Northern Express - April 18, 2022

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NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S WEEKLY • april 18 - april 24, 2022 • Vol. 32 No. 16

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2 • april 18, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

letters Governor Whitmer’s Achievements As I look over the remarkable list of important accomplishments Gov. Whitmer and her team have achieved in her first term so far, I’m tempted to believe she has more hours in the day than the rest of us. But of course, that’s not the real explanation.

The truth is, she is highly skilled and deeply committed to bettering the lives of Michiganders in every way: through a vastly improved economy; expanded access to affordable healthcare; historic investments in education, infrastructure, and workforce training; and the creation of tens of thousands of good-paying jobs including 20,000 auto jobs. Gov. Whitmer also established the Office of Rural Development to address the unique challenges that face communities like ours.

The reality is that no other state’s economy has performed better than Michigan’s over the last year, and under Gov. Whitmer’s leadership, our projected $3 billion state budget deficit was transformed into a $7 billion surplus.

In addition, Gov. Whitmer delivered more than $400 million in support to businesses impacted by COVID-19 and enacted a bipartisan tax cut for small businesses, enabling them to grow and create jobs. In fact, by successfully working across the aisle, Governor Whitmer has signed 800 bipartisan bills into law.

Michigan also became the first “AgeFriendly” state in the Midwest through Gov. Whitmer’s many actions to improve life for older Michiganders and prepare our state for the major challenges of an aging population.

Think about it. In our largely rural region, where small businesses are critical to our economies and seniors make up a large and highly valued part of our communities, Gov. Whitmer is getting the job done. She deserves another four years to build up our state and build on her already outstanding track record.

Greta Bolger | Benzonia Straight Ticket In my life, I have only once voted straight ticket. I prize my American independence too much to do otherwise. I do not trust political parties to produce a candidate list full of truly logical problem solvers who are respectful of the U.S. Constitution.

So, when it comes time to vote, I do my best to study all candidates, vote, and hope they will not be too blindly partisan or corrupt.

Today, I still value my independence.

However, in the next couple of elections, I will be voting straight ticket, which is out of my typical wheelhouse. I find the lockstep, 100 percent obedience to power displayed by the U.S. Senate and House Democrats frightening. Truly frightening.

In this same sector, I also find open and regular lies, corruption, illogical decisions as attempts to problem solve, acceptance of at-large law breaking, and very politicallydriven legal pushes.

So, I worry about my Democrat straight-

ticket supporting colleagues, the many individuals I have worked with on public policy and political issues. These individuals have a true anathema to corrupt, lying, money-hungry politicians. They value their independence and being an American, as well. They must be really struggling.

Jill Rahrig | Bellaire Climate in Crisis The most recent international report of the climate crisis is grim, to say the least. If we don’t cut our carbon emissions drastically in the next two years, Earth will eventually be unliveable.

The pandemic is causing drastic pauses in our kids’ education and psychological problems from isolation and fear. We adults need to do everything we can to protect Earth for them and their kids.

Please contact your legislators to pass bills to put a hefty price on the biggest (and richest) polluters, e.g. “a carbon tax” with dividends that will be returned to American households.

Kathleen Birdsall | Traverse City In Response to Mr. Wickstrom I’m at a loss to understand the alternate universe where anything from Doug Wickstrom’s letter in the April 11-17 edition is true. Perhaps Mr. Wickstrom can explain how the United States is the laughing stock of the world under President Biden when it was Mr. Wickstrom’s idol (and by extension the U.S.) that was literally laughed at in 2018 at the United Nations’ conference.

Regarding Mr. Wickstrom’s litany of grievances, word count limits my ability to fully refute them, but let’s try.

1) Afghanistan: If Trump hadn’t fought for 5,000 Taliban to be released from prison and then negotiated with the terrorists to surrender the country, maybe it wouldn’t have been a problem. The fault is Trump’s.

2) Keystone pipeline: The pipeline was for export and was abandoned by its developer before President Biden took office.

3) Mexican border: the issue and problems with the border are multifold but spiked in early 2019, dropped over the winter and started to climb again since April of 2020.

6) (Skipping a few) Stopping drilling for oil: President Biden’s administration has done no such thing. In fact, more drilling permits have been issued by this administration than by the previous to this point in each.

7) Our relations with Russia and China?

Why worry? President Biden isn’t seeking to build a hotel or gain patents and trademarks, so there’s no need to be buddy-buddy with either.

8) Inflation is worldwide and the U.S. is not the highest.

9) Supply chain fiasco: two words: Freedom Convoy. Plus Trump’s failure to manage COVID. It would seem that Doug Wickstrom and his stable genius are really the Dumb and Dumber. Facts matter to honest people; why don’t they matter to Doug Wickstrom or his covfefe conservative friends?

David Moore | Traverse City

CONTENTS feature

Meet Your Budtender........................................9 Making Green................................................10 The Great Marijuana Miscalculation...............12 New Bohemian Café...................................15 Grow Ops......................................................16

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Spectator/Stephen Tuttle...............................6 High Notes (sponsored content)......................7 Weird............................................................9 Dates........................................................18 Film..........................................................22 Nitelife..........................................................23 Advice......................................................24 Crossword.................................................25 Astro........................................................25 Classifieds................................................26

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Northern Express Weekly is published by Eyes Only Media, LLC. Publisher: Luke Haase PO Box 4020 Traverse City, Michigan 49685 Phone: (231) 947-8787 Fax: 947-2425 email: info@northernexpress.com www.northernexpress.com Editor: Jillian Manning Senior Writer: 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: Joe Evancho, Sarah Rodery Roger Racine, Gary Twardowski Charlie Brookfield, Randy Sills Contributors: Anna Faller, Craig Manning, Al Parker, Victor Skinner, Stephen Tuttle, Meg Weichman Copyright 2022, all rights reserved. Distribution: 36,000 copies at 600+ locations weekly.

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Northern Express Weekly • april 18, 2022 • 3

this week’s

top ten Hug a Tree in Cadillac

We have Earth Day on the brain this week, and the city of Cadillac does too. After a few years away from their normal community format, the Cadillac Earth Day Celebration returns on Sunday, April 24, at The Market at Cadillac Commons.

This free event runs from 1-4pm and is perfect for the whole family to attend; in fact, each kiddo at the celebration will be given a tree to plant!

Learn about how you can do your part for the environment at various informational booths throughout the Commons. The Wexford County Conservation District will be on hand, as will other groups like North Country Cooperative Invasive Species Management and Ms. Green Recycling. Find all the earthy fun at 190 W. Cass St., Cadillac, or visit cadillacearthday.org for more information.

Lift a Glass (and Your Spirits) Welcome the arrival of spring at the Lift Your Spirits Tasting Event in Bay Harbor April 22 and 23. A five-course, spirit-paired dinner will be held on April 22 from 6-9pm in ELEVATION, on the second floor of the Bay Harbor Lodge Building. (Tickets, $125.) A tasting event follows on April 23 from 2-5pm, where you can visit Michigan distillers to sample their handcrafted selections. (Tickets, $40.) bayharbor.com/events

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Hey, Read It! Dune: House atreides

Dune’s highly-anticipated film debut snagged several awards at this year’s Oscars, so it’s about time to revisit the books!

Long before Frank Herbert’s hero Muad’Dib traipsed through intergalactic sands, a distant future empire (no, not that empire) and all it encompasses hinges upon a coveted “spice” sourced only from the desert planet Arrakis…and everybody wants their share.

There’s young Leto Atreides, who, wronged by an ancient rival house, seeks knowledge on another planet; meanwhile, Emperor Elrood IX enlists a scientist to study the planet’s arid environs as his defector son secretly plots his demise. A reimagined version of the elder Herbert’s unwritten files, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s 1999 series prequel, Dune: House Atreides, sets the intricately-crafted stage for this iconic sci-fi saga.

