Washington - Following a State of Michigan formal request, FEMA announced they would begin assessments in 12 First District counties affected by the historic ice storm. In order to meet the thresholds required by FEMA for Public Assistance, and the even more stringent thresholds for Individual Assistance, Rep. Bergman encouraged all counties affected by the storm to assist in these assessments set to begin next week.

Bergman stated, “Our communities are resilient and have worked tirelessly to recover from the ice storm. For us to have a chance at securing Individual Assistance and Public Assistance, we need to take an all-hands-on-deck approach. I encourage our leaders in all 12 counties to support this effort as we work together to secure help for our communities.”

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Grants will fund renewable energy, food safety and access to safe drinking water

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) today awarded 21 Rural Development Fund Grants promote the sustainability of land-based industries and support infrastructure that benefits rural communities.

These Rural Development Fund Grants provide more than $1.8 million to 21 projects:

K.I. Sawyer Water Wastewater Department (Gwinn) - $100,000 to ensure the continued safe operation of the aeration building at the K.I. Sawyer Wastewater Treatment Plant, which was built in 1984.
Ely Township (Ishpeming) - $100,000 to address drinking water quality issues, build a new wellhouse and implement a new water treatment system.
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Securing Our Elections

Earlier this month, Michigan's Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, reported her office identified an additional 15 non-citizens who cast illegal votes during the 2024 election. This is unacceptable. Only American citizens should be voting in our elections, and even one illegal vote is too many. In response, my colleagues and I demanded answers from Secretary Benson on this failure, and her policy position in opposition to commonsense election security measures like the SAVE Act to stop non-citizens from registering to vote.

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PHOENIX – Tonto National Forest firefighters will begin a prescribed burn near Carol Springs Mountain located about 25 miles north of Globe, Arizona on the Globe Ranger District, Oct. 07 through Nov. 17 as conditions allow.

Firefighters will be focusing on 1,200 acres within the Carol Springs south unit, a continuation of last year’s prescribed fire efforts in the north and south units of Carol Springs. This operation is a part of the Tonto’s Timber Camp prescribed fire plan to treat 7,313 acres.

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PHOENIX — Tonto National Forest firefighters are planning two fuel treatments on the Payson Ranger District while also preparing four “pit burn” locations for property owners and planning a prescribed fire near the Payson Helibase in neighboring Star Valley.

Weather and related conditions permitting, the first fuel treatment could begin Nov. 27 with the remaining three operations occurring sometime through March 2024.

The Rim Country Bonita Creek Piles project will use prescribed fire to burn 24 acres of debris piles made of woody fuels resulting from the construction of the fuel break around Bonita Creek Estates.   more...

The following information has been updated on a shooting that occurred North of Payson near the Rim Trail subdivision in the Tonto National Forest.

On September 30, 2023 at approximately 4:30 A.M., the Gila County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a female that reported hearing gun shots and was heading towards Payson with a female who had come running out of the woods. The initial call reported that there could be several people involved. Law enforcement officers from the Gila County Sheriff’s Office, the Payson Police Department, and the Tonto Apache Police Department responded to the area to investigate the incident.

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