Features

Features Erin Crowell “The community has always rallied behind us and I know it will happen this
time around,” Sue Schwartz said over the echo of barking dogs at the
Cherryland Humane Society (CHS). The volunteer remains optimistic after
Mike Cherry, CHS executive director along with CHS president Jess Reed,
announced last week that unless the 501(c)(3) nonprofit can raise $20,000
as early as June 15, it will be forced to shut down operations.

Features Rick Coates Does Northern Michigan need another entertainment venue?  Three forward-thinking partners think so and are planning a venue in Traverse City’s Old Town that will accommodate up to 1,000 patrons.
Jon Carlson and Greg Lobdell, owners of Blue Tractor, North Peak, Mission Table, Jolly Pumpkin have partnered with Sam Porter of Porterhouse Productions. The three are collaborating on a state-of-the-art entertainment complex on Union Street between 7th and 8th streets. 
The nearly 18,000-square-foot venue will incorporate the existing Blue Tractor along with The Shed and The Good Works Collective Buildng (recently acquired by Porter for concerts, art events and  gatherings). In addition, the project will expand into the current Blue Tractor parking lot.
The end result will be a two story complex with a roof-top patio and a concert venue that will hold up to 1,000 patrons for shows. The venue (currently nameless) will have 50-plus tap handles featuring Michigan craftbrews and the menu and wine list will also have a local flavor.

Features Robert Downes Buffy Bimgarden is trading in her hose & high heels for cycle shorts and clip-in pedals on the commute to work this week, while Clyde Clipperhorn is ditching his 4x4 monster truck in order to mountain bike to his construction site.
Okay, Buffy and Clyde don’t actually exist, but they represent the appeal of Smart Commute Week, which urges commuters of every stripe to bicycle, walk, carpool, or take public transportation to work this week, June 6-12.
“Smart Commute Week has been growing every year since it got started 17 years ago and it’s wonderful,” says Lee Maynard, the trail planning and programming director of TART Trails (Traverse Area Recreation Trail).  “Plus, last year, Petoskey and Harbor Springs started their own Smart Commute Week with the Top of Michigan Trails Council, so it’s become a regional event.” 
Smart Commute Week is a nationwide event, but Maynard notes that Northern Michigan celebrates it later in the season for comfort’s sake.  “Other communities celebrate it in May, but because it’s chilly up here, we hold it in June,” she says.

Features Rick Coates What do Dan Aykroyd, Mario Batali, Antonio Banderas, Tommy Smothers and
Carter Oosterhouse have in common? They all own wineries. At least that
will be the case soon for HGTV hunk and heartthrob Carter Oosterhouse.
Last week Oosterhouse hosted an open house for close friends to show off
his new vineyard and winery location on the Old Mission Peninsula as well
as introduce his fiancee, actress Amy Smart, to family and friends.
Oosterhouse joins the growing ranks of celebrities worldwide venturing
into the wine industry. Last year celebrity-owned wineries saw a 25%
increase in wine sales from the previous year. While their celebrity may
be a factor, many of those wineries do not even have the stars’ names on
the labels. Ask any celebrity why they opened or purchased a winery and
making money off of gimmick wines will not be on that list -- and that is
also the case for Oosterhouse.

Features Patrick Sullivan When a pair of men got into an argument with a homeless man on Union
Street in Traverse City outside a row of bars earlier this month, things
escalated quickly.
Witnesses said David John Ursuy, a felon who spent years in prison for
assault and theft convictions, pulled a pocket knife and stabbed the two
men, 33-year-old and 26-year-old Traverse City residents, after the men
intervened when Ursuy was arguing with one of their girlfriends.
The men suffered non-life threatening wounds to their upper arms that
required hospitalization according to Traverse

Features Anne Stanton My interview for my Northern Express job unexpectedly took place at a
Christmas party in 2003. I was about six months pregnant and nearly
suffocating from the warmth of bodies, packed like sardines in the tidy
Traverse City home of Jeannette and Bob Downes.
As I was trying to wriggle out of the crowd to the front door, I bumped
(literally) into Downes, who mentioned that he was looking for a crime
reporter for Northern Express. He wanted to “edge up” the paper, give it
more heft. Did I know of anyone?

