Blueberry muffin alert! We're headed for a crisis next month.Downtown Marquette's favorite gathering place, Babycakes on Washington Street, will be closing down for three days in early January for renovations.Owner Kim Danieleson says the coffee shop is getting a new floor, part of an ongoing renovation program that ... Continue Reading

I've just returned from an eight day vacation in Italy and you'd think I'd want to talk about the awe-inspiring ruins of the Coliseum in Rome or the sculptural perfection that is David in Florence or the graceful hills of Tuscany...but no. Oh, they're great, don't get me wrong. But what struck me and my companions about ... Continue Reading

She's beautiful, she's ambitious and she's not especially bright but Flo Dingley is stumbling her way toward stardom in TV news. That's the story of "Flo the Flasher" which is set in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The novel is now available on this website, and also at Snowbound Books and Bookworld in Marquette as well as ... Continue Reading

For the last two years, four dogs have been building a friendship on long walks they've taken together in the woods of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Now, sadly and inevitably, they're starting to get old together.Lucy, my dog, is the runt of the group. She's a twelve year old, twenty-two pound rat terrier. She's ... Continue Reading

We're a strange little tribe here in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, aren't we?That observation came through to me clearly Wednesday night as I wandered the campus of Michigan Tech in Houghton. The university's enrollment is about 6000, and I'd guess at least 3000 of them were outside, bundled up but smiling, well into the ... Continue Reading

I give up.I'm a lifelong lover of newspapers, but after a battle that's lasted nearly a decade, I'm finally waving the white flag of surrender and bowing down to the almighty digital media.Two events tells the story.Event #1: August 2004, I arrive in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (aka southern Canada) and discover to my ... Continue Reading

I don't get it.America suddenly has secession fever. Groups in all 50 states have filed to secede from the union, and polls tell us that 25% of Republicans actually want to secede.Huh? What?First, Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, fought and died to preserve the union against all costs, right? Isn't that worth ... Continue Reading

I've just returned from a three week cross-country car trip from Atlanta to northern California and I discovered a few things along the way about our nation:1) The love bugs in Mississippi and Louisiana always fly in tandem and copulate continuously.2) Craziness is cool in New Orleans. That means you can walk around ... Continue Reading