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Banana Bread French Toast at The Iron Skillet Every small town has its distinguishing dive, and for residents of Mancelona, that spot is The Iron Skillet. Helmed by hospitality veteran Mike Nygren, the café opened its doors in 2011 to an array of kicked-up diner classics. Since then, the Skillet’s from-scratch kitchen, not to mention its unmistakable chicken mascot, have kept townies and tourists returning in droves. But while you might be drawn by the dinner menu—did someone say house-smoked brisket?—don’t be surprised when you come back for breakfast. And when you do, the Banana Bread French Toast will be waiting. Built around a secret family recipe pioneered

by Nygren’s mother, “Momma Trudy,” this ooey-gooey plate begins with three thick pieces of house-baked banana bread. Soaked in a classic French toast batter and griddled to crispy-golden perfection, each sliver is finished with cream-cheese frosting and a sprinkling of candied pecans. We bet you can’t just have one slice. $9.99 at The Iron Skillet. 524 S. Williams St., Mancelona. (231) 587-9778. ironskilletmancelona.com

4 • april 18, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

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Mother Earth’s Movies

Speaking of Earth Day, we found several free, nature-inspired film screenings throughout the region this week. The Dennos Museum Center in Traverse City will host two showings (1pm and 2:30pm) on April 20 of America’s National Parks at 100, which takes armchair travelers on a tour of national parks across the country. Reservations required: go to shop. dennosmuseum.org. On April 22, you can catch the movie 2040 at 6:30pm at the Old Town Playhouse in Traverse City. The hopeful film looks at ways to reduce the effects of climate change and will be followed by an environmental discussion. Call 231-947-2210 for more details. Last but not least, this week is the premiere of Water, Sand & Sky, a documentary set at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Catch it on the big screen at the Historic Vogue Theatre in Manistee (April 19, 7pm), The Garden Theater in Frankfort (April 21, 7:30pm), and at the Bay Theatre in Suttons Bay (April 23, 2pm, 3pm, and 4pm). Visit nps.gov/slbe and select the calendar icon.

Farewell to the Advice Goddess After 20 years of helping us with our biggest—and weirdest—questions about life, the Advice Goddess is retiring her pen.

Northern Express was one of the first papers in the country to publish Amy Alkon’s column all those years ago, and she went on to be syndicated in over 100 papers across North America. Her emphasis has always been using real science—helpfully put in laypeople’s terms—to assist readers with questions about relationships, work, self-help, and the great wide world. We are proud to have published the Advice Goddess from the start, and we will miss her wit and wisdom each week. To give Amy a proper sendoff, we filled her usual space near the back of the paper one last time…but this go-round, she had to answer our questions. From her northern Michigan connections to her favorite topics to write about, Amy gives Express readers a final farewell this week. (Spoiler: she might just offer parting words of advice too.)

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Stuff We Love: Less Clutter, More Beer Money Those glorious April days when sunshine streams through our windows don’t only signal spring’s arrival and hibernation season’s end. They also serve as an illuminating revelation concealed by months of early dusks, candlelight, and an ever-replenishing Netflix watchlist: It’s time for spring cleaning. Your first critical step? Deciding whether to donate, sell, or trash all the stuff that’s accumulated in your house since the dawn of time. We’ll make it easy for you: One, if it’s not trash or donation-worthy, you could organize a garage sale! Two, you won’t ever organize a garage sale. An infinitely more likely third option: You can reserve a table ($15) at The Workshop Brewing Company’s “Giant Hilarious Yard Sale Party” and simply move the pile from your home to your car, then to that table on Sunday, April 24.

Have no piles? Attend the 3pm yard sale and shop till you drop. Another person’s trash is your treasure. To reserve a table and learn more, click on Events at The Workshop Brewing Company’s Facebook page.

bottoms up Green Pharm’s Dixie Elixir Many anti-alcohol and hangover-fearing folks find THCinfused mocktails make for an equally happy hour after a long week. The hard part, however, is finding one that works efficiently, tastes good, and doesn’t require you to carry a teaspoon in your pocket. So when we heard Green Pharm in Kalkaska started carrying liquid Dixie Elixirs—a product from Denver’s highest-profile infused-products company, Dixie Elixirs and Edibles, and new to Michigan—we got very excited. The child-resistant cap of each 8.5-ounce bottle features a 15ml measurement line, which holds a 6mg serving of THC, so you can fine-tune your dosing. And despite having 100mg of high-grade THC and no artificial flavors or colors, the bottle we tried—Fruit Punch flavor—had no weed-y taste whatsoever; just a juicy, fruity, pure-canesugary sweetness that perked up our club soda and, after about 30 minutes, us. $20 at Green Pharm, 764 S. Cedar St., Kalkaska. (231) 384-6614

Northern Express Weekly • april 18, 2022 • 5

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GURUS OF FLIM-FLAMMERY spectator

By Stephen Tuttle People running for office tend to exaggerate their qualifications and ignore their shortcomings. We’ve come to accept at least some of that with each election cycle. But even by those unfortunately loose standards, Perry Johnson is a rather obvious outlier.

One of 12 Republican candidates trying to unseat Gretchen Whitmer as Michigan’s governor, Johnson was last to enter the contest and first to deluge the airwaves with a $1.5 million television barrage he financed himself. His ads, to be charitable, are hyperbolic nonsense.

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Johnson claims he will lower gas prices, increase oil production, keep Line 5 open, reduce inflation, never, ever close public schools no matter what, and restore integrity to our elections. He blames Whitmer and President Biden for high gas prices. He even claimed he “saved” the auto industry.

One does grow tired of politicians and political candidates claiming they will restore the public’s confidence in elections when it is those very politicians who are trying so desperately to destroy that confidence. The integrity of our election system is just fine by any known metric despite the blizzard of lies being told by some.

The self-proclaimed quality guru would like us to believe he was in on the ground floor of developing quality statistical control

For someone calling himself the “quality guru,” he’s a little short on research and the facts that would accompany the title.

For someone calling himself the “quality guru,” he’s a little short on research and the facts that would accompany the title. Let’s start with his energy claims.

The president actually has little impact on the price of gasoline and a governor almost none whatsoever. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the pump price of gasoline is determined by the cost of crude oil on the world market, the cost to refine that crude, the cost to distribute the refined product, and how much tax the federal and state governments assess. The federal gas tax is currently 18.4 cents per gallon, and Michigan levies 27.2 cents per gallon. Reducing those taxes also reduces the amount of money available for road and transit projects.

President Biden has already asked energy companies to increase their oil production to help offset recent price increases. There are some options; according to the Bureau of Land Management, there are currently 9,000 valid drilling permits and a whopping 26 million acres of federal land leased and available for production.

Unfortunately, it’s more complicated than just turning on a spigot. The energy sector has been hampered by the same labor and supply chain issues as every other industry. Under the best of circumstances, which do not now exist, it takes at least six to eight months from the start of drilling to actually producing. Even then, the oil companies are under pressure from stockholders who are realizing a dividend bonanza under the current conditions.

And depending on how it gets measured, the U.S. is either already the world’s leading oil producer or at least no worse than third.

That ranking has absolutely nothing to do with who the governor of Michigan happens to be.

6 • april 18, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

Johnson cannot promise he won’t ever close schools because there is no way he can anticipate what calamity might require it. It’s a pretty safe bet Whitmer and local school boards never imagined they were going to have to make choices about school closures due to a pandemic. Johnson could well be similarly blindsided.

programs which “saved” the auto industry.

Actually, Walter Shewart is the real father of quality statistical control, which he first pioneered in the 1920s. Arthur Deming then turned it into an industry. Perry Johnson wasn’t around. (It was George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and their respective Congresses that saved the auto industry with their billions of bailout dollars.)

What Johnson did do was create a business teaching other businesses how to pass certification audits and another business that conducted those audits. When one Johnson company began to audit and certify other Johnson companies, the conflict was too much for the U.S. Registrar Accreditation Board, which suspended his companies in the early 2000s until they stopped the conflicted business entanglements.

Before that, one of Johnson’s companies was the king of junk faxes. (Some will remember that before email and social media there were fax machines.) According to the March 14 article in Bridge Michigan, one Johnson company sent more than a million spam faxes in the 1990s in violation of federal law. He once even used prison labor for telemarketing.

As a recent bonus, Johnson endorsed Matthew DePerno for Michigan Attorney General. DePerno is chief among the 2020 election deniers and filed the first of the dozens of frivolous and failed election lawsuits. Questions have now been raised regarding what happened to nearly $400,000 DePerno collected for his Election Fraud Defense Fund, and he is among those being sued for defamation by voting machine companies.

Johnson and DePerno are a good match: the gurus of flim-flammery.

