L'ANSE -- The Copper Country Habitat for Humanity held an open house at the L'Anse Town Hall as part of their effort to expand into Baraga County.

The open house provided information tables on various aspects to Habitat for Humanity such as house plans, energy saving construction techniques, and even how to volunteer and build "sweat equity" hours.

The goal of the open house is to see what kind of interest there is in Baraga County and to help those people on the path to home ownership.

"We were happy to see new people from the community that were really curious about how they could get involved," said Publicity Coordinator, Rene Johnson.

Habitat for Humanity has been building homes with families in the Copper Country since 1994.

L'ANSE -- U.S. census analysts estimate that more than 50 million Americans, that's 17 percent of our population, will be 65 or older by 2020.

Organizers of Baraga County's TRIAD, a collaborative effort among law enforcement and senior groups, say that's why it's more important than ever senior citizens are well educated on how to keep themselves and others safe.

"We're living much, much longer than our grandparents, even our parents," says chair Oedith Harris. "Even our parents, so I'm hoping more people will come out."

However, that effort seems to have gotten tough in recent years. Only a handful of seniors attended Thursday's 911 Camp. Those in charge of a similar Marquette TRIAD conference this fall have voiced similar concerns about lower-than-ever reservation numbers as well.

There doesn't seem to be a concrete reason why interest has decreased, but agencies say their message is one that shouldn't be missed.

"It's important for all of us (to get this information), and we're just trying to reach out to as many people as we possibly can to get this message across," says Greg Filpus of the Michigan State Police.

At this camp, the message of safety came from just about every direction imaginable, from a State Police Canine Unit to UPPCO linemen and local emergency services.

Thursday's event also served as a fundraiser for TRIAD's future events. Residents aged 55 and older who wish to join TRIAD or want more information should contact the Baragaland Senior Center by calling (906) 524-6711.

MARQUETTE -- Superior Health Partners, a partnership of U.P. hospitals working together to keep patients in Upper Michigan, announced on Thursday that they are adding new members.

The announcement was made at Blue Cross Blue Shield, in Marquette.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will be joining the SHP, along with three new hospitals, including Portage Health of Hancock, Baraga County Memorial Hospital in L'Anse and Dickinson County Healthcare System of Iron Mountain.

Blue Cross entered into the new network due to the high cost of patients leaving the U.P. for medical care out of state and below the bridge.

The hospitals involved stated their participation in the partnership will help U.P. residents receive accessible, quality care instead of leaving the area for treatment.

"Independent organizations, as these ones all are, to actually work not independent, but like an integrated healthcare system to be able to to share healthcare information and to work with third party payers, I actually think it's a huge advantage for the whole region," said Baraga County Memorial CEO Tim Zwickey.

Marquette General Hospital and Bell Hospital formed the partnership to increase quality and accessibility of health care in the Upper Peninsula back in 2010.

We will have more information about this addition to the Superior Health Partners posted on the website later on Thursday, and also on the TV6 Early News at 6 p.m.