Leelanau Energy task force boasts big goals: Commissioner Lautner pushes back

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The Leelanau County Energy Futures Task Force, which was created by the County Commission last fall “to identify opportunities and facilitate implementation of energy efficiency and renewable energy in Leelanau County,” has big, green goals for this peninsula. The Commission earlier this year voted to apply for a $1.5 million grant to erect two solar arrays at the County Governmental Center campus. If awarded and approved by the Commission, the solar arrays could provide about 30 percent of the campus’ energy requirements, while saving the County $35,000 per year and more than $1.5 million in energy bills over the next 30 years. But the advisory group’s honeymoon ended soon after it was created. Commissioner Melinda Lautner, a Republican who has represented Solon and Kasson Townships for nearly three decades, has led the opposition to the solar array grant, even after voting to create the task force. “She inserted herself as the very last new member of the task force, then she missed all but one meeting to date,” said task force chairperson Joe DeFors. “She’s been an opponent of virtually every initiative we’ve put forward.” Lautner, who has been a Commissioner since 1995, faces her first-ever primary challenge from a fellow Republican on Tuesday, Aug. 6.

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Five out of five kids recommend golf at Glen Arbor’s new River Club

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Glen Arbor’s newest attraction is not your average putting course experience. Many of you have been to the River Club already, but for those of you who haven’t, here is a review, courtesy of 11-year-old Martin Ludden and four other kids between ages 8 and 11. During our two visits to River Club so far, there have been families on most of the course’s 18 holes, but they move quick. It’s a fun vibe, and with people talking and laughing it feels almost like a community treasure hunt. Plus, you can finish and start a new game. With your day-pass wrist band the place offers unlimited minigolf while your parents eat and drink, relax by the river or listen to live music!

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Grand Traverse Band lands federal money, New Community Vision support, to acquire Timber Shores property

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New Community Vision’s two-year effort to acquire and preserve the former Timber Shores property between Omena and Northport will benefit from a multi-million dollar federal grant to the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians as part of an overall $11.9 million funding recommendation announced last Thursday by the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The grant is part the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. NCV and the Band hope to preserve more than 200 acres—including 1,800 feet of lakeshore—as a public nature preserve for the community while using 24 acres in an upland section of the property for affordable housing—an acute issue facing the region. The land between Omena and Northport, which sits along West Grand Traverse Bay and was once the site of Timber Shores campground, was later considered for a luxury condo development with a private marina. More recently, developers sought to turn it into an RV park and campground, but faced local pushback and were stopped by a 2022 ballot referendum that opposed the RV park.

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Empire holds Anchor Day events, July 19-20

Empire will hold its annual Empire Day celebration on Friday-Saturday, July 19-20. Click here for a schedule of events.

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Sleeping Bear Inn awakens

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As we peer out the original windows of the restored Sleeping Bear Inn and into Lake Michigan’s rolling blue waves, we imagine a Michigan Transit Co. steamship arriving at the 650-foot dock in Glen Haven, just as it would have in the 1920s, carrying lumbermen, tourists, and fortune seekers who had departed Chicago the previous evening. The visitors disembark, plant their feet on land and gaze with wonder at the shoreline and the Manitou Islands floating in the distance. The Sleeping Bear Inn, the crowned jewel of Glen Haven, reopens to guests later this summer, more than 50 years after it closed when this National Lakeshore was created in 1972. The Inn, which was built in 1866 and served guests through the Michigan lumber boom, the roaring ’20s, and the era of dune buggies, is the oldest hotel in the National Park Service

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Leelanau School opens Charles E. Scripps Creativity Center

The Leelanau School recently dedicated the newly constructed Charles E. Scripps Jr. Creativity Center on its Glen Arbor campus. The Center will house the school’s ceramics studio, newly donated woodworking shop, and new Laser Engraving program. The project was inspired and funded through the generosity of Charles E. Scripps Jr. of Montana, a Leelanau parent and grandparent. Mr. Scripps shares Leelanau’s passion for hands-on and entrepreneurial learning experiences. Applied arts allow students to learn elements of creativity and design while acquiring the discipline required to turn ideas into reality.

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36 hours? But how would you spend 36 DAYS in Leelanau?

You may have read The New York Times late May story on how to spend 36 Hours in Traverse City and Leelanau County. Oh, but 36 hours is so painfully short! We asked our Glen Arbor Sun writers how they would spend 36 DAYS in our beautiful peninsula—with an emphasis on slowing down, breathing, observing, and reflecting on this special place. Click here for our recommendations.

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Laughing in Leelanau author, legendary storyteller Scott Craig dies

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Leland resident Scott Craig, an award-winning documentary filmmaker who worked for CBS, NBC, PBS, Turner Broadcasting and HGTV—and later moved to Leelanau County where his plays, radio features, and stories have been omnipresent on the airwaves, at local restaurants and cafes, and on stage at the Old Art Building—died on Thursday, April 18, at age 89. A celebration of Scott’s life will take place on his 90th birthday, Monday June 24, at 4 pm at the Old Art Building, a place where he helped create a lot of theater magic. “I’m never happier than when I’m working on a creative project,” Scott told the Glen Arbor Sun in 2020. “I’ve only been bored a half a day since I retired … because I’ve always found something creative to do.”

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Collecting Rocks in Leelanau

Who among us in Leelanau has not walked our lovely beaches and often pick up an interesting rock or two? We may have sometimes wondered just what the seemingly endless array of rocks strewn on the beaches exactly are. What are they made up of, how did they get here, and where did they come from? Most importantly, what stories might they tell us?

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Duneswood Resort becomes Dune Climb Inn

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The Dune Climb Inn is proud to announce the renovation and rebrand of a classic motel, formerly Duneswood Resort, on M-109 in the heart of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Inspired by the nature surrounding it, the rooms are dressed in blues and greens and feature local art and photography, retaining that intimate motel feeling with a colorful refresh. It is the perfect home base for an outdoor adventures and escape.

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