President Obama in Marquette Tomorrow

Marquette has been in the news a lot lately. Last week it involved the threat of a mass shooting on the Northern Michigan University campus (which thankfully, it was only an on-line threat) and now this week with the expected arrival of President Obama to Marquette on Thursday. Both items have made national headlines and I am happy to say that Obama's trip to the Upper Peninsula will bring bigger headlines and will involve a much more positive storyline than last week's story. Needless to say, security is heightened around Marquette and Northern Michigan University with the president's arrival. Air Force One is expected to land at Sawyer International Airport sometime around 11:45 AM. His visit will be short, but it's an exciting time for a region like the Upper Peninsula. It's not often that a sitting president of the United States visits.

So exactly why is President Obama visiting a small town like Marquette during the middle of winter? It involves a subject that he highlighted in his state of the union speech involving wireless internet access to rural areas. His goal is to see 98 percent of rural areas in the country have access to wireless internet. It's a lofty goal, but the city of Marquette and Northern Michigan University are perfect examples where it actually works. NMU has a WiMax wireless broadband internet system that allows students, faculty, and staff to connect to the internet county-wide. Northern is the only known university to set up such a network for its campus and President Obama is looking to highlight NMU's technological advances. There are also several tech-savvy businesses in the Marquette area that Obama will be visiting to see how their businesses have thrived thanks to the internet. It will definitely be an exciting time to be on NMU's campus.

Obama's visit will be the first time an incumbent president of the United States has come to the Upper Peninsula since George W. Bush campaigned in July 2004 at the Superior Dome. Prior to that, it wasn't until 1911, when William H. Taft visited the U.P. So as you can see, it's a pretty monumental occasion to get any president to come up here. And actually, out of all presidential visits to the Upper Peninsula, this will mark the first time that an incumbent president will NOT be campaigning. That's a pretty remarkable fact in of itself.

Many of the events set up for President Obama in Marquette are not open to the public and the speaking engagement at Vandament Arena is by invitation only. So for those lucky enough to get an invite or to be at one of the destinations where Obama will be visiting, it should prove to be one of those once-in-a-lifetime events. Marquette will be buzzing with excitement tomorrow, even though President Obama will only be in town for roughly three hours. Still, his visit will linger with the community for sometime. And with Marquette continuing to get a ton of press for being such an accommodating, livable community, having President Obama visit will help all the more in attracting new people to the area and also to help launch new businesses on the heals of the area's internet capabilities.