For the first time, all Upper Peninsula universities and colleges will participate in the annual "Fight the Flu" competition hosted by the Northern Michigan University Center for Rural Health. Now in its third year, the contest determines which school can get the highest percentage of students, staff and faculty vaccinated against the flu.

Northern Michigan University 2004 alumna Aidan McKindles was recently appointed as Marquette County's new register of deeds. She will be the official recorder of land records in the county. McKindles earned a bacehlor's degree in political science with a minor in English.

Northern Michigan University Alumni Relations will kick off the holiday season with a cooking segment featuring nostalgic recipes and a look inside the hospitality management program's new state-of-the-art kitchen in the Northern Center. NMU Dining Executive Chef Alden MacDonald CCC '10 BS will be joined by student Trixie Maguran Jacobson for this digital presentation at 7 p.m. EST Wednesday, Nov. 16. They will showcase recipes that hold significance for their love of food and provide a behind-the-scenes view of the new facility and equipment.

Documentation prepared and signed by Northern Michigan University history alumnus Logan Hartz during a “career-changing” internship for law school will end up on the desk of the president of the United States. While working for a nonprofit public interest law organization, he completed clemency applications for four clients—including one from Michigan—serving up to 60-year federal prison terms for nonviolent cannabis crimes.

NMU Trustee Greg Seppanen has a penchant for planning and for preserving the environment—two elements that he said should frequently intersect. The NMU alumnus and retired teacher has served more than 40 years on planning commissions, and as a member of the Marquette County Climate Adaptation Task Force and other environmental organizations, to achieve his long-term goal of leaving the community in a better position than it is now. Seppanen said there is an opportunity for his alma mater to play a critical role in addressing climate change at the local level.