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Mich. House votes to include U.P. in state maps

Associated Press - August 19, 2009 7:04 PM ET

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The Michigan House has voted to make sure the Upper Peninsula is included in official state maps and publications.

Legislation approved 106-0 Wednesday and headed to the Senate would require both peninsulas to be included on state of Michigan materials that depict a map of the state. The requirement would not apply to existing materials.

Some "Yoopers," as U.P. residents call themselves, felt slighted last year when a state-sponsored tourism commercial only showed the more populous peninsula to the south. The TV ad was later fixed.

Some high school students from Escanaba wrote to a textbook publisher last year after a map in a history book appeared to exclude the U.P. from the borders of the United States.

The Upper Peninsula bill is House Bill 4995.

On the Net:

Michigan Legislature: http://www.legislature.mi.gov

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