Resident urges city action on blocked street, invites officials to community meeting; officials thank local dairy and outline snow response

Margaret Brown, a Marquette resident, used public comment at the Jan. 26 commission meeting to invite city leaders to a constitution-reading event at noon Thursday, Feb. 5 at the Superior Dome and to press the city for action on safety issues on East Magnetic Street.

Brown told the commission that overgrown banks and parked vehicles on East Magnetic Street make the road hazardous and can block passage: “You cannot get a vehicle by, let alone an emergency vehicle,” she said. She said she has shared videos and had conversations with city staff and others about the problem and asked the city to act.

Brown also asked the city to send a thank-you note to a local dairy she said distributed food to residents last fall and winter. She told the commission the business gave away 3,000 gallons of milk and 2,000 pounds of butter to community members, including people on SNAP.

City Manager Kovacs thanked the donor in his remarks, saying the donation ‘‘really helped families stretch their budgets’’ and praising the generosity. In the meeting record the dairy donor is referred to by different names; the speaker for public comment identified the business one way and city staff used another name when thanking the donor. The article reports both references rather than reconciling them because the meeting record does not provide a single verified name.

Brown returned during a second public-comment period to say follow-up on the Marquette Board of Light and Power’s performance during the 2025 winter storm has been limited and invited commissioners and staff to a Borderline Power meeting to hear her findings and recommendations.

Separately, commissioners and the city manager described snow-removal work: officials said crews are targeting high-traffic locations to cut back snow banks and cautioned that salt is less effective in extreme cold. Mayor Paul Schlegel and others asked for public patience given heavy snow totals reported during the season.

What’s next: Brown said she will present additional information at the Borderline Power meeting and is available to meet with officials; city staff said they are addressing high-priority bank cutting and asked the public to take extra caution on slippery streets.