Northern Express - April 13, 2020 by Northern Express

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HELP NOW President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke these words during the Great Depression: “The test of our progress is not whether we add to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.” These words were never more true than they are today. Layoffs from businesses affected by COVID-19 are soaring into the millions. The economic stimulus packages passed by Congress will help some, but many will continue to struggle feeding their families. In the spirit of coming together in a time of crisis, I suggest that all of us that have the means donate generously now ($500+ suggested) to the Northwest Food Coalition, and again with the money that you may receive from the stimulus package. This coalition serves 70 food pantries, emergency meal sites and baby pantries in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, Leelanau, and Wexford counties. Personally, I have been horrified by the magnitude of the problems for families that the novel coronavirus has caused. I implore you to join me in giving a hand to the less fortunate members of our community. Donations can be made at www. northwestmifoodcoalition.org William Holland, Elk Rapids Heroes and Others Daily, the public death toll increases in Michigan. Daily, more of the brave doctors, nurses, and emergency medical technicians who serve as our front-line defenders in this pandemic are also falling victim to the COVID-19 virus. Despite being in the best of all possible hospital settings and surrounded by trained, talented and, yes, overworked medical colleagues, these needless yet heartfelt deaths are on the rise across this country. They are those who also serve. Another generation of battle-tested veterans who will not receive any thanks from this administration, none of the benefits they certainly will deserve, or even a souvenir medal from this president. Instead, he gives them scorn and accuses them of taking non-existent medical supplies “out the back door.” On April 4, Trump warned that America’s “toughest week” in the Covid-19 crisis is coming up, predicting “there will be death” as the number of cases surge in the days ahead. Now we come to Republican Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey. Why would

they continue to insist on convening the Michigan State Legislature this week? With other options available, their actions are illadvised, border on negligence, and should be viewed as an unnecessary threat to public safety. Their combined push-back against what appears to be a necessary 70-day state of emergency declaration extension is misguided. Either they don’t believe in science or are upset their favorite restaurant or golf course is temporarily closed. When this is over, and the naysayers shout it wasn’t that bad, please remember this. That was the entire objective of all these measures. John Hunter, Traverse City Fight the Underhanded Power Let’s face it: Republicans don’t really want all Americans to be able to exercise their Constitutional right to vote. If 2020 was 1950–55, they’d be all in with Jim Crow, poll taxes, etc. If it was suffrage time, they’d be quite happy to keep American women at home, or in non-union factory sweat shops, and away from the voting booth. These barriers to voting and GOP gerrymandering efforts are the equivalent of sticking an ice pick in the tires of your own car to keep yourself from driving to your voting place to cast your vote. And in the same breath, Republicans say “MAGA”? That they are “for” the Constitution? Seriously? Let’s be clear: Your so-called “representatives” — including U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Louisiana; GOP State House Speaker Lee “Where’s My Unregistered Loaded Handgun” Chatfield; and the unqualified and dangerous man-child in the White House, Donald Trump — are fighting against your right to vote. Even during this pandemic. Remember that in November. Meanwhile: Please remember to exercise your right to No-Reason Absentee Voting, a right won with the passage of Proposal 3 in 2018. (Which — of course! — Republican power-brokers opposed, and continue to oppose, even though 65 percent of voters approved it … at the very polls they’d like to bar many of us from visiting. So act now to get on the mailing list for your absentee ballots — for the May 5 election and all elections going forward — by calling your local voting officials and clerks. Nothing less than a real, honest and fair democracy is at stake. Dixon Dudderar, Harbor Springs Conundrums Our country is facing three conundrums, i.e., a state of perplexity or uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation. One conundrum is the environment. The Detroit Free Press reported on April 1 that President Trump rolled back rigorous vehicle mileage standards that were enacted by the Obama administration and designed to ramp up manufacture of electric and fuelefficient vehicles. The rollback means sales of SUVs and trucks will increase, and people will not hold back on traveling by car or plane. Also on April 1, the Cheboygan Tribune reported that this past winter in the USA (with the exception of northern Maine) was the warmest on record. In some states, winter was 6 degrees above average. Environmental

scientists say that these higher temps bode badly for the country and will result in billions of dollars in costs due to increased flooding, heat-related deaths and illness, worsening pollution, and other adverse impacts. Easing of fuel standards is going to further exacerbate environmental problems. The Free Press on April 2 spelled out a second conundrum caused by two colliding crises: record high water levels in the Great Lakes, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Money is short for solving flood problems; finances are being diverted to fighting the coronavirus. The third conundrum is related to the first two. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people are driving less, flying less, and polluting less, all to the benefit of the environment. President Trump is anxious for the economy to “get going” again and initially said the “re-start” date would be Easter Sunday. Now he says June 1. Whatever that date is, if Pres Trump has his way, the economy will be roaring like never before, churning out pollutants like plastics and global-warming gasses, doing even more damage to the environment than before the pandemic hit. Solutions to these conundrums must be forthcoming, so let’s all put our minds together.

CONTENTS features Crime and Rescue Map......................................7 A Truly Dope Degree..........................................9 Vice v. Virus..................................................12 Weed Takes Root.....................................................14 The Filling Station Microbrewery...........................16

columns & stuff Top Ten...........................................................5

Spectator/Stephen Tuttle....................................6 Opinion..............................................................9 Crossword...................................................17 Freewill Astrology..........................................17 Classifieds..................................................18

Roy Tassava, Indian River COVID & Clean Air While the president plays the blame game on television every night, his appointees are hard at work undoing clean air standards, including the fuel efficiency standards put in place by the previous administration. Air pollution in the U.S. has worsened since 2016, reversing years of decline. Fine particulate pollution, much of it from fossil fuel sources, penetrates deep into the lungs and has been shown to exacerbate asthma and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. It is quite likely that it is increasing the death rate from COVID19 as well. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University found that increases in fine particulate pollution levels between 2016 and 2018 were associated with 9,000 additional premature deaths in 2018. (See National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 26381, Oct. 2019.) This was on top of the 88,000 premature deaths attributed to air pollution in 2015 — well above the annual number of deaths from the flu, firearms, or auto accidents. Although the president would like to live in the past, when coal-fired power plants and low-efficiency vehicles were creating great profits for the fossil fuel companies, those days are over. We need to look forward rather than backward. Renewable sources of energy are good for our health and should continue to replace the belching smokestacks and gas guzzling vehicles of the past. Alice Littlefield, Omena Correction: The April 6 column “We’re on Our Own” incorrectly stated that Vyaire manufactures its ventilators in the U.K. The company manufactures its ventilators primarily in Palm Springs, California, and the associated consumables just over the border in Mexicali, Mexico. —Ed.

Northern Express Weekly is published by Eyes Only Media, LLC. Publisher: Luke Haase 135 W. State St. Traverse City, MI 49684 Phone: (231) 947-8787 Fax: 947-2425 email: info@northernexpress.com www.northernexpress.com Executive Editor: Lynda Twardowski Wheatley Finance & Distribution Manager: Brian Crouch Sales: Kathleen Johnson, Lisa Gillespie, Kaitlyn Nance, Michele Young, Randy Sills, Todd Norris, Jill Hayes For ad sales in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne & Charlevoix, call (231) 838-6948 Creative Director: Kyra Poehlman Distribution: Dave Anderson, Dave Courtad Kimberly Sills, Randy Sills, Roger Racine Matt Ritter, Gary Twardowski Listings Editor: Jamie Kauffold Reporter: Patrick Sullivan Contributors: Amy Alkon, Rob Brezsny, Ross Boissoneau, Jennifer Hodges, Michael Phillips, Steve Tuttle, Craig Manning, Todd VanSickle, Intern: Sophie Boyce Copyright 2020, all rights reserved. Distribution: 36,000 copies at 600+ locations weekly. Northern Express Weekly is free of charge, but no person may take more than one copy of each weekly issue without written permission of Northern Express Weekly. Reproduction of all content without permission of the publisher is prohibited.

Northern Express Weekly • april 13, 2020 • 3

this week’s

top ten Watch Out for Humans … and Ticks Just in case you don’t have enough to worry about with COVID-19, public health officials are concerned that the “Stay Home, Stay Safe” executive order might be breeding another problem: As local residents head outside to blow off steam in their yards and nearby woods, they’re likely increasing their exposure to ticks. The concern prompted the Benzie Leelanau District Health Department to issue a “tick awareness notice.” “As more people head outdoors to pass the time during the order, the risk of incidental human-tick interactions increase as well,” the officials said. “Ticks begin to awake from dormancy with the arrival of spring and milder weather. More tick encounters may lead to an increase in tick-borne diseases such as Lyme Disease, Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, and Babesiosis.” That’s something health department officials desperately want to avoid — lots of new cases coming into a healthcare system that’s already stressed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whenever you’re heading outside this spring, health department officials recommend these precautions: • Use repellent that contains 20 percent or more DEET, picaridin, or IR3535 on exposed skin for protection that lasts several hours. • Wear clothing that has been treated with permethrin. • Look for ticks on your body. • Take a shower as soon as you can after coming indoors. • Put your clothes in the dryer on high heat for 60 minutes to kill any remaining ticks.