Features Writers Remember
Northern Express Weekly has always been a place where writers could flex
their literary and journalistic muscles and let ‘er rip on stories ranging
from lifestyle choices to national issues brought close to home.
Following are some reflections from a few of our favorite -- and most
enduring -- scribblers.
Memories from 20 years of Northern Express
Still keeping
it simple

By George Foster
20 Years ago Bob Downes and I launched Northern Express with our total
life savings - about $2,000 each.
There was no business plan or backup plan. We estimated that our savings
would pay for two issues of printing our new-fangled paper. We felt that
we had no choice but to keep our operations and the publication as simple
as possible.
What we did have was an idea – well, sort of. We wanted to print several
thousand free newspapers and hope for enough advertising revenue to break
even. Despite (or maybe because of) our paper’s humble beginnings and low
aspirations, some people told us we wouldn’t survive more than a year or
we were downright loony.

Features Erin Crowell By Erin Crowell
Behind our 20 year anniversary publication this month is a team of
hard-working—and sometimes crazy—folks who conceive, report, sell, layout
and deliver the area’s largest news weekly. Get to know the faces behind
the Northern Express!
NE: Wow. 20 years. Aside from starting up a new paper, what was on your
mind 20
years ago?

Features Robert Downes Graphic design has always been of supreme importance at Northern Express Weekly, helping to differentiate the paper from a glut of other publications throughout the region.
And if you’ve ever followed the flow of news racks in Northern Michigan, you can’t help but notice that the Express gets picked up very quickly at our 600 distribution spots compared to other publications.  A huge part of that popularity is the paper’s design: catchy covers, imaginative page layouts and ads that zing.
Putting it all together are graphic designers Colleen Zanotti and Kyra Cross, with an occasional assist from Kristin Rivard. 
Colleen has been with the Express for 15 years having completed the visual communications program at Northwestern Michigan College, while Kyra joined the Express in 2006 after graduating from Kendall College of Art and Design.  Kristin also attended NMC’s design program and joined the paper in 1998.
In the following interview, Colleen and Kyra offer some insights into what it takes to make the Express ‘picture perfect.’

Features Patrick Sullivan A couple of years ago some of the staff at Goodwill Industries noticed
something about the homeless population in Northern Michigan.
A lot of them are military veterans.
“Ryan Hannon, the street outreach coordinator, brought it to my attention
back in February, 2009 that there were approximately 13 homeless veterans
in the area that were not receiving services,” said Pam Cuthbert, director
of veterans programs at Goodwill. “Because of Ryan we got in touch with
the VA hospital down in Saginaw.”

Features Patrick Sullivan A couple of years ago some of the staff at Goodwill Industries noticed
something about the homeless population in Northern Michigan.
A lot of them are military veterans.
“Ryan Hannon, the street outreach coordinator, brought it to my attention
back in February, 2009 that there were approximately 13 homeless veterans
in the area that were not receiving services,” said Pam Cuthbert, director
of veterans programs at Goodwill. “Because of Ryan we got in touch with
the VA hospital down in Saginaw.”

Features Erin Crowell It took five seasons and one game, but the Traverse City Beach Bums have
reached one million fans. The professional baseball team will celebrate
this VIP at the home opener, in Wuerfel Park against the Rockford
RiverHawks, on Friday, May 27.
“We’re giving away season schedule magnets to the first 500 fans,” says
Tim Broxterman, director of Beach Bums promotions and community events.
“Then, we will give away a brand new high efficiency refrigerator courtesy
of Cherryland Electric for the winning fan.”

Features Rick Coates Country music legend Mickey Gilley is lucky to be living, let alone
performing. Two years ago while helping a friend move a piece of
furniture, he fell down a flight of stairs leaving himself paralyzed from
the neck down. Through a little luck and hard work Gilley is back on the
road and will kick off his first tour since his near fatal fall, this
Friday, May 27 at the Leelanau Sands Showroom. 
“I have been back performing at my theater in Branson, Missouri for a few
months now. I am excited and ready to get back out on the road,” said
Mickey Gilley. “It has been a tough road back but I have a sense of humor
about it. In fact I tell people at my show don’t call me if they want
something moved -- call Two Men and a Truck.”

Features Rick Coates Country music legend Mickey Gilley is lucky to be living, let alone
performing. Two years ago while helping a friend move a piece of
furniture, he fell down a flight of stairs leaving himself paralyzed from
the neck down. Through a little luck and hard work Gilley is back on the
road and will kick off his first tour since his near fatal fall, this
Friday, May 27 at the Leelanau Sands Showroom. 
“I have been back performing at my theater in Branson, Missouri for a few
months now. I am excited and ready to get back out on the road,” said
Mickey Gilley. “It has been a tough road back but I have a sense of humor
about it. In fact I tell people at my show don’t call me if they want
something moved -- call Two Men and a Truck.”

Features Kristi Kates Long ago during one or more of North America’s glacial intervals, sheets
of slowly-moving ice pulled fossilized coral pebbles from the bedrock and
deposited them in what is now Northern Michigan.