Talk of the Town

Empire’s healing homing pigeon

By Codi Yeager Sun contributor At first glance, the snowy white bird roosting in the eaves at the Manitou Medical Center in Empire resembles the average seagull. That’s what Dr. Douglas Coles, the clinic’s MD, thought nearly two years ago when he first spied the clinic’s unofficial mascot. But “Ouija” (Wee-jee) is not your average […]

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Final Pickin’ Party brings curtain over annual event

By Bill Dungjen Sun contributor Twenty years ago, Patrick and Mary Kay Niemisto invited around 15 of their musician friends to their house on Baatz Road in southern Leelanau County to share music and a potluck supper and friendship over the Memorial Day weekend. Since then, they have seen their children grow up, they have […]

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Spontaneous wedding elopes at final Pickin’ Party

By Jacob Wheeler Sun editor Weddings are many things: celebrations of love, lavish parties and family reunions. Typically they are also meticulously planned and rehearsed, down to where the flowers and candles are placed, months before the vows are exchanging. Not so for Megan Lewis, 38, and James Garfield Bartley, 31, both transplants from Detroit, […]

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Local restaurants go smoke free

From staff reports Both Glen Arbor and Empire now boast a locale where you can have a drink at the bar (even in January) without smelling like a Marlboro chimney the next morning. The Western Avenue Grill’s manager Bill Skolnik banned smoking in the whole bar on April 1. The few customers who complained about […]

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Lights …. Camera …. Action, for local cinema connoisseurs

By Pat Stinson Sun contributor For many, films are an important way to survive the long, cold winter. Northern Michigan is now considered a movie mecca, as folks from all over the world migrate here in the summer to attend the Traverse City Film Festival. In case you haven’t heard, Michael Moore and the TC […]

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Community bids adieu to a deserted downtown at dusk

By Pat Stinson Sun contributor Much has been written in the last two months about the astounding six-week, $850,000 renovation and grand reopening of the 540-seat State Theatre in downtown Traverse City. Benzie County journalist Keith Schneider wrote a piece for the New York Times in December regarding the restoration of historic movie houses and […]

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Glen Lake deemed among top 1,000 schools in America

By Nadine Gilmer Sun contributor It isn’t well known that Glen Lake Community Schools, nestled in the hills east of the Glen Lakes, made the list of the top 1,000 schools in the country. Even the secondary principal, Kevin Kelly says, “I didn’t even know about it until I was driving to work one day […]

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Not your typical townies

The ghouls, goblins and cross dressers were out on the town in Glen Arbor during the Sunday prior to Halloween. Sue Nichols (left) took a tumble in the leaves, and Tim Barr (right, in the flowery dress) and Bonnie Nescott directed traffic outside of Art’s … Tim’s makeover slowed traffic to a crawl. Photos by […]

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Chatter au lait … and Coffee, too

By Joanne Bender Sun contributor They meet daily at the Leelanau Coffee Roasting Company in Glen Arbor, winter, spring, summer and fall. Outside or inside, depending on weather conditions. “They” includes the “regulars” and most are “locals.” Why? To talk, to laugh, to chide one another and to have a cup of java. The group […]

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Kids’ Camp popular at Township Park

By Joanne Bender Sun contributor Mahrle Siddall (4), Sophie Ramont (7) Marcaira Midgley (4) and Audrey Ramont (4) were hard at work creating sand paintings, with a few googly eyes and colored puffballs added for astonishing effects. They were just a few of the happy kids busy at the art table at Glen Arbor Township […]

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