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Good News: Real Money for Virtual Care A silver lining in the cloud that is COVID-19: The Michigan Health Endowment Fund just fast-tracked $2.9 million in grants for sustainable telehealth programs — and we’re thrilled to report that several chronically underfunded but critical Up North agencies will benefit: the Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Michigan, Child and Family Services of Northwest Michigan, Baldwin Family Healthcare, the East Jordan Family Health Center, and Northwest Michigan Health Services will receive $50,000 each. Northern Lakes Community Mental Health Authority and the Traverse Health Clinic will receive $37,140 and $45,498 respectively. The funds will help the organizations provide virtual care and services to people they serve across the region who lack transportation or access to nearby physicians and support.

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Like a gift from the quarantine gods, one of the absolute very best and most-anticipated films of the past year arrives early on streaming following the closure of movie theaters. Words fail to do justice to this masterful and aching romance set in 18th-century France that follows an artist commissioned to paint a portrait of a noblewoman’s reclusive daughter on the eve of her impending nuptials. And through the course of their sittings, model and artist build a bond neither of them expected resulting in a stirring and gorgeous love story that will truly set your heart ablaze. Streaming on Hulu.

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Calling All Quarantined Artists (i.e. Everyone)

Crooked Tree Arts Center of Petoskey and Traverse City is calling for artists to submit work for an online art show called “Isolation Creation.” Each week they ask artists to submit work based on a different theme. The first two weeks were “Home” and “Looking Forward. Coming up: “Revision” (deadline April 16) and “Work” (deadline April 23). Select entrees will be posted on CTAC’s Facebook and Instagram pages. “Our weekly themed online image galleries are a way for artists within CTAC’s reach to share their work with others,” said Liz Erlewine, galleries director. “Any artist is welcome to submit images to us that fit the weekly theme. Each submission is carefully considered, and a small group of images are pulled together and highlighted each week. … The result is fun and thoughtful, and I love getting a chance to see what northern Michigan artists (and beyond!) are creating.” Want to submit? Email an image of yours — and a note that includes the piece’s title, medium, dimensions, and year created to Liz at lizerlewine@crookedtree.org.

No, you can’t roll ’em up and smoke ’em, but Freshwater Textiles’ hemp towels are worth every penny — that is, if you like a bath towel that resists bacterial growth and is more water-absorbent yet breathes better than its cotton brethren (read: no musty smell). We, of the small, poorly ventilated bathrooms certainly do. And that’s why we have taken an unabashed shine to this sustainable textiles shop’s strong, long-lasting, and biodegradable towels made of organic hemp. Initially coarse but delightfully soft after just a few washes, these eco-friendly faves range in price from $14 (wash cloth) to $58 (bath towel). Available in green tea or cream. While Freshwater Textile’s shop at 229 Garland St. in Traverse City’s Warehouse District is temporarily closed, you can still order any of its ecologically kind (and locally designed and crafted!) home linens, fabrics, and trims — with free shipping for orders over $40 — at www.freshwatertextiles.com.

Q-Tip: How to Get Your Local “Live” Arts Fix You can watch Netflix and Hulu until your eyes cross, but if you’ve got a hankering for art and culture closer to home, click on over to the video section of Interlochen Center for the Arts’ Facebook page. You’ll find a vast collection of short and settle-in-and-be-stunned performances that are the next best thing to being there. Three to try? 1) The witty and rockin’ two-minute Bye Corona music video Interlochen Academy’s music production and engineering students created from their home “studios.” 2) The entire performance of “Of Green Gables,” a play inspired by the novel “Anne of Green Gables” (and the first offering from IAA’s Theatre Co’s partnership with Traverse City’s Parallel 45 Theatre). And 3), our personal favorite, “Joe Maddy’s Interlochen,” an exceptional audio-only recording on which famous newsman Mike Wallace — briefly an assistant in Interlochen’s radio department during the summer of 1939 — narrates the story of Interlochen. The record not only features Interlochen founder Joseph Maddy sharing his colorful memories but also unreal recordings of live Interlochen performances pulled from deep archives — among them, the early work of 8-year old summer camper Lorin Varencove Maazel, who would become a legendary conductor of the New York Philharmonic; Miles Davis performing “Milestones,” and the National High School Symphony Orchestra’s 1962 White House performance for President John F. Kennedy.

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Northern Express Weekly • april 13, 2020 • 5

The Rotary Club of Traverse City would like to thank our community for their continual support of our Annual Traverse City Rotary Show. Our show proceeds have helped support local non-profit organizations. This year’s show was set to celebrate our club’s centennial.

Our Annual Rotary Show will be postponed to 2021. We will continue to support our community through this turbulent time and thank all of our supporters for allowing us to do so.

D.C. MISCHIEF, TC PERSISTENCE spectator by Stephen Tuttle While the rest of us have been focused on the virus, mischief is being made in Washington, D.C. We shouldn’t be surprised. Locally, Traverse City’s Downtown Development Authority wants to expand the size of a third proposed downtown parking deck though they can’t yet finance it. First, the D.C. shenanigans: At the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), leadership is no longer involved in the business of, you know, protecting the environment. Instead, the deregulation of environmental protections race on unabated. This must be a nightmarish time for the scientists there who have dedicated their professional lives to improving the environment only to watch their work ignored or discarded.

who received the infamous whistleblower letter. Deeming the information credible, he turned it over to Congress as he was required by law to do. For that he has been fired and then called a disgrace by the president. Atkinson was the seventh member of intelligence agencies to be fired or transferred; all had some involvement in the impeachment proceeding. Well, almost all. You’ll recall Lt. Colonel Alexander Vindman testified before the House about what he overheard in the “perfect” phone call Trump had with the Ukrainian president on June 25, 2019. Of course, he was transferred out of his job. But so was his twin brother, who had absolutely nothing to do with the impeachment at all.

That means actual scientific research — peer-reviewed and published — is referred to as “secret science” by Wheeler and his team, and it can no longer be used to help make regulatory decisions. The EPA Administrator, Andrew Wheeler, is a former lobbyist for the coal industry, so looking out for our air, land, and water is not exactly in his wheelhouse. Most recently he’s decided, along with the other political appointees in the agency, that petrochemical companies and other corporate polluters can take a holiday from regulations prohibiting them from spewing filth. This, we’re told, will somehow help us fight the economic impact of the COVID-19 problems. Equally helpful, they’ve also banned the use of some science in regulatory decision-making. Not just ignore it but ban it if it wasn’t conducted under the specific auspices of the EPA. That means actual scientific research — peerreviewed and published — is referred to as “secret science” by Wheeler and his team, and it can no longer be used to help make regulatory decisions.

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As a bonus, they’ve recently rolled back improved vehicle mileage standards, claiming the rollback will make vehicles cheaper and safer. Those new rules might have made vehicles almost imperceptibly more expensive, but their argument regarding safety is especially precious. You see, if there are more big vehicles, especially SUVs, on the road, fewer people will die in accidents because big vehicles are safer than small vehicles.

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Of course, it will also increase air pollution, which, according to study in the Journal of the American Medical Association, already kills about 200,000 Americans annually. Elsewhere, another member of the intelligence community has been fired by President Trump. Michael Atkinson, whom Trump appointed to the job of Inspector General of the Intelligence Community in 2017 and the Senate confirmed in 2018, is the latest victim of the post-impeachment purge. Atkinson, whose job was to provide oversight and ferret out wrongdoing, was the official

Locally, the Traverse City DDA is buying buildings to make room for an expanded version of its proposed third downtown parking deck. The DDA is already purchasing a former dry cleaning building for $645,000, which comes from their parking fund. (And you thought the parking operation was supposed to be a break-even proposition. Silly you.) No appraisal was done, and the DDA is spending two-and-a-half times what the building was purchased for in 2017. Add to the price another $9,000 for an environmental study that should have been done before agreeing to the purchase. It’s likely there will be significant mitigation expenses since dry cleaning operations often leave behind ground sodden with toxic solvents. The DDA has persistently pushed for a third downtown deck for years, so there’s no surprise here. But the expanded proposed deck, which will require purchasing additional property, cannot be financed without an extension of the TIF97 tax capture. Set to expire in 2027, the DDA would like an extension to 2040. The City Commission of Traverse City has not yet approved that extension, but a majority seem to function as a subsidiary of the DDA and march to the beat of its drums. Spending significant money on property without an appraisal or environmental evauation for a project that has not yet been approved does seem a bit presumptuous. Unless, of course, the DDA already knows TIF97 will be extended. We have to harden ourselves to the fact the EPA is now being led by those primarily concerned with protecting polluters, not the environment. We should also accept that as long as vehicles are allowed in downtown TC, parking will be a problem, third deck or not. And the DDA will always find reasons to extend its TIF tax captures.

