The Headlands is drawing stargazers to a 550-acre park at the very tip of the mitten, officially designated an International Dark Sky Park.
Bridge Staff
Bridge’s mission is to inform Michigan citizens about their state, amplify their views and explore the challenges of our civic life.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Postcard from paradise: Custom skis, made by hand
Jeff Thompson figured he could make his own skis as easily as buying them. Then mom and dad sold their house to come work for him.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Postcard from paradise: At Coolhouse Labs, a native son incubates startups in Harbor Springs
Internet-based companies can live anywhere. One twenty-something hopes giving entrepreneurs a great northern Michigan summer might turn their heads.
Posted inTalent & Education
Postcard from paradise: Not a book learner, but put a torch in his hands and sparks fly
NEXT POSTCARD: At Coolhouse Labs, a native son incubates startups in Harbor Springs → In certain high school classes, Mike Kibbe might as well have been from the moon. Shakespeare? He makes a whistling sound, pointing to one ear with his forefinger and continuing the motion past the other. “It just went in one ear […]
Posted inBusiness Watch
Postcard from paradise: Needing to get out, a young man looks to the water
His parents always warned: In a small-town economy, the pie is too small for everybody to get a slice.
Posted inSuccess
Postcard: How a git-’er-done spirit helps one rural school district
Every school bus that stays on the road represents more money for the classroom at Inland Lakes Schools. The district’s mechanic is onboard. Plus, three more looks at life Up North too complicated to fit on a postcard.
Posted inChildren & Families
Postcard: When elk is for dinner
Food pantries, like their customers, mostly take what they can get.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Postcard: Luxe life at Bay Harbor reflects changing economy
A luxury playground grows where an abandoned cement plant once stood on the shores of Little Traverse Bay.
Posted inChildren & Families
Postcard: A roof and a bed
The homeless are about in rural northern Michigan, John McLintock sets out to find them.
Posted inQuality of Life
Up north poverty charts
Income disparity CharlevoixCheboyganEmmetStatewideMedian income (Top 5%) 317,930 241,494 374,282 270,710 Median income (Bottom 20%) 12,377 10,927 13,656 10,979 Difference 305,553 230,567 360,626 259,731 Disparity among MI counties (1=highest) 6th 18th 2nd Source :U.S. Census American Community Survey, 2009-2013 Aging population 2013 median ageRank among MI counties (1=oldest)2009-13 change in median ageRank among MI counties (1=aging fastest)Charlevoix45.9282.322Cheboygan48192.811Emmet43.5341.646Statewide37.739.11.4 Source: U.S. Census American Community […]