Craig Manning | Author

Guts

July 3, 2021

Next time you catch a fish, save the stomach: It might just hold the key to saving the Great Lakes fishery.

That’s the message that researchers at Michigan State University (MSU), along with a cadre of other collaborators, have been trying to relay to recreational anglers thro… Read More >>

You don’t need to live on the shores of Torch Lake to know how breathtakingly gorgeous it is. A massive inland lake (the biggest in Michigan, by water volume), Torch Lake is known for its party-raising sandbars, its cavernous depths (nearly 300 feet to the bottom at its deepest point)… Read More >>

The North's Workforce Housing Crisis Just Got Worse

May 15, 2021

Is the ideal of “affordable housing” even possible to achieve in northern Michigan?

It’s a question that workers, employers, and housing advocates in the region have been asking for years — and in the wake of a game-changing 2020, seem increasingly fart… Read More >>

Evicting Enbridge

May 1, 2021

“Shut Down Line 5 Pipeline.” “Keep Oil Out of the Great Lakes.” “No Tunnel.”

If you’ve driven around a northern Michigan neighborhood in the past five years, you’ve probably read these messages on a yard si… Read More >>

Grow Your Own Morels?

April 24, 2021

Hunting for morel mushrooms is a springtime tradition in northern Michigan — especially Up North. But what if you could take this elusive, beloved genus of wild mushroom and grow it yourself, at home?

The party line, historically, has been that cultivating morel mushrooms is i… Read More >>

Traverse City Marijuana Permits

April 17, 2021

A “death sentence.” That’s what Traverse City’s medical marijuana establishments are calling the City of Traverse City’s stalled progress toward allowing the sale of recreational cannabis.

The businesses, which have largely banded together as the &ldquo… Read More >>

Truth vs. the World

April 10, 2021

Tell the truth. A journalist’s job can be summed up in those three small words. It sounds like the simplest thing in the world.

Dr. Courtney Radsch knows better.

She knows how, when government interests clash with the truth, it’s often the journalists who p… Read More >>

Ag Preservation, Diversification, and the Plight of Two Peninsulas

April 3, 2021

What is the future of agricultural land in northern Michigan?

For generations, the region has been known for its farms. Traverse City is the Cherry Capital of the World, but northern Michigan’s agricultural prowess goes beyond just cherries. From apples to blueberries to hops … Read More >>

The Truth About the North's Music Venues

March 20, 2021

“The show must go on.”

It’s a common mantra in show business, but what happens when a global pandemic shutters venues and turns concerts and other live performances into potential super-spreader events? How can the show go on when the show literally can&rs… Read More >>

Why the World's Water Scarcity Matters Here, Now

March 13, 2021

What happens when the taps run dry?

That’s one of the key questions J. Carl Ganter will be discussing at 5pm on Thursday, March 18, during an event for the Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) International Affairs Forum (IAF) titled “Global to Local: Climate Change, Wate… Read More >>

7 Batches Made in Heaven

Feb. 27, 2021

Let’s be honest: Picking the best cookies in northern Michigan is an impossible task. There are so many “right” ways to do a cookie: crispy or gooey; classic or creative; massive or bite-sized; lightweight and refreshing, or rich and decadent.

Of course, the imposs… Read More >>

Lofty Ambitions

Feb. 13, 2021

You wanna fly, little girl? Or try it yourself? You’ll have your chance Feb. 20, when a mix of local and out-of-town snow-kiters converge on Lake Leelanau’s ice in search of big wind and even bigger air.

Next weekend marks the annual Midwest Snow Kite Jam, one of the few… Read More >>

The long-awaited opening of Stone Hound Brewing Co.

Feb. 6, 2021

In an alternate timeline, Brent Faber would have opened the doors to Stone Hound Brewing Company nearly a year ago. Faber’s intention for his brand-new Acme-based brewery was to hold a grand opening in April or May of 2020, followed by a busy summer slinging craft beers to locals and … Read More >>

Tusen Takk’s Gift to Artists

Jan. 9, 2021

What if you could escape your normal environment for a few weeks — ditch your day-to-day obligations and disappear somewhere quiet and remote, free of distractions and routine? What could you get done? What could you create? Would it be your masterpiece?

These are the question… Read More >>

Oh, Christmas Tree!

Dec. 19, 2020

Rockefeller Center in New York City might be the home to the country’s most famous jumbo Christmas tree, but the Big Apple isn’t the only city in the United States with a big tree. And if you’ve spotted one of the big trees in Grand Rapids, Detroit, Chicago, or even Oklaho… Read More >>

Lost Village Pierogi

Dec. 12, 2020

Up until a few years ago, husband-and-wife team Mike and Holly Kotz weren’t working jobs even tangential to the culinary scene. Mike was a screen printer making T-shirts; Holly was a high school English teacher. Now, they’re on a mission to preserve and share some… Read More >>

Running Down a Dream

Nov. 7, 2020

If one were to describe Hunter Jones in three words, it would be tough to think of a better phrase than “fast as lightning.”

A student-athlete at Benzie Central High School, Jones is just a few months into his sophomore year but he’s already the fastest runne… Read More >>

The Queen of Underground Country Returns

Oct. 17, 2020

The last time Rachel Brooke released a full-length solo album, things looked very different — both in the northern Michigan country songwriter’s personal life and in the world at large.

That album, titled A Killer’s Dream, dropped on Dec. 4, 2012. Barack O… Read More >>

Northern Michigan Modern

Sept. 26, 2020

From rustic log cabins to Victorian-style homes all the way to more traditional suburban-like developments, northern Michigan boasts quite the eclectic range in home design. Until recently, though, modern architecture didn’t have much of a foothold in the region -- but that’s ch… Read More >>

Forged In Fire

Sept. 19, 2020

As the new managing director for Traverse City’s Tamarack Holdings, Michael Lahti is helping to lead a company that is one of the biggest players in northern Michigan’s food and agriculture industries. And it’s a job that, had things gone a little differently, he might not… Read More >>