In January, a contingent of northern Michiganders will run 250 miles across Ethiopia, from the capital, Addis Ababa, to the Yirgachefe coffee growing region in the southern part of the ancient East African nation, as part of a campaign to generate awareness and raise $100,000 for local education projects, including the construction of much-needed schools in coffee-harvesting communities.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, which celebrated its 40th birthday in late October, can almost count the days until work will begin on one of the Park’s biggest achievements — the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. The project is a 27-mile, multi-use trail that promotes access and safety for bikers, hikers, rollerbladers and wheelchairs
By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor It’s election season this fall, though the national political mudslinging has been a round-the-clock irritant already for years, and one that has peaked in the past 12 months. Democrats and Republicans, and their constituencies, are perpetually locked in arguments, and the nature of our political discourse has prevented us from […]
By Linda O’Neill Sun contributor At 3 in the morning through an August downpour, Gladys Muñoz is on her way to the Munson maternity ward. She is not about to deliver a baby but her presence there is desperately needed. A frightened young farmworker woman who speaks no English is in labor. Gladys will remain […]
By Pat Stinson Sun contributor Bees are humming amongst spotted purple knapweed, grasses and Queen Anne’s lace growing thigh high in a cluster of unsold lots on the south side of the New Neighborhood. Empire resident Robin Johnson, who lives across M-22 from the development — in the former Lillian and Irwin Beck, Jr. farmhouse […]
By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor Ah, what better way to celebrate an August early evening than with summer fresh ingredients — both on my plate and in my glass — and a view of the shifting light over Little Glen. At the Manor on Glen Lake, you can begin your dining affair with a fresh […]
By Pat Stinson Sun contributor On a wall clock in the dimly-lit barn, the big and little hands are both on six. A small black-and-white cat named Dora silently launches herself from the rafters and lands on hay bales beneath, then hops to her dish, where she hungrily awaits the day’s first scoops of cat […]
By Nadine Gilmer Sun contributor Twice a week, Mr. Happy drives to work for a 24-hour shift. Mr. Happy is a firefighter, and also goes by the aliases of “tinker-boy” and his given name, Andrew Anthony. I call him “Mr. Happy” because that is what the vanity plate on his truck reads. The name suits […]
By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor Avid readers of this newspaper who also frequent the Leelanau Coffee Roasting Company and have talked with John Arens, part owner of the Glen Arbor business, know that our politics don’t align. In fact, on some days our perspectives on current issues seem as far apart as the distance from […]
By Pat Stinson Sun contributor Empire resident Julie Weeks loves creating slideshows she posts on YouTube for family and friends to view. Using music and digital images of family members, vacation trips and activities she and her husband enjoy, Weeks produces a montage of gorgeously-framed and sometimes funny pictures and video she shares as a […]