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The valuable crop was frequently used to make rope, sails, clothes, and other textiles for many centuries. Countless medicines containing cannabis became popular in the U.S. and Europe by the late 1800s. Whether used for children’s fevers or a sprained ankle, there was a cannabis version of most items you’d have in your first aid kit today.

In 1937, the Marihuana Tax Act applied a heavy tax on all cannabis sales, effectively making possession or transfer of cannabis illegal throughout the U.S. (excluding medical and industrial uses).

Many decades passed and many trials were held, but it wasn’t until 1969 when the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court due to violation of the Fifth Amendment. However, with the loss of the Tax Act, President Richard Nixon passed the Controlled Substances Act in 1970, setting up a framework for the federal regulation and criminalization of drugs, including cannabis.

Hope began to emerge for the plant again in the 1990s, when legalization first took shape under medical defenses for possession and cultivation. Today, over forty U.S. states and territories have some form of medical cannabis laws.

Medical cannabis laws and regulations offered a foundation for recreational laws. In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational cannabis for adults 21 and up. On Nov. 6, 2018, Michigan voters approved Proposal 1 by a 56–44 margin, making Michigan the 10th state (and first in the Midwest) to legalize cannabis for recreational use.

Well into legalization here in Michigan, we are finally seeing a social shift in acceptance, stronger activism for cannabis rights, and an increase in community involvement, though much work will still need to be done even after the plant is federally legalized. In the meantime, we here at Dunegrass will continue to move toward coming full circle on the true potential of this ancient plant.

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A CITY UPON A HILL

Update The Glitter Twins, Sarah Franks, 29, and Kaitlin O’Donovan, 27, have had their charges dropped in Clearwater, Florida, after a January incident in which they “glitter bombed” one Jacob Colon at 3 a.m. at his home, The Smoking Gun reported on April 5. Franks and O’Donovan, who are married, allegedly threw glitter containers at Colon as he stood on the balcony of his apartment, then entered his home and further assaulted him with glitter, police said, but prosecutors concluded that “the facts and circumstances revealed do not warrant prosecution at this time.” The “twins” had been free on bond since their arrest for felony burglary. Colon had at one time been involved in a “threeway type of thing” with them, but it had ended before the incident took place.

The Passing Parade Rachel Mulcahy is in trouble with Clonard Monastery in Belfast, Northern Ireland for apparently posing as a nun and disrupting services at the church, the Belfast Telegraph reported on April 3. In recent days, she has been served with an injunction to stay at least 150 yards away from the building, but the bogus nun says she is praying for its parishioners. Mulcahy is also known around town for dancing frantically in the streets to religious music, accompanied by two evangelical preachers playing musical instruments. She sometimes falls to her knees and shouts, “Christ, come into me!” She told the Telegraph that she is “in love. Head over heels. I can’t stop it. I love Jesus Christ so much that all I can think about is him.” But one “insider” claimed she “is not a nun” and said “the congregation (is) quite elderly and they felt intimidated by Ms. Mulcahy’s behavior. They just want to be left alone to pray in peace.”

Crime Report It may not be Easter yet, but Mr. Bunny is already making it into the headlines. In Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, a 27-yearold man was in the process of robbing a business on March 31 when an employee tried to thwart him, the CBC reported. But the thief was armed with a Mr. Solid brand chocolate Easter bunny, which he used to hit the employee. The shoplifter escaped but was found nearby and arrested; the employee suffered only minor injuries. The stolen merch was returned to the store; no word on how Mr. Solid fared.

Niche Crime Seattle police were called to a downtown art gallery on April 5 after a man who claimed to have a knife stole an ancient mammoth tusk valued at several thousand dollars, KOMO-TV reported. The thief then escaped in a stolen plum-colored PT Cruiser, police said. Gallery owners said the theft is the second incident in recent weeks; the shop also carries fine-art sculptures.

Investigators were hoping to recover the tusk, and the gallery is planning to hire more security guards.

Naughty Electric vehicle charging stations in Isle of Wight, England, were hacked in the most middle-school of ways, the BBC reported on April 6. It seems someone

reprogrammed the screens on the charge points to show a pornographic website instead of the Chargepoint Genie network.

“We are saddened to learn that a third-party web address displayed on our electric vehicle (EV) signage appears to have been hacked,” the Isle of Wight Council said in a statement.

They apologized to anyone who “may have found the inappropriate web content.”

You Can’t Park Here A strange sight greeted residents of a rural area of Kansas on April 5: a mobile home resting smack in the middle of a gravel road, with no owner (or resident) in site. The Kansas City Star reported that the home was found in southern Labette County, and the sheriff ’s office made a request via Facebook for the public’s help in identifying the owner of the mobile home. Of course, theories ran wild among Facebook users. “Maybe they are on house arrest and needed to go somewhere,” one user said. In the early evening on April 6, the sheriff ’s office announced that they had found the owner of the abandoned mobile home, and it was later revealed that blown trailer tires during transport were to blame for its temporary abandonment.

Dangerous Work The night shift workers at the Mr. Chips french fry factory in East Tamaki, New Zealand, received a bit of a shock as 28 tons of russet potatoes from a farm in nearby Matamata worked their way through the factory’s conveyor belts. What appeared to be just another muddy potato was discovered to be a World War II-era hand grenade. “The guys were really calm and collected and they reacted in an extremely professional manner,” Roland Spitaels, the factory’s operations manager, told Stuff.co.nz. Police responded to the scene and subsequently called upon the New Zealand Defence Force’s explosive ordnance disposal team, who removed the grenade from the facility; X-rays revealed it was a training version of a hand grenade, containing no explosives. Spitaels hopes the police will return the grenade to the company when their investigation is complete so it can be put on display in the factory’s trophy room.

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8 • april 18, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

guest opinion

by Tom Gutowski We all want history taught accurately. But what does that mean? History isn’t “just the facts;” it’s a combination of what some historians think are the relevant facts plus an interpretative framework, like dots on a page plus the lines that connect them to form a narrative. Nor is history a thing of the past. Historians constantly argue about the meaning of historical events, revising the story when new facts are discovered or when someone with a new perspective wants to create a new narrative.

In 1630, supposedly on board the Arbella on the way to the Americas, John Winthrop gave a sermon entitled “A Model of Christian Charity.” Quoting from the New Testament’s Sermon on the Mount, Winthrop said the new colony would be “a city upon a hill” and called upon his shipmates to work cooperatively to make it a success. Winthrop’s sermon was all but forgotten for hundreds of years until Perry Miller, who taught history at Harvard from 1931 to 1963, decided that it illuminated an important theme regarding America’s origins. It’s been quoted endlessly since then.

A national origin story is a version of a nation’s history that showcases what’s unique and praiseworthy about it. Besides occasionally containing a degree of fiction, these semi-official histories often follow the “great man” formula, emphasizing the virtue and bravery of the founders and thus the wonderfulness of the nation.

Blemishes on the historical record, such as human bondage or the brutal treatment of indigenous peoples, are either ignored or treated as having been successfully overcome as mere speed bumps on the road to national greatness. In this context, Winthrop’s phrase became, in Ronald Reagan’s telling, “a shining city upon a hill.”

These celebratory stories can instill a healthy national pride and communicate shared values, but when overdone they can also get in the way of the other reasons for teaching history. Sticking closely to simplified heroes and villains stories inhibits critical thinking, promotes an unhealthy national chauvinism that easily devolves into xenophobia, and drains patriotism of its substance. If one believes we’ve reached perfection, then there are no legitimate criticisms, there’s nothing to be learned from the rest of the world, and patriotism consists of little more than the wearing of lapel flag pins and questioning the patriotism of anyone who dares point out where we might do better. Instead of national self-improvement, we opt for national self-congratulation.

Perhaps worst of all, overly celebratory versions of national history can result in a destructive nostalgia, a longing for a mythical past when everything was perfect. This backward focus can inhibit progress. Even worse, it can be weaponized by politicians who use hatred to energize

their base by invoking a glorious past and then demonizing those who supposedly ruined it.

A better way to teach history—one that better prepares students for citizenship— is to include multiple perspectives, honor complexity, be honest about the not-sogood stuff in our past, and accept the fact that historians will continue to have scholarly arguments about the narratives that, when woven together, constitute American history.

In the U.S., this would mean including the perspectives of Blacks, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and other minorities, which in turn means resisting the temptation to whitewash our past. There is no inherent shame in what one’s ancestors did; the shame is in trying to hide it.

