Kierstin Gunsberg | Author

Home Is Where the Vet Is: Vetr Plans to Expand into Northern Michigan

Dec. 7, 2024

“She’s like 80 punds but thinks she’s a lap dog,” jokes Rachel Berkal of her four-year-old goldendoodle, Penny Lane.

Named after Kate Hudson’s Almost Famous character, the caramel-colored pup was Berkal’s inspiration to create the in-home… Read More >>

Clubhouse International Is Meeting the Mental Health Need

Nov. 9, 2024

Whether they’re sharing jokes over homemade holiday meals or heading to the store to stock up on essentials for the week, members of northern Michigan’s Clubhouse International affiliates spend their days creating a sense of community and looking out for each other.

Focu… Read More >>

Voting on the Big Issues

Oct. 19, 2024

With just a few weeks to go before Election Day, northern Michigan voters are gearing up to weigh in on everything from proposals that will impact their communities to the race for the next president of the United States. With big decisions ahead, Northern Express reached out to po… Read More >>

Grape Expectations: What Does It Cost to Make a Bottle of Wine?

Sept. 28, 2024

There’s nothing more relaxing than watching northern Michigan’s shift from summer greens to vibrant reds with a glass of wine in hand. Winemaker Bryan Ulbrich would certainly agree.

After growing up in Illinois and going to college out West, he knew he was “smitten… Read More >>

New to the Arena: Catching up with Northern Michigan’s Newest Youth Sports Teams

Sept. 7, 2024

In a region where slick roads and snow-laden mornings feel neverending (we’ll ignore last winter), the chance for high school girls to play a wintertime staple like ice hockey had been surprisingly out of reach—until now. Last year, parents and students from Mancelona, Cadillac,… Read More >>

Campfires and Comfort Food with Old Time Hawkey

Aug. 17, 2024

If knocking back a couple of grape Faygos after a dip in the lake, then battling it out with your best buddies in Super Mario Bros sounds like the perfect late-summer night, you’re probably one of Old Time Hawkey’s 8+ million TikTok followers.

The account documents the q… Read More >>

Making Music, Making Money

Aug. 3, 2024

From hosting nationally renowned artists like LeAnn Rimes and Norah Jones to local legends like The Sweet Water Warblers, northern Michigan is enjoying quite the melodic summer. And it’s just going to get better. This fall’s lineup includes Tom Petty cover band The Insiders at T… Read More >>

Inside Three of TC's Allergen-Conscious Restaurant Kitchens

July 20, 2024

One look at Third Coast Bakery's menu is enough to get any foodie heart pounding: Girl Scout Cookie-inspired donuts, lemon lavender scones, and gooey peanut butter brownies alongside lattes flavored with housemade syrups. Yet somehow, “We are and have always been a 100 percent gluten … Read More >>

How to Plan an Air Show

June 29, 2024

Devouring every inch of a sugar-dusted elephant ear, spitting cherry pits into solo cups, and hopping on the tilt-a-whirl one too many times: It’s Traverse City’s biggest week, when over half a million people celebrate summertime at the National Cherry Festival. And nothing kick… Read More >>

Nature’s Playgrounds

June 15, 2024

As nature writer Elizabeth Lawrence once wrote, “There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”

With the lavender beginning to bloom and afternoons marked by the sound of… Read More >>

Michigan's Alpine Village

May 25, 2024

From nomming down smoked brats at Alpenfest to taking in the views from an alpine ski lodge, so many of Gaylord’s experiences and attractions tie back to its downtown Main Street.

Known for its alpine village look, Gaylord’s downtown architecture looks like it’s be… Read More >>

Thriving On the New Gold Coast

April 27, 2024

From job prospects to housing prices, the last few years have left young adults entering the workforce and housing market with more questions than answers: Is college the right pathway to a sustainable career? Which local industries offer in-demand jobs? And, how much will that job have to … Read More >>

Hungry, Hungry (Monarch) Caterpillars: Protecting the Pollinators

April 6, 2024

Spring has sprung, and northern Michiganders are dusting off bikes, kites, and lawnmowers…but Lauri Juday wants everyone to take a moment to rethink the need for that last item.

As a butterfly conservationist, she hopes more homeowners and businesses will consider letting the… Read More >>

Beyond the Ballot

March 16, 2024

It was the spring of 1919, and president of the National Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) Carrie Chapman Catt was chomping at the bit. Even as the organization was celebrating its 50th anniversary, it still hadn’t completed its mission of equal voting rights for women. NAWSA had mad… Read More >>

From Field to Fork (with a side of Sea Salt Fennel Sourdough)

Feb. 17, 2024

In "The Lake Isle of Innisfree," poet William Butler Yeats writes that the lake’s lapping waves are calling him to a simpler, nature-focused life where he’ll sow “nine bean-rows.” So, it’s fitting that Jen and Nic Welty’s own 9 Bean Rows—this one a … Read More >>

Fleeting Art, Lasting Impact

Jan. 20, 2024

“It was totally a plan,” says Susan Melton of her first time creating sidewalk art. On a sweaty day in late May of 2011, she set out to spread good vibes with a rainbow of chalk. “I planned that morning to grab a bucket of chalk and go chalk. I think I ended up parking at … Read More >>

From Schitt’s Creek to Bear Lake: A Retro-Modern Motel Transformation

Jan. 13, 2024

Marta Turnbull is something of a globetrotter, with her career in business and marketing taking her all across the map, from L.A. to Ukraine.

These days though, Turnbull can be found settled in quaint Bear Lake. The lakeside village, which shares its name with the 1,744-acre all-spo… Read More >>

Living in the Present for a Brighter Future

Dec. 23, 2023

Readers, this is your reminder to close your eyes and take a deep breath. (And then one more. And maybe another.)

Between dashing through the sleet and snow and rushing off to those last-minute work parties, the weeks surrounding holiday festivities and the first notes of "Auld Lang… Read More >>

Crafting Wine, Cultivating Family

Dec. 9, 2023

As the summer season wound down in Suttons Bay and crowds of beachgoers headed back home by M-22, Gilchrist Farm and Winery swung open its doors to the public. With their kids by their side, founders Elizabeth and Marc Huntoon celebrated the soft opening of their brand-new tasting room insi… Read More >>

Small-Batch Magic

Nov. 18, 2023

When it comes to decking the halls, Patrick and Anita Shaffer don’t just take the task seriously—they take it to heart.

“My mother was an interior decorator among other professions,” explains Patrick, recalling how Christmastime and all of the warm, glimmery … Read More >>