Good morning, Marquette.

Marquette Township Community Day returns this Saturday at Lions Park (2183 Cherry St) from 3 to 6 p.m. with free cookie decorating, bike pump track rides, arts and crafts, and a live concert from 7 to 9 p.m.; families should bring chairs, bikes and helmets.

The annual Marquette Blueberry Festival will take place this Friday from 10:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Washington and Front Streets, with over 120 vendors offering food and live music during the event.

Mission of Hope, now in its 9th season (a local initiative), is set to provide backpacks, school supplies, shoes, haircuts, hygiene items and books to children from pre-K to high school seniors this Sunday from 3:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the U.P.

State Fairgrounds Ruth Butler Building.

A delegation from Higashiomi visited Seeds and Spores Family Farm in Chocolay Township on July 22 to learn about local produce and farmers market traditions, including blueberry picking, and then met with the Marquette City Arts and Culture Center about adding their city to the Lakeshore Cultural Trail.

Marquette’s 15th Blueberry Dance Festival kicks off this week at Kaufman Auditorium — free drop-in dance classes run today from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. while master classes with NFL Cheerleader Emilee Iuvara take place on Thursday, followed by a showcase and competition at 7 p.m. with a $300 gift card prize.

The state awarded $1.4M in recycling grants to five Upper Peninsula communities with Marquette County receiving $143,000 to buy a curbtender truck for local recycling operations; EGLE is using the program to boost efficiency + reduce landfill waste.

EGLE Director Phil Roos toured the Marquette landfill today to check a new AI robotic sorting system and a reverse osmosis plant that cleans landfill water; $1.4 million in recycling grants will help expand the technology.

Local growers and market vendors walked through regenerative farming methods at Soil Life is Farm Life, a two-day event by conservation districts and MSU Research Extension.

Presentations from soil health researchers and MDARD officials are scheduled for later today at MSU extension farms in Chatham.

Northern Michigan University Wildcat Hockey is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend in Marquette.

Fans are invited to join NMU coaches, staff and former players for a kickoff event at Blackrocks Brewery on Thursday, July 30 while Texas Roadhouse partners with the program.

Northern Michigan University's Wildcats football — predicted to finish sixth in the GLIAC — is set for the 2026 season.

The team, led by record-setting Noah Dobert, opens on Aug. 27 at Minnesota State-Moorhead and hosts its home opener on Sept. 5 at the Superior Dome.