Todd VanSickle | Author
Toy Store Trouble Ahead? Local Shop Owners Urge Early Holiday Buying
Oct. 11, 2025
Whether you were good or bad this year, expect more tariffs in your stocking come December. At the start of the second Donald Trump presidency earlier this year, the administration imposed sweeping tariffs on a wide range of products made outside of the United States.
From January t…
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How ’Bout Them Apples? Michigan Apple Harvest Is Looking Bountiful
Sept. 20, 2025
For the fourth consecutive year, Michigan is on track for an above average apple harvest thanks to mild weather conditions, low disease outbreak, and more high-density orchards.
Michigan farmers are estimated to harvest a combined 30 million bushels or about 1.26 billion pounds of a…
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Last Stop for Antiques Roadshow?
Aug. 9, 2025
On July 1, Antiques Roadshow made its last stop of the season at Charlevoix, but recent cuts to federal funding for public broadcasting have some worried it might be the end of the road for many PBS programs.
For almost 30 years, Antiques Roadshow has featured gues…
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Douglas Lake Bar: A Destination Restaurant
Aug. 9, 2025
You won’t see any billboards or flashy advertisements for the Douglas Lake Bar & Steakhouse as you make your way to this hidden summer gem 20 minutes south of the Mackinaw Bridge and just six miles west of I-75.
“It is really a destination restaurant,” says fro…
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Welcome to Somebody’s Gallery!
July 26, 2025
A little over 10 years ago, Julie Stoppel was shopping in Petoskey’s Gaslight District when a friend pointed out a building that she thought would make a good location for an art gallery—something Stoppel had always dreamed of owning and operating.
“What I wanted t…
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Cadillac, from Timber to Rails to Trails
June 14, 2025
George Mitchell had a vision when he dreamed of developing what is known today as the city of Cadillac, but he may not have imagined that it would become a top destination for recreational trail users in the state.
Today, Wexford County has hundreds of miles of trails, including mor…
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The Pit Spitters’ Cherry on Top
June 14, 2025
Traverse City Pit Spitter baseball fans now have the option of adding a cherry on top of anything. Per Traverse City Pit Spitter General Manager Jacqueline Holm, “For an extra 50 cents, we now have a button on our cash register that you can get a cherry on a hot dog, a beer, nachos, a…
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A Bird's-Eye View of Skegemog Raptor Center
March 22, 2025
Photo by Tyler Franz
On a cold, rainy April day in 2021, James Manley received a phone call about an injured bald eagle near a small lake in Wexford County. At the time, he was in the process of creating the Skegemog Raptor Center (SRC) and was awaiting approval of its 501(…
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Free College? Read Between the Lines
Sept. 4, 2021
Jim and Wendy Rowe are basic EMTs with the Frederic Township Fire Department. They love their job and caring for people.
They see a significant part of the healthcare industry moving toward paramedicine, where paramedics make house calls to deliver care to the elderly and sick &mdas…
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Smooth Sailing
Aug. 28, 2021
On Wednesday nights, the waters of West Grand Traverse Bay churn with Grand Traverse Yacht Club teams racing for inter-club glory.
The eye-catching boats – a fleet of 14 Melges 24s – are known for their easy set-up and high performance on both inland lakes and big open w…
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4 Rivers. 4 Adventures. Go!
June 12, 2021
Northern Michigan is a kayaking mecca — and for good reason. The region’s myriad waterways offer a variety of adventures for all levels of kayakers, and an opportunity to rent one of these boats is as ubiquitous as it is to buy. (A visit to your local Meijer or sporting goods st…
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There's Gold in Our Timber
May 22, 2021
You’ve probably seen the high demand for lumber and its skyrocketing prices of late. Or maybe, like folks driving along M-72 between Williamsburg and Grayling in the last year, you noticed a large swath of forest has vanished. With mega South American company Arauco’s openin…
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Dec. 5, 2020 Ask any nurse right now; there’s a good chance he or she has a story about crying in the bathroom while at work. Although nurses have always had to deal with stress on the job, the COVID-19 pandemic has only made things worse as a second wave pushes northern Michigan hos…
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Oct. 24, 2020 Dan Bloomquist and his wife, Evamarie, bought Breakfast & Burger Express in downtown Kalkaska at a great time: December 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Bloomquist considers the forced closure a bit of a lucky break. “It took a little while because some o…
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Oct. 3, 2020 Cherry Bay Orchards president Mark Miezio remembers getting a phone call on Labor Day weekend that he hopes he never receives again. “It was a very terrifying thing to get that phone call that one of our new workers tested positive for COVID-19,” he said. C…
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Sept. 5, 2020 On a warm, muggy August afternoon, Donald Hager, 93 years old, sat at his kitchen table with his wife Elaine, 91, trying to recall the first president he had voted for. “It is whoever ran against [Franklin Delano] Roosevelt,” Donald said, with a chuckle. “I think i…
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May 30, 2020 Billy Bob’s Boneyard is one of the newest food trucks in Kalkaska. Their specialty: homemade pulled pork. Available on sliders, macaroni and cheese, fries, nachos, and more, this succulent, sweet, and tangy pork is good enough to stand alone, but if you’re going to pair it…
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May 30, 2020 The pandemic might have kiboshed many of our traditional summer events and festivals, but the hiking season is still on in northern Michigan. With more than 12,000 miles of hiking trails throughout the state, and — let’s be honest — some of the prettiest of the mul…
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April 11, 2020 When Dr. Rod Hanley became the tenth president of Lake Superior State University in 2018, he knew it was a time for a change. March 28, 2020 Amy Rouleau is the director of Restoration Place, a non-profit in Genesee County that educates the public about human trafficking.
Local Nurses Speak Out
Kalkaska's Moose & Stella's
COVID-19's Impact on Migrant Workers and the North's Ag Economy
Voting Up North
Billy Bob’s Boneyard Deep-Fried Potato Salad
Your 2020 Summer-Hike Hot List
A Truly Dope Degree
“I pulled in the provost Dr. Lynn Gillette, and I said, ‘You know we need to form some new academic programs,’&rdqu…
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Human Trafficking in our Backyard
Since 2012, Rouleau has often found herself on the frontlines rescuing human trafficking victims. It is an emotional experience fille…
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