Crime & Rescue SHERIFF WARNS OF “LOCKDOWN FEVER” With the stay-at-home-order in place now for several weeks, police departments across the region are seeing more domestic conflict. In Crawford County, Sheriff Shawn Kraycs said in a Facebook post that while it is important that residents stay home and stay safe, it’s also important that they stay calm and get along. “Reviewing our complaint logs, I see conflict is starting to rise,” he wrote. “Tempers are starting to flare and arrests are being made. I guess we can call this the LOCKDOWN FEVER. Try and stay calm, walk away. Set a positive example.” CRASH INJURES FIVE Five people required hospitalization following a crash involving a driver who had been drinking. Wexford County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a crash on N. 17 Road near Buckley at 12:40am April 4. The driver, a Grand Traverse County resident, lost control on a dirt road and crashed into a tree. Neither the driver nor any of the passengers were wearing seat belts, and alcohol was a factor, deputies said. The relationship between the five people was unclear. Deputies said they would forward a report to prosecutors to consider charges.

by patrick sullivan psullivan@northernexpress.com

time they arrived, a fire in a bedroom had been extinguished. A body was recovered from the bedroom, however, and the Charlevoix County medical examiner requested an autopsy. The cause of the fire was under investigation. OFFICIALS WARN OF TELEPHONE SCAMS Police across the region have recently warned residents about scammers pretending to be from the Internal Revenue Service or elsewhere seeking to take advantage during a difficult time. Officials in Charlevoix and Emmet counties said they were concerned about a phone scam in which a caller claiming to represent the Health Department of Northwest Michigan offers to sell COVID-19 tests or requests personal information. The calls even appear to come from the health department, though that is not where they actually originate. “Anyone who receives these calls should hang up immediately,” officials said. “DO NOT give out any personal information.”

MOTORISTS REMINDED TO STOP Leelanau County Sheriff’s deputies are reminding motorists to pay attention to temporary stop signs at a construction detour near Suttons Bay. Traffic through Suttons Bay on M-22 has been diverted to St. Mary’s Street, via Fourth Street from the south and via M-204 at the north end of the village. Temporary stop signs have been posted to control traffic flow through the detour, but deputies said they’ve received complaints about motorists ignoring the stop signs. The department posted on Facebook: “We are asking the public to be careful traveling through the Village and observe the new signage and obey the new stops.” The project is scheduled to last several weeks. CORONAVIRUS STRIKES MANISTEE PD Two Manistee City Police officers have tested positive for COVID-19. The department made the announcement April 3 and are working with the district health department to determine possible contacts, notify people who may have been exposed, and quarantine personnel. “The Manistee City Police Department remains vigilant. We are here to serve and respond to community needs,” Director Timothy Kozal said in a press release. “The disease can hit anyone. We are all in this together.” FATAL FIRE UNDER INVESTIGATION A fire that took the life of one man is under investigation, though officials said there is no indication that the fire was suspicious. Boyne City Police and firefighters were called to a residence on Line Street at 3:30pm April 7. By the

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Northern Express Weekly • april 13, 2020 • 7

WE NEED RESPONSIBLE GUN SAFETY, NOT POLITICAL PANDERING opinion bY Phil Andrus, Emmy Lou Cholak, Hugh “Dusty” Culton, John DeSpelder, Meredith Fritz, Carl Fry, Hal Gurian, and Harold Lassers

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We need a commonsense approach to gun safety, not useless resolutions and rhetoric. But resolutions and rhetoric are what we got when the Grand Traverse County Board of Commissioners passed a Second Amendment Sanctuary resolution at its March 4 meeting. Chair Rob Hentschel used his authority to let talk-radio figure Randy Bishop speak at length in its favor. Unfortunately, Mr. Bishop made statements that were misleading and untrue.

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Mr. Bishop complained about extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs), or red flag laws, which are designed to protect family members from the tragedy of domestic gun violence. He told a story about a Lake Superior State University student who’s been charged with gun-related threats. Bishop said the student was jailed simply for posting a picture of his gun on social media. This isn’t true. LSSU public safety had numerous prior incidents and contacts with the student, and also knew downstate law enforcement had received a tip that the student was a potential school shooter. As a result, a judge found probable cause. These are reasonable precautions to protect the public. A number of sportsmen commented in support of the resolution. While we disagree with supporting the resolution, we respect their right to express their opinions. To be clear: We support the right to legally hunt using firearms. Two gentlemen wearing “Proud Boys” shirts also made comments. Commissioner Hentschel offered them extra time to explain who they are because a commenter made what Hentschel termed a “disparaging comment.” (The comment was a reading from Wikipedia, which states: “Proud Boys is a far-right neofascist organization that admits only men as members and promotes political violence.”) We don’t judge the two men who commented, but it’s our opinion that the Proud Boys is a fringe group that provides safe cover for individuals who are radical and violent. Throughout Michigan, the sanctuary movement is proposing meaningless resolutions that are of no legal effect but appear to be an attack on any gun regulations. Yet there’s broad bipartisan public support for common sense guns laws like those pending in the Michigan legislature. An August 2019 APM Research Lab survey found that 77 percent of Americans support family initiated ERPOs, and 70 percent support them when initiated by law enforcement. Clear majorities supported ERPOs regardless of political affiliation or gun ownership. In fact, after the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton, President Trump called on the states to adopt ERPO laws.

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• Americans are 25 times more likely to die from gun violence than residents of peer nations. • 51 percent of suicides involve a firearm. • 1,500 children are killed with guns every year.

• Abused women are five times more likely to be killed by their abuser if the abuser has a firearm. Such laws are clearly constitutional. In the landmark 2008 District of Columbia vs. Heller case, the U.S. Supreme Court majority opinion, written by conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, stated that “nothing in our opinion should be taken to cast doubt on longstanding prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, or laws forbidding the carrying of firearms in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, or laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms.” Scalia went on to state that assault weapons may also be restricted. Since then, several federal circuit courts, citing Heller, have upheld banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines. We can debate forever about whether guns kill people or people kill people, but it’s well established that reasonable gun safety laws save lives. For example, a study of the impact of state firearm laws on homicide and suicide deaths in the U.S. found that: • Universal background checks were associated with a nearly 15 percent reduction in overall homicide rates. • Violent misdemeanor laws were associated with an 18 percent reduction in homicide. According to the Giffords Law Center, extreme risk laws in Connecticut and Indiana have been shown to be extremely effective at preventing firearm suicides: • For every 10 to 20 firearm removals under Connecticut’s and Indiana’s extreme risk laws, approximately one life was saved through an averted suicide. • Connecticut’s and Indiana’s extreme risk laws have been shown to reduce firearm suicide rates in these states by 14 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively. So, we must ask why Commissioner Rob Hentschel, who stage-managed the proceedings, wants to associate himself and the Commission with talk-radio figure Randy Bishop and the Proud Boys, and why, despite the clear need for reasonable gun safety laws, three other commissioners — Ron Clous, Brad Jewett and Gordie LaPointe — chose to side with those that want to block gun legislation in Michigan. Reasonable gun laws work, and they don’t threaten gun owners’ rights. While our political views range all across the spectrum — Democrat, Independent and Republican — we’re united in our belief that we can’t afford to let ideology stand in the way of our community’s safety. Column authors Phil Andrus, Independent; Emmy Lou Cholak, Democrat; Hugh “Dusty” Culton, Democrat; John DeSpelder, Democrat; Meredith Fritz, Independent; Carl Fry, Independent; Hal Gurian, Republican; and Harold Lassers, Democrat; have very different political views but shared common sense.

Lake Superior State University gave tours to the public of its Cannabis Center of Excellence on February 21. (Photo: Todd VanSickle)

A TRULY DOPE DEGREE Welcome to LSSU’s Cannabis Center of Excellence, a pioneer of higher learning

By Todd VanSickle When Dr. Rod Hanley became the tenth president of Lake Superior State University in 2018, he knew it was a time for a change. “I pulled in the provost Dr. Lynn Gillette, and I said, ‘You know we need to form some new academic programs,’” Dr. Hanley said. “We haven’t had new academic programs at the institution in quite some time, and we need to be thinking in that direction.” Brewery and distillery sciences were his first inclinations, but his colleagues suggested cannabis chemistry — something no other school was offering. AHEAD OF THE CURVE “So, I went and did a little bit of homework, and what I did was I went to the Google machine,” Dr. Hanley said during the opening of the LSSU Cannabis Center of Excellence on Feb. 21. “And I found some facts.” According to the LSSU president’s research, economists predict that by 2025 the medicinal marijuana industry will be greater than $100 billion in the United States alone. The global legal marijuana market is projected to reach $150 billion by 2025. As expected in such a robust industry, there is a growing demand for skilled workers. In 2019, there were 211,000 cannabis jobs in the U.S., according to a study by Whitney Economics. Additionally, the cannabis workforce increased 110 percent in three years. The promise and predictions of the burgeoning industry convinced Dr. Hanley there would be a need for a program that would train and prepare students for the growing marijuana industry. The LSSU cannabis chemistry program was born. To date, LSSU has invested more than $2 million in its Cannabis Center of Excellence, outfitting it with state-of-the-art instruments and partnering with Agilent Technologies,

an analytical laboratory instrumentmanufacturing company. “There’s been significant investment,” said Dr. Steve Johnson, LSSU College of Science and Environment dean. “But in reality, the way that this market is emerging, I think it’ll pay for itself in terms of student enrollment numbers and things like that.” According to Dr. Johnson, about 50 students are already enrolled in cannabis chemistry, either studying for a bachelor’s degree or an associate degree in cannabis science. The program is only offered to undergraduate students, but the dean expects numbers to double next year; he has already seen an uptick in enrollment among students from Canada, where marijuana is federally legal. LSSU touts being ahead of the curve, noting it’s the first university to offer such chemistry courses. The Upper Peninsula institution now hopes to set the standard in the field of cannabis studies. “It was on the horizon, and it was kind of serendipitous that Canada had federally legalized, and then Michigan went ahead with the adult use,” Dr. Johnson said. “In terms of cannabis chemistry, we were the first, but we are looking to be the best because eventually you’ll have other universities jumping on board. But we will already be established.” COMPLICATIONS Although the school’s mission to introduce cannabis studies is in line with state laws, the federal law still poses some challenges because cannabis with a THC content higher than 3.5 percent is still considered illegal. The college’s situation is made even more complicated because the school and its students receive federal funding. However, LSSU is taking the proper steps to ensure it is compliant with all laws in regards to marijuana, according to Ben