It also means treating the founders as human, rather than as gods. Thomas Jefferson warned that a “blind veneration of antiquity” would render us incapable of thinking for ourselves and successfully adapting to changing circumstances. He was right.

And while we’ve obviously done much good on the world stage, students should also learn that we’ve done some bad things, too, like countenancing torture, supporting dictatorships, and participating in the overthrow of democratically elected governments.

This emphatically does not mean students should be taught that America is an awful place. We can love our country and celebrate its greatness while also squarely facing its flaws and misdeeds. George Washington was a slave owner; he was also a revolutionary war hero, and, among other notable acts, set a historic precedent by voluntarily relinquishing power in 1796 at the end of his second term as president.

American greatness comes not from wealth or power, but rather from our ideals: that we’re all created equal; that everyone, regardless of race, creed, or national origin, has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that legitimate governments draw their power from the consent of the governed; that everyone has a right to due process; that no one is above the law; and that we all have the right to speak freely, to worship as we please, to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, etc.

We clearly haven’t always lived up to these ideals; in fact we haven’t always even agreed about how to live up to them. But our continued belief in these principles compels us to keep trying. And that, more than anything else, is what supports our claim to be a city upon a hill.

Tom Gutowski is a retiree living in northern Michigan. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago.

Meet Your Budtender

By Lynda Wheatley One major perk that came with the legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use is that, finally, you can be sure what you’re ingesting, inhaling, or applying topically.

Gone are the Ziplock bags of dried green whatsis that tasted like they were exhumed from a basement of expired houseplants. No more “special brownie” mishaps that lay you out on the couch when you meant to go dancing.

Now you know the difference and can select between sativa and indica. You can meter your intake not only by serving but also by the percentage of THC (and/or CBD) per serving. You explain what you’re looking for—to alleviate back pain, relax before bed, share some laughs without becoming antisocial, or simply shut off your hamster wheel brain for a few hours so you can be a more present and patient parent—and choose a strain accordingly.

Your guide in this new and improved universe? Your local budtender. Today, we tip our hat to three standouts Up North, each a non-judgmental, well-informed pro who works one on one with customers like you to listen, explain, and ensure the buzz you’re buying delivers the benefits you want.

BAYLEE COX Pincanna, Kalkaska Baylee Cox tells Northern Express he’s been actively consuming cannabis products for six years but started as a budtender in the industry only in the last year. The attraction: “I’ve always been curious about learning about the benefits of cannabis. There’s no better way to understand the ins and outs of all the varieties other than having a career in the field.”

Any customer who has felt overwhelmed by the sheer variety of cannabis products has instant empathy from Cox. Although he’s on the proverbial “other side” of the counter, he’s been in your shoes—and that feeling plays a major role in his approach to his work.

“My second week as a budtender, we had a very busy day. I felt like a little fish in a big pond. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to answer every customer’s question since I still felt I had a lot to learn,” he says. “When my shift was over, I was praised for a job well done, and that inspired me to push forward and become the best budtender I could be. I doubled down and learned everything I could about cannabis products.”

The best part of the job, he says, “When a customer comes back to tell me that a product I suggested really helped them.”

Of course, he’s learned a little something in his time as a budtender himself “I’ve been surprised to see the wide range of customers who frequent our store. We’ve built a solid customer base with everyone from business executives, construction workers, old-school hippies, and more,” he says. As far as he’s concerned, the more people who give cannabis a chance, the better: “Cannabis is a wonderful supplement to wellness and has so many benefits to its use. There is something for everyone—it’s not the life-ruining drug it was made out to be in the ’70s.”

Cox’s favorites: “Smokeables—be it flower or concentrates—for the immediate effects. I also love hybrid strains for those great relaxing but not sedating highs.”

BRENNA FAIRCLOTH The Woods, Cheboygan A budtender for one year and four months, Brenna Faircloth says she’s long been fascinated with cannabis, so when it became legal in Michigan, her path was obvious.

“I dreamed of working in a dispensary,” she says. “Now my dream has come true, and I couldn’t be any happier.”

Faircloth works at The Woods, which has locations in Cheboygan and Detroit.

She says the combination of experience and heavy research has taught her everything she’s learned so far, and she puts that knowledge to use as a budtender. Hint: She says you’ll know you’ve got a good budtender when you’ve found someone who not only knows what products are good but why they’re good. “You want to find someone with a deeper knowledge than just the basics,” she says.

“Knowledge is key in this industry.”

She adds, “One thing I wish was more understood more about cannabis is there is so much more [to it] than the percentage. Coming in and asking for the highest percentage flower doesn’t mean you’ll get the best effects.

There is so much that goes into play—percentage is only a part of it. [Budtenders] are here to help. You can tell us what effects you’re looking for, what you want your flower to taste like, and what your budget is, and we’ll find you what’s best for you.”

Faircloth’s favorites: “I have so many, it’s hard to narrow it down. When it comes to concentrates, I have a special place in my heart for live resin and hash rosin. The taste on them is much cleaner and more pronounced—as are the effects. With flower, there is such a wide variety of strains that I enjoy. If we want to go with companies, I really enjoy products from Glacier Cannabis; every strain we have gotten from them has been fire. For cartridges, I, again, prefer live resin. The flavor is much better, and I find I don’t plateau as quickly as I do with distillate cartridges.”

STEVEN JACKSON Authentic 231, Manistee Steven Jackson has only been a budtender for six months. But within that time he’s already shown himself to be a valued one, winning several small contests his home dispensary, Authentic 231, has held.

He has strong convictions about what makes a budtender shine: “A good budtender wants their customers to feel comfortable at first impression. It’s not just about getting a customer a gummy or a pre-roll. I start budtending by asking, ‘What kind of high are you looking for?’ Maybe they don’t want a high at all,” he says. “A good budtender will interview you in a way. They try to get to know you and suggest a product that suits what you’re looking for—‘What kind of pain are you in? Let me see how I can help, and if this doesn’t help, I want to find you something that does!’ THC is always trial and error to find what works best for you.”

Jackson, who has been using cannabis “regularly and legally” for medical purposes for several years, says he knows from experience the benefits it gives people. “That alone was a big reason I was attracted to work in the industry.”

Well, that—and this: “There is nothing on this earth cooler than something that can give relief, laughter, and love from something that started as a seed in the ground.”

Jackson’s favorites: “I love flower! Un-ground bud is my favorite. I love learning about the sources—so many different terpenes, tastes, and effects—I’m never bored coming across my new favorite strain. Flower is also what works best for me.”

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MAKING

GREEN The economic impact of recreational marijuana Up North

By Victor Skinner Communities across northwest Lower Michigan are witnessing the obvious economic benefits of recreational marijuana this spring as the state doles out nearly $2 million in excise taxes to local municipalities and counties in the region.

The money is a welcomed new income at a time when inflation is driving up the cost of government business, but local officials contend the money is only one aspect of the industry that’s breathing new life into some communities and offering possibilities for growth that didn’t exist just a few years ago.

Benzie County “As far as the tax revenue, the first year we received roughly $84,000, and this year it was double that for the same amount of stores,” says Jason Barnard, Benzonia Township supervisor. The township took in $169,360 in taxes from sales at three stores in 2021, roughly 9 percent of the township budget, and Bernard expects that number to increase with the addition of another store over the last year.

When local officials approved up to four dispensaries, two grow facilities, and two processing centers, the focus was on generating better paying jobs and encouraging development. Barnard says the industry is living up to those expectations with none of the predicted downsides.

Besides generating funds that likely will go toward the township’s struggling fire

department or a walking trail and other improvements at Benzonia Township Memorial Park, the recreational marijuana industry is employing locals with good wages, helping to attract visitors, and improving the real estate market.

“When we drafted the ordinance, we put everything except retail in our industrial districts,” Barnard says. “When we started, there were a handful of properties available, and now there really isn’t. … It’s definitely increased property values, without a doubt.”

Benzonia Township’s current status as the only place in the county with recreational sales is driving traffic to not only the dispensaries, but also to other businesses along the way, Barnard says, and it’s contributing to a shift in public perception that will be hard for neighboring municipalities to ignore.

“I think it’s opened a lot of people’s eyes to the industry and the product as a whole,” he says. “There’s a stigma attached, and when people see firsthand a situation like this with stores opening up and businesses opening up and crime not increasing and car wrecks not increasing, it’s helped.”

