Jillian Manning | Author

The Future of Journalism: What Does the Next Generation Think?

March 15, 2025

Journalism is at an inflection point in the 21st century. Local newspapers are closing at a rate of 2.5 per week. News deserts are popping up in towns and counties across the nation. Social media is driving misinformation. Reporters are leaving once-revered papers like The Washington Post t… Read More >>

Creating a Safe Space in the World

Feb. 8, 2025

“It felt like the first domino falling in a series of dominos that are going to be affecting our community.”

This is what Sam from Traverse City says of their response to the White House’s Jan. 20 executive order declaring the government will only recognize two bio… Read More >>

The Top 24 of 2024: A Look Back at the Year's Biggest Stories

Dec. 28, 2024

In 2024, Northern Express writers brought you more than 700 stories, including restaurant profiles, Top 10 recommendations, opinion columns, investigative news, film reviews, and write-ups about arts, entertainment, and local businesses in northern Michigan. Of those 700+, which we… Read More >>

Let’s Get Cozy: A Local Shopping Guide

Nov. 23, 2024

Farewell, daylight! We’ll miss you until the clocks switch back on March 9, 2025. For those of us who feel sad (or literally SAD, thanks to seasonal affective disorder) when winter rolls around, the next few months may feel like they’re better spent in hibernation than trudging … Read More >>

Your Holiday Book-Buying Guide

Nov. 23, 2024

When in doubt, buy a book. (A lesson that applies to all situations, but particularly the holidays.) We asked booksellers across northern Michigan for new titles that have won their hearts, opened their minds, and broadened their horizons. Below, find their top picks for readers of all ages… Read More >>

The 2024 Luxe List

Oct. 12, 2024

Ready to splurge? In our annual Luxe Issue, we pull together a selection of must-have apparel and accessories that might threaten to break the bank…but hey, as Donna Meagle and Tom Haverford would say, “Treat yo’ self!” (For the Parks and Recreation fans out there, … Read More >>

Meet Up North Pride’s First Executive Director

Sept. 21, 2024

Adrienne Brown-Reasner started her new job as the first executive director of Up North Pride (UNP) just three weeks before the nonprofit’s biggest moment of the year. Up North Pride Week runs Sept. 24-29 to celebrate northern Michigan’s 2SLGBTQIA+ community.

Brown-Reasne… Read More >>

Mi Casa Nueva Es Su Casa Nueva

Aug. 10, 2024

“Authentic” is the word that restaurateur Dusty Rodriguez uses more than once when describing Casa Nueva, one of the newest additions to the Mancelona dining scene.

“We’re fresh. We’re authentic. We are very family based. And we specialize in just what … Read More >>

Three Trees, Three Wines

July 20, 2024

In 2023, Lyle Cifuentes traded her job as the director of digital content at WXYZ-TV Detroit to open a winery in Suttons Bay, swapping “high heels and a dress” for “Carhartt overalls.” Though the career switch may have surprised some of her colleagues, it was years i… Read More >>

Superior Shipwrecks

July 13, 2024

Shipwreck hunting is a unique mix of “boredom” and “incredible feats” of discovery, according to Corey Adkins.

Adkins is the communications and content director at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS). As we talk, he’s on his way to Whit… Read More >>

Making Space to Belong: Straits Pride Celebrates Five Years

June 1, 2024

In the late 2010s, the queer community on Mackinac Island felt like it existed “under the radar” for Straits Pride co-founder and vice president Kyrsten Cavazos.

“There really weren’t opportunities to have spaces for the queer community to engage socially,&rd… Read More >>

Local Love Stories

Feb. 3, 2024

Love is in the air this time of year, so we asked readers to share their love stories set against the backdrop of northern Michigan. How wonderful to discover that this little corner of the world has been where so many couples meet, fall in love, and begin new adventures together!

… Read More >>

24 Ways to Celebrate the Arrival of 2024

Dec. 23, 2023

Out with the old, in with the New Year’s Eve parties. From a five-course dinner to a throwback 2000s bash to a classic ball drop, it’s time to bust out the sparkles and sequins (and kazoos) at events around the North.

Get an Artful Start

1. Crooked Tree Arts Ce… Read More >>

How the Mural Gets Made

Nov. 25, 2023

Brianne Farley is no stranger to turning a boring old wall into a vibrant, eye-catching mural. When she’s painting on that massive version of a canvas, she says it really feels like “the world is your oyster.”

You can find Farley’s whimsical works around nort… Read More >>

Film Review: Flora and Son

Oct. 14, 2023

Sometimes, life doesn’t go as planned. That’s been Flora’s experience, from getting pregnant at 17 to separating from her husband to struggling to connect to her rebellious teenage son. She lives in a dingy shoebox apartment in Dublin, works as a nanny, and takes out her f… Read More >>

Shopping for Luxe

Oct. 14, 2023

Get your wallets ready...these local goodies are too good to pass up. Let the shopping spree begin!

1. Moraine: Spire Earrings

You can buy a diamond ring or a tennis bracelet just about anywhere. That’s why we love shopping the works of Moraine by Kelsey McQuown, bec… Read More >>

Film Review: Sitting in Bars with Cake

Sept. 30, 2023

With a slate of spooky movies headed into theaters over the next few weeks, this scaredy cat searched for a new release that promised no jump scares or exorcisms. I landed on Sitting in Bars with Cake, an Amazon Prime adaptation of…a cookbook memoir.

Yes, that was ab… Read More >>

Your Guide to Up North Pride Week 2023

Sept. 23, 2023

Up North Pride, a Traverse City-based nonprofit “collective of 2SLGBTQIA+ humans [and] allies looking to build a more inclusive and welcoming northern Michigan,” has made September their new go-to month for their annual Pride Week events. Here’s what’s on the schedul… Read More >>

The Water Guides: See the Boardman River, Cedar Lake, and Power Island from a New Perspective

July 15, 2023

Skip the magic carpet ride: Local kayak guides can show you the world…or at least the watery part of it. From the urban landscape of downtown Traverse City to quiet inland lakes to an island wilderness, these guided tours show you a slice of northern Michigan you haven’t seen b… Read More >>

Your Nautical Shopping Guide

July 8, 2023

Ready to get out on the lake? So are we! But as always, we hope to do so in style, so we’ve put together a list of a few retailers across northern Michigan that offer the coolest suits, hats, shoes, and accessories you need for a day on the boat, at the beach, or in the waves.