Southwell, LSSU assistant professor of bioanalytical chemistry. Michigan law requires students to be 21 to be able to work with cannabis products, so LSSU students in their freshman and sophomore years work solely with hemp, which has a low THC concentration — distinguishing it from marijuana. “There is no physical difference between the plants,” said Southwell. “It’s kind of a common misconception. We’ve met the state criteria, and we’re working with the federal government right now including the DEA and the National Institutes of Health to procure the appropriate licenses.” Currently, there is no marijuana being studied at LSSU, but Southwell is optimistic that the DEA registration and federal government approval will be granted and the school will be able to move forward with studying marijuana, no matter its THC content. “There’s actually one supplier, so as a federal institution, you have to buy your product from the University of Mississippi. They carry the sole contract to provide all the marijuana for any federally funded research,” Southwell said. “It’s been that way since the ’70s.” LSSU has partnered with local grow operations in Detroit and Marquette that specialize in hemp products. “They’ve been growing hemp products that are below the THC concentration, so they’re safe for us to use in our classes,” Southwell said. As the marijuana industry continues to grow in Michigan and throughout the U.S., Southwell predicts the need for professionally trained workers because they’re critical to ensure consumer safety and product quality. A SERIOUS NEED “I would argue it’s critical to public safety, because bad products just cause problems,”

Southwell said, who pointed to the marijuana vaping crises last year that resulted in scores of deaths, most likely linked to the additive Vitamin E acetate. “That was kind of due to an industry that’s relatively inexperienced. So providing professionals that are trained in how to do these tests and how to interpret these tests and how to talk the science to the industry will be needed.” The professor said LSSU’s cannabis studies program is not a joke, and his students will have opportunities to work in a wide variety of jobs across many industries. “It is not by any means a fluffy degree, a “get high” degree — pick any of those adjectives you want to,” Southwell said. “It’s a chemistry degree that focuses in on this product. There’s a lot of science behind it that is very technical. We hope to be providing quality health products, making product safety and ensuring law enforcement compliance.” There are numerous labs springing up around the state doing more nonmedical recreational marijuana compliance testing, added Southwell. LSSU has already partnered with a few of the labs that offer students summer internships. First year student Lilah Fullford, of Indian River, was drawn to LSSU because of its cannabis program. “I think we’re getting our foot in the door in the very beginning,” Fullford said as she sat with three classmates in the common area outside the Cannabis Center of Excellence. “I think it’s going to start in places like this. There’s going to be such a huge demand for educated, informed workers who can bring something new to the table. There is so much more to be known about cannabis and its properties. I mean, shoot, we come equipped with a cannabinoid system. There’s got to be something to that, right? I think that’s pretty groovy.”

Northern Express Weekly • april 13, 2020 • 9

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• Bay Books – Suttons Bay

• T. Michael Jackson

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“Birds Fly in When the River Becomes Itself Again” – ©Kathleen Stocking. Created for families in honor of Earth Day, April, 2020

Long ago and far away there was once a beautiful land with a beautiful river. The river flowed through a meadow filled with wildflowers and giant pine trees. The river made a sound like music.

The river flowed into the blue bay of a lake so big you could not see the other side. The golden sands of the beach were dotted with red lilies, like flames. Fish leapt in the river, and otters played tag along the grassy banks.

One day a family arrived, just as the sun was setting in a pink sky. They were some of the land’s original people. They were escaping war and disease and had decided they might have a better chance alone, an unusual move. They knew they would miss their tribe. They knew they needed to survive.

They camped on the grassy river bank among the tall pines. The mother gathered berries and the father hunted. The boy and the girl caught fish and picked wildflowers. In late summer millions of monarch butterflies would float among the trees as they gathered to fly off toward the south and the trees would be fluttering orange with butterflies.

Along the river there were many trees, and in the trees were many birds. There were song sparrows and warblers, robins and brown thatchers, canaries and scarlet tanagers. In the dawn and in the dusk, the birds sang sweet melodies of love and joy. Their music filled the air with notes of hope.

Late one hot afternoon, the boy and the girl met the playful otters. The otters taught them how to swim in the river and slide down the river banks and land, splash, in the cool water. The long-legged, long-necked Great Blue Heron taught them how to sing, “Sun, moon, stars, rain. Truth, love, joy. Beauty that lives in the hearts of children will always come back again.” The Great Blue Heron was a poet.

When the geese flew south in V-shapes across the purple skies of autumn, the father and mother prepared food for winter. They hung strips of deer meat over smoky fires. They pounded blueberries and bear meat into small patties and dried them. They stored the food in birch bark baskets layered with sweet ferns. They always seemed to have enough.

In the winter, the girl and the boy went sledding on the hills using big pieces of birch bark. They fished through holes in the ice out on the bay. At night, they told stories as the northern lights danced.

In spring, the birds flew in and the wildflowers bloomed. First the marsh marigolds in May. Then in June the blue irises dotted the riverbanks. Wild strawberries grew in abundance in the meadow among the daisies. High in a pine tree, the robin laid three blue eggs, the color of sky.

In summer, the boy and the girl played all day on the shores of the river. In July and August the cardinal flowers bloomed and in September the purple asters. The boy and girl never tired of playing with the otters. Summer became autumn became winter became spring, and then it was summer again on the banks of the river.

One autumn, after all the food had been preserved, the father and mother packed everything into their big canoe. The boy and the girl were bigger now and they could help paddle. The mother and father wanted to go back south, where their people had been and where they had grown up and where the weather was warmer.

The morning they left, the frozen grass crunched under their feet. The sun rose bright orange in the east. And on the rock where the children had liked to jump into the river, the otters had left gifts: six small speckled trout, food for the journey, and a bouquet of

staghorn sumac with velvety red berries that would make a delicious tea on the trip. The otters stood on the bank of the river, the rising sun at their backs, and waved good-bye to the boy and the girl.

. Many, many years passed along the banks of the river that flowed into the bay. There was spring and summer, fall and winter. Every spring the birds flew in from the south. There were song sparrows and warblers, robins and brown thrashers, canaries and scarlet tanagers. Wildflowers were everywhere. Irises bloomed in June and cardinal flowers in August. There was sunshine and snow, rain and wind. Robins made nests in the pines with three eggs the color of sky.

Then one day an explorer sailed into the bay on a tall ship. He saw all the huge trees and knew that if he could harvest them, he would make a lot of money.

Soon the bay was filled with ships and all the trees along the river had been cut. The stumps of the chopped-off trees looked like yellow plates as far as the eye could see. There were no birds because there were no trees. A mill was built to saw up the logs. With no tree roots to hold the soil, the river became too dirty for fish. With no fish to eat, the otters packed their things and moved away.

A hard-working lumbertown was built, with straight streets. Horses carried the goods and people around. The people worked long hours and so did the horses. Factories

were built along the bay. There were shacks and mansions, taverns and stores, schools and hotels. There was an opera house. The river still ran through the town, but it was forgotten.

In the winter, people who lived south of town took their garbage out onto a frozen lake. When spring came, the ice melted and the garbage sank to the bottom and disappeared from sight. People in the downtown left their garbage along the river. No one knew anything about water pollution or air pollution. Factory smoke filled the air and garbage filled the little lake and the river. A few people noticed, but only a few and they moved. The birds and the butterflies, the otters and the fish, left the town to find food to eat, trees to rest in and clean water to swim in and to drink.

The people in the town loved the big stores in the daytime and the bright lights at night. The rich could buy clothes from England, shoes from Italy, and chocolates from France. The working people had big stores where they could buy and save. It seemed like they could never have enough. Years went by and cars and trucks replaced the horse-drawn buggies. The buildings became bigger and more trees were cut to make room for more buildings and more cars. In the summer they had parades.

The factories on the bay closed. Now there was a place for people to swim. Thousands of people came in the summer to the golden beaches by the blue water. More hotels were built, and

NORTHERN MICHIGAN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION COUNCIL 10 • april 13, 2020 • Northern Express Weekly

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more restaurants. Everyone could buy things over the Internet: clothes from England, shoes from Italy, and chocolates from France. It seemed like they could never have enough. There were more and more people, both living in the town and coming to visit. The town was running out of places to put everyone. The water in the streets ran into the river and the bay. Sometimes the water was so dirty the beaches had to be closed. Exhaust from all the cars and trucks made the air unhealthy. People got sick and trees died.

One day, someone noticed the old dump along the river, and the forgotten little lake filled with garbage. If they could remove all the garbage, they could put houses and stores there. It took many people many years to clean up the old dumps, but they did it. They planted fields of sunflowers to remove the poison from the ground. They took away the steel and concrete banks of the river. They planted willow and cedar trees so the roots would keep the river banks from washing away. The trees grew and the soil became free of poisons. The town decided that instead of more stores, they would make more parks so people could enjoy the beauty of nature and the river.

Judy Nelson •

Stephanie Mills •

The city planted wildflowers everywhere. They now had solar cars that didn’t make the air dirty. They had roads made of a porous hard surface that let the water filter through the sandy soil to clean it. They had a few stores, where they could buy things that people who lived in the town had made. It seemed they always had enough.

Once again there were many trees and in the trees there were many birds. There were song sparrows and warblers, robins and brown thatchers, canaries and scarlet tanagers. In the dawn and in the dusk, the birds sang sweet songs of love and joy. Their music filled the air with notes of hope.

A robin built a nest in a tall pine, the three blue eggs like pieces of sky. Brook trout swam in the clean river. An otter, passing through, decided to stay and build his home in the bank. As he slid down the grassy bank into the cool water on a hot day, two children watched him.

They were the great-great-great grandchildren of the little boy and the little girl who had lived there long ago. The family that had once

Nancy Duke

lived on the banks of the beautiful river had gone back to Chicago, when it was still the home of the original people. The parents did not live to see Chicago become a big city, but the boy grew up and found work in a sausage factory, and married the daughter of the Polish owner. The girl found a job in a laboratory, and married a botany teacher from England. Their children married people from Denmark and Spain, and their grandchildren married people from Africa and China, and their great-great grandchildren married people from everywhere. And life went on, as it always does, until one of the families moved to a town on the bay of a large lake, a lake so big you couldn’t see the other side. There were many trees and in the trees were many birds. One summer day in the rain the children decided to go to one of the many beautiful parks along the river.

The boy and the girl saw speckled brook trout swimming in the clean, clear water. They saw cardinal flowers blooming on the banks. The river had become itself again. The sun came out just as the rain stopped. There was a rainbow from one side of the river to the other. The children sang a song

their grandmother had taught them, “Sun, moon, stars, rain. Love, joy, truth. Beauty that lives in the hearts of children will always come back again.” And when the children saw an otter slide down the grassy bank and splash into the river, they felt as if they wanted to join him. And they did. Art illustrations used with permission of Ellie Harold. The two paintings shown here are “Reverie: A River Runs Through It” (48 x 72 inches, oil/canvas) and “A Wonderful World,” (40 x 40 inches, oil/ canvas). Ellie’s migration-inspired, avianthemed, multi-media art installation— BIRDS FLY IN: A Human Refuge—opens at the Oliver Art Center in Frankfort on August 7 – September 11. On August 11, she will give a Live Painting/Music performance at the Garden Theater with her music collaborator David Mendoza, composer/violinist from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Ellie’s work was recently selected by the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies program to hang in the American Embassy in Bratislava, Slovakia. She shows locally at Synchronicity Gallery in Glen Arbor and in her home-based Studio & Gallery in Frankfort. You can view more of her work at www.EllieHarold.com.

Thomas and Milliken Millwork Inc.

M. Kent Anderson

• Meredith Parsons McComb • Many Anonymous

CELEBRATING 40 YEARS, 1980-2020

Northern Express Weekly • april 13, 2020 • 11

VICE V. VIRUS Checking in on the folks helping us get our “essentials” during the pandemic By Patrick Sullivan Beer, wine, liquor, cannabis — it’s all been deemed essential. Northern Express set out to talk to some of the people who work in the industries that produce these products to learn how the pandemic has impacted their jobs. GROWING WEED IN KALKASKA There might not yet be any pot stores open in Kalkaska, a village that went all in on its embrace of the legal drug, but behind the scenes, the pot businesses of Kalkaska are humming and doing their part to keep the state’s marijuana industry alive. Tom Beller owns Real Leaf Solutions, a growing facility that produces smokable flower, trim and shake that’s sold to processors to be turned into edibles. Beller said that despite the pandemic, each part of the chain — growers, processors, testers, transporters and retailers — is still functioning. “Cannabis is an important health product. People look to it to ease depression and people may be more likely to stock up now,” he said. “What I have found is that people will stock up, and then sales will be slower in the following days, and then sales will pick back up because customers are running out.” Beller said that retail marijuana shops have not opened in Kalkaska yet because the store owners — at least the ones he knows — are growing their own inventory so that they will be well-stocked when they open. “There was a shortage, and there still remains to be a shortage of products and flower, so most provisioning centers, in lieu of a hasty opening with a limited stock of supplies, they are waiting,” he said. “You only get one chance to win somebody over when they come into your store.”

Beller’s facility remains in production, and only a handful of his 20 employees have opted to stop working amid the crisis. “The plants don’t stop growing and requiring attention just because of the pandemic, so we are still operating. … We’ve had people that have opted to quarantined at home,” Beller said. “We support their decisions. Their jobs will be here when they return.” The biggest changes are that workers have to be kept apart now, and the already strict cleanliness standards have gotten even more rigorous. Beller said he uses surveillance at his facility to ensure that workers stay distant from one another.

it,” said Rabish, owner of Grand Traverse Distillery. “It didn’t come across until I literally got a call one day asking to make it.” That call from a hospital group — it came early, Rabish said, toward the end of February — was the first indication for Rabish that his life was about to change. The opportunity to make hand sanitizer is not just a novel means of getting some attention amid the pandemic, either. It could be what keeps businesses like Grand Traverse Distillery afloat through this ordeal. Rabish said the pandemic has not caused a run on high-end spirits. He suspects it’s been good for discount liquor sales, but craft liquor sales have been flat.

“There was a shortage, and there still remains to be a shortage of products and flower, so most provisioning centers, in lieu of a hasty opening with a limited stock of supplies, they are waiting,” he said. “You only get one chance to win somebody over when they come into your store.” “Even our trimmers — I’m looking at them right now — they are now approximately 12 feet from each other,” Beller said. They’ve implemented new protocols for cleanliness on top of the requirements that were already there for the heavily regulated industry, he said. They already wore masks and gloves and cleaned a lot. Now they clean more. “People are constantly cleaning,” he said. “Basically, we’re constantly sterilizing.” CRAFT SPIRITS BECOME CRAFT SANITIZER Until coronavirus, it never even occurred to Kent Rabish that he could use his distillery to make hand sanitizer. “I never thought of that or considered

12 • april 13, 2020 • Northern Express Weekly

“We have not seen a bump in sales over this,” Rabish said. “We’re probably about the same, but I don’t have a $9 vodka or a $12 whiskey.” Grand Traverse Distillery products remain on sale at retailers throughout the state, but the new reality has forced Rabish to change the way he approaches his business. Rabish has been finishing up a batch of potato vodka, but he said once that’s completed, he plans to produce only hand sanitizer for the time being. It may not be as artful as creating a bourbon whiskey or a barrel-aged gin, but hand sanitizer production comes with its own high standards. According to World Heath Organization, alcohol used in hand sanitizer must be over

160 proof. According to state and federal law, it must also be denatured, or made so that it cannot be consumed for pleasure, in order to be sold as hand sanitizer. Otherwise some people might see it as a cheap buzz. The first batches were donated to hospitals but Rabish said he will have to start to sell it in order to stay in business. “That’s probably going to be our mission for the next couple months,” he said. “We’ve got to stay open and stay in business.” That said, Grand Traverse Distillery has plenty of potable stock, and he doesn’t see running out of that any time soon. The distillery’s spirits are available by the bottle from 10am to 2pm Monday through Friday at the main distillery location on Three Mile Road in East Bay Township. That’s also where customers can find the hand sanitizer for sale. Sanitizer costs $7.55 for a 12-ounce bottle, limit one per customer while supplies last. “[The pandemic] makes you look at your business differently,” Rabish said. A HOPS GROWER’S VIEW OF THE BEER INDUSTRY Brian Tennis has a finger on the pulse of the beer industry. His company, Michigan Hop Alliance, supplies nearly 4,000 craft brewers across the country and several hundred in Michigan. Business has significantly slowed down, he said. “Our sales are down 80, 85 percent, but we’re still shipping out hops,” Tennis said. Typically, small breweries likely only make and sell beer if they have kept open their restaurant operations. Larger breweries that have established brands that are available in stores — like Short’s in Bellaire and Stormcloud in Frankfort — are maintaining their brewing, bottling and canning operations in order to supply stores. While the crisis has hurt their overall

Because business has slowed or stopped for so many breweries, hops farmers are planting less this spring.

