Ross Boissoneau | Author

Septuagenarian Still Running

Oct. 31, 2020

If you see Mickey Fivenson out running, it must be a day that ends in d-a-y. The veteran racer not only runs every day but also runs a 5K every day — rain, snow, sunshine, spring, summer, fall, winter, you’ll find him loping through his neighborhood, greeting his neighbors, ma... Read More >>

Whistle If You Dare

Oct. 24, 2020

’Tis the season … the season for visiting people’s final resting places. Maybe you’re of a slightly morbid fascination, and you find cemeteries interesting because of the ghost stories you read as a child. Perhaps you enjoy tracing history and genealogy through th... Read More >>

Halloween Rising

Oct. 24, 2020

While the pandemic continues to impact lives and prevent mass gatherings, some Halloween events Up North, much like your average zombie, are proving unstoppable. Here are our picks from around region — some virtual, some not, but all ready to raise some chills up your spine:

Straight Outta Hamtramck

Oct. 17, 2020

There it stands, in downtown Cedar: The Polish Art Center. Some paintings of the Old Country probably, maybe some Polish pottery. Likely some Polish-made jewelry as well. How appropriate, right in the middle of a town that — until this strange summer, of course — celebrates it... Read More >>

A House Painter, a Steel Worker, and the Art of Seeing Potential

Oct. 10, 2020

Two companies. Two very different businesses. Yet they both came to a similar place: creating gorgeous tables, using reclaimed wood, historic downed trees, live edges, often with “rivers” of epoxy over a bed of stones.

Adam Gancarski has been painting homes for years, ... Read More >>

String Theory

Oct. 10, 2020

For Josh Shelton, the restrictions imposed by the pandemic were felt more keenly than for many others. Like many other people with a learning disability who were forced out of their daily routine and couldn't engage in social interactions, Josh struggled with the new normal.

Building Back The Trades, One Student At A Time

Sept. 26, 2020

The building trades are in desperate need of more workers. Old news, right? Most people are aware that the number of workers in the trades has been declining for years, made worse when the Great Recession hit and so many skilled workers either left the state in search of work or left the ... Read More >>

Pandemic Brings Even More Heat To A White-Hot Real Estate Market

Sept. 26, 2020

There’s a mad dash going on in real estate: companies bailing on their massive corporate office buildings, families relocating from big cities to suburbs and safer small towns. And northern Michigan appears to be one of the places many are choosing, with realtors across the north re... Read More >>

Could Delivery Save NoMi Eateries?

Sept. 19, 2020

What was once the exclusive province of pizza and sandwich joints has become a means for some restaurants to thrive. But even as outdoor seating — and with it, customer numbers and gross receipts — threatens to shrink with the cooling weather, not all restaurants are ready yet... Read More >>

What First Robotics Teams Did on Their Summer Break

Sept. 12, 2020

When the coronavirus pandemic first hit, masks, face shields, and other personal protection equipment, aka PPE, were hard to come by. As the federal government and states scrambled to gather what they could from manufacturers of all industries, the state of Michigan also put out the call ... Read More >>

Whither the Maize and (Azure) Blue?

Sept. 5, 2020

They came before “The Victors.” Before The Big House. Before the winged helmets. Indeed, before Michigan had even played its first football game. The University of Michigan’s maize and blue school colors go back all the way to 1867.

And they were chosen in part b... Read More >>

Mr. Music’s No Good, Very Bad Wedding Season

Aug. 22, 2020

Jordan Anderson knows technology. He knows how to help people have a good time. He knows all manner of tunes, from rock to country to hip-hop.

Now, if only there were some parties where Jordan, a.k.a. Mr. Music, could pack the dance floor. “I don’t know when things wil... Read More >>

Fermented Pickles, Aquatic Grass, and --- Pig Lard?

Aug. 15, 2020

Traverse City Pickle Co. Pickles
It’s hard to find a good New York deli-style pickle in Northern Michigan. So Brian Shaughnessy decided to make his own.

He had the time, as he’d retired from his position as superintendent of a Lansing-area charter... Read More >>

Brush Rats, Picks, Shovels & Song

Aug. 8, 2020

When you hear about a group of friends, who work primarily in church music, working on a resurrection, your first thought is … probably wrong. That’s because they are focusing on recreating songs from Michigan’s past, songs which would have been lost forever if not for ... Read More >>

The Other Summer Sounds

Aug. 8, 2020

As with virtually all venues, the enchanting forest-circled amphitheater inside Michigan Legacy Art Park — like its hallmark series of live music performances, Summer Sounds — is silent this season.

But if you listen closely, among the chirps and skitters of bird... Read More >>

Feed Your Brain

Aug. 1, 2020

You know what they say about all work and no play, right? If you agree, consider pulling your nose off the career grindstone and give your brain a little license to relax, learn about something entirely new (or just a bit outside of your wheelhouse), and get creative in other ways.
... Read More >>

Building Bonds and Climbing the Ladder — Even When the World is Closed

Aug. 1, 2020

No matter the field, career growth is challenging. For younger professionals without the benefit of decades of experience — or contacts — it can be even more difficult.

Couple that with starting out in an era when face-to-face work and in-person ne... Read More >>

Not just a job but an adventure

Aug. 1, 2020

No matter the work, fulfillment is about the enjoyment, the challenge, and the satisfaction of a job done well. That’s why Brian Kozminski, Scott Koontz, Russell Ferrill and Leslie Latham Schutte love what they do.

What do they do? Their jobs couldn’t be more different... Read More >>

Benzonia’s Hill Top Soda Shoppe

July 25, 2020

I scream, you scream — most of it directed at the road construction on US-31 in Benzonia — but despite the difficulties posed by the orange barrels and plumes of dust outside, Hill Top Soda Shoppe is drawing lines of customers.

You could say that’s... Read More >>

Starry Nights: Catch the Comet!

July 18, 2020

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s … Comet NEOWISE? That’s right — the comet discovered less than four months ago is now lighting up the northwest portion of the night sky. It will be visible to sky-watchers here on earth through mid-August.

So wh... Read More >>