Ross Boissoneau | Author

Trends, Technology, and Threats at the Ballot Box

Oct. 19, 2024

Commercials running non-stop. Postcards filling mailboxes, urging voters to elect this or that candidate. News reports on TV and social media chock-full of information, and too often, misinformation.

It used to be called the silly season, but as election time nears, what once may ha… Read More >>

Always Chasing That Runner's High

Oct. 5, 2024

Melinda Mitchell started running in high school. Kelly Slater started when she was nine. Norm Plumstead didn’t start until after college, while Jim Graham started in 1965.

Now in their 50s, 60s, and 70s—putting them in the masters divisions for all races—these runn… Read More >>

Dreams on Parade

Oct. 5, 2024

Tony Danza, actor? Of course, with starring roles on two hit shows—Taxi and Who’s the Boss?—as well as several other television shows, movies, and Broadway plays.

Tony Danza, boxer? He sported an 8-3 record as a professional boxer before turning to acting.

The Active Retirement Shift

Oct. 5, 2024

Ah, retirement. The good life. Just make it to 65 and let that pension kick in. No more alarm clocks or worries about what the boss thinks.

Once upon a time, that was the norm. Today, however, many are working past 65, because they need to or they want to—or both. And when fol… Read More >>

Wineries Face Hiring Challenges for the Harvest

Sept. 28, 2024

It seems like everyone has a “Help Wanted” sign in the window these days. Whether in restaurants or retail, accounting or manufacturing, there is a shortage of workers. The farming industry is not immune, including grape harvesting and processing at area wineries.

With a… Read More >>

Fishing for a Fresh Tune

Sept. 14, 2024

Michael Delp and Crispin Campbell will perform in their guises as the Mad Angler and the Mad Cellist at the Alluvion Sept. 20. The duo, both retired instructors at Interlochen, will perform from their recording The River Under the River. “I’d heard Mike read [his] poems when we … Read More >>

Local Competitors Gear Up for Ironman 70.3 Michigan

Sept. 7, 2024

It draws participants from across the globe, but the Frankfort Ironman triathlon—Ironman 70.3 Michigan, officially—also draws heavily from here in northern lower Michigan.

Who are these brave souls who leap into the waters, cruise down the roads, and race along the trail… Read More >>

The One-Two Punch of Significant Strikes

Sept. 7, 2024

For Chris Franks, it’s all about giving back—and punching back. Through his gym Significant Strikes and its sister nonprofit, Grand Traverse Community Enrichment, Franks is looking to help people learn to defend themselves, get in better shape, and gain self-confidence.

Kurt Elling & SuperBlue: A Good Time Every Night

Aug. 24, 2024

Kurt Elling and his band SuperBlue just returned from a tour of Asia, including dates in China and Japan. So his upcoming shows on Aug. 31 at The Alluvion in Traverse City could be just another night, another show.

But Elling doesn’t see it that way, and he doesn’t take … Read More >>

The Proof Is in the Proofing

Aug. 10, 2024

It’s obvious from the photos that Viv is hard-working, but then again, so is everyone at a bakery. Even a 1957 Volvo.

Greg Carpenter’s restored ride isn’t the secret ingredient for the breads or pastries he and his crew make at Crooked Tree Breadworks of Petoskey. … Read More >>

Jazz Hands: At the Piano with Bob James

Aug. 3, 2024

There aren’t many musicians who have found success for as long as Bob James. Nor are there many with his musical gifts or openness. He’s played straight-ahead jazz, soul jazz, fusion, smooth, acoustic, electric, and is stunningly (at least to him) one of the most sampled artists… Read More >>

"It's a Ton of Work to Grow Food"

July 20, 2024

People got used to Zoom meetings during the pandemic, and now we conduct business of all kinds with a kitchen, library, bedroom, or other surroundings in the background. (Plus the occasional interruption from children and pets.) Still, it’s a bit out of the ordinary for someone to ask… Read More >>

Halyards for Healers

July 13, 2024

The lure of Grand Traverse Bay entices people to do more than dip their toes in the water…for Brendan O’Donnel, it inspired him to move his entire life Up North.

“That’s what drew me to northern Michigan years ago,” he says of the region’s freshw… Read More >>

Hemingway in Horton Bay

July 13, 2024

It’s a birthday party for one of America’s great authors, and everyone’s invited! On July 21, the Horton Bay School will host a party for Ernest Hemingway, born that day in 1899. Attendees will also learn about a new garden at the Bay Township Hall which will be home to th… Read More >>

A Bridge Through the Genres

June 29, 2024

Try to define the sound of Lake Street Dive. Go ahead, just try. There are some jazzy overtones, but it sounds like pop music. There’s a bit of a country lilt to vocalist Rachael Price’s voice, but also a resonance straight from earthy 1960’s soul. The band has done songs … Read More >>

Summertime, and the Music Is EVERYWHERE

June 8, 2024

More music than you can shake a rainstick at—that’s northern Michigan in the summertime. Indoors, outdoors, all around the towns and cities, you’ll find bluegrass, classical, rock, and country, with experimental and totally traditional sounds. There are national touring ar… Read More >>

Local Vet Is Still Flying High

May 18, 2024

If you're looking for Keelan McNulty, you might find him on a bike escorting kids to school. Unless he's the guy piloting a helicopter. Or maybe driving around in that brightly-colored van. Wait, isn’t that him greeting kids and parents in the school drop-off line?

The correct… Read More >>

Net-Zero Living

April 27, 2024

One-, two-, and three-bedroom units, pocket neighborhoods, and net-zero homes. Those are among the attributes of Evergreen TC, a residential development coming to the west side of Traverse City.

Evergreen TC is headed by Realtor Sue Kelly, green building expert Max Strickland, and b… Read More >>

The Garden Theater’s Green Energy Roof

April 20, 2024

In 2018, Garden Theater owners Rick and Jennie Schmitt and Blake and Marci Brooks looked into installing solar panels on the roof of the Frankfort landmark. Just one problem: The engineer told them the roof was so compromised it could collapse from the weight of a heavy snowfall. That led t… Read More >>

The Legacy of Marian Gyr: Environmentalist, Patriot, and Local Icon

March 16, 2024

You could say Marian Gyr took the road less traveled, but you’d need to apply that saying both literally and figuratively.

She was a fierce advocate for numerous causes, going her own way despite whatever the prevailing winds were. A world traveler, she lived in Europe and Can… Read More >>