Manistee County There’s a similar dynamic at play in Manistee, where both the county and city received $282,267 in taxes for 2021.

“We didn’t expect to get that much, so it was nice to get another revenue stream,” Manistee City Manager William Gambill says. The city is currently crafting its

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“The more consumption is allowed, the more the industry will grow,” McCurren of WellFlower says. budget, and the 4 percent boost is a needed addition as officials grapple with the rising costs of roadwork and aging infrastructure, he explains.

The city’s five dispensaries have also helped to bring new life to a business district between railroad crossings along

US-31, renovating older buildings and attracting a steady stream of customers from surrounding communities.

Trent McCurren, owner of The WellFlower, says that while the stores are zoned in close proximity, most are thriving by developing unique identities

with selection and style that appeal to different demographics.

“I think it’s a testament to the robustness of the marijuana market,” he says. “Around Manistee, there isn’t a lot of municipalities that have opted in to recreational marijuana.”

Manistee dispensaries are contributing to the community in a variety of other ways beyond tax revenues, as well, McCurren says.

The WellFlower team strives to participate in charitable work at least every other month, and dispensaries are collaborating to organize an event this summer dubbed “Smoke on the Water,” led by the dispensary Authentic 231.

City officials approved the event proposal in early April, and organizers are now working on licensing and other specifics for the July 16 event at Douglas Park. Dispensaries partnered with the nonprofit Salt City Rock to put on the beachside smoke-out, which will feature a Deep Purple tribute band and help to fund an amphitheater on First Street Beach for future concerts and community events.

“I do think it will lead to some tourism and people who don’t normally come to the area,” Gambill says.

As one of the first public marijuana events in the region, the event could also shape public perception and the relationship between the marijuana retailers and traditional tourism interests.

Kalkaska County The industry is also evolving beyond sales in Kalkaska, where the village’s seven dispensaries generated $395,174 in taxes for the county and local governments last year.

The Botanical Co. is slated to open the first public consumption lounge in the state adjacent to its current storefront on Cedar Street later this month. The “Kalkushka” expansion is aimed at setting the store apart from others in the competitive market while offering a safe place for customers to consume and another avenue for revenue from beverages and other items, says owner Russ Chambers.

“All of our data … is showing really big peaks in people’s interest in these lounges,” he says.

“We’re hoping the social use lounge will drive traffic to the store.”

The Competition Heats Up The traffic will be critical to maintaining sales as a variety of factors work against the market in Kalkaska and elsewhere.

As competition increases, there are new

pressures for marijuana businesses to adapt to survive. Only about 7 percent of Michigan municipalities have opted in to recreational sales so far, and the tax revenues coupled with a lack of any significant problems will undoubtedly encourage surrounding communities to participate, Chambers predicts.

“I absolutely think more places are going to opt in,” he says.

The expanding industry is expected to take a toll on existing stores as customers have more options, particularly in larger markets like Traverse City where officials are currently working on opening up recreational sales.

“For a store to do halfway decent, they need to do $3 million in sales, at least,” Chambers says. “In another year, we’ll start to see people falling out.”

Another challenge, Chambers notes, comes from falling cannabis prices.

Over the course of 2021, the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency reported a 40 percent drop in the price for an ounce of marijuana.

“We’ve seen in the first two months of this year prices went from $2,500 a pound to $800 to $900 a pound,” Chambers says.

“When you get down to that price … it’s tough to make money.”

Lower prices are not indicative of lower demand, but instead of large-scale manufacturers entering the market who can do business on a different production scale than smaller farmers. Chambers anticipates Michigan will follow the same pattern as other states like Colorado that have legalized marijuana, which saw a drop in prices that forced many businesses under before the market stabilized.

Tourism Likely to Grow But as the retail sales move into a more competitive stage, other aspects of the marijuana industry are only beginning to bud, and the success of more tourismfocused ventures like smoking tours or culinary partnerships will hinge in large part on integrating into the region’s broader tourism community.

The Michigan Cannabis Hospitality Industry Growth Organization published a report on tourism in 2021 that showed marijuana-friendly lodging “is the number one thing people didn’t see enough of,” says Lisa Liberman, the group’s chair. “The second one was events,” she adds.

More than 60 percent of marijuana

consumers surveyed by the group also showed interest in cannabis-friendly camping, wellness classes and retreats, and bus tours similar to the region’s famed wine events. In many areas of the state, those kinds of programs and events are becoming more available, even as local tourism officials have been reluctant to embrace the industry, Liberman says.

“Definitely the stigma is one of the reasons we hear over and over again, mostly the smell,” she says.

At Traverse City Tourism, Chief Operating Officer Whitney Waara is working with an international cannabis task force to promote best practices in the industry, but the illegality of marijuana under federal law poses challenges for marketing.

Pairing cannabis with culinary experiences, bud and breakfasts, marijuanathemed outdoor adventures, and integrating the industry into other events like beer festivals are exciting possibilities, Waara says, but tourism officials in Traverse City and elsewhere are proceeding with caution.

“We’re not taking on any big ads to say

come here to do these things,” she says. “A lot of the visitor bureaus in the state are having conversations and talking about this, but they’re real cautious. This is a huge industry with a huge economic impact in the long term, and we’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg on that.”

Tim Riley, chairman of the Manistee County Visitors Bureau, offered a similar assessment.

“It’s something the organization is starting to talk about and look into,” Riley says. “I think the members of our organization see new business as an asset to our area.”

In the meantime, area dispensary owners and promoters are hoping the tax revenues, events like Smoke on the Water, and new venues like the Kalkaska consumption lounge will work to further mainstream marijuana and help create more places for consumption.

“The more consumption is allowed, the more the industry will grow,” McCurren of WellFlower says. “I think if we could get progress on that, it could significantly increase cannabis tourism.”

Northern Express Weekly • april 18, 2022 • 11

Skymint’s Traverse City location has been shuttered since 2021.

Intended to be a dispensary, this building on Eighth St and Munson Ave sits vacant.

THE GREAT MARIJUANA MISCALCULATION Traverse City was supposed to be northern Michigan’s cannabis capital, but years after adult-use legalization, it’s barely on the map.

By Craig Manning What a difference three years makes.

Rewind, for a moment, to the spring of 2019, when it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Traverse City would become the epicenter of cannabis commerce in northern Michigan. All the dominoes were falling, seemingly at the perfect time, to make that assumption a reality.

First, in November 2018, Michigan voters approved a ballot measure that officially legalized marijuana for recreational use.

Six months later, the City of Traverse City distributed its first permits for medical marijuana dispensaries. That process involved a public lottery, where applicants gathered at the Traverse City Governmental Center to watch City Clerk Benjamin Marentette draw business names out of a five-gallon bucket. And from the cheers and high-fives that reverberated through the room on that Friday afternoon in early May, an observer might have assumed that someone had just won an actual Michigan Mega Millions jackpot.

At the time, those cheers seemed justified. Statewide, the Traverse City medical marijuana lottery was viewed as a big deal. The city received 72 applications for medical permits, many of them from downstate cannabis businesses that were eyeing Traverse City as a high-value market.

Ultimately, 13 businesses won the right to open medical dispensaries within city limits, and many of them walked away anticipating an even bigger prize down the road: the chance to add lucrative recreational marijuana sales to their stores when the city (inevitably) embraced adult-use cannabis.

A No-Recreation Zone Now, fast-forward to present day.

As of now, Traverse City has yet to pass an ordinance opting into the state’s adult-use marijuana legalization, which means that recreational pot sales remain illegal within city limits.

Of the 13 businesses drawn in the medical marijuana lottery on May 3, 2019, only 11 ever opened their doors. Many of those businesses have publicly decried the city’s slow process for approving a recreational ordinance, and some have even suggested that their stores cannot survive for much longer on medical sales alone. Skymint, one of the largest marijuana operators in the state of Michigan, temporarily shuttered its Traverse City store last spring and has yet to restart operations there nearly a year later.

There could be light at the end of the tunnel. Traverse City planning commissioners recently voted to recommend a draft ordinance that would bring the city one step closer to recreational marijuana.

Commissioners have indicated that the city could start issuing adult-use permits as early as this summer.

But that possibility depends in part on legal challenges.

