Today the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department (BLDHD) reported 21 new cases of COVID-19 in Leelanau County and 12 in Benzie County. Since Friday, April 2, BLDHD has reported 81 cases in Leelanau and 44 cases in Benzie.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore attracted a whopping 86,944 visitors during the first three months of 2021. That early number suggests another record-breaking year for visitation to the National Lakeshore.
Here in Burdickville on Glen Lake, Mike Binsfeld was crushed by the news of John Prine’s death one year ago today. Both of Binsfeld’s daughters had just recovered from COVID, Nancy in Colorado and Molly in California, and Mike and his wife Mindy were just emerging from the trauma of not being able to travel to their sick children because of the lockdown and not knowing just why they were sick nor how dangerous the disease could be. Mike woke up the next day with a song sliding around in his head, and so now we have his moving ode to John Prine called “Six Feet Away.”
Today the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department (BLDHD) reported nine new cases of COVID-19 in Leelanau County and seven in Benzie County. Since Friday, April 2, the Health Department has reported 23 new cases in Leelanau and 13 new cases in Benzie. The BLDHD was notified today that one case of the B.1.1.7 variant that reportedly originated in the United Kingdom was identified in Benzie County.
The League of Women Voters Leelanau County invites the public to participate in a virtual educational forum, “The Impact of COVID-19 on Agriculture in Leelanau County” on Wednesday, April 7 at noon.
On Monday, April 5, Traverse City Area Public Schools will host a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at Traverse City Central High School from noon to 7 p.m. Those returning from Spring Break this past week who may have been exposed to COVID-19 and those exhibiting symptoms are encouraged to get tested before returning to school and work.
This coming July, Shipwreck Café owner Steve Nowicki won’t have to log 200-hour weeks together with his staff of four, throwing together sandwiches and slinging pizzas as fast as a hummingbird for thousands of hungry tourists headed for packed beaches in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. That’s because Leelanau County is launching an innovative new program that puts waiters, clerks, and housekeepers in every extra bed in every house.
How hot is Leelanau County’s real estate market these days—as families eager to escape big cities during a pandemic fix their gaze on our “land of delight”?
Faced with spiking COVID-19 numbers in Empire’s 49630 zip code and throughout Michigan, Empire Asparagus Festival organizer Paul Skinner has decided that he will almost definitely postpone the 2021 festival. The Empire Asparagus Festival, which is typically held in mid-May, just as the asparagus crop shoots out of the ground, was also canceled in 2020.
The North Manitou Light Keepers announced today that they have been awarded a Michigan Lighthouse Assistance Program grant from the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to help restore the North Manitou Shoal Light Station between the Manitou Islands and mainland Leelanau County—otherwise known as the “Crib”.