IT'S DIFFICULT TO find anybody in the Upper Peninsula--individuals, businesses, institutions, or non profits--who hasn't been crippled economically by the COVID-19 shutdown. The big boys have gotten most of the headlines. Namely... Cleveland Cliffs, with 700 workers soon to be laid for two months because of reduced ... Continue Reading
Tonight’s the Night
COZY ON UP next to your TV set tonight. "Winner Cake All," the Food Network's cake-making challenge, featuring local bakers Joe Heck (Huron Mountain Bakery) and MaryBeth Kurtz (Midtown Bakery), is on at 10 pm. Better yet, if you're able to, head over to the Negaunee Eagles Club (311 Iron Street) where Joe and MaryBeth ... Continue Reading
StraightTalk: Joe Heck
Joe Heck is a split personality--split three ways. He's probably the Upper Peninsula's best known baker, Joe the Cake Guy; he's also Joey Black, the flamboyant drag queen, and then in his off-time, he's Joe Heck, a self-described boring homebody. He's managed to balance the three personalities while also overcoming the ... Continue Reading
Country Village Woes Continue, New Cigar Club Lights Up, Huron Mountain Bakery Offers Something New, Michigan Made Expands, and an Ex Legislator Finds a New Calling–in the Woods
ANOTHER DOMINO HAS fallen at Country Village. The latest one at the sprawling business complex in Ishpeming? The laundromat, which shut down a few days ago. This, after a gas station and a restaurant closed up in the last couple of months. A fitness center also locked their doors earlier in the year. The latest ... Continue Reading
Vajda’s Future, Orphanage Progress, Land for Sale, Piedmont’s Popularity, Joe’s Second Departure, and the Main Event
MORE INTRIGUE AT City Hall. Following last week's reports that City Manager Bill Vajda had quit or threatened to quit comes this disclosure: He's one of 19 applicants for the County Administrator's job in Grand Traverse County. And if you check his credentials, he seems better qualified for the job than most, if not ... Continue Reading