Entries by editor

Bird sanctuary just part of Charter’s obsession

For some, birding is an engaging activity. For others, observing and helping our feathered friends is a passion. For Kay Charter, it’s a self-described obsession. “I had an epiphany three years after moving into our home,” said the founder of the non-profit Saving Birds Through Habitat. “I saw a winter wren. It’s the Mozart of the bird world.” Saving Birds Through Habitat is a haven for thousands of birds. “We’ve lost more than 30 percent of our birds. Songbirds and shorebirds are the ones that have taken the hit,” she says.

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From Michigan to Finland and back

In this essay published in our late August edition of the Sun, Empire native Jessica Sharry reflects on moving from Northern Michigan to Finland and back, on practicing yoga, on immigration, on food, and on nature.

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An international Labor Day in Glen Arbor

The hard-working international staff at Anderson’s Market in Glen Arbor paused on Aug. 19 to pose for a team photo. Standing in the back row are (l-r) Britnie and Annalisa (Jamaica) and Sabina (Kazakhstan); in the middle (l-r), Clint (U.S.), Kerem (Turkey), Francis (Dominican Repubic), and Rahma (Tanzania), and in the front (l- r), Filiz and Yeşim (Turkey), owner Brad Anderson, and Karina (Kazakhstan). Photo by Jamie Cline

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Cottage Book Shop: a perfect gig for this English major

In early October last year, I stopped by the iconic Cottage Book Shop in Glen Arbor to introduce myself—a local author whose book is carried there—and to sign copies. Entering the historic log cabin is literally a mood-altering experience. The open door beckons bookworms young and old. Inside, it’s chockful of books and sundry novelties, its walls notably displaying color-popping Greg Sobran prints of area landmarks. Indeed, Cottage Book Shop is the epitome of cozy.

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Reflecting on a Manitou solitaire with the endangered piping plovers

Back in early July, on a windy Sunday, I woke before sunrise at the southern end of North Manitou Island and headed out onto the beach for the day’s work. There at Dimmick’s Point, a broad wing of dunes and wave-turned stones reaching out into the Manitou Passage, we find the largest nesting concentration of Great Lakes piping plovers in the world. Roughly a quarter of the population nests on the island, with another quarter nesting just across the passage. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is home to nearly half the breeding pairs of this endangered shorebird. At Dimmick’s Point, four days a week during nesting season from May to August, I walk the beach and monitor the plover activity. The point is closed to park visitors during that time, so I am typically the only human among the birds.

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Second-generation farmhand delivers grapes, workers, tortillas

Consider Tomas Moreno a matchmaker for Leelanau County’s migrant farmworkers. The soft-spoken, good-natured Texas native and Leland Public School graduate with family roots in Mexico manages 54 vineyard acres north of Lake Leelanau for Bel Lago and French Valley wineries. He interprets for and leads a crew of Hispanic farm workers, indispensable to the harvest, some of whom arrive in northern Michigan on H-2A temporary work visas. Tomas, who turns 41 next month, also recently began making fresh tortillas with his wife Julieta to sell to the local Latino community.

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Glen Arbor Players hold “Anatomy of a Murder” auditions

The Glen Arbor players have scheduled two rounds of auditions for their new play, “Anatomy of a Murder.”

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Glen Arbor Arts Center hosts Drummunity

Percussionist Lori Fithian brings her collection of hand drums and percussion instruments to the Manitou Music series on Saturday, August 27, from 1-3 pm at the Glen Arbor Arts Center, located at 6031 S. Lake St., in Glen Arbor.

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Vacasa acquires Leelanau Vacation Rentals

Vacasa, the largest rental company in North America, has purchased Leelanau Vacation Rentals in Glen Arbor from Ranae Ihme. The changeover will take place at the end of August. Most of the local staff will stay on, and Ranae and Bob Ihme will continue to own and run Glen Arbor Outdoor and LVR Realty, which they have renamed Leelanau Vacation Realty. The Ihmes and Vacasa will operate out of the same building across the street from the Glen Arbor park.

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Michigan Attorney General visits Cherry Republic

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who faces a reelection campaign this fall, spoke to supporters in the Cherry Public House beer garden on August 17. The event was organized by the Michigan League of Conservation Voters and by Cherry Republic. Nessel spoke about shutting down Pipeline 5 and protecting abortion rights.

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