Top Ten

this week’s top ten

Happy New Year to Wage Workers

Michigan’s labor force is in short supply compared to its demand, but 2022 has brought only a small bump in the state’s minimum wages. As of Jan. 1, the state’s minimum wage has been increased from $9.65 to $9.87.

In line with that wee bump, the 85 percent wage rate for minors aged 16 and 17 is now $8.39 an hour and rates of pay for tipped employees is now $3.75 an hour. The training wage for newly hired employees ages 16 to 19 for their first 90 days of Photo by Sharon McCutcheon, Unsplash employment remains unchanged at $4.25.

Michigan is just one of 29 states across the nation that opted to increase its minimum wage in 2022. (California is the only state in the nation that has reached the $15 hourly minimum labor activists push for, but that rate is reserved exclusively for California employers with 26+ employees; employers with 25 or fewer employees pay $14 per hour.) Nevertheless, the rate in Michigan — unlike in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and several others — beats the federal minimum: $7.25 hour for non-tipped employees and $2.13 for tipped employees.

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tastemaker Tropical’s Thai Chicken Wrap Jazzy Wine & Taco Brunch in TC

Giving all-new meaning to (at least half of the upcoming) Sunday Fundays of 2022: The bi-weekly Sunday Jazz Late Brunch series. Featuring music from the Jeff Haas Trio and saxophonist Laurie Sears, wine from Chateau Chantal, and tacos and treats from Mama Lu’s, the brunches will happen every other Sunday at the godly hour of 2:30pm inside the church-turned-GT Circuit building on 14th Street in Traverse City. The first one of the year will be Sunday, Jan. 9. A donation of $20 is suggested; proof of vaccination and masks are required.

4

Hey, watch it STATION ELEVEN

“Station Eleven,” Emily St. John Mandel’s award-winning novel about life in a destroyed post-pandemic world, was a brilliant work of literature long before COVID-19 made its timeless themes bracingly relevant. That its long-awaited adaptation arrives as we enter year three of our own neverending pandemic makes it all the more of a necessary, profound, and hopeful viewing experience — even if it sounds like just about the last thing you want to watch right now. Following a group of survivors known as the Traveling Symphony who loop around Michigan and the Great Lakes performing Shakespeare to the few remaining pockets of “civilization,” the miniseries’ portrait of our essential need for art, culture, and community offers viewers an unexpected healing power through its masterful storytelling. Fans of HBO’s “The Leftovers” will not want to miss this spiritual companion piece. Streaming on HBO Max.

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There used to be a time that we dreamed of a fast-food restaurant, complete with efficient drive-thru, that sold real, healthy, and tasty food; no pink slime. Our dream came true several years ago when two Tropical Smoothie Cafes came to Traverse City. And you know what? For years, we passed by with our noses turned upward. We’d make our own real, healthy, tasty food at home, we thought. Then we had kids, gained many pounds, lost even more free time, and finally — some random night between school and work and swim lessons — we squealed our minivan tires into a Tropical drive-thru. And you know what? Our dinner by dome light was good. Not French fry good. Not chocolate milkshake good. But real, healthy, and tasty enough to satisfy an exhausted parent and two picky kids. Our favorite is the Thai chicken wrap, with carrots, wontons, sesame seeds and romaine, grilled chicken, and a zingy Thai peanut dressing. If you’re making 2022 the year you eat better, consider making this place your go-to. Find a location near you at www. tropicalsmoothiecafe.com

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Catch Reno on the Road in Cadillac

Touring comedian Billy Reno is making a stop at Clam Lake Beer Company in Cadillac on Friday, Jan. 7. A finalist at the Detroit to L.A. Comedy Competition and The Border City Comedy Festival in Windsor Ontario, Reno’s quick wit has taken him to the world-famous Comedy Store in Los Angeles. Expect high energy, offbeat humor with witty one-liners, storytelling, and a personal touch: If the show sells out, you can email Reno about a possible second show. How’s that for service? Doors open at 6:30pm, and the show starts at 7pm. Search “Comedy Night at Clam Lake Beer Company” on Eventbrite.com; email reno at renoontheroad@gmail.com.

Cycling through the Snow

The Fat and Flurrious bike race is back! It’s happening Jan. 15 at Boyne City’s Avalanche Mountain, and there’s still time to register. Worry not about your post-holiday softness or lack of stamina because this race doesn’t have to be a race. As the first of five snowy cycling rides that are part of the flurry of fat tire events that make up Short’s Brewing Fat Bike Series — Fat Chance, Jan. 29; North American VASA, Feb 12; the Independent Dogman Challenge, Feb 19; Huma Loopa Licious is Feb. 26 — Fat and Flurrious need be nothing but a fun training ride to see how you and your fat tire (bike; not belly) roll in winter. Each one afterward can be a race against yourself, with, of course, a cold pint Living Your Way without the worries of Independentreward waiting at the finish, no matter how you do. Learn more and register for one or all at www.fatandflurrioud.com, www.sbfbs.com. maintaining your home.

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Stuff We Love: Knowing 6,000 NoMi Kids in Need Had a Good Christmas

As good as it feels to give, we have to admit that it feels even better to know just how good the giving was. In the five-county area covered by Toys for Tots of Northwest Michigan — Grand Traverse, Antrim, Benzie, Leelanau, and Kalkaska — that turns out to be about 6,000 kids who received more than 35,000 toys through 14 human service agencies in the region, says Toys for Tots coordinator, Maggie Kent.

“We think we met the needs in the region and are confident thousands of kids [had] bright smiles on Christmas morning,” says Kent of the region’s campaign, which this year was augmented with over 230 bikes donated by Bikes for Tikes and 11-year-old Piper Shumar’s This Girl Can fundraiser. The national Toys for Tots Foundation also pumped thousands of toys into the region. The toy drive is part of a national campaign the Marine Corps Reserves started 74 years ago and is the largest toy collection program in the country, with 800 campaigns across 50 states.

bottoms up Iron Fish’s Salted Maple Old Fashioned

With the end of yet another season, it’s tough not to feel that New Year, new you pressure. But before you swallow that self-help pill, why not treat your tastebuds to something familiar? At Iron Fish Distillery in Thompsonville, cocktails are the cream of their crop. Founded in 2016 as Michigan’s first farm distillery, Iron Fish grows, mashes, and ages every one of its spirits on its sprawling estate in Thompsonville. One of our favorites: Iron Fish’s Salted Maple Old Fashioned. Featuring its flagship Maple-finished Bourbon, this funky twist on an oldschool favorite begins with two ounces of house-made maple syrup, which has been aged for four months in Bourbon barrels. From here, the bartender layers in a few flakes of sea salt, followed by two ounces of Iron Fish’s woodsy-sweet whiskey. An interstitial stir combines the base, before the drink’s finished with a few dashes of aromatic bitters. Served in a rocks glass and garnished with an orange peel, this is one resolution you won’t regret. $12 at Iron Fish Distillery. 14234 Dzuibanek Rd., Thompsonville. (231) 378-3474. Ironfishdistillery.com