Craig Manning | Author

Hall of Fame Coach John Lober

Nov. 19, 2022

News broke this week that John Lober, a coaching legend at Traverse City Central High School, would be inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association (NHSACA) Hall of Fame. Lober oversaw the boys track and field team at Central for 52 years, from 1977 until his retireme… Read More >>

On Tap in the World of Craft Beer

Nov. 12, 2022

For years, craft beer was a niche—an emerging segment of a global industry that showed significant potential for disruption. Now, according to the Brewers Association, craft beer accounts for nearly 27 percent of the $100 billion United States beer market. What was once the exception … Read More >>

Bee Well Mead & Cider’s Comfortably Plum

Nov. 12, 2022

As British rock legends Pink Floyd once sang, “I have become…comfortably plum.” Oh wait. That’s not quite right, is it? Forgive us for the slip-up; we’ve been drinking quite a lot of the Floyd-themed Comfortably Plum cider from Bellaire’s Bee Well Mead &… Read More >>

Local Medical Heroes in Ukraine

Nov. 12, 2022

Let’s have a big round of applause for Todd Stone and Rob Garvin, a pair of healthcare professionals from Traverse City who recently traveled to Lviv, Ukraine, as part of a relief mission trip. While there, the two joined a team of other volunteers working to help restore mobility to … Read More >>

TC Whiskey Co. to Grow

Nov. 5, 2022

Northern Michigan’s biggest craft distillery is about to become even bigger. Traverse City Whiskey Co. has announced plans to turn the former Cherry Growers Inc. facility in Elmwood Township into its new headquarters. That $20 million expansion will generate an estimated 100 jobs and … Read More >>

Inside Election Day with a City Clerk

Oct. 29, 2022

What goes into planning and pulling off a local election? For Benjamin Marentette, who serves as city clerk for the City of Traverse City, election season is 90 days of hard work, a few sleepless nights, and a lot of attention to detail. From tedious ballot testing procedures to the coordin… Read More >>

A Big Win for Michigan Rockhounds

Oct. 29, 2022

If you’re a rock collector in Michigan, chances are you’ve heard of Michigan Rockhounds. Founded just two years ago as a hobbyist Facebook group with a mere dozen members, the organization has grown to nearly 100,000 members and is perhaps the state’s top convener for peop… Read More >>

Is Pet Insurance a Luxury or Life-Saver?

Oct. 22, 2022

Did you know that 91.7 percent of the U.S. population had some form of health insurance coverage as of last year? While that figure still leaves tens of millions of Americans without a healthcare safety net, it also means that the vast majority of people in the U.S. are insured.

No … Read More >>

Riley’s Candles

Oct. 22, 2022

What do you call a dog who starts his own business? Doggypreneur? Riley the beagle is one such dog and the namesake of Riley’s Candles, a business “on a mission to save as many dogs who need emergency surgeries to save their lives as possible.” As Josh Hart (Riley’s … Read More >>

Mawby’s Bourbon Barrel Redd

Oct. 15, 2022

As temperatures drop, our libation preferences are pulling away from the summer staples of crisp white wines and juicy IPAs toward more autumnal classics like full-bodied red wines, rich, warming whiskeys, and darker-hued beers. How fitting, then, that MAWBY of Suttons Bay has released the … Read More >>

Common Good Does Good

Oct. 15, 2022

2022 is a big year for Traverse City’s Common Good Bakery. The Fourteenth Street bakery officially celebrated five years in business in August, and a second location at 1115 East Eighth Street is slated to open shortly after Thanksgiving. To mark the five-year milestone and make good … Read More >>

All Electric, All the Time

Oct. 8, 2022

During the summer of $5 gas, it was perhaps no surprise that many consumers across the country were trading combustion for electricity. According to a TIME article from May, a whopping 53 percent of active automotive shoppers were “considering a more fuel-efficient vehicle in… Read More >>

Sleeping Bear Shines at ArtPrize

Oct. 8, 2022

If you reside in northern Michigan, chances are you’re familiar with the legend of Sleeping Bear. Though the legend itself has a complex cultural history… Read More >>

Crushing It

Oct. 1, 2022

No local winery is an island.

That’s the philosophy Left Foot Charley founders Bryan and Jen Ulbrich have taken with their winemaking operation since day one. And while it’s an idea that runs contrary to what many people think they know about wineries, Bryan Ulbrich says… Read More >>

Retired Dennos Leader Honored

Oct. 1, 2022

Congratulations are in order for Traverse City legend Eugene Jenneman, who was recently announced as one of the four recipients for this year’s University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Alumni Association awards. Jenneman is best known in northern Michigan as the founding executive director … Read More >>

The Ramsdell’s Community Art2 Project

Sept. 24, 2022

One great joy of childhood is getting creative in art class and then seeing your work proudly displayed in your school hallways. Similar opportunities don’t come along very often in adulthood, but the Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts in Manistee is offering one this fall. The Ram… Read More >>

One Small House for Humankind, One Giant Leap for Attainable Housing

Sept. 24, 2022

What if one solution to the housing woes of northern Michigan was as simple as letting homeowners build guest houses on their land?

As local leaders look for ways to bring more abundant and affordable housing to the region—and to counteract challenges with strained housing inv… Read More >>

Stormcloud for the Win

Sept. 17, 2022

We love our local breweries, and we especially love when they’re recognized on national and global stages. So, it will come as no surprise that we’re excited about the recent news that Frankfort’s own Stormcloud Brewing Company was recently dubbed “Brewery of the Yea… Read More >>

Where Have All the Volunteers Gone?

Sept. 10, 2022

For the past year, employer struggles have dominated the conversation around the national labor shortage. From low unemployment rates and understaffed businesses to a nationwide quitting trend big enough to earn the grandiose title of “The Great Resignation,” it’s news to … Read More >>

A Day of Caring

Sept. 10, 2022

Volunteering numbers are down across the nation and across the North—we even wrote a story about it this week. But Thursday, September 15, marks United Way of Northwest Michigan’s annu… Read More >>