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Senior medicinal plant chemistry major Michael Cole won first place in the New Business Venture Competition sponsored by the Northern Michigan University College of Business. His proposal, Cannoptic Labs, will provide patients, cultivators, producers and dispensaries with important information about the safety, quality and potency of their medicinal/recreational cannabis products. The competition's final activities took place virtually because of the COVID-19 situation. 

The Northern Michigan University Foundation has established the Wildcat 2020 Student Relief Fund in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. The fund is designed to ensure the safety and success of NMU students during this historic event by providing immediate and impactful support to those confronting financial distress.

In the latest WNMU-TV Wildcat Minute, producer and host Elizabeth Peterson talks via Zoom with NMU Social Media Manager Carley Saint-Onge about keeping the campus community informed during the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. 

NMU human-centered design professor Peter Pless is putting his expertise and studio's resources to work developing plexiglass canopies that will encase patients being intubated in the ER, helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He is working on the project in collaboration with UPHS-Marquette emergency medicine specialist Dr. Scott Hagle.

Northern Michigan University's Department of Chemistry has joined the COVID-19 response by loaning two drying ovens to UP Health System-Marquette for the purpose of sterilizing medical-grade N95 masks for reuse.

Before the COVID-19 situation quickly escalated, 10 Northern Michigan University students and two faculty members traveled to Cuba for an environmental studies course that explored different models of sustainable community development. They had the rare opportunity to bypass Havana and see the eastern part of the island, which most Americans never get to experience.

NMU's transformational renovation of the Jacobetti Complex into a Career Tech and Engineering Technology Facility was put on hold by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's actions this week to reprioritize and bolster state funding to combat COVID-19.

In an email to the administration, staff, faculty, students and parents of Northern Michigan University, Board of Trustees Chair Steve Mitchell ‘67 praised the entire NMU family for the way in which they have responded to the Coronavirus issues. 

Northern Michigan University ranks 16th among the “40 Best Affordable Pre-Med Degree Programs” in the United States, according to 2020 rankings released by Affordable Schools. The listing factored in the average cost of attendance, student-to-faculty ratio and graduation rate.

Just as NMU classes moved to remote delivery options in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, NMU's weekly student newspaper, The North Wind, had to forgo its print edition and adapt to an online-only format. 

An NMU Dining Services employee's sustainable suggestion for putting a new name on existing uniforms, rather than disposing of them and buying a new inventory, will save the university money and be kinder to the environment. Theresa “T” Hamari (BS ‘99), manager of employment operations and training for NMU Dining Services, spearheaded the reuse effort.

NMU alumna Amanda Monthei wrote an article that was featured in a recent Patagonia catalog. Monthei wrote about the intersection of her two passions: firefighting and fly-fishing. Her article specifically addresses how high-intensity wildfires are affecting native and non-native fish populations, such as cutthroat and rainbow trout in the Southwest.

The critical shortage of medical supplies and personal protection equipment (PPE) impacts health care professionals working the front lines in a variety of settings. When the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency reached out on behalf of the D.J. Jacobetti Home for Veterans in Marquette, two NMU entities stepped up to help keep U.P. veterans safe.

NMU-National Training Site Greco-Roman wrestler Spencer Woods had qualified for the U.S. Olympic Trials, scheduled April 3-4. With the competition canceled, the Summer Olympics postponed and his dream deferred, he has returned to his home state of Alaska. Woods is on self-quarantine, living in an Arctic oven tent with a wood stove until he can join his parents in their village.

Northern Michigan University alumnus Brandon Williams is answering the call to action during the COVID-19 pandemic. He's having his Traverse City-based company manufacture 3D-printed antimicrobial face masks, charging only for material costs, for distribution to customers.

Northern Michigan University alumna and U.P. native Kaci Murringer celebrated her 30th birthday by running her first Iditarod Sled Dog Race in Alaska. She was the 34th and final musher to complete the trip to Nome, in a field that began with 57. She won the Red Lantern award as the last across the finish line at the 48th Iditarod. 

NMU student Maggie Compton of Marquette had already departed on a plane bound for South Korea in February when she received official notification that her study-abroad semester at Konkuk University in Seoul would be delayed by COVID-19. She decided to stay put and said she is happy with her choice, as the semester is now underway.

The Northern Michigan University Board of Trustees approved a motion to offer an $820 credit, plus a carryover of any remaining Dining Dollars to next semester, to students who check out of their residence hall rooms before 5 p.m. Friday, April 3. Students can also forego the credit and opt to remain on campus through the remainder of the semester, which ends May 2.

The stock market response to COVID-19 has fueled extensive media coverage and some consternation among investors. But on a related positive note, former Wildcat hockey defenseman, NHL player and "Survivor" contestant Tom Laidlaw helped to ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange in February, before the pandemic escalated in the U.S.