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
A Bakery War? Or a New, Welcoming Pastry Row in Downtown Marquette?
YOU'VE PROBABLY NOTICED the new facade on the 231 West building in downtown Marquette. Exceptionally handsome. As attractive as any in Marquette. But it's what's behind that exterior that will provide an interesting story in the months and years ahead. 231 West will be a high class French-style patisserie and coffee ... Continue Reading
Heart Attacks at the YMCA, Tourist Dollars Downtown, Babycakes Bright New Exterior, Fresh Coast Film Festival’s Growth, the Latest on the Boathouse, Drug Test Dilemma, and Stormy Kromers Find a New Audience
"I'VE BEEN HERE for 18 years and I've never seen anything like this." The words of YMCA CEO Jenna Zdunek, after a second Y member suffered a heart attack at the facility in the last two months. The good news? Both of the stricken members survived, thanks to quick thinking and action by staff and fellow members. The ... Continue Reading
Questions about Hospital Sale (or Merger), Plans for a New Patisserie–and a New Coffee Shop, Anger over a News Story, More Plaudits for the UP, Tourism Figures Are Up, an Unusual Write-In Campaign, and Trillium House’s First Guest
WELL, THE RUMORS were true, after all. UP Health Systems-Marquette (along with the other UPHS hospitals in the UP) is being sold. Or "merged." Semantics. What we know, if the deal goes through, is that Apollo Global Management, a huge private equities firm that owns RCCH Healthcare Partners, is buying Duke LifePoint ... Continue Reading
The Preserve Is Coming, the Moose Is Gone, Babycakes Is Red, the Chiropractor Is Out, Insurance Is In, Upfront Is…Busy, Cyber Security May Be Coming to Town, and Woman Confronts Bear in the Wilderness
CHANGES, CHANGES EVERYWHERE. People moving in, people moving out. Rumors swirling about. Let's start with The Preserve. It's the brainchild and business of the young men pictured above--Devin Mahoney, Tim Piirala, and Jeremy Johnson. All three of them locals, none of them older than 30. They're moving into the ... Continue Reading