Already, the rollout of recreational marijuana in Traverse City has been delayed by lawsuits. The city commission previously tried to adopt an ordinance that would have limited the number of recreational dispensaries in the city to four. Medical marijuana establishments pushed back and sued, arguing that state law effectively grandfathers their businesses in to any new adult-use marijuana ordinance the city might adopt.

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13th Circuit Court Judge Thomas Power ruled against the dispensaries on that front, saying that the city has the right to limit permit numbers and is not required to guarantee permits for every existing medical dispensary. But the dispute isn’t over, with medical sellers now appealing the decision to the Michigan Court of Appeals.

One big beneficiary from Traverse City’s challenges is Kalkaska, which dove right into recreational weed almost immediately after it officially became legal in December 2019.

Today, the small village of just 2,000 residents is home to five recreational marijuana stores: Lume Cannabis, Pincanna, Green Pharm, The Botanical Co, and Riverside Provisioning.

Other stores have popped up throughout northern Michigan and found success in bringing adult-use weed to the local region.

Several of those businesses are run by the Piedmonte family, a brothers-and-cousins crew whose first foray into cannabis, if everything had gone according to plan, would have been a medical marijuana dispensary in Traverse City.

The Locals Left Behind Speaking to Northern Express, the Piedmonte brothers—Nick and Eric, who run Dunegrass along with their cousins Chris and Bryan—recount the disappointment and frustration they felt in May 2019 when they missed out on a Traverse City medical permit.

Dunegrass was drawn “somewhere in the low 20s” in the lottery, just far enough from the lucky top 13 to have no chance of ever getting a license. The businesses selected in front of it were mostly downstate entities,

and most of them had flooded the draw with multiple applications. The lottery was set up in such a way that businesses with enough money could pay the $5,000 application fee repeatedly and “stack” multiple applications on a single dispensary location. Each application technically had a different business name on it, but many of those LLCs were shell corporations set up specifically for the application process.

“Those 12 facilities [that ultimately got permits in Traverse City] collectively submitted 34 applications into the lottery,” Nick says, arguing that bigger businesses with deeper pockets were able to stack the deck against smaller and more locallygrounded businesses like Dunegrass. “I believe I am the only adult-use marijuana retail licensee in the state of Michigan who is also a City of Traverse City resident,” he adds.

That local basis didn’t ultimately matter in Traverse City’s initial lottery draw, which was driven by chance instead of merit. But the Piedmontes are confident that things will be different if and when Traverse City rolls out its recreational marijuana ordinance.

State law requires adult-use permits to be distributed based on merit, and local market roots and knowledge are likely to be a part of the city’s rubric for assessing prospective recreational permit holders. In Eric’s view, if those factors had been valued more heavily from the start, the City of Traverse City may have avoided some of the headache and instability its marijuana market has seen over the past three years.

“In 2019, when we built a business plan around running a medical store here in Traverse City, a key component of that plan

City of Traverse City lottery drawing for medical marijuana licenses

was the resources and the networks that we could bring to bear simply because we’re from the region,” Eric explains. “I think maybe the uniqueness of our business plan, because of our locality, should have been a differentiator.

And maybe the permit-by-lotto system didn’t necessarily yield the best operators. Am I the best operator for the Detroit or Grand Rapids region? Probably not. There are probably companies that are based down there that can do a better job in those markets because they’re local. But we felt strongly that we were going to have the ability to run a successful operation in Traverse City, even as a medicalonly dispensary.”

Dunegass has spent the three years since the ill-fated lottery draw building its identity as a northern-Michigan-centric cannabis brand. Right now, the company has six adult-use retail stores operating in northern Lower Michigan or the Upper Peninsula, including shops in Manistee, Cadillac, Beulah, Big Rapids, Gaylord, and Marquette.

The Piedmontes are hoping to open at least three more stores this year, including one in Scottville, a second shop in the Upper Peninsula, and (ideally) a dispensary in Traverse City.

The Locals Stepping Away Where the Dunegrass team is still enthusiastic about being a part of Traverse City’s budding cannabis scene, Tina Schuett has lost any interest she once had in running a dispensary.

Schuett, known around northern Michigan as the co-owner of Traverse City’s Rare Bird Brewpub, was another local applicant who missed out on a medical permit in Traverse City’s 2019 lottery. That year, Schuett purchased the former Krause Realty Solutions building at the corner of Munson Avenue and Eighth Street in hopes of converting it into a dispensary. She and several other local property owners raised alarm bells to the city before the lottery even took place, citing concerns that deeppocketed applicants from out of town were flooding the lottery with multiple applications. The city, she said, opted not to heed those warnings.

“I think the city handled it wrong from the start,” Schuett says of the medical permitting process. “I know they did what they thought was right, and that they thought they were being smart about it. But they got played.

They refused to take the warnings before it happened. We told them, ‘Look, we can delay this. You don’t have to do this lottery right now. People are cheating.’ And they just ignored it. [The cheating] happened, and the city collected $400,000 in application fees,

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and I think that’s all they really cared about at the time.”

When asked whether she’s thought about going after a recreational permit when the city opens up that process, Schuett says she hasn’t even been following the dialogue around the still-pending ordinance. Her experience in 2019 has her convinced that the system favors “big money and bigger companies” and makes it “pretty much impossible for small players to compete.”

Schuett does still own the old Krause building, but has renters lined up for the coming summer season that, presumably, have nothing to do with cannabis.

If there’s one silver lining to what happened three years ago, Schuett says, it’s that missing out on a favorable lottery draw saved her from wasting even more money on a (literal) pipe dream.

“I definitely feel like we dodged a bullet, given the way the city handled everything and the lawsuits that came,” Schuett says.

“A lot of these companies [that got permits] have been able to keep their lights on because they are big companies and have a lot of money behind them. But because we’re just locals and would have just had this one shot, I probably would have lost a ton of money being open for only medical for those years in between.”

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Coffee Talk: New Bohemian Café rolls with the changes

By Jillian Manning

Tucked behind sunset-orange doors on Waukazoo Street in Northport is a 1,000-square-foot space filled with the scent of fresh coffee and warm pastries. New Bohemian Café is one of the few restaurants in the town at the end of the Leelanau Peninsula that stays open all year round, and in doing so has become a community spot for locals and seasonal visitors alike. “[We are a] gathering place, a place to check in with your neighbors, a place to read a book,” says co-owner Amy Murphy.

“That sense of the café gathering place that’s embedded in the New Bohemian Café name has really been able to be sustained even with the circumstances of the pandemic.”

A Change of Pace Amy and her husband, Kevin, hail from Grand Rapids by way of southwestern Michigan. The duo worked in the food industry in their younger years but spent a decade plus in marketing and communications before the hustle and bustle of corporate life grew to be too much.

Shortly after the arrival of their first child, they knew they wanted to find a slower, more intentional pace of life.

They moved to Northport in 2014, blending the marketing consulting that paid the bills with their dream to reconnect with nature through farming. But even then, there was always a draw to get more food and hospitality into their world.

“Throughout our lives, we’ve always sort of come back to food and drink as the table setting that really connects people,” Amy says. “For me, that’s what really makes me passionate about it: that connection between people and offering them the moment to slow down and be together.”

The opportunity to take the leap to restaurant ownership came somewhat

unexpectedly in 2018 when the property on Waukazoo Street went up for sale. Kevin immediately knew he didn’t want to see a tourist trap fill the space, especially when the community was lacking a coffee shop and a place to get a quick—but delicious— bite to eat on a workday.

Thus, New Bohemian Café was born.

(The name is a nod to the Polish and Czech history in the region, though the menu leans more Italian and American.) The Murphys purchased the space in 2018 and opened in spring of 2019 with a concept focused on wine, cheese, deli, and groceries.

A Change of…Everything A year later, COVID changed the game.

Wine tastings weren’t an option. The grocery and deli options faded away. After the first shutdown in spring 2020, the Murphys even feared that they would have to close the café and declare bankruptcy. But what remained—a breakfast and lunch joint that served up exceptional coffee—hit the spot for diners.

“Because of the fact that we were so new already before the pandemic, we were kind of figuring it out and ditching things that weren’t working and adding new things. We have been constantly refining what we do for three years now,” Kevin says.

“Our offerings have adapted to the circumstances of the needs in our community,” Amy adds.

