Features

What Does $500,000 Get You in Northern Michigan Real Estate?

From petite condos to sprawling acreage, it’s all about location, location, location

By Abby McKiernan | April 26, 2025

In the world of real estate, $500,000 used to buy you a mansion. Today, that big chunk of change can mean very different things depending on where you’re looking—especially in northern Michigan. In some areas, that price might get you a newer home with acreage, maybe even water access. In others, it might mean an older, modest house in a prime location. To get a sense of what half a million dollars … Read More >>

Cleaning Up Trail by Trail

Volunteers rally after devastating northern Michigan ice storm

By Matt Dursum | April 26, 2025

A historic ice storm ravaged the northern Lower Peninsula from March 28 to March 30. Freezing temperatures, damaging winds, and severe ice accumulation caused widespread damage in several northern Michigan counties. Besides the damaged electrical grid, which left thousands of people without power for over two weeks, the region’s beloved trail systems took the biggest hit. “The ice storm brought down thousands of acres of trees, from their crowns to uprooting trees … Read More >>

A Hand Up in Housing with Habitat

Funding, land, and construction costs top of mind for local Habitat for Humanity affiliates

By Art Bukowski | April 26, 2025

Local Habitat for Humanity offices are in the business of making dreams come true, working one family at a time to battle housing insecurity in our region. While Habitat is perhaps best known for building homes, the organization serves residents in many other ways.  Northern Express connected with local Habitat offices in northwest Michigan to see what’s new and what’s next. (Note: The Otsego-Antrim office was busy assisting with recovery from the … Read More >>

Feels Like Home, Looks Like You

House on Horizon combines English antiquing and interior design

By Rachel Pasche | April 26, 2025

The feel of the English countryside—think Narnia-worthy wardrobes, sleigh beds, and farmhouse tables—is closer than you might think. Elk Rapids’ House on Horizon specializes in designing and furnishing spaces meant to evoke feelings of old-world England and a slower pace of life. Owners Sam and Liv Barnsley didn’t meet in England, or even in Michigan—instead, they met in college in southern Mississippi, where Sam had come from England on a soccer scholarship. … Read More >>

Building "Delightful Surprise By Design"

Boyne’s the spot for design/build team SpotLab

By Ross Boissoneau | April 26, 2025

How do you design a bathroom and a kitchenette in a 400-square-foot dome, where there are no walls or straight lines? Apparently the same way you refurbish an aging farmhouse, or transform a house in Ann Arbor into a forever home that maintains a colorful, playful feeling: by hiring SpotLab. The build/design firm is helmed by designer Tessa French and builder Zeb Burge. The couple worked together for a decade on a … Read More >>

Film Review: Sinners

5 Stars

By Joseph Beyer | April 26, 2025

Writer and director Ryan Coogler is one of the more unlikely success stories there has ever been in film. And with his latest genuinely epic opus Sinners, he has, at age 38, already conquered the box office while staying wonderfully true to his unique style and voice. This career started with his heartbreaking drama Fruitvale Station in 2013, an independent drama that retold the murder of Oscar Grant by the transit authority … Read More >>

Origin & Echo

New exhibit opening in Northport

April 26, 2025

Art can often be a solo endeavor, but Northport Public Schools art teacher Jen Evans and the Northport Arts Association want to bridge that gap. The upcoming Origin & Echo exhibit features original works by K-12 students alongside art inspired by those pieces from adult artists in the community. (For example, a student could paint a field of flowers, and their adult pair could build a 3D copper wire bouquet.) The goal … Read More >>

Spotlight on Our Trails

Stuff We Love

April 26, 2025

Northern Michigan’s trails are a point of pride for residents. Last week, the state of Michigan recognized what we’ve long known: that these trails are some of the best in the state. The Betsie Valley Trail, a 22-mile pathway extending from Frankfort through Elberta and Beulah to Thompsonville in Benzie County, and Chain of Lakes Water Trail, a 100-plus mile inland water trail made up of 12 lakes and interconnected rivers in … Read More >>

Music House Museum Presents Family Fun Day

April 26, 2025

If you’ve never driven out to Williamsburg to explore the Music House Museum, now’s the time to go! MHM is hosting a Family Fun Day on Sunday, May 4, from 12-4pm. Visitors will enjoy one-hour tours to explore the museum’s eclectic collection of rare and old instruments, from floor-to-ceiling organs to jukeboxes to a 1925 Weber Duo-Art reproducing piano that plays Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue.” Each station features historical vignettes from the … Read More >>

Love and Murder at Old Town Playhouse

By Jamie Kauffold | April 26, 2025

Knocking off relatives and romance are on Monty Navarro’s mind when he finds out he’s only eighth in line for an earldom in the prominent D’Ysquith family. See what happens in his darkly comedic journey through Edwardian England in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, the upcoming musical at Old Town Playhouse, TC, April 25 – May 10. Tickets range from $20-$33. For performance times and more info visit oldtownplayhouse.com/tickets. Read More >>