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Pretty warm weather for Feb. in Munising.  Temps have been hitting mid thirties during the day and dropping down to the twenties at night.

We have had some settling and melting but there is still lots of snow here.  The groomers are running three shifts and the groomed snowmobile trails are in good condition.

The ice conditions on Munising Bay are starting to get a little shaky.  Lots of open water around Grand Island and in the channel.  Still some diehard ice fisherman on the bay.

Ice Fisherman on Munising Bay

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Facebook IPO May Net 27 Year Old Facebook Founder $28 Billion

Facebook Inc.’s impending initial public offering will likely net its 27-year-old founder Mark Zuckerberg a fortune of $28 billion.

According to IPO paperwork Facebook filed Wednesday, Mr. Zuckerberg owns 28.2% of the soon-to-be-public company, and is its single largest shareholder. If Facebook raises money at a high-end valuation of $100 billion dollars, Mr. Zuckerberg’s stock would be worth $28 billion. On top of his stock, last year Mr. Zuckerberg was paid $1.49 million in salary, bonus and other compensation for his role as chief executive, according to the filing.

Indiana Passes Anti-Union ‘Right to Work’ Bill

(Reuters) – The Indiana state Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a new law allowing workers at unionized businesses to avoid paying union dues, the last major legislative hurdle to making Indiana the first “right-to-work” state in the nation’s manufacturing belt.

No state has approved a right-to-work law since Oklahoma a decade ago, and Indiana is being closely watched nationwide during a presidential election year. The Senate vote was 28 to 22.

Governor Mitch Daniels was expected to sign the bill Wednesday.

Sad day for organized labor.

Michigan House Passes Anti-Union Labor Bill

Lansing— A House committee on Tuesday passed a package of labor reform bills blasted by critics as anti-union measures.

The legislation would add county and municipal employees to the law that prohibits public school teachers from striking and set steep fines for public sector strikes and lockouts.

The bills also would make it easier for employers to get an injunction to stop picketing and require employers to get annual permission from employees to deduct union dues from their paychecks.

The package approved by the House Oversight, Reform and Ethics Committee, chaired by Rep. Tom McMillin, R-Rochester Hills, would have to be passed by the full House and Senate and be signed into law by Gov. Rick Snyder.

An overflow room equipped with a large TV screen was set up next to the hearing room in the House Office Building in Lansing to accommodate the large number of union members who attended today’s meeting.

“This is an unwarranted assault on working people,” said Jerry Skinner of Farmington Hills, a retired electrician and member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 58, who attended the meeting. “They’re doing it in Indiana and they’re doing it here. We’ll be telling them what we think in November.”

The package is supported by Republicans and business owners who say reforms are necessary to limit the cost and disruption of strikes.

We received around 6 inches of fresh snow from the last storm here in Munising.  The groomed snowmobile trails are in good condition with an 8-10 inch base.

The groomers are out and snowmobiling conditions in Munising are good.

Hiawatha Forest Rd.

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Temperatures warmed up again here in Munising.  Snow in town and along the side of the roads is thin.

The Coalwood and Haywire section of Trail 8 are pretty bumpy.  The 419 connector going into Wetmore is bumpy, snirty, and some of the corners closer to town are icy and dirty.  Seems to be a little on the warm side for the groomers.  The groomed snowmobile trails are fair to good at this time with an 8 inch base.

There is still good riding on the forest and logging roads in the Hiawatha National Forest.  Good news is the weather forecast is calling for more lake effect snow this weekend.  Maybe 8+ inches of powder on the way.

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Trail 8 Coalwood

The snowmobile trails around Munising are still looking pretty good after the warm up and ice yesterday.  We had some thawing along with some freezing rain and snow.  Then the temps dropped into the 20′s again and everything froze back up.

The groomed trails are a little bumpy but with the fresh snow we have falling now the groomers should be able to smooth them out today.  Another 1-3 inches of snow is in the forecast for today.

Hiawatha Forest Rd.

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