Features Patrick Sullivan The story of how the body of the Traverse City teenager was found in a sand pit on the eve of her 17th birthday was splashed over newspapers across the state, broadcast on television and radio throughout Michigan, and spawned at least four Facebook groups with over 10,000 members.

Features Patrick Sullivan Penny and Shandy Spencer spent around $74,000 to construct a 112-foot windmill that rises above their lavender farm north of Cedar. They got the windmill last November in response to federal incentives and because they wanted to generate sustainable, green energy, even if it cost more than electricity from fossil fuels.

Features Patrick Sullivan The mystery of Adamczyk’s disappearance is almost rivaled by the mysteriousness of the legal case into his death. Police and prosecutors have said little about the case, though recent filings in Manistee County Circuit Court shed some light on what’s going on in the investigation.

Features Patrick Sullivan Walter Sbresny is waiting to learn whether he can use a medical marijuana defense at trial.

Part one of a two-part story. Next week, the Express will look at the case of Archie Kiel, who is appealing a 2010 marijuana conviction, and the efforts of Kiel and Sbresny to make Kalkaska County more hospitable for medical marijuana patients through a grassroots political effort.

Features Patrick Sullivan

This is the second of two stories about a family in Elk Rapids who encountered a mortgage modification scam artist and wound up on the brink of losing their home. Last week, the Express looked at what happened to Pablo and Guadalupe Bocardo that caused their home to be foreclosed.

This week, we look at the efforts of their attorney to fight Fannie Mae to get their house back.

Features Patrick Sullivan Michael Knudsen and his friends had no reason to believe that death was waiting for them when they jumped into West Grand Traverse Bay inside a marina breakwall in August, 2011.

A $50 million lawsuit filed on behalf of Knudsen’s estate describes the teenager’s harrowing last few moments alive...

Features Patrick Sullivan Warning -- This story contains graphic sexual content.
The 25-year-old woman had been slipping into homelessness for some time. In the past eight years she’d racked up a record of misdemeanor convictions -- a couple of cases of minor in possession of alcohol, a drunk driving, a domestic violence case, and a false pretenses case.

She cared a lot about her boyfriend, she later testified at his preliminary hearing on sex assault charges in August. At least when he was sober.