Jillian Manning | Author

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Nov. 19, 2022

In 2020, U.S. nonprofits and charitable organizations saw a record of $466.23 billion in charitable giving, largely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy—an arm of Indiana University—2021 topped the charts again with $484.85... Read More >>

Sticks and Stones...and Cyberbullying

Nov. 12, 2022

For those of us in the Millennial through Silent Generation brackets, getting picked on looked a lot different when we were kids. Without the full force of technology and social media, bullying was based on physical acts of aggression and cruel words at school. Once we left the building, ... Read More >>

Pickleball Mania Hooks Players of All Ages and Skills in Northern Michigan

Nov. 5, 2022

According to a 2022 report from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America, with 4.8 million players nationwide, up 40 percent from 2020.

Northern Michigan is one of the hotspots for the sport, and was in fact one of the very ... Read More >>

Of the People, For the People, By the People

Oct. 29, 2022

What were you doing in your late twenties? While many of us were hoping to get a promotion, leaving graduate school, or trying to figure out our first life insurance policy, Katie Fahey was quite literally changing the Michigan constitution.

Fahey, an Aquinas grad who studied sust... Read More >>

Athleisure Is the New Black

Oct. 15, 2022

The last few years have had more than their share of woes, so it’s only right we get a win: the rise of athleisure.

These are the clothes that can go from bed to the gym, Zoom meetings to errands, and heck, even a night out (or in) with friends. There are no buttons or zippe... Read More >>

Fab Furnishings

Oct. 15, 2022

There’s a special kind of magic involved in finding the furniture and décor for your home. Pieces need to be functional, stylish, comfortable, and ready to stand up to whatever your household throws at them, be it weekly dinner parties or 100-pound dogs. Most importantly, the... Read More >>

Fall Birding: Making the most of the migration season

Oct. 8, 2022

Spring is usually thought of as the high season for birders, with the return of our feathered friends not only marking the end of winter but also bringing us bright plumage and beautiful songs to enjoy while the world wakes up.

But according to Brian Allen of the Manistee Audubon ... Read More >>

Two K Farms' Macoun

Oct. 1, 2022

This Suttons Bay cidery has just announced its fall release of new ciders, and we were thrilled to see Macoun on the canned list. (That means we can bring more of it home!) While Macoun isn’t new to Two K, it’s not always in cans, and we are firm believers that just one glass ... Read More >>

“Cherrishing” Northern Michigan

Sept. 17, 2022

Sara Harding is perhaps best known in NoMi for her role as the studio director of Yen Yoga & Fitness (which is now in their new digs at the Delamar Traverse City), but she’s also a curator and founder of TEDx Traverse City and a board member for Traverse Connect, TART Trails, an... Read More >>

Cider Season

Sept. 17, 2022

This time of year, cideries are hard at work harvesting apples and getting all that magical fermentation going. They’re announcing carefully-aged concoctions and on-tap-only batches that are packed with flavor. Perhaps because so many of us grew up eating donuts and drinking NoMi ap... Read More >>

Taking It Slow

Sept. 10, 2022

The fashion industry—particularly fast fashion, defined by trendy and inexpensive items—has been spotlighted in recent years as one of the world’s largest polluters. Hong Kong-based nonprofit Earth.org reports that 60 percent of clothing is made with plastic-sourced mate... Read More >>

The Universal Language

Sept. 3, 2022

Martial arts. Juggling. Intro to improv. Drone flying. Printmaking.

That sounds like a list of electives in a college course catalog, doesn’t it? Arts for All of Northern Michigan will do you one better: These are just a sampling of the classes they offer to folks of all age... Read More >>

Staying Substance Free

Aug. 27, 2022

Earlier this month, Northern Express spoke with the Grand Traverse County Drug Free Coalition and Addiction Treatment Services to hear about the trends in substance use among adults in northern Michigan. We learned that substance use and overdoses are on the rise—as has bee... Read More >>

What Is Wrong with People?

Aug. 20, 2022

It’s a question we’ve been asking ourselves for several years now. Stories of customers being rude to local business staff, community members punching journalists in the face, and people getting shot when putting their boat in the water seem to have become the norm. (Okay, tho... Read More >>

Rad.ish's Taco Flight

Aug. 13, 2022

Rad.ish has been making vegan food cool—and impossibly delicious—since 2019. And once Stone Hound Brewing Company opened in Williamsburg in the winter of 2021 and Rad.ish Mexican Street Food moved inside, they’ve been delighting diners with their Taco Flight (among other... Read More >>

Paradise Cove’s Leelanau Lemonade

Aug. 13, 2022

Talk about a drink with a view. Here’s how to get yours. Step one: Belly up to the bar at Paradise Cove Bar & Grill (aka South End Tiki Bar) tucked along the shores of Lake Leelanau. Step two: Ask for the Leelanau Lemonade ($10.50). The description on the menu may be short and s... Read More >>

Growing Up

Aug. 13, 2022

The summer harvest is upon us, and out on a farm in Peshawbestown, good things are growing.

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ Agricultural & Food Sovereignty Department took shape in an effort to produce food and food products for the community. The... Read More >>

Bad Trends, Broken Systems, and Bold New Programs

July 30, 2022

“Addiction can happen to anybody. It can touch anybody’s life, so likely somebody that [you] know has been affected by addiction.”

So says Lauren Reed, coordinator for the Grand Traverse Drug Free Coalition (GTDFC), a group made up of over 100 community members a... Read More >>

The Cost of Road Construction

July 30, 2022

Michigan is known for its four distinct seasons: fall, winter, still winter, and road construction. And while we put up with the delays and detours of construction season for its major perks—blue sky days, green trails, and finally-warm-enough waters—those orange cones herald ... Read More >>

The Return of the Festival

July 23, 2022

It’s back: After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Traverse City Film Festival returns to northern Michigan July 26 through July 31. While much remains the same about the festival we know and love, change is also in the air.

A New Face
We talked to TCFF&r... Read More >>