Features

Safe Harbor’s Year in Review: What the shelter has learned since opening its doors full time

Four takeaways from the 2025-26 pilot year

By Lourin Sprenger | June 6, 2026

When Safe Harbor transitioned to a year-round emergency shelter last May, it marked a turning point in how Traverse City and northern Michigan approached homelessness. The shift was prompted by an urgent need paired with enforcement of the city’s no-camping ordinance at The Pines, the wooded encampment that had become home to many unhoused residents. Officially though a full year cycle, Safe Harbor says the move has brought many successes and some … Read More >>

The Village Library That Could

Groundbreaking ahead for new Elk Rapids District Library

By Geri Dietze | June 6, 2026

After 75-plus years in the charming Island House, and despite a generous lease that stretches out to 2038, the Elk Rapids District Library is planning to move into new digs in 2027, a space that will not only change the footprint but also the reach of the library—and the opportunities for the region. The Island House was built in 1865 as a private residence for Edwin S. Noble, an industrialist who was … Read More >>

The Making of a Community Center

Crosshatch Center Meeting Place + Mercantile underway in Bellaire

By Anna Faller | June 6, 2026

Founded in 2005, Crosshatch Center for Art and Ecology is the brainchild of co-founders and co-directors Brad and Amanda Kik, who have long shared a passion for exploring the magic that happens when agriculture and art overlap. Now in its 21st year of operation, the nonprofit convenes a host of initiatives across a trio of programs—arts and culture, agriculture and land use, and community and connection—all with the goal of better caring … Read More >>

It Takes an (Artisan) Village

AuSable Artisan Village celebrates 15 years of bringing people (and the arts) to downtown Grayling

By Kierstin Gunsberg | June 6, 2026

When people daydream about their summertime getaways to rural northern Michigan, they think of hiking through dense forests, kayaking winding rivers, and exhaling stress in the great outdoors. Across Crawford County’s 559 square miles, a majority of which are occupied by the isolated wilderness of the AuSable State and Huron Manistee National Forests, that’s certainly an accurate picture, with visitors trekking I-75 to escape the noise of their big cities and pouring … Read More >>

Off the Beaten Path

Discover 14 treasures on downtown Traverse City’s side streets

By Lourin Sprenger | June 6, 2026

For tourists and locals alike, nothing beats the charm of Front Street in downtown Traverse City, sprinkled with eateries, craft coffee shops, unique boutiques, and the ability of time to melt away as you are pulled into the relaxed, carefree northern Michigan way of life. But beyond the main drag, are plenty of other hidden gems just steps from the hustle and bustle. So come take a wander, and discover what’s waiting … Read More >>

Film Review: Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu

4.5 Stars

By Joseph Beyer | June 6, 2026

For those of us who grew up standing in lines outside movie theaters waiting to get into the first Star Wars films in the 1970s and '80s, the modern metaverse of films, characters, and offshoots was already daunting when Lucasfilm sold the rights to Disney way back in 2012. Since then, the studio has released seven feature-films and over a dozen episodic series, creating an expansive catalog of live-action and animated content … Read More >>

Let’s Touch Grass with the GT Conservation District

June 6, 2026

Skip the chores this weekend and spend a little time out in nature. From 11am-7pm on Friday, June 12, join the Grand Traverse Conservation District (1450 Cass Rd.) for their Summer Kickoff, which includes “a guided hike to the Great Lakes Incubator Farm, hands-on river discovery with aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling, and opportunities to contribute to the GTCD community BioBlitz,” per their website. (The BioBlitz is a chance to help identify and record … Read More >>

Where Art Meets the Outdoors: Wander & Gather

Stuff We Love

June 6, 2026

Artist Maia Hausler knows how to capture the natural world; after all, she did double major in fine art and environmental studies at Western Michigan University. Currently based in Ann Arbor but with a lifelong connection to northern Michigan—we found her booth, Wander & Gather, at the Dennos Museum Spring Art Market—Hausler puts her ethereal watercolors on everything from traditional art prints to cards to jewelry. You’ll spot all your favorite signs … Read More >>

Summertime Starts Now in Charlevoix

June 6, 2026

Downtown Charlevoix is ready to flip the page to summer as the days warm up, school winds down, and the iconic blue bridge starts its regular rise and fall schedule. Check out the 14th annual Summer Open House on Thursday, June 11, from 4-8pm as Charlevoix merchants band together for an evening of shopping fun. Retailers will have specials, giveaways, and refreshments on hand to welcome locals and visitors alike. Get all … Read More >>

Brown Bridge Quiet Area Expansion Underway

June 6, 2026

In May, the City of Traverse City added 525 acres to their protected lands portfolio. The parcel adjacent to Brown Bridge Quiet Area was pricey—$3,098,445—and city residents voted in 2023 to use an amount not to exceed $746,245 from the Brown Bridge Trust Fund dollars. To make up the rest, the city was aided by a partnership with the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy and funding support from a $2,352,200 Michigan Natural … Read More >>