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Empire continues master plan addendum work

A series of surveys and public meetings this summer in Empire has been followed by joint sessions of the village council and the village planning commission. The task: to involve interested parties in the creation of an update to the village’s master plan, to set it up for the next five years and potentially beyond. While master plans are used to provide long-term vision and guidance, it is necessary to update them as circumstances change, whether that is area business, housing, land use, utilities, or transportation.

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A little house in Empire: one couple’s small housing solution

The topic of housing in Leelanau County––and the lack of affordable housing––is one that seems to come up often for those who live here. Among my peers––entrepreneurs and workers in their late-20s to early-30s––housing discussions are often filled with a bit of discouragement.

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Dollar Store targets Empire

The Empire Village Council will hold a special meeting on July 17 to consider a moratorium on processing any zoning permit. Midwest V, which frequently leases its buildings to Dollar General, approached an Empire landowner with a purchase offer to acquire six acres in a mixed use, commercial-residential district of Empire.

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Mae Stier’s Blue Heron Mercantile fills void in Empire

The idea of opening a small market in Empire dawned on Mae Stier last spring after Deering’s Market closed. Shuttered was a lifeblood business in this close-knit town. For decades, community members had come to Deering’s to buy food and daily provisions, to cross paths and interact.

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