business, Tennis said some of the breweries are seeing better retail sales as people look for craft beer while they are holed up at home. “Their sales obviously have taken a hit, but some of their package sales have never been better in the last month,” he said. Michigan Hop Alliance grows 30 acres of hops and processes 40 or 50 acres of hops from other growers. He said hops growers are bracing themselves for a downturn because of all of the breweries that aren’t brewing right now. They’re cutting back on what they plant this spring because they anticipate that by August, when the hops are harvested, there will be such large hops reserves that there won’t be a market for more. “We have a skeleton crew right now; we’re just now getting going,” Tennis said. That small crew is preparing the hops fields, a labor-intensive process that involves laying down fertilizer and then shoring up and stringing the trellises so that the hops can grow up into them. “There’s a lot of hops farmers that are cutting back on acreage,” he said. “There’s not a lot of brewers around the country that are brewing right now. It’s just like they flipped a switch, and everybody stopped brewing over night.” Does that mean that Michigan’s or the region’s stockpile of craft beer is in danger of running low? Tennis doesn’t think so, because once stay-at-home orders are lifted, breweries can get online and start producing quickly. Right now, Tennis predicts, many of the craft breweries that are in operation are most likely working on batches of lager rather than ale because it’s a much longer process and no one is in a hurry right now. If Tennis is correct, that means there should be lots of light, refreshing beer available if brewpubs reopen this summer. “A lot of the smart ones are probably sitting on some lager tanks right now,” Tennis said. “There’s always a silver lining somewhere.” OVER ON THE OLD MISSION PENINSULA… Things are quiet at Mari Vineyards on the Old Mission Peninsula these days. That’s in part because of concerns about the pandemic, but it also happens that this is a slow time of the year for the wine industry, said Sean O’Keefe, head winemaker. “We’re kind of in a holding pattern, doing a little bottling, but only with two people,” O’Keefe said. “The manager for the tasting room is still shipping out orders for people at home.” Fortunately, given the circumstances, wine from last year’s harvest has already fermented — the fermenting period is a labor-intensive one — and that wine is aging in casks, a stage that requires far less attention. Mari’s business has really slowed, though, due to the crisis. While the area’s larger, more established wineries like Black Star Farms or Chateau Grand Traverse (founded

by O’Keefe’s father) produce and bottle wine that is distributed to grocery stores across the state, Mari sells primarily through its (now shuttered) tasting room and at highend restaurants, many of them in Chicago or Metro Detroit. O’Keefe is worried about the impact the crisis will have on those restaurants. “We’re in there with the restaurants and all that,” he said. “That’s where our sales are at. We’re trying to extend terms and share the pain with everybody.” Nonetheless, many restaurants are expected to fail, and O’Keefe predicts that by fall, benefits for people who work in the restaurant industry will be common. O’Keefe is optimistic that the winery will survive. So far, they’ve been able to keep all of their employees on. “I’m optimistic, in a sense, where if we could return to some kind of semi-normal, let’s say that people could stop by the tasting room by the end of June, then I think we’d be all right,” he said. In the meantime, Mari Vineyard’s wine is available for mail order through their website, www.marivineyards.com. LIFE OF A POT DELIVERY PERSON Cannabis delivery in the time of the pandemic is a kind of work in progress — the single company that delivers to parts of northwest Lower Michigan has scrambled to provide a safe way to get product into people’s hands while still offering something akin to the experience of going into a dispensary and being able to ask questions and get information about the products for sale. That’s especially important in this time because cannabis can be used to quell anxiety, something today that recreational marijuana users are looking for perhaps just as much as card-carrying medical marijuana users, said Brock Grady, logistics manager for Lume, which runs a store in Honor that offers curb-side pickup and delivery as far away as Traverse City. What does the day of a pot delivery person look like? Grady said it starts with the orders, which are taken with delivery windows agreed upon, and then the most efficient delivery route is determined. Grady said that the company strives to maintain the same health standards for delivery as they do at the company’s stores. Grady said the customers who order delivery make up the spectrum of society, from the young (you’ve got to be at least 21 to purchase marijuana in Michigan) to the elderly. Many of the customers, Grady said, are new to marijuana, which makes the education component important, so that people get something that works for them and they know how to properly consume it. “I tell you what, our Lume delivery has been extremely popular, especially during these difficult times,” he said.

For Traverse City area news and events, visit TraverseTicker.com

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Northern Express Weekly • april 13, 2020 • 13

Weed Takes Root A look at the newest addition to Up North retail: recreational marijuana stores

By Craig Manning Depending on your perspective, recreational marijuana’s arrival in northern Michigan was either very poorly timed or got here at precisely the right moment. Michigan voters elected to legalize non-medical adult-use marijuana throughout the state in November 2018. December 1, 2019 marked the first day of official legalization. While some parts of northern Michigan have so far “opted out” of recreational weed — Traverse City, for instance, continues to debate rules for licensing and regulating recreational marijuana dispensaries in the area — other parts of the region have embraced the new status quo. In areas like Benzonia and Kalkaska, adult-use weed is already putting down deep roots, with numerous stores opening their doors (or expanding from their previous medical-only designations) so far this year. The bad news for most of the area’s recreational marijuana shops is that they had only a few weeks of adult-use sales under their belts before COVID-19 hit and changed everything. The good news for those businesses is that the state Marijuana Regulatory Agency has issued temporary accommodations that allow them to offer both curbside pickup and home delivery. Those accommodations mean that cannabis products are easier to get in northern Michigan than ever before — and just in time for long days of stay-at-home quarantine. While the coming months will undoubtedly bring more adult-use cannabis shops to the area, Northern Express took this unusual moment to highlight five major players in northern Michigan.

HUMBLEBEE PRODUCTS AND PROVISIONING

The Place: HumbleBee Products and Provisioning; 6974 N Old 27, Frederic (989) 7456575 The Pitch: Not so long ago, HumbleBee Products in Crawford County was the one and only medical marijuana provisioning center in northern Michigan. As recently as 2018, the vast, vast majority of marijuana shops in the state were operating in the Detroit area, with the northern half of the mitten looking like a veritable THC ghost town. The state’s cannabis industry has changed considerably since then, and many more stores have sprung up around Michigan — including right here Up North. But HumbleBee remains, using its relative longevity and base of institutional knowledge as a core differentiator. The shop is known for a friendly, helpful staff, and with HumbleBee officially open for recreational weed sales as of March, the company is well-positioned to continue growing its brand. The Product: HumbleBee does a lot of work with live resins, aromatic cannabis concentrates made from very fresh plant material that has not been dried or cured. These resins are available in a variety of flavors, including the appropriately-named “Napalm Live Resin,” which clocks in at 93.16 percent total cannabinoids. The resin goes for $68 per gram. The Purchase: HumbleBee is offering curbside pickup services throughout the COVID-19 crisis. Customers can view a product menu online at HumbleBee’s Weedmaps store and can call in their orders ahead of time. Hours are 11am to 7pm Monday through Saturday and noon through 4pm on Sundays.

14 • april 13, 2020 • Northern Express Weekly

LUME CANNABIS CO.

The Place: Lume Cannabis Co.; 9899 Honor Hwy, Honor; (231) 383-6771 The Pitch: As a “vertically operated and owned cannabis company,” Lume Cannabis Co. is quickly becoming one of the top marijuana businesses in the state of Michigan. Right now, the company serves medical patients and adult-use customers in eight different locations around the state, including one in Honor. Rather than resell product from other brands, Lume is its own cannabis brand, cultivating and growing all of its product in-house. According to Kyle Slabotsky, director of retail operations, this self-sufficient business model enables Lume to offer “an unmatched variety of strains” and to ensure “consistent aromas, appearances, and effects” across its product inventory. In addition to the Honor store, Lume is soon planning to open two more locations in northern Michigan — in Petoskey and Mackinaw City, respectively. The Product: Lume’s signature strain is known as “Jenny Kush,” described as “a true, feelgood hybrid flower named after late cannabis activist Jenny Monson.” Slabotsky says it’s the highest THC strain Lume has ever cultivated, with the most recent batch testing at over 30 percent total cannabinoids. Jenny Kush starts at $65 for 3.5 grams. The Purchase: Lume has a team of knowledgeable “Luminaries” on staff to help customers find the right products for their purposes. The company prides itself on “meticulously designed” stores (not by coincidence; the bulk of the company’s design team formerly crafted the layout and visual aesthetic of the nation’s Urban Outfitters retail stores), and prides itself on an interior that makes it easy to browse product and differentiate between strains. During the COVID-19 closure, Lume is offering 10 percent discounts on all curbside pickups and deliveries, with its hours running from 10am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and 11am to 6pm on Sundays. Customers can view the store menu online at www.lume.com/honor.

RIVERSIDE PROVISIONING

GREAT LAKES NATURAL REMEDIES

The Place: Riverside Provisioning; 11845 M-72, Grayling; (989) 745-6757 The Pitch: If you walked into a new brewery and needed some advice on what beer might be right for you, you’d ask the bartender. Riverside Provisioning in Grayling tries to create a similar experience for medical and recreational marijuana sales, staffing its shop with socalled “budtenders” who work closely with patients and customers to “select the products that are safe and effective for your specific medical or recreational needs.” Whether you’re looking for a specific strain of marijuana or wondering about the more general effects of cannabis on the body, the budtenders at Riverside can share some guidance and advice. The Product: Pineapple Express had been one of the most beloved marijuana strains long before it became the namesake for a 2008 buddy stoner comedy starring Seth Rogen and James Franco. The strain is known for pairing pleasant fruity and tropical flavors (think mango, apple, and, of course, pineapple) with a quirky, mellow buzz. Riverside Provisioning has an adult-use version of Pineapple Express that goes for $14 a gram. The Purchase: Riverside Provisioning began recreational marijuana sales on March 16, just a week before Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued her stay-at-home order for the state of Michigan. Normally, customers would be able to browse Riverside’s “recreational room” to pick out their products of choice. Throughout the closure, Riverside has adopted a “lobby closed, but business open” philosophy, encouraging patients and customers to call ahead to place their orders for curbside pickup. Hours are 11am to 7pm every day. The shop’s product menu can be found at www.rsmeds.com/product.

