gogebic Range Health Foundation for their work during the pandemic.
Commissioner Glenn Anderson expressed his shared frustration with MDOT’s management of the bridge construction and the traffic disruptions it has caused. He also attended a conference for the Michigan Association of Counties where he learned more about the possibilities of the American Rescue Plan and also discussed with County Administrator Ben Larson the settlements coming out of the Purdue/Sackler opioid class action suit. The county is part of the suit but doesn’t know how much or when the money will be coming, Larson said.
Commissioner Tom Tikkanen reported nearly 8 tons of recyclables shipped through the Houghton County Transfer Station and other details, including the potential need for a compactor down the road. He also updated the board on the cleanup work ongoing in Calumet, after the major fire there earlier this year. A change in leadership in the village briefly hung up the procedure, but Tikkanen says all levels of government are working together toward the hazard cleanup and hopes to see it done this year yet. What happens after the cleanup is still undetermined, but Tikkanen says they’re pushing for redevelopment.
The board approved the purchase of a formerly leased excavator used at the transfer station.
The board also approved the resolution to annex a piece of property into the City of Houghton.
The map Administrator Larson refers to. The small triangle is within the City of Houghton, but the blue rectangle is not. Houghton County is requesting that the City of Houghton annex it so it will be part of the county seat and can then house county facilities (like a jail) under state law.
The board also voted 4-1 to increase fees at the building department to match the state rate charged in surrounding counties. Chairman Al Koskela was the dissenting vote and said he felt the building department was getting by fine on the previous rates, and that the taxpayers shouldn’t have to shoulder more fees. Administrator Larson said the increased fees would be useful for the cost of moving the building department into a digital system instead of paperwork, and Commissioner Anderson pointed out the fees can only be used to support the building department, and could be lowered again in the future.
The board also approved the documents for the Enduring Gift Fund that the county is instituting for fundraising.
During public comment, one Adams Township resident stood to give an update on behalf of the Guardians of the Keweenaw Ridge, which opposes wind turbine development in Houghton County. Commissioner Tikkanen also encouraged residents to continue pursuing zoning ordinances at the township level.
Another citizen informed the board of her efforts to perform a privately-funded election audit. She’s FOIA’ing for ballot access township by township (which is legal, with some restrictions) and crowdfunding for the costs (which are significant). Her page is on GiveSendGo and has currently raised $110 of her $7,000 goal, from anonymous donors. Her stated goal is to check the count of the software, but she also said she wants to check for other problems.
New boat tours coming soon to Portage Lake
Dragonfly is a distinctive electric boat that you may have noticed at the dock in Houghton, I got curious and found out what's going on
Dog park developments, Houghton County Arena consideration, and caring for MDOT overlooks
Hancock City Council, Aug. 4, 2021
Councilor Ron Blau was absent.
Meeting Highlights
Siri interrupted the meeting early on, but was quickly silenced. It’s worth a chuckle.
The council accepted this correspondence from the Keweenaw Co-op regarding their reason land purchase agreement.
The Gitzen Company Wholesalers also moved to Hancock from beneath Houghton’s parking deck.
During the administrator’s report, City Manager Mary Babcock thanked voters for approving the recreation millage renewal, updated the council on park work and improvements, city events, and progress on the funding and creation of the new dog park. Plans for a joint event between Hancock and Houghton are being nailed down for the first weekend in September, to include live music, fireworks, and more. The building west of St. Vincent DePaul is having facade work done before new businesses move in.
A request to the city from the Quincy Mine Hoist Association for $5,000 toward clearing the land south of the Quincy Hill lookout on U.S. 41 went without vote or discussion after it found no support.
During the second public comment session at the end of the meeting, there was further discussion about the desire and responsibility to maintain the overlook.
The council agreed to a lease for the property the dog park will be on. I haven’t read the lease, but it sounds like it was a 50-year lease at $1/per year. Babcock said the $50 would be paid upfront, and councilors roundly thanked the property owners for their generosity.
The council also created a 3-person ad hoc committee to formally consider some property acquisitions, specifically the Houghton County Arena, although other acquisitions are possible, too. The members are Mayor Paul LaBine, Mayor Pro Tem John Haeussler, and Councilor Will Lytle.
New problems call for new solutions
Hancock Public Schools adapts old extracurricular programs, launches new ones, to adapt to virus precautions
Hancock Public Schools adapts old extracurricular programs, launches new ones, to adapt to virus precautions
For many, 2020-21 was the strangest school year and most challenging ever for students.
The most frustrating aspect for all concerned was the unknown and the fact that everything could change in a minute. Jesse Kentala is the principal at Hancock Middle School. He said all year long students and their parents had questions.
"Will there be a basketball season? How about spring concerts? What about graduation? There was just never a firm timeline at the state or national level and information changed constantly.”
He said the key to survival was that everyone had to learn to be adaptable and more importantly, creative.
Kentala said there wasn't an area of school life that was not impacted in some capacity by the pandemic. Hancock, like all other local districts, worked creatively to keep student programs and clubs moving forward.
"For example, our band concerts moved to a virtual platform so parents and the community could still enjoy these fine musicians. The middle school drama club performed ‘A Christmas Carol,’ which was filmed and shared with families."
Even the time-honored middle school camp experience was modified. Because Camp Nesbit was not open due to COVID-19, the school worked with Camp Michigamme in Marquette Couty to give 6th and 7th-grade students a unique camp experience that, Kentala said, “created lifetime memories.”
Photos provided by Jesse Kentala
The impact of the pandemic on athletic programs received considerable attention and subsequent pushback from the parents of student-athletes.
“It was hard to miss the activism and pushback from parents regarding the sports season rollercoaster. Letters were written to the state, videos were created and shared online and social media blew up with slogans and protests,” Kentala said.
What was less visible was the impact on non-sports-related programs and the missed opportunities by so many students. With a significant number of students turning to online platforms or even home-schooling options, Kentala said many school programs and clubs suffered as a result.
“After-school programming was hit hard and many of these programs shrunk or even closed down completely, causing us to rethink how we provided extracurricular opportunities for our students.”
Noting that there was nothing fun about the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentala said it allowed for a creative approach to many non-athletic clubs and organizations.
“We understood the importance of providing students with opportunities to lead and grow, but we couldn't provide them in the same mode as in the past. As Alice Walker said ‘You can't step in the same river twice. The river is different and so are you.’”
Rather than focusing on what they couldn't control, Kentala said they elected to set their sights on what they could. Working with Finlandia University, Hancock started an e-sports team for both middle and high school students. The Coding Club met in socially distanced spaces with virtual instruction allowing students to grow in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) fields.
He said Hancock's service organizations, specifically the National Honor Society, altered their approach to volunteer hours.
“At one point before the holiday break, the entire Hancock Middle School sang carols to the elderly at Portage Pointe while high school students delivered care packages to students and families affected by the pandemic. It was a beautiful event.”
Kentala said the upcoming school year is looked at with excitement with renewed energy and an emphasis on filling the gap that COVID-19 left.
“At Hancock, we are switching to a trimester system that will allow students the opportunity to take many new and elective courses. We are aiming to create classes and clubs that give all students the opportunity to learn, lead and grow.”
Among those opportunities are an investment club allowing students to invest money in the stock market in real-time. There will be a "Girls who Code" club for middle school students with a passion for STEM. And there's more.
“The Civil Air Patrol is allowing middle and high school students the chance to learn to fly and our robotics team is continuing to do great things in a much anticipated non-COVID-19 environment.”
Kentala said that learning from the challenges and disappointments of the very difficult pandemic impacted school year has made the district more determined than ever to give students the best experiences they can.
Teachers take to the Inland Seas to learn new tech
Learning to create virtual reality tours for their classes, area educators find new experiences to share
Learning to create virtual reality tours for their classes, area educators find new experiences to share
Geo-Investigations Project Website: https://sites.google.com/remc1.org/geosummer2021/home
A complete geo-investigation presentation from 2020, focused on the Gratiot River County Park:
https://sites.google.com/clkschools.org/gratiotriverparkrocks
For more about the ship:
https://www.tallshipsamerica.org/vessels/inland-seas/
Inland Seas’ website:
https://schoolship.org/
About the 360 degree cameras:
https://theta360.com/en/about/theta/v.html
Projects from this week's workshop aren't complete yet, but check back!
Houghton's parking deck is coming down, only question is when
Houghton City Council, July 29, 2021
Houghton City Council, July 29, 2021
(I was able to get a hard copy of the documents for this meeting, but they weren’t digitized. Normally, I believe City Clerk Ann Vollrath usually posts the already digitized version, but she was absent this week. Let me know if there’s anything you want to see. I don’t have a scanner, so digitizing them myself is a bit of a process that I don’t want to undertake unless it will be helpful for someone. Alternatively, you can request them from the city.)
Meeting Highlights
During public comment, another update on the Verna Mize Triathlon was given to the board, including businesses who have signed on as promoters, changes in start times, and other new developments.
During the city manager’s report, Eric Waara updated the board on Department of Public Works projects and other ongoing and upcoming construction, redevelopment, and maintenance in the city. The city center will likely be listed on the real estate market soon.
Police Chief John Donnelly updated the council on the number of calls and crashes the department responded to, and ongoing talks to address the congested traffic crossing the Portage Lake Lift Bridge. The road over the bridge (and the bridge itself) is managed by the state of Michigan, but the water underneath is a federal waterway, which creates jurisdictional problems for both Hancock and Houghton when it comes to controlling traffic over and under the bridge.
There was some extensive discussion surrounding the decision to take the downtown parking deck down. While there was no timetable (or any other details) included with the decision, the council voted 6-1 to commence the planning to tear down the deck. Councilor Jan Cole voted against the decision after requesting two weeks to speak with constituents and hear from the public. Councilor Mike Needham said the public had plenty of chances to comment during the planning commission’s meetings, and that waiting wouldn’t change the decision.
Single-track mind
Local group teaches kids about basics of mountain bike riding and trail maintenance