Entries by editor

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Missing the Manitous

A visit to the Manitou Islands requires focus and strategy to navigate abundant poison ivy, black flies, mosquitos, and ticks. Although many fall in love at first sight with this pair of remote islands in northern Lake Michigan, part of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, some may wonder what the draw is, as they disembark onto either of these windswept, buggy, and vegetation-dense islands, writes Abby Chatfield. With the Manitou Islands all but closed to visitors this year (unless you have a private boat)—as the National Lakeshore rebuilds the docks, we are reflecting on the Manitous with an ongoing series about experiences we’ve had on the islands.

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Jabo Bihlman next up at Music On The Mountain

For Jabo Bihlman, music is a calling. The Traverse City guitarist, singer and songwriter performs at clubs, wineries, and on Aug. 5 at Music On The Mountain at The Homestead. But he also works with television networks and streaming services. He’s a producer and engineer at his home-based recording studio. And he tours nationally and internationally. Not bad for a kid who hated guitar. “I had a couple lessons when I was 10 or 12 and hated it. I was a jock—in high school I played football and pole vaulted.”

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Glen Lake Community Library pursues millage renewal

In the upcoming Aug. 4 election, voters in Empire, Glen Arbor and Kasson Townships will consider a funding proposal to support the ongoing operations of the Glen Lake Community Library. The Library is seeking a renewal of the current millage of 0.2861 mills, to be assessed for six years beginning in December of this year. Income from the millage comprises almost 90% of the library’s operating income, and a renewal would generate approximately $380,000 in the first year. Property taxes, collected via a dedicated millage, are a common funding mechanism for public libraries. In Michigan alone, over 390 libraries benefit from such local funding, with a state-wide average assessment of 0.9287 mills.

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Leelanau Children’s Center raises $127,185, opens 50th year

The Leelanau Children’s Center raised $127,185 at its annual Leelanau Grown: Feast & Fundraiser, held July 21 at Aurora Cellars Estate venue. More than 150 friends and supporters attended the evening, which benefits LCC’s Financial Aid Program and marks the opening of the organization’s 50th year of service. LCC’s Financial Aid Program funds the gap between what families pay in tuition and the actual cost of care. LCC serves three- and four-year-olds, funded by tuition or, for children turning four by December 1, by the state’s free Great Start Readiness Program.

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Unaffordable housing: a view from Leelanau’s porch

“It is easy to fly a flag over a house that sits empty half the year,” writes Cameron Krepps in this op-ed about the unaffordability for many to live, or remain, in Leelanau County, which the Sun published in our July 30 edition. “It is easy to talk about independence while depending on people who can no longer afford to live near the work they do. That is the part nobody wants to say out loud.”

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Glen Arbor Arts Center features Woodland Home: A History of a Place

Two forest stewards bring to life the world of Northern Michigan’s woodland 250 years before—at the time of the nation’s founding—and after. Woodland Home: A History Of A Place takes place at the Glen Arbor Arts Center on August 1 at 11 am, with Dave Fenlon, Interpretive Park Ranger with Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore; and Mae Wright, Tribal Historic Preservation Officers with the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. The program is free and is offered as part of the GAAC’s American Tree exhibit.

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August primary sets stakes for big Michigan November election

When Leelanau County voters cast their ballots in the primary election on Tuesday, Aug. 4, the outcome of their decisions may resonate far beyond these sunny summer days. Who wins the closely watched intraparty contests for Michigan Governor, U.S. Senator, and Congress could set the paths forward for the Democratic and Republican parties at a time of political upheaval in this country. This story breaks down the Democratic primary race between Callie Barr and Kyle Blomquist, who are bidding to take on incumbent Republican Jack Bergman in the November race for Congress—and why Barr and Blomquist, and fellow Republicans challenging Bergman in the Aug. 4 primary, believe the incumbent is vulnerable in 2026.

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Leelanau Conservancy announces $75 million “Leelanau, Protected” campaign to preserve peninsula’s land and water

The Leelanau Conservancy today announced the public phase of its most ambitious campaign in the organization’s history—a $75 million effort to protect the lands, waters, and wildlife that define life in Leelanau County. With $9 million left to raise, the Conservancy invites the broader community to help complete this transformative initiative. The campaign—titled Leelanau, Protected: A Campaign for Today and Tomorrow—focuses on three top priorities: protecting natural lands and working farmland; restoring ecological health and resilience across conserved habitats; and expanding meaningful access to nature for all people.

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Smokey Bear tried to tell us: climate change and Northern Michigan’s July 2026 smokeout

In 1944, the Smokey Bear public awareness campaign launched with the famous tagline, “Only YOU can prevent forest fires.” Poorly extinguished campfires, reckless use of fireworks, even smoldering cigarette butts carelessly discarded can ignite a woodland conflagration of immense and tragic proportions. And then there’s the CO2 emissions tinderbox we’ve created. According to the Canadian Climate Institute, “Accelerating climate change, largely from the burning of fossil fuels, makes wildfires bigger, hotter, and more destructive.” Now it’s all come home—to my home and yours.

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Experience Sleeping Bear Dunes at 16th annual Port Oneida Run

Lace up your running shoes for one of Michigan’s most scenic race courses. The 16th Annual Port Oneida Run will take place on Saturday, August 1, a fundraising event hosted by the nonprofit park partner Sleeping Bear Forever (formerly Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear). Click here to register.

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