ESCANABA -- There's news about a nationwide contest geared towards not just losing weight but also winning big money for getting healthy.

It's called Michigan Match-Up, and Friday marked the first day of registration where Michiganders could visit participating weigh-in places to get their starting weight and also register.

Contestants get to select a team of five members, and the event offers a total of $18,000 in cash prizes to the top performers.

OSF St. Francis Hospital in Escanaba is an official weigh-in site, and the location there is a little unconventional.

"Some people are too large to be weighed on a regular scale, so we chose our freight scale here at OSF St. Francis," said OSF Dietician Linda Klope.  "The State of Michigan, in general, has a very high rate of overweight people and obesity."

Extended registration is open now through January 14, and participants can learn more by going to the website for the event.