Here are winners of this year’s 2019 Empire Asparagus Festival poetry contest.
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A big drawback for business in Empire is the village’s lack of adequate wastewater treatment. Amidst the specter of a shuttered grocery swirls an impassioned, at times contentious, debate over whether the village should invest in a municipal sewer system—either to benefit the core business district or to cover the wastewater needs of most residents.
The Empire Chiropractic Health Center invites the public to a community open house on Saturday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. — the weekend of the Empire Asparagus Festival — in their space in the same building as State Savings Bank. Dr. Jason Van Skyhock is excited to introduce new team member Lance Mazurek, a certified massage therapist specializing in Swedish, deep tissue, prenatal, sports and orthopedic-rehabilitative. Mazurka was recently voted third place in MyNorth.com’s Red Hot Best of Northern Michigan.
Empire boasts a thriving public beach and two unique local festivals — Asparagus Festival in May and Anchor Day (this year on Saturday, July 16). But too often the cozy village fails to sustain crowds, and commerce. Business is booming at the colorful Miser’s Hoard and at hip Sleeping Bear Surf & Kayak, but what should be done about the vacancies at the hardware store, or the old Taghon’s garage and schoolhouse on the corner of M-22 and M-72.