On April 15, four sheriffs in northwest lower Michigan jointly issued a press release that questioned Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home executive orders at the height of the COVID-19 crisis in Michigan. It happened to fall on the same day that demonstrators planned “Operating Gridlock”, their first of what became several protests at the State Capitol in Lansing against Whitmer’s orders. State Representative Jack O’Malley and his staff helped the sheriffs organize and write the release.

The Glen Arbor Sun will use this 50 year anniversary of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore as an opportunity to publish a year-long series of stories that highlight key events, milestones and movements that have changed the Sleeping Bear Dunes region since 1970. What stories do YOU think we should include in this anniversary series?

Social distancing of 6 feet or more during the coronavirus pandemic is even more difficult this spring and summer because record-high Great Lakes water levels have eaten away beaches where we otherwise could walk at our leisure.

Aaron Brown, a lieutenant at the Glen Lake Fire Department, is one of 19 first responders in Leelanau County equipped to handle calls that involve potential COVID-19 cases. The coronavirus pandemic has forced the fire department, and EMTs everywhere, to adapt in significant ways this spring.

Though the 2020 Empire Asparagus Festival was canceled last weekend due to the coronavirus pandemic, the virtual Ode to Asparagus poetry reading on Saturday, May 16, drew 19 submissions and 20 people who tuned in via Zoom to read their poems or to listen.

Listen. Do you hear it? A robin chirrs from its perch on a nearby branch. In response, a blue jay jeers from its nest. A squirrel scampers through leaves. Where humans retreat, if only temporarily, nature fills the void. Such is the soundtrack of spring in Leelanau County during the time of the coronavirus—the pandemic that has ravaged the world, infected millions, killed hundreds of thousands, scared us all, forced us to distance ourselves from one another, and brought our economy to its knees.

The bustle of late-May and the annual race toward Memorial Day weekend are obvious at businesses in Glen Arbor. Of course, there is NOTHING normal about this holiday weekend—the typical start to the tourism season in Leelanau County. The state, the nation, and the world remain on virtual lockdown—and yet, restaurants and bars in Northern Michigan were suddenly given the exclusive green light by Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Monday to reopen today. No one knows how busy—or not—this Memorial Day weekend will be.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is beginning to reopen and increase recreational access to park facilities, the Lakeshore reported today in a press release. Following guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and state and local public health authorities, the Lakeshore is increasing recreational access and services before Memorial Day weekend.

On Friday afternoon and into Saturday, triathlete and Cedar resident Andy Belanger plans to run the entire length of M-22 (nearly 120 miles)—from Arcadia in Manistee County, north through Benzie and Leelanau counties, and south along West Grand Traverse Bay and into Traverse City. Belanger is raising money to support the Leelanau Conservancy.

The Leelanau Community Cultural Center is thrilled to announce the VIRTUAL Leland Air Exhibition. “Leland Air: a plein air event” is celebrating its eighth year, albeit with a new twist due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Paintings in the show will be created ​en plein air​ on Friday, May 22. Since this is a virtual paint-out, artists may still be at their stay-at-home locations anywhere in the country.