Leelanau Conservancy adds Phyl’s Forest preserve in Suttons Bay

Thanks to support from Ray and Jan Pezzi, the Leelanau Conservancy has preserved a vital wetland near the Leo Creek Preserve south of Suttons Bay, ensuring the protection of one of nature’s most precious resources. Their generosity has paved the way for Phyl’s Forest to become the newest preserve under the Leelanau Conservancy’s care, joining 29 other protected natural areas and preserves. The preserve, which will remain wild and full of life, is 67 acres and named in honor of Phyllis Stites, the late mother of Jan Pezzi.

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Nourishing body, mind and spirit: yoga and holistic wellness is on the rise in Leelanau

It’s 6 a.m. on a chilly March morning, and Leelanau County residents are filtering into a warm candlelit room for mysore ashtanga yoga. They quietly roll out their yoga mats and begin to move and breathe in a meditative flow. Later in the day, others will gather in a sunlit studio on the Leland River. They will slowly stretch and listen for the messages their bodies and breath hold. Some practice yoga daily, some weekly, and some simply attend as often as they can. All appreciate the benefits they experience in a consistent yoga practice. The yoga and wellness industry has experienced significant growth in recent years, reflecting a global shift toward health consciousness and the prioritization of well-being on all levels. That expansion is apparent here in Northern Michigan, where residents and visitors alike embrace a variety of yoga and holistic wellness practices as perfect complements to the healthy, active lifestyles they enjoy in our lush natural surroundings.

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Glen Lake Association names Kate Gille as first executive director

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The Glen Lake Association has named Kate Gille as its first-ever executive director. Gille will lead the organization in advancing its mission of “preserving and protecting the water quality, natural resources, and quality of life in the Glen Lake/Crystal River Watershed through leadership, education, and collaboration.”

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Demonstrators at Sleeping Bear Dunes and nationwide stand up for National Park Service workers

Bitter cold winds and temperatures in the teens didn’t stop them. Neither did the catatonic state of the federal government as the Trump administration and oligarch-in-chief Elon Musk take a wrecking ball to the national workforce. Yesterday, March 1, more than 60 local demonstrators gathered at noon at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore headquarters in Empire to rally on behalf of their fired National Park workers and to protest the federal spending freeze that will delay the hiring of more than 100 seasonal employees who are integral to opening our National Lakeshore to 1.6 million visitors this summer. They marched through snow and wind from the Visitor’s Center to the Empire public beach and back.

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Reich’s Sleeping Bear Dune Overlook named Manitou Music poster

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The Glen Arbor Arts Center has awarded Barbara Reich’s pastel, “Sleeping Bear Dune Overlook #10,” the honor of being the official Manitou Music poster in 2025. It is an acknowledgment of Reich’s exceptional ability to transform a familiar subject into something entirely unique, and a testament to her extraordinary talent, writes Katie Dunn. Every year for the past two-plus decades, the GAAC has chosen a distinguished piece of art representative of the area, reproducing the image as a poster and offering it at an affordable price.

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Cleveland Township Board stops proposed Maple City Dollar General with zoning, building moratorium

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Twice in 2019 Dollar General tried to build stores in Leelanau County. Twice the discount chain goliath was defeated by local zoning and citizen opposition. Leelanau remains the only county in Michigan without a discount chain store. Midwest V, the same company that targeted Maple City and Empire six years ago, now wants to build a dollar store at the corner of Maple City Road and Cemetery Road in Cleveland Township — 0.6 miles north of downtown Maple City. The Cleveland Township Planning Commission will hold a public hearing about the proposed development on Wednesday, Feb. 5, at 7 pm at the Township Hall.

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Bringing joy with the gift of reading

Last year marked the 26th year that the Friends of the Glen Lake Library has collected and distributed donations of new children’s books to young readers in Leelanau County. 380 books were distributed to 11 classes at the Glen Lake Elementary School, Parenting Communities, the Leelanau Children’s Center, the Benodjenh Children’s Center, Family Daycare Homes and preschoolers attending the weekly Story Hour at the Glen Lake Library.

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Leo Creek Preserve gifted to Inland Seas Education Association

Inland Seas Education Association recently announced that Leo Creek Preserve has been gifted to them to serve as an outdoor learning laboratory for educational programming. This donation will allow ISEA to provide shoreside watershed-focused educational experiences while continuing to keep the property open to the public for all to enjoy. Leo Creek Preserve is a nine-acre outdoor learning laboratory, nature preserve, and botanical garden located south of Suttons Bay along the Leelanau Trail. It features more than 1,000 feet of waterfront along Leo Creek, a groundwater stream that feeds into Grand Traverse Bay.

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Glen Arbor Art Center’s Sky exhibit more than just cosmic wallpaper

“Blue skies smilin’ at me. Nothin’ but blue skies do I see. Bluebirds singin’ a song. Nothin’ but blue skies from now on.” Willie Nelson’s words and voice carry a certain kind of optimism that feels infinite, much like the sky itself. The Glen Arbor Arts Center is honoring the sky with its first exhibition for the 2025 calendar year: The Sky Is Always There. The show explores that vast atmospheric expanse through a variety of creative offerings. Sarah Bearup-Neal, gallery manager of the GAAC, is the visionary behind this exhibition. It fosters a reconnection with the sky’s dynamic grandeur and gentle profundity. “In the purest and most constant way, the sky is always with us. During the early phase of developing this show, I began wondering if the sky—this enormous thing—was so familiar, so very much with us, that it becomes just more psychic wallpaper. Just another screen saver in people’s busy lives. There was a time when the sky was a place of awe for people who weren’t bombarded and numbed by an infinite number of images, input, and ‘information.’ People used to look at the sky for answers to the great questions that plague humans, like: why are the gods laughing at us? The sky had the power to humble mere mortals,” Bearup-Neal said.

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Leelanau’s influencers of 2024

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With 2024 in the rearview mirror and 2025 upon us, we’re recognizing 25 “influencers” we covered in the Glen Arbor Sun this past year who are making a meaningful impact on Leelanau County communities, commerce, and culture. Read below about those 25 local influencers, who include everyone from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, to Leelanau Investing for Teens, to Empire’s polar dippers, to popular new destinations River Club Glen Arbor, the Sleeping Bear Inn, and the Lively’s NeighborFood Market.

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