April 27, 2024

Ross Boissoneau | Author


The Other Market Shortage: Home Appraisers

May 1, 2021

What is a house worth? That’s an important question and, many times, a loaded one. The answer: It depends who’s asking. Is it the seller? The buyer? Is it part of a divorce settlement, or maybe part of a trust? And what about the size and condition of the house, its amenities,... Read More >>

Rad.Ish

April 24, 2021

A family heritage, a profound change in diet, and a family tragedy together paved the way for Rad.Ish Street Food. Though Lisa Moberly grew up learning Mexican cooking from her grandparents and other relatives who wanted to be restaurateurs, it was her husband, Ryan, who became a chef. Read More >>

Jr. Golf is Better Up North

April 24, 2021

Yeah, we’ve all seen Tiger Woods play. But maybe some of you caught sight of him playing alongside his 11-year-old son, Charlie, at the PNC Championship scramble in Orlando, Florida, back in December.

The Woods guys placed seventh overall (shooting 20 under) in the 36-hole e... Read More >>

High School Fishing pals, Now Business Partners

April 24, 2021

UPDATE, May 2022: El Jigs is now closed.

For Jack Flynn (pictured above) and Ethan Stoops, fishing isn’t the only thing. There’s school, there’s family, there’s friends. But if fishing isn't the only thing, it’s certainly one of the b... Read More >>

Trends in Outdoor Living

April 10, 2021

After a year of near-confinement, our homes’ outdoor spaces have become sanctuaries of solace and sanity — and we’re investing a lot of time and money to make them beautiful, comfy, and ideally, available for more than just three or four months of the year. That trend is... Read More >>

Salvage Stars

April 10, 2021

Reduce? Sure. Reuse? You betcha? Recycle? Only as a last resort. So how about rebuild? Or repaint, or refinish, or renovate?

If you’re like the legions of people who saw their increased stay-at-home time as an opportunity to redecorate, refresh, or renovate said home, you li... Read More >>

Wedding Rides

April 3, 2021

It’s the day you’ve been waiting for. Your prince has long since arrived on his white horse, and you’re finally making it official. So why not up the horsepower and ride to and from your nuptials in a style that suits this next milestone in your journey? Whether you want... Read More >>

Trend Watch: Custom Wedding Rings

April 3, 2021

Custom doesn’t mean costly — at least not necessarily. For those looking to make a personal statement with an engagement or wedding ring, the options are endless. Using family heirlooms or even materials associated with the area will make it more personal and sometimes even le... Read More >>

Saving Manistee’s Guardian Angel

March 20, 2021

It’s always good to have a guardian angel. Even, or perhaps especially, if you are a church of the same name.

Last year, thanks to the efforts by the Guardian Angels Historic Preservation Project, Guardian Angels Catholic Church in Manistee was named to the National Register... Read More >>

An American Tale of Irish Twins

March 13, 2021

Dennis and Shawn Spillane are Irish twins. For those unfamiliar with the term, it doesn’t mean that the siblings are Irish (though in this case, they are), nor does it mean they were born from the same mother on the same day (they weren’t).

The expression means sibling... Read More >>

A Nine-month Family Vacation

Feb. 27, 2021

Long before the pandemic, Joe and Christina Sanok had a plan. A dream, really: They wanted to take off with their kids and explore the country. With online schooling available and plenty of ways to learn firsthand about the country, it seemed like it could be a great learning experience f... Read More >>

Brain Play

Feb. 27, 2021

We get it. With the pandemic closing buildings, schooling was forced online, then back to the classroom, then maybe a hybrid approach. Education became more of a challenge than ever. Kids studying online miss their friends and the personal interaction with their teachers. Learning becomes... Read More >>

An Esteemed Tile-making Duo’s leap North

Feb. 27, 2021

Moving to a new home and business location isn’t easy. Doing so months before a pandemic shuts everything down — that definitely doesn’t make for a smooth transition. But that’s just what Rick Pruckler and Tonya Lutz did, migrating from Ferndale to northern Michiga... Read More >>

Eat ’n’ Drink News Around the North

Feb. 13, 2021

From Cadillac to Petoskey, the North's food and restaurant scene doesn’t stop changing. That’s perhaps been particularly true with COVID-19 interrupting indoor dining, shuttering some popular favorites (goodbye, The Franklin), and offering opportunities for others (Hello, Bras... Read More >>

Native Northerner Realizing Hollywood Dreams

Feb. 6, 2021

Northern Michigan native Paula Rahn is about to realize her own Lifetime achievement: a film she wrote, His Killer Fan, will debut Feb. 19 on Lifetime television. “I’m super excited. It’s the sixth movie I’ve sold, and the fourth one to air,” she sai... Read More >>

Can-Do Couple Collects Returnables for a Romantic Cause

Feb. 6, 2021

“Weddings are expensive,” said Heather Schlegel. She should know; she’s getting married in June. Even in these days of COVID-influenced decisions to pare down the proceedings, it can still be a chunk of cash. 

So when Heather and her fiancé, Joe Osbor... Read More >>

Thunder Bay Inn

Jan. 23, 2021

Former playground to Henry Ford and part of a famous film and novel based on a real-life murder in the town, the courtroom trial — and a most unusual insanity defense

Mark Bevins had a dream. A 30-year employee at General Motors, he longed to fill the role of innkeeper. And ... Read More >>

Cadillac’s Parkview Lanes

Jan. 23, 2021

What do you call a business that’s been handed down within a family for more than 75 years until it rests in the hands of the originators’ great-grandchildren — with the possibility of another generation on the way? In Cadillac, you call it Parkview Lanes.

&ldquo... Read More >>

Frankfort’s Garden Theater Sold

Jan. 16, 2021

An innovative, eco-friendly move to include solar energy at the Garden Theater instead led to it being sold to a local nonprofit. Owners Rick and Jenni Schmitt and Blake and Marci Brooks signed it over to the Friends of the Garden Theater just before the turn of the new year, and the nonp... Read More >>

Arts & Entertainment to Warm Your Winter

Jan. 9, 2021

The pandemic has played havoc with all facets of life, including the arts. Whether music, lectures, visual art, dance, the live experience has all but disappeared. While the world awaits the vaccine and (hoped-for) subsequent return to something approaching normality, artists of all strip... Read More >>