MORENCI — The 2025 Town and Country Festival at Wakefield Park may only be a few months in the past, but work is already underway for next year’s festival.
Work already underway for 2026 Town and Country Festival
News
State grant could help residents with home repairs
MORENCI — The city of Morenci plans to apply for a Community Development Block Grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority to help low- to moderate-income residents with home repairs.
The application would be for $1.18 million, with $1 million going to repairs and $180,000 being used for program administration.
If the city’s grant application is approved, Mayor Tracy Schell noted at last month’s city council meeting, the funds would only be for owner-occupied, single-family homes, removing concerns that landlords might snap up all the money.
Schell said the grant would help homeowners who have trouble affording necessary repairs.
“This is to help out folks that want to get some stuff done, but they just don’t have it,” she said.
“I think it’s a great opportunity,” council member Kori Christle said. “It’s only going to enhance our city; it’s only going to attract people to our community.”
A public hearing, which is a requirement of applying for the grant, is scheduled for the Sept. 8 city council meeting, which will take place at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 118 Orchard St.
Council approves having City Hall open five days a week
MORENCI — Changes to Morenci City Hall’s office hours were approved at the Aug. 11 city council meeting. Beginning Sept. 8, City Hall will keep its current hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Monday, but will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
New director on the job at Morenci Senior Center
MORENCI — There are plenty of things Laurie Reinke hopes to do in her new job as director of the Morenci Senior Center, but they all come down to this: “I’m hoping to bring smiles to people’s faces.”
Reinke started working at the senior center on June 10 after retiring from a factory job.
“Honestly, this is a job that I’ve been looking at for quite some time,” she said, noting that her daughter works for the Lenawee County Department on Aging so she was already somewhat familiar with its programs.
However, she said, “it just never was the right time — and this time I just said ‘you know what, I think the time is right.’ ”
Council discusses changing City Hall hours
MORENCI — The city of Morenci is considering a change to the hours that City Hall is open.
City Hall is currently open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. City clerk and superintendent Jeff Bell said those hours have been in place since 2014.
Fresh produce available in Morenci every Thursday
MORENCI — Morenci may be without a grocery store, but that doesn’t mean there’s no access to fresh fruit and vegetables.
The ProMedica Veggie Mobile comes to the rescue every Thursday morning at two locations. Like a traveling farmer’s market, the Veggie Mobile offers an array of fresh produce to shoppers.
Stephenson Park reopens after renovations
MORENCI — Morenci’s Stephenson Park reopened to the public on June 26 with a ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the park’s extensive renovation, made possible by an $863,500 Spark Grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Originally gifted to the city in the 1860s, Stephenson Park has served its community as a gathering place for many activities from shuffleboard to playground fun. For generations, Morenci’s community has enjoyed what the park has had to offer, so when it came to its reopening, many came to celebrate.
Summer Saturdays series off to a good start
MORENCI — The Morenci Downtown Development Authority launched its new Summer Saturdays series on June 7. The theme for the first event was “Horsin’ Around.”
A printer’s life
Sometimes a person’s life takes an unforeseen turn and ends up entirely different than expected.
That’s certainly the case for letterpress printer Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. The mathematics major was living in Chicago and working in a corporate office of AT&T when he got blindsided by his calling in life.
Kennedy spoke May 6 to a crowd at Stair District Library as part of the 2025 Michigan Notable Books program. The book “Citizen Printer” is about his work.
A new chapter for the Class of ’25
MORENCI — Under sunny skies on May 18, the Morenci High School class of 2025 celebrated their graduation at Henry Geisler Field, marking the 189th commencement in the school’s history. The event was filled with reflections, gratitude, and a touch of humor as 44 graduates bid farewell to their high school years.