North Country Electrical Line and Heavy Equipment School

09/22/2026

Following directions is the hardest thing to teach new students.

It's still important that you can think for yourself, though.

Eventually, you're going to end up in a situation where you've got to figure your own way out of it. But while you're learning and when you have someone more experienced guiding you, LISTEN.

09/17/2026

At the start of the class, they were struggling to get themselves up the pole.

By the end of the class, they race up it for time to simulate a pole-top rescue.

If your colleague and friend is injured, potentially unconscious in their harness, every second counts.

When it's life or death, you can't be taking the time to wonder what to do next. You need to trust your instincts, get up the pole, and get them down as quickly and safely as possible.

09/15/2026

Second day on the poles with our Fall Cohort! Breaking in the gear, breaking in bodies, and getting used to the poles.

How do they do that, you may wonder?

They go up and down, many many times.

Fun? Not really.

Necessary? Absolutely.

09/09/2026

Early during this cohort, we interviewed several of our students and asked them to leave a message for themselves at graduation.

This is what they said.

Midwest Truck Driving School - CDL Training

09/09/2026

Congratulations to our summer graduates from the electrical line school program! We're deeply proud of each of you and the work that you've put in during your time here.

We can't wait to see what you go next!

09/08/2026

Job opportunity! Local

⚡ WE’RE HIRING! ⚡

Looking for a rewarding career where your skills make a real difference in the community? The City of Escanaba is hiring for a Journeyman or Apprentice Lineman!

What you’ll do:
Help construct, maintain, and repair the City’s overhead and underground electric distribution systems.

What we’re looking for:
✔️ High school diploma
✔️ Class A CDL (or ability to obtain within 60 days)
✔️ Ability to safely work at heights and in confined spaces
✔️ Apprentice applicants must have a Vocational Diploma as an Electrical Line Technician

💰 Starting Pay:
Apprentice Lineman – $36.41/hour
Journeyman Lineman – $50.57/hour
Plus a competitive fringe benefits package!

📍 Residency within 20 miles of the Escanaba corporate limits is required.

📩 Ready to take the next step? Submit your resume and application to [email protected] or by mail to:

City of Escanaba
Attn: Human Resource Director
P.O. Box 948
Escanaba, MI 49829

👉 Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
www.escanaba.org/hr

09/07/2026

Storms don't check the calendar.

If the wind comes through this afternoon, somebody leaves the cookout and climbs a pole while the rest of the block finishes a plate.

Linemen sign up for that when they take the job. It's part of why the work pays what it does.

To the guys out today, thanks.

09/05/2026

You walk in knowing nobody.

Ten weeks later you know which guy checks your belt without being asked, and which one you want on the other end of a rope.

These same faces turn up on job sites for the next thirty years. Plenty of first calls come from somebody standing in a photo like this one.

Next class dates are in the first comment.

09/04/2026

When you sign up to run a chainsaw at school, you want to know who's standing next to you walking you through it.

Kyle is. He's our head instructor, and he's there to coach them through their first cut and their fiftieth.

Chaps go on before the saw comes out. They're packed with loose fiber, so if the chain ever touches them it pulls that fiber out and jams the motor before it reaches skin or at least before it does too much damage.

Students sharpen their own chains too. A dull chain makes you lean on the saw, and leaning on a saw is how people tend to get hurt.

08/31/2026

Bringing down an old pole sounds simple. Just cut it and let it drop, right?

Well... not always. Especially when you're standing in someone's backyard with a fence, a shed, or a vehicle ten feet away.

That's why our line techs learn to take a pole down in pieces. Two staggered cuts, break it off, toss it down small, stay in control the whole time. Usually 5 to 6 foot sections so nothing gets away from you.