Share this:
- Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
- Share on X (Opens in new window) X
- Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
- Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
- Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
- Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
- Print (Opens in new window) Print
- Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr

LVR Realty & Leelanau Vacation Rentals
Lodging Guides, Real Estate GuidesLet our exceptional staff make your vacation a memory to treasure! With more than 130 Great Places to Stay, Leelanau Vacation Rentals offers top quality vacation properties. Whether you are looking for a Homestead condominium or a home or cottage on Lake Michigan, Glen Lake or one of Leelanau Peninsula’s other beautiful inland lakes, we are confident that you will find our properties second to none.
Meet Leelanau’s Own Music Man: Patrick Niemisto
Local Personality“You’ve got to do what you dig, / Dig what you do / On this rock spinning through the sky …” So sings Patrick Niemisto in one of his original songs that you can hear on the summer sundeck at Boonedocks in Glen Arbor, or on the CD N3C by the local power folk trio New Third Coast. That’s just one of the bands and venues frequented by Niemisto, the busiest man in local show business. Besides gigging every day all summer (sometimes twice, for years), Patrick produces other’s CDs in the Holy Wah sound studio in his basement, provides gear and/or sound for countless gigs and musicians, arranges for the seven-nights-a-week summer of music on the Boonedocks deck, teaches private lessons, champions the next generation of up-and-coming musical stars, teaches audio tech at Northwestern Michigan College in Traverse City, and presides over the spiritual epicenter of the local folk music scene at his home in the woods in Leelanau County with his wife, Mary Kay.
The Passage of Time at The Homestead
Historical FeatureThis essay originally appeared in Stocking’s book Letters from the Leelanau, University of Michigan Press, 1990. We’re reprinting it to launch a year-long series in the Glen Arbor Sun about the living and present-day legacy of Native Americans in Leelanau—one that survives beyond history books and museums.
Alligator Hill: a lesson in hill repeats
Sports/AdventureBy Jennifer Symons Sun contributor This story launches a season-long series on running and races in Leelanau County—a relatively new attraction for locals and visitors alike. Symons’ installments will explore both great places to train and offer narratives on the races themselves. Alligator Hill Trail Hills can be very beneficial for runners. Running hills builds […]
Sleeping Bear Dunes seeks wilderness ambassadors
NewsSleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is recruiting up to 10 high school students entering grades 9-12 in the 2017-2018 school year to spend a week in the park gaining backcountry skills, enhancing knowledge of environmental stewardship, providing volunteer service, and building friendships—all while sleeping beneath the stars in the National Lakeshore’s designated Wilderness areas. The weeklong experience will take place from July 30-August 5. The program is free to all participants and includes food, gear, and transportation during the experience. Transportation grants may be available to participants requiring additional financial assistance.
Live the early 1900s during Glen Haven Days
Upcoming EventJoin park rangers and skilled volunteers for Maritime Living History 101 throughout Glen Haven and the Maritime Museum on Saturday, May 27, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. All programs are free with a valid park pass.
Red lights turn green for Empire schoolhouse project
Historical FeatureNeither local historian David Taghon nor I realize the surprise in store for us as we sit down inside the Empire Area Museum to talk about the old Empire schoolhouse—its history and what is to become of it.
Open House at Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear
Upcoming EventOn Saturday, May 27, Preserve Historic Sleeping Bear (PHSB) will hold a volunteer open house. Come learn about volunteer opportunities at PHSB between 1-5 p.m. at the Olsen Farm located at 3164 W. Harbor Hwy (M-22). Enjoy refreshments and their new exhibits about the historic community of Port Oneida.
Workers, workers, where are the workers?
Talk of the TownIt’s no secret that many local businesses struggle to find the employees they need during these busy retail months. A seasonal economy, a shrinking base of young professionals and college students, and lack of affordable housing all exacerbate the problem. We hope we can help. This space in the Glen Arbor Sun will be devoted […]
Love of theater and community bring literature to life
Local Personality, Upcoming EventJosephine Zara left acting as a young adult in New York and never looked back … until she moved to Glen Arbor nine years ago. When she was 12 in Detroit, her grandmother had hired the head of the speech and theater department at Wayne State University to give her speech lessons.