The Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center's new exhibition, “The 51st State?”, will open with a public reception at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 11. Yooper hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. Admission to the reception and exhibition is free.

As part of Northern Michigan University's Visiting Writers Program, poet Jericho Brown will give a free presentation at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17m in Jamrich 1100. Brown's first book, Please, won the American Book Award. His sophomore release, The New Testament, won the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and was named one of the best of the year by Library Journal, Coldfront and the Academy of American Poets.

Northern Michigan University English professor and author James McCommons will present “George Shiras III vs. the Nature Fakers” at the next NMU Science on Tap event. McCommons' talk, which relates to his new book titled Camera Hunter: George Shiras III and the Birth of Wildlife Photography, will begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 10, at the Ore Dock Brewing Co. Admission is free.

Northern Michigan University has received nearly $135,000 from the state's Native American Heritage Fund to expand Anishinaabe language course offerings at undergraduate and graduate levels.

Jamrich Hall's main lobby was filled with 1,100 backpacks on Monday, to represent the approximate number of undergraduate students in the country who commit suicide each year. The NMU chapter of Active Minds, a national mental health advocacy organization, brought a touring exhibit titled "Send Silence Packing" to campus. Students who paused to reflect on the display said it was a powerful way to raise awareness.