After switching up the business model and the menu, New Bohemian Café has settled into a tasty groove. The café is currently open from 8am to 2 pm seven days a week, with breakfast served all day alongside a variety of pastries and lunch options.

The Kev McMurphin is a top seller on the breakfast menu, the café’s take on the famous McDonald’s sandwich but with upgrades like chili-garlic mayo and hashbrowns to complement the classic sausage, egg, and

cheese combo. The house-made NewBo Cinnamon Roll is a big hit for those with a sweet tooth, and bagels from Bubbie’s Bagels in Traverse City make for the perfect to-go meal.

No morning is complete without a cup of coffee, and it is here that New Bohemian Café shines. Their coffee—custom blends from Coffee Express, an independent roaster operating out of Plymouth, Michigan, since 1975—comes in hot within 24 hours of roasting. Amy says the freshness of the product combined with their high-quality equipment creates a consistently superior beverage.

“We are more of a traditional Italian style espresso than we are the new wave espresso,” she explains. “It’s got that real rich, smooth, almost caramelly flavor to it. … It’s a cup that you could have gotten 50 years ago in Italy, and it’s a cup that you can get now.”

Guests can enjoy a standard espresso or level up to a cortado (half espresso, half milk with a touch of foam) or an Americano. In fact, Amy says they can make just about any coffee beverage you want…just be cool and don’t order a wild Starbucks drink. Two of the more creative offerings on the menu include the Honey Cardamom Latte and the Vanilla Cinnamon Latte, both of which offer the perfect mix of sweet and spice to brighten up your morning.

At lunchtime, the Turkey Sandwich (roasted turkey, bacon, dill Havarti, lettuce, tomato, red onion, and cucumber with pesto mayonnaise and honey mustard) reigns supreme. Close contenders for the customer favorite include the Italian Sandwich stacked with savory meats and the Figgy Piggy, a special that made the jump to the full-time menu.

“It’s a really simple sandwich, but has great balanced flavors: the sweet from the fig jam, the creamy and little bit of tart from the brie, and then the salty, meaty loveliness of the prosciutto,” Kevin says.

Last but not least, soups are available during the colder months (yes, that means

right now). The rotating selection often features gluten free and vegetarian offerings with flavors from all over the world. Pro tip: Grab a cup of the Curried Pumpkin Bisque before it disappears for the summer.

A Change of Season As New Bohemian Café looks forward to summer 2022, a few new offerings are on the horizon. For a treat on a hot July day, the eatery will have three frozen drink options.

While the details are still being fine-tuned, Kevin says we can expect a frozen latte or Frappuccino, a frosty lemonade, and some version of an Italian ice.

A bigger update is bringing on a coffee truck in the form of a renovated 1960’s Volkswagen bus. Featuring a condensed version of the café’s beverage menu, the truck will be able to visit different sites in the region. Its home away from home will be outside the Omena Bay Country Store, which is planned for a 2022 reopening and will be operated by the Murphys.

Whether you’re coming to New Bohemian Café to try a new dish or returning for your favorite sandwich, Kevin says the most important thing is to make the drive.

“I would just encourage people if you could fit into that category of ‘I can’t even think of the last time I went up to Northport,’ come up to Northport!” he says. “We have the Mitten Brewing Company; we have an amazing public beach; we’ve got trails; we’ve got a golf course. It is a really nice little town to just come up and poke around, and there’s an increasing number of shops and new businesses. If you haven’t been to Northport in the last five years, you will find that the Northport of 2022 is a very different thing than it was before.”

Find New Bohemian Café at 110 S Waukazoo St, Northport, (231) 386-1034, newbohemiancafe.com

Northern Express Weekly • april 18, 2022 • 15

GROW OPS A year in the life on a cannabis farm

By Al Parker Charlie McKenzie uses his forefinger and thumb to stroke a fresh green sprig from a 4-foot-tall marijuana plant, then lifts his hand to his nose and inhales the plant’s fragrance, a blend of citrus, lemon, mushroom and light pepper.

“It’s White Truffle,” he says with a hint of pride in his voice. “Our most popular strain.”

Charlie is the director of cultivation at Heritage Farm Company, a marijuana growing facility in Manistee County where some 2,000 hearty plants are thriving under high-tech lighting and highly-monitored environmental conditions in the farm’s 15,000-square-foot grow room.

A Georgia native, Charlie studied horticulture at the University of Georgia. He later managed a “big box” 20-acre bedding plant greenhouse operation in New Mexico, providing plants to Home Depot and Costco.

He then ran a 90,000-square-foot cannabis greenhouse and 7-acre outdoor biomass operation in Colorado.

“During that time, I found that consulting with other growers on production efficiency, cultivation practices, and the implementation of integrated pest management was one of my passions,” he says. “I started a consulting business, CropWalk, and a podcast, CropTalk, serving other growers about four years ago and sold the business about seven months ago.” He joined the Heritage Farm team in November of 2021 right around the completion of the farm’s first year.

Construction at Heritage Farm began in 2020, and the farm was licensed in November of that year. They currently hold five Class C Adult Use (AU) licenses and one Class C Medical grow license. The State of Michigan licensing alone costs the farm more than $300,000 a year, according to CEO Willie McKenzie (no relation).

“We’re the most highly regulated industry there is, I think, in the world,” says Willie, a Californian now firmly entrenched in northern Michigan.

one of the farm’s first employees.

The monitoring system is just one side of the science within this operation.

Heritage Farm also prides itself on the array of “elite genetics” of their cannabis strains. The White Truffle, one of five strains being raised in the farm’s high-tech grow room, is like an actual truffle—both rare and a delicacy. It’s a potent strain with a 25-30 percent THC content that typically envelopes the user in an uplifted mood and renewed sense of energy.

“We’re the most highly regulated industry there is, I think, in the world,” says Willie McKenzie.

Spring Cultivation Perhaps in part because the cost of doing business is so steep, the team at Heritage Farm takes their work seriously. In March and early April, the plants in the grow room are carefully monitored via a high-tech system that controls their environment, water, nutrition, temperature, and other important factors that can impact their health and growth.

“It’s the brains of the operation,” jokes Cam Smith, a veteran grower and former Oaks Correctional Facility worker who was

16 • april 18, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

The White Truffle is a popular choice among artists and other creative types looking for weed that provides an all-around high.

Apple Fritter is the farm’s second most popular strain, a hybrid known for its powerful, relaxing high, according to those who enjoy it. Apple Fritter’s flavor and aroma come off as sweet and earthy, with a light, cheesy, apple pastry influence.

Other strains being grown at Heritage Farm include Fudgesicle, Apples & Bananas, and Potato Runtz. The farm plans to eventually expand its strains to 25.

Summer Sunshine As is the case with most green things in northern Michigan, summer is the season for growing. Cuttings from the grow room “mother plants” are potted and carefully watched until they are ready for the outdoor planting in early June.

It takes a couple of weeks to get the 1,000 plants from the grow room transplanted into the ground. Eventually some 10,000 plants will be growing on the farm this summer.

There are about 10 employees in the cultivation department, but that could more than double when planting gets underway.

Another five or so staff will be added when the harvest takes place in October. Between cultivation, manufacturing, and dispensary departments, the farm employs 60 to 70 workers.

These days, many businesses have trouble finding staff, despite offering bonuses and other incentives. Not so at the farm. “People are really interested in working in the cannabis industry,” says Willie. “We don’t have any problem finding employees, thankfully.”

Fall Harvest Once the plants are harvested in the fall, different parts of the plant are separated for different uses. For example, the leaves are loaded into plastic totes and brought to the manufacturing center to be distilled into a THC cannabinoid. (The two main cannabinoids are THC, which has psychoactive effects, and CBD, which typically does not.) Each tote weighs about

18 pounds before the leaves are chopped and ground into a biomass.

“We want 30 to 35 pounds of biomass,” explains Calvin Lutz III, the director of production and a fifth generation farmer whose family has worked this land since 1895. “We want sugar leaves and buds, no big water leaves or stems.”

The biomass is processed with liquid butane and dry ice as moisture is removed.

It’s a complicated technical process that Lutz oversees, and the result is close to a liter of “crude oil.” The oil is chilled and filtered multiple times to eliminate any impurities.

When finished, it’s a THC cannabinoid of 90 percent purity, according to Lutz.

This “winterized” oil then undergoes “wiped film distillation” in a processing unit that includes even more purifying, heating, evaporation, and condensation. The product is run through this elaborate process twice to insure the quality.

After all that, the work isn’t done; the oil still needs to be sent to a state-approved lab for testing.

“We use the Cambium Analytica lab in Traverse City,” explains Lutz. “Every product we make goes to Cambium Analytica for testing. They come out once a week, or whenever we need them, to pick up samples.”

Those samples are then tested for heavy metals, butane, solvents, microbials, and any foreign matter. Once approved, the oil is processed at the farm into a variety of products, including vape pen inserts, gummies, lotions, concentrates, and more.

Off to Market Left Coast Holdings is the parent company for Heritage Farms, and they operate two stores: Authentic 231 in Manistee and Heritage Provisioning in East Tawas.

“We have stores opening in Bedford and Stanton in the next 30 to 60 days,” says Willie McKenzie. “And six more retail projects in various stages of development from construction to licensing in Lansing, Muskegon Heights, and Taylor.”

The farm provides a wide selection of CBD and THC products for roughly 40 other retail facilities across the state, including Traverse City, Gaylord, Marquette, Iron Mountain, Big Rapids, Ann Arbor, and Portage.

Those dispensaries feature Heritage Farm flowers, vaporizer cartridges, and concentrates. Popular edibles from the farm include Cherry Pot Rocks, Cherry Berry Gummies, Northern Lights Love Chocolate Bars, and a variety of Caramel Bites.

On the CBD side, Heritage Farms offers topical balms, rubs, and patches, as well as CBD tinctures that are convenient and easy to take orally. There’s even a salmon-flavored CBD chew for the family dog, designed to improve skin and coat.

“We’re making good, pure products that are used by my friends and family members,” says Lutz. “I know for a lot of people, it does help in a lot of different ways. We’re making medicine.”

Calvin Lutz III with the farm’s “wiped film distillation unit.”

PICK UP OR DELIVERY $15 1/8ths OF MAC NASTY Limit of two per person, while supplies last

Present this ad or enter the code NoMiLove online Delivery minimum $150

231-676-8252 Torchcannabisco.com Order Here  Northern Express Weekly • april 18, 2022 • 17

apr 16

saturday

HOPPIN’ DOWN THE BUNNY TRAIL: Hop on down to Elk Rapids! Stop into participating shops to find seasonal items or complete tasks to be entered to win a Hunny Bunny Gift Basket. The Easter Bunny will be on River St. from 12-2pm.

Bring the kids & get your picture taken. $2 per map. facebook.com/downtownelkrapids

---------------------SPRING BIRD WALK: 9-11am, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire. Take a guided spring bird walk to learn how to ID birds by sight & sound & how to log observations online using the eBird webpage or app. Pre-register. $5. grassriver.org/classes-and-programs.html

---------------------EASTER FUN & GAMES: 10-11:30am, East Jordan Elementary School gymnasium.

Games, prizes & candy. Only ages 5-12 can receive prizes. The Easter Bunny will be available for photos.

---------------------EASTER WEEKEND ON THE FARM: 10am5pm, Myrtle & Maude’s, Williamsburg. Pancake breakfast: $5 adults, $3 kids, free for 2 & under (Sat. only). Pictures with the Easter Bunny on Sat. only. myrtleandmaudes.com

---------------------FRANKFORT EASTER EGG HUNT: 10am, Mineral Springs Park, Frankfort. Kids can hunt for over 3,000 eggs! Free.

----------------------

EASTER EGGSTRAVAGANZA: 11am-1pm, The Salvation Army Community Center, 1239 Barlow St., TC. Featuring crafts, an egg hunt, a family photo booth, ice cream truck, a bounce house, hot dogs & refreshments, & more. Free. centralusa.salvationarmy.org/traversecity/ events/family-easter-eggstravaganza

---------------------FAIRGROUNDS EGG SCRAMBLE: 11am, Emmet County Fairgrounds, Petoskey. Join Emmet County Parks & Recreation for a fun afternoon for kids & adults. Bring your own baskets for egg hunts, food, & much more. Free.

---------------------HARBOR SPRINGS EASTER EGG HUNT: 11am, Zorn Park, Harbor Springs.

---------------------QUIET PARTY: 11am, McLean & Eakin Booksellers, Petoskey. Meet author & illustrator of “I Am Quiet,” Betsy Petersen. Have your personalized mini portrait drawn & enjoy snacks, games & more. Best for ages 2-7, but all ages welcome. RSVP: 231-347-1180. Free.

----------------------

of the life of Christ from birth to resurrection.

ASL interpreted performance Sat., April 16.

Politics. Religion. Betrayal. Redemption. It’s a love story. Featuring a cast & crew of over 200 people. No ticket needed. First come, first served. Free. newhope.cc

---------------------CRYSTAL RIVER OUTFITTERS RECREATIONAL DISTRICT EASTER EGG HUNT: Crystal River Outfitters, Glen Arbor. Enjoy crafts & face painting at 3pm, followed by the Egg Hunt at 4pm, where you’ll have the opportunity to meet the Easter Bunny. Afterwards enjoy spring drinks & Peep ‘smores at the M22 Wine Patio. crystalriveroutfitters.com

BIG FUN W/ DON JULIN, JEFF HAAS, JACK DRYDEN, RANDY MARSH & JOE WILSON: 7:30pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Theater, Petoskey. $20. crookedtree.org

apr 17

sunday

apr 18

monday

EASTER WEEKEND ON THE FARM: 12-4pm, Myrtle & Maude’s, Williamsburg.

Pancake breakfast: $5 adults, $3 kids, free for 2 & under (Sat. only). Pictures with the Easter Bunny on Sat. only. myrtleandmaudes.com

GAYLORD AREA RESTAURANT WEEK: April 18-24.

Enjoy specials at participating restaurants. gaylordchamber. com/restaurant-week

---------------------KID’S CRAFT LAB: STAINED GLASS EARTH: 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Create oceans & land with blue & green tissue paper. This project is perfect for hanging in a sunny window.

Sign up when you reserve your attendance at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

----------------------

NEW SLEEPING BEAR DUNES NATIONAL LAKESHORE FILM: “WATER, SAND, AND SKY”: 7pm, City Opera House, TC. Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Superintendent Scott Tucker will be in attendance to introduce the film, color overview of the national park & its most iconic sights. Free.

apr 19

tuesday

STORYTIME ADVENTURES: 10:30am, 1pm & 3:30pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. “The Runaway Bunny” by Margaret Wise Brown. Sign up when you reserve your spot at the Museum. greatlakeskids.org

EASTER ACTIVITIES: Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville. 1-3pm: Photos with the Easter Bunny at the Park at Water’s Edge. Also, paint your own flower pot or bunny bank for $10 per craft. crystalmountain.com/event/ easter-at-the-mountain

GAYLORD AREA RESTAURANT WEEK: (See Mon., April 18)

---------------------“THE WINTER’S TALE” BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: (See Fri., April 15, except today’s times are 2pm & 7:30pm.)

---------------------CHARLEVOIX EASTER EGG HUNT: 2pm, East Park, Charlevoix. For children up to 10 years old. Head to Downtown Charlevoix early to do an Easter-themed scavenger hunt. business.charlevoix.org/events/details/easter-egg-hunt-13851

---------------------THE PROMISE: 2pm, New Hope Community Church, Williamsburg. A musical drama

send your dates to: events@traverseticker.com

----------------------

BOOK SIGNINGS, HORIZON BOOKS, TC: 12-2pm: Angela Crandall will sign her book “Twisted Tragic Love.” This poetry collection explores love’s connections with adoration, friendship, intimacy & desire. 2-4pm: Jim Olson will sign his book “Reindeer and the Easter Bunny.” horizonbooks.com

----------------------

april 16-24

------------------------------------------PETOSKEY BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5-7pm, City Park Grill, Petoskey. $10 Chamber members; $15 not-yet-members. petoskeychamber.com/business-after-hours

---------------------FOL MOVIE NIGHT: 6:30-8:30pm, Bellaire Public Library. Featuring “Peanut Butter Falcon,” rated PG-13. Free.

---------------------“WATER, SAND AND SKY” FILM PREMIERE: 7pm, Glen Lake Community Library, Empire. Explore the stunning landscapes, rich biodiversity, & captivating history of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The national park features miