Opinion
The Real Threat to Election Confidence? Ignoring the Process
Guest Opinion
By Justin Mendoza | July 4, 2026
Recently, Antrim County Clerk Victoria Bishop, a Republican, abused her power by improperly canceling voter registrations, including for voters who decided not to vote for a handful of years. This is a power that only municipal clerks have. She then failed to respond to the Michigan Bureau of Elections’s (BOE) requests for information, and the BOE responded by suspending her access to the voter file. Bishop’s access will remain suspended until she … Read More >>
The Real Us
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | July 4, 2026
Sports, we are told (perhaps too often), teach important lessons about life. Teamwork, responsibility, winning and losing, the benefits of effort... lots of lessons. Sometimes, though, what surrounds sports teaches us a different kind of lesson about ourselves. Every four years the world championship of football (soccer) is held in the form of the World Cup. Nations put together their best teams for this quadrennial extravaganza of extraordinary skill, a competition in … Read More >>
Skip the Drive-Through, Hit the Street
Guest Opinion
By Cathye Williams | June 27, 2026
Food truck season is upon us. Glorious glorious summer food. From Manistee to Marquette and plenty of places in between, we are dining alfresco, and washing it down with local offerings of beer, wine, soda, and cider. Whether they honed their skills at culinary school or their grandma’s kitchen, our Michigan street chefs bring a lot to the picnic table. I’m thankful for a country where so many foodways have found a … Read More >>
Wanna Bet?
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | June 27, 2026
If you’d like to make a wager on just about anything, you now have ample opportunity to do so. You can go to a local casino or just pick up your phone or computer, and risk-taking is right there at your fingertips. Gambling used to be the purview of casinos in Nevada or Atlantic City or your local, neighborhood bookie. Casino gambling required some genuine effort, as you had to actually get … Read More >>
The Overlooked Environmental Legal Tool Your Township May Already Have
Guest Opinion
By Lauren Teichner | June 20, 2026
Concerned about a proposed data center, shoreline development, tree clearing, or loss of rural character in your community? Here is something many Michigan residents—and even local officials—do not realize: your municipality may already have an overlooked legal tool that can help local officials respond to environmental concerns before projects proceed. It is called the Michigan Environmental Protection Act (MEPA), and while many people think of it primarily as a law used in … Read More >>
Judge for Yourself
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | June 20, 2026
President Donald Trump just turned 80. Already the oldest person to ever be elected to the office, he will be the oldest to have ever served if he finishes his current term. There are many questioning if he is mentally up to the task. This comes on the heels of Joe Biden being ridiculed, insulted, and effectively run out of his reelection efforts after a poor debate performance. It was clear, his … Read More >>
Real Patriots Face Reality
Guest Opinion
By Karen Mulvahill | June 13, 2026
"The best friend of a nation is he who most faithfully rebukes her for her sins—and he her worst enemy who, under the specious … garb of patriotism seeks to excuse, palliate or defend them." –Frederick Douglass As we approach the 250th anniversary of our country’s Declaration of Independence, there is a blatant effort underway by our current administration to rewrite history, under the misnomer “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” … Read More >>
Still Targets
Spectator
By Stephen Tuttle | June 13, 2026
The question gets frequently asked: Why do veterans only get one day of celebration when the LGBTQ+ community gets an entire Pride Month? Maybe it’s because we’ve rightly recognized veterans for a long time and they have not traditionally been the targets of relentless discrimination, both statutory and personal. Pride Month, now recognized internationally, started in 1969 as a response to the Stonewall Riots and arrests the previous year. The road to … Read More >>
250 Years Means More Than Celebration
Guest Opinion
By Stewart MacLeod | June 13, 2026
As we approach our 250th anniversary, there is much history can teach us. Sure, we should celebrate 250 years as a country, but let’s not wander aimlessly into our next 250 years. This should be more than just celebration—we should be dealing with the present and preparing for the future. Our partisan shouting matches and “my-way-or-the-highway” talk makes me think back to my college days. My U.S. history professor—a true democrat—really liked … Read More >>
Why I Love Our President
Guest Opinion
By Walt Wood | June 6, 2026
Dear Mr. President, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Though I will stop short of naming you the greatest president of all time, you are definitely in the top five. You have accomplished over the course of five and a half years in office what no president has ever achieved in the history of our great nation. You have single-handedly forced us to confront the shortcomings of the … Read More >>
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