The Homestead Resort’s front lift is open Friday-Sunday to carry downhill skiers up the hill where they can enjoy mesmerizing views of Lake Michigan and fast runs down the front side of the mountain. Meanwhile, the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes report that the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail got about 5-6 inches of fresh light powder last night in Glen Haven and Glen Arbor.
For families lucky enough to be on her roster, Rhonda Mack’s home near Lake Leelanau is an ideal safe and nurturing place to leave their young children during the workday. Many more families are stuck in limbo, unable to find affordable childcare for infants and toddlers. The crisis is particularly acute in rural areas. Mack’s business is a model that the Leelanau County Early Childhood Development Commission (LECDC) hopes will inspire at least four or five more home-based childcare businesses to launch during 2022. This month LECDC kicks off a multipronged campaign to recruit others to set up their own home-based child care facilities.
On Jan. 18, LeBear Resort manager Jennifer Tremble (r) presented a second donation—this time a check for $1,000—to Glen Lake Fire Department chief Bryan Ferguson (l) for putting out the fire at LeBear early in the morning of May 15, 2021.
Kim Kelderhouse, executive director of the Leelanau Historical Society & Museum reports that historic Leelanau newspapers dating back more than 150 years are now accessible online at digmichnews.cmich.edu. This momentous accomplishment has been the dedicated effort of the Leelanau Historical Society since 2017.
Glen Lake Community Schools reported on Facebook this evening that it will close Thursday, Jan. 13, and Friday, Jan. 14, due to staffing shortages and sickness. The school closure is “due to excessive COVID illness or quarantine.” The positivity rate for COVID tests in Leelanau County remains at an astronomical 20.4%. The Health Department reported 35 COVID-positive cases on Tuesday, Jan. 11.
“We have snow, and lots of it,” report the Friends of Sleeping Bear Dunes. “Come out to Sleeping Bear Dunes while the skiing, snowshoeing, sledding, is at it’s best!” The grooming crew has been busy on the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail. The Trail has been groomed from Empire to Glen Arbor and North of Glen Arbor at Crystal View trailhead to the Lawr Farm (Wheeler Road). Conditions are really good.
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore attracted 14,401 visitors in December, thus setting another annual visitation record. A total 1,722,955 people frequented our local National Park in 2021, topping the previous record, which was set in 2020, by just over 4,000.
The Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department reported 51 new COVID-19 cases in Leelanau County on Tuesday, Jan. 4. In Benzie County, 31 new cases were reported. Both represent single-day records. The previous high was set on Nov. 12 when Leelanau recorded 37 and Benzie recorded 29 cases.
You sit down with this wild-bearded, twinkly-eyed man at a table full of colored pencils and ornate coloring sheets that he created. You’re not sure why you’re here, except for feeling nostalgic for simpler times when you were just a worry-free kid. Soon, you’re pouring your heart out to Grandfather Color as you scribble, finding joy and solace through the creativity of color. Grandfather Color, otherwise known as Richard Stocker, is the facilitator behind myriad efforts to heal the world, person by person, by guiding them through their healing process using color. He is also the facilitator of the new “Get Well World” and “Color COVID Away campaigns that are just unrolling across Leelanau, Benzie and Grand Traverse counties.
Here’s a roundup of the Glen Arbor Sun’s coverage of workforce and affordable housing issues in Leelanau County.