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The Aspen House is an initiative that hopes to bring a coworking space with flexible, hourly childcare to Leelanau County in the coming year. Kendall Rose is a small business owner and parent of a 4- and 2-year-old who became inspired to start The Aspen House in the post-pandemic aftermath when finding part-time, affordable childcare became all but impossible. Together with the Glen Lake Community Library in Empire, she is piloting the Work & Play Pop Ups with three summer dates, on Mondays from 10 am-12 pm (June 17, July 22, and August 19). Read more here.

Control of the 110-seat Michigan State House of Representatives could be up for grabs this election, and the new 103rd District, which includes Leelanau County, might prove pivotal in that race. Facing off are Republican incumbent Jack O’Malley and Democrat Betsy Coffia, who has attacked O’Malley over his record on abortion and his casting doubt on the 2020 election results. According to AdImpact Politics, more money has been spent to win the 103rd than any other State House seat.

As we approach Independence Day, I wonder at the concepts of “freedom” and “equality.” At the ways our governing bodies have historically made laws that only represent a portion of our population, writes Mae Stier in our Fourth of July weekend edition of the Glen Arbor Sun. From the inception of our country, wealthy white men have been protected by the laws they created for themselves, but people of color, women, children, and impoverished people have not received the same protections. As a woman born in the late 1980s, it feels difficult to see Roe v. Wade overturned. Women now have less autonomy than they did when I was born, and I fear what comes next. I now see abortion access as a necessary step toward equity, especially in a society that does little for parents and their children once they have left the womb.