The Place: Great Lakes Natural Remedies; 1983 Benzie Hwy, Benzonia; (833) 456-7462 The Pitch: Great Lakes Natural Remedies (GLNR) launched in 2017 with a medical marijuana cultivation and processing facility in Saginaw. Going forward, the company has big aspirations of vertical expansion, statewide growth, positive community impact, and industry-leading innovation. Despite GLNR’s Saginaw roots, though, the true launchpad for these seed-to-sale goals may be GLNR’s first store location in Benzonia. Already, the company is working to set itself apart from other dispensaries in the region via community giveback efforts. A portion of proceeds from cannabis sales in Benzonia go toward the Betsie River watershed. In the future, as GLNR expands — first to a second northern Michigan location in Manistee — it will look for similarly environmentally-friendly ways to make a mark. The Product: The Sensi Star strain is legendary throughout the cannabis community for its psychedelic highs and full-body effects. GLRN classifies its take on the legend as “a knockout strain that even experienced cannabis enthusiasts will find one or two puffs is more than enough.” The Purchase: GLNR in Benzonia has been open for recreational adult-use sales since Feb. 28, and is continuing those transactions throughout the COVID-19 stay-at-home order. Customers can learn more about GLNR products online at www.greatlakesnatural.com or www.weedmaps.com, and can call ahead to place orders for curbside pickup. GLNR will be honoring all its standard discounts during the closure, including a 10 percent discount for veterans. Hours are 10am to 6pm, Wednesday through Saturday.

PINCANNA The Place: Pincanna; 786 S. Cedar Street, Kalkaska; 231) 384-6220 The Pitch: Pincanna is in the process of establishing itself as a new vertically-operated cannabis brand in the state of Michigan. Based in Farmington Hills, the company operates a state-of-the-art facility on 185 acres of land in nearby Pinconning, including both a 135,000-square-foot greenhouse for cultivation and a sizable processing facility. These first two phases of Pincanna’s infrastructure — which the company refers to as its “Farm” and “Lab” — are led by a dynamic team of “experienced, award-winning business professionals, chemists, and horticulturists.” The next stage is the establishment of Pincanna’s retail “Markets,” the first of which will be located in Kalkaska. The Product: Pincanna focuses heavily on the genetics side of cannabis production, even going so far as to breed its own proprietary strains in-house. One of those is the awardwinning “Super Sonic” CBD strain, which Robert Nusbaum, a partner at Pincanna, says features a 1:1 ratio of CBD and THC. Nusbaum adds that the product will be available to customers at the Kalkaska market “in a variety of form factors.” The Purchase: Nusbaum says that the grand opening of Pincanna’s Kalkaska market has been delayed by the COVID-19 crisis, and that the business is in the process of “assessing an optimal date” to officially open its doors or establish options for pickup or delivery. Customers can keep an eye on Pincanna’s website (www.pincanna.com) or check the company’s Facebook and Instagram accounts for further updates.

REAL LEAF SOLUTIONS

The Place: Real Leaf Solutions; 1707 Enterprise Drive, Kalkaska; 231-384-6719 The Pitch: Unlike the other businesses on this list, Real Leaf Solutions is not a dispensary, but a Class C grow operation known for cultivating both medical and adult-use cannabis. At least, that’s the case right now. According to Tom Beller, who co-owns the business with his wife, Krista, Real Leaf is looking to open a provisioning center in Kalkaska this summer. The business was also the first in the entire state to be granted a license to hold cannabis events, which Beller hopes to start hosting “in the near future.” The Product: Given that Real Leaf Solutions is a Kalkaska-based grow operation, it’s fitting that the company’s signature product is a cannabis strain called “Kalkushka.” Described as a “potent indica-dominant hybrid strain with dank aromas and a cerebral, creative effects,” Kalkushka is something that Beller says provisioning centers tend to have a hard time keeping on their store shelves. The Purchase: For now, Real Leaf ’s status as a grow operation means that it cannot sell marijuana to the public in a retail capacity. Rather, the business supplies its product to other provisioning centers across the state. Keep an eye on www.realleafsolutions.com for updates regarding the company’s aforementioned cannabis events and its forthcoming Kalkaska retail operation.

Northern Express Weekly • april 13, 2020 • 15

A slice of Wolverine (right) and classic marinara, salad, and beer.

The Filling Station Microbrewery Keep on chugging with the ultimate in Up North comfort to go: craft beer and pizza By Craig Manning When The Filling Station Microbrewery opened in Traverse City on March 5, 2012, it was a unique proposition. For one, the brewery was situated in an old train depot, originally built in 1927 and still carrying much of its old-time charm. For another, northern Michigan’s status as a craft beer mecca hadn’t yet been minted. Traverse City was certainly well on its way as a beer town: Both Mackinaw Brewing Company and North Peak Brewing Company had been serving up original beers downtown since 1997, and Right Brain Brewery had opened its doors in 2007. Still, shortly after The Filling Station arrived at the station in 2012, the floodgates seemed to open. Within just a couple of years, Traverse City had a slew of new breweries on the map, from The Workshop Brewing Company to Brewery Terra Firma to Earthen Ales. Today, there are two breweries within a mile of The Filling Station’s location: Rare Bird Brewpub, opened in 2014; and Silver Spruce Brewing Company, established in 2018. OPTIONS FOR OVERALL SUCCESS While some have suggested that Traverse City is nearing its craft beer saturation point, Todd Klepper, owner and general manager of The Filling Station, says the crowded market has actually created a “rising tide lifts all boats” situation. “I really believe, strongly, that we all do better when there are more quality options in the area, because then Traverse City becomes a destination for people who are interested in craft beer,” Klepper told Northern Express. He added that, with so many brewers in the area, there’s more motivation for each business to carve out a niche for itself and establish its differentiators — be they certain styles of beer, unique food menus, or overall brewery atmosphere. Klepper thinks The Filling Station’s setting is unique enough by itself to draw in curious

visitors. Between the classic architecture of the train depot building and the outdoor patio space — which sits right on the train station’s old railway platform — this brewery isn’t quite like any other beer-drinking establishment in northern Michigan. Klepper and his team play subtly with the train theme, too: Beer flights are served on decorative locomotive trays, and the brewery’s 20 beer taps are classified as “tracks,” with depleted kegs labeled as “derailed” until new beers can take their place. SIMPLE BUT EXCELLENT As for the menu, Klepper says the goal from the beginning — both for food and beer — was “to keep it simple and do it well.” The beer menu, crafted by brewers Andy Largent and Tom Hodges, aims to deliver classic brew styles with a local bent. Examples include the Walla Walla IPA, brewed in the “Pacific Northwest” style but utilizing only ingredients harvested within a 10-mile radius; or the Iron Junction Bourbon Stout, an imperial stout aged in American oak barrels from Iron Fish Distillery in Thompsonville. In terms of food, The Filling Station is ostensibly a pizza place — but again with a twist. All of the restaurant’s pizza pies utilize house-made flatbread doughs and madefrom-scratch Sicilian-style red sauce, which Klepper says replaces with more natural garlic and herbal flavors the high sugar content found in most marinara-style pizza sauces. The pizzas themselves are innovative and unusual, mashing up ingredients not typically found on a pizza together: See the Wolverine, which pairs spicy flavors (pepperoni and jalapeno pepper) with sweet ones (pineapple); or the Burlington Northern, a pie with red onions, pears, prosciutto, brie, parmesan, and a balsamic reduction drizzle. There’s even a vegan pizza called the “Silver Fern,” which skips the cheese entirely. Klepper notes that guests can also build their own pizzas, if they’re more in

16 • april 13, 2020 • Northern Express Weekly

The Silver Fern - no cheese.

the mood for, say, a classic pepperoni-andcheese pie. The simple beer-pizza-salad approach has served The Filling Station well since COVID-19 hit. As bars and restaurants throughout the area have pivoted to carryout, Klepper says The Filling Station’s transition to has been relatively seamless. “It definitely helps us that people already associate pizza with takeout.” PAYING IT FORWARD While The Filling Station team is taking things one day at a time, Klepper says he’s so far been humbled by the amount of support the restaurant has received from the community. Organizations that The Filling Station has sponsored in the past — including TBAYS Soccer and Traverse City Track Club — have encouraged their members to order takeout from the brewery, while local businessman Paul Britten (of Britten Inc.) recently purchased two pizzas and a growler of beer for each of his 270 employees. Klepper’s plan is to take this “overwhelming generosity” and pay it forward in multiple ways. This past

week, The Filling Station served lunches and dinners to frontline emergency room workers at Munson. Still, while The Filling Station is in a relatively good place at the moment, Klepper says it’s been surreal to see the restaurant empty. Especially with its familyfriendly menu (and pet-friendly patio), The Filling Station was meant for large groups and communal celebrations. For his part, Klepper is just hoping those days can come again soon. “We’re very proud of offering a place for people to gather and enjoy each other’s company,” Klepper explained. “That part, we miss it a lot. It’s rough not seeing all the friendly faces, because the customers become a part of your family. But that’s the nice thing about staying open, too, is that we still hear from folks. It’s fun to still see our customers, even if it might be through a car window.” The Filling Station is open for curbside pickup and delivery (within a five-mile radius) every day from 11am to 10pm. Call 231-946-8168 or 231-633-7274 to place your order.

lOGY

APRIL 13 - APRIL 19 BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries artist Vincent van Gogh

got started on his life’s work relatively late. At ages 25 and 26 he made failed attempts to train as a pastor and serve as a missionary. He didn’t launch his art career in earnest until he was 27. During the next ten years, he created 860 paintings —an average of 1.7 every week—as well as over 1,200 additional works of art. For comparison, the prolific painter Salvador Dali made 1,500 paintings in 61 years. During the coming twelve months, Aries, you could achieve a van Gogh-like level of productiveness in your own chosen field—especially if you lay the foundations now, during our stay-at-home phase.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Sagittarian

sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1596–1680) was a prodigious, inventive creator. One scholar wrote, “What Shakespeare is to drama, Bernini may be to sculpture.” He designed and built public squares, fountains, and buildings, many in Rome, which embodied his great skills as both sculptor and architect. Unlike many brilliant artists alive today, Bernini was deeply religious. Every night for 40 years, he walked from his home to pay a devotional visit to the Church of the Gesù. According to my reading of the astrological factors, now would be an excellent time for you to engage in reverential rituals like those—but without leaving your home, of course. Use this social-distancing time to draw reinvigoration from holy places within you or in your memory.

CAPRICORN

(Dec. 22-Jan. 19): As I understand the current chapter of your life story, you have been doing the unspectacular but yeoman work of recharging your spiritual batteries. Although you may have outwardly appeared to be quiet and still, you have in fact been generating and storing up concentrated reserves of inner power. Because of the coronavirus crisis, it’s not yet time to tap into those impressive reserves and start channeling them into a series of dynamic practical actions. But it is time to formulate the practical actions you will take when the emergency has passed.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Aquarian poet Jacques Prévert offered a variation on the famous Christian supplication known as the Lord’s Prayer. The original version begins, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.” But Prévert’s variation says, “Our father who art in heaven: Stay there.” Being an atheist, he had no need for the help and support of a paternal deity. I understand his feeling. I tend to favor the Goddess myself. But for you Aquarians right now, even if you’re allergic to talk of a divine presence, I’ll recommend that you seek out generous and inspiring masculine influences. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will benefit from influences that resemble good fathering.

PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): Few astrologers

would say that you Pisceans are masters of the obvious or connoisseurs of simplicity. You’re not typically renowned for efficiency or celebrated for directness. Your strength is more likely to be rooted in your emotional riches, your ability to create and appreciate beauty, your power to generate big dreams, and your lyrical perspective on life. So my oracle for you this time may be a bit surprising. I predict that in the coming weeks, your classic attributes will be very useful when applied to well-grounded, downto-earth activities. Your deep feelings and robust imagination can be indispensable assets in your hard work on the nuts and bolts.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Most authors

do their writing while sitting on chairs in front of desks. But long before there were standing desks, poet Rainer Maria Rilke and children’s author Lewis Carroll wrote their books while standing up. Novelist Henry James had eight desks, but typically paced between them as he dictated his thoughts to a secretary. And then there have been weirdoes like poet Robert Lowell and novelist Truman Capote. They attended to their craft as they lay in their bed. I suggest you draw inspiration from those two in the coming weeks. It’ll be a favorable time to accomplish masterpieces of work and play while in the prone position.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): While sleeping,

most of us have over a thousand dreams every year. Many are hard to remember and not worth remembering. But a beloved few can be life-changers. They have the potential to trigger

epiphanies that transform our destinies for the better. In my astrological opinion, you are now in a phase when such dreams are more likely than usual. That’s why I invite you to keep a pen and notebook by your bed so as to capture them. For inspiration, read this testimony from Jasper Johns, whom some call America’s “foremost living artist”: “One night I dreamed that I painted a large American flag, and the next morning I got up and I went out and bought the materials to begin it.” (Painting flags ultimately became one of Johns’ specialties.)

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Ford Madox Ford

(1873–1939) was a renowned author who wrote The Good Soldier, a novel that has been called “one of the 100 greatest novels of all time.” Yet another very famous author, Henry James (1843– 1916), was so eager to escape hanging out with Ford that he once concealed himself behind a tree so as to not be seen. You have astrological permission to engage in comparable strategies during the coming weeks. It won’t be a time when you should force yourself to endure boring, meaningless, and unproductive tasks.

“Jonesin” Crosswords "No Time, 2 DY" --aka DY, another DY. by Matt Jones

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): I hope that during the

coronavirus crisis you have been entertaining wild truths and pondering the liberations you will initiate when the emergency has passed. I trust you have been pushing your imagination beyond its borders and wandering into the nooks and crannies of your psyche that you were previously hesitant to explore. Am I correct in my assumptions, Leo? Have you been wandering outside your comfort zone and discovering clues about how, when things return to normal, you can add spice and flair to your rhythm?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I like this quote by

the author Jake Remington: “Fate whispers to the warrior, ‘You cannot withstand the storm.’ The warrior whispers back, ‘I am the storm.’” Although this passage is more melodramatic than necessary for your needs in the coming weeks, I think it might be good medicine that will help you prevail over the turbulence of the coronavirus crisis. Getting yourself into a storm-like mood could provide you with the personal power necessary to be unflappable and authoritative. You should also remember that a storm is not inherently bad. It may be akin to a catharsis or orgasm that relieves the tension and clears the air.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Libran rapper and

activist Talib Kweli says, “You have to know when to be arrogant. You have to know when to be humble. You have to know when to be hard and you have to know when to be soft.” You Librans tend to be skilled in this artful approach to life: activating and applying the appropriate attitude as is necessary for each new situation. And I’m happy to report that your capacity for having just the right touch at the right time will be a crucial asset in the coming weeks. Trust your intuition to guide you through every subtle shift of emphasis.

ScORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Scorpio artist

Marie Laurencin (1883–1956) enjoyed a colorful fate. One of the few female Cubist painters, she was a prominent figure in the Parisian avantgarde. She was also the muse and romantic partner of renowned poet Guillaume Apollinaire. But there came a turning point when she abandoned her relationship with Apollinaire. “I was twenty-five and he was sleeping with all the women,” she said, “and at twenty-five you don’t stand for that, even from a poet.” Is there a comparable situation in your life, Scorpio? A role you relish but that also takes a toll? Now is a favorable time to re-evaluate it. I’m not telling you what you should decide, only that you should think hard about it.

ACROSS 1 Last letter 6 Part of R&R 10 “Nae” sayer? 14 Japanese dish meaning “pulled noodles” 15 You can smell it from a dumpster fire 16 ‘80s “This Old House” host Bob 17 Friend who helps with homework 19 Computer operating system developed by Bell Labs 20 Aptly named Quaker cereal 21 Measure for weighing boats 22 Tirane’s land, for short 24 506, in Roman numerals 25 Word before chimes or chill 26 Gave the go-ahead 28 Powerful giant 32 Chicago daily, briefly 33 Chopin technical piece 34 Australian actress in “Damages” and “Bridesmaids” 38 Lapse 39 Edmonton hockey player 40 Leo/Virgo mo. 41 Flakes in a pizzeria packet 44 “In-A-___-Da-Vida” 46 Christmas season 47 Shown again 49 Identifying, on Facebook 52 Nautical zookeeper 53 Relative of .org 54 Language seen at some gubernatorial press conferences 55 “So what else?” 56 Retirement spot? 59 Goes on the radio 61 Buffalo Bob Smith’s puppet 64 Health plan prefix 65 Dramatic honor 66 Jim Henson character 67 Accepts as true 68 Battleship markers 69 Leases an apartment

DOWN 1 ___ it seems 2 Sum work? 3 Birds with green eggs 4 Diploma alternative 5 “Whenever you want” 6 Like some plane tickets 7 Hall formerly of “The Tonight Show” 8 Vending machine contents, maybe 9 Attempt to contact again 10 “Law & Order” spinoff, initially 11 TV kid in the lower left corner 12 Food with a pimiento 13 Rides around Manhattan 18 One-named Irish rocker 23 Pet parakeet, say, to meme-makers 25 Join together 27 Home improvement letters 28 Can in a bar 29 Basic verb in Versailles 30 Hand-cranked instrument 31 Excavator 35 Sings outside a window (hey, that’s distancing!) 36 Modigliani work, often 37 “By jove!” 39 Workplace with non-union members 42 Bulldog’s cousin 43 Controversial director Kazan 44 More pleased 45 Extra A’s take it from “That feels good” to “What the f*$#” 48 Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy, e.g. 49 Second squad in a game, perhaps 50 “Au revoir!” 51 Classroom sphere 56 Onetime capital on the Rhine 57 Work on Wikipedia, e.g. 58 Does some hair coloring 60 Bro’s sib 62 Accessory on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” 63 Hematite, for one

Northern Express Weekly • april 13, 2020 • 17

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18 • april 13, 2020 • Northern Express Weekly

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Northern Express Weekly • april 13, 2020 • 19

We will work hard every day to ensure your home away from home always stays safe. We have been diligently working to ensure our casinos and hotel are cleaned and sanitized, including public spaces, offices and employee areas. Our air filtration system cycle has been optimized to completely replace all air every five minutes utilizing 100% fresh, outside air. Every slot machine, table game and chip have been deep cleaned and disinfected. Every area of our hotel is being treated with a Clorox 360° disinfecting and sanitizing spray. You can find additional information on our website www.odawacasino.com

20 • april 13, 2020 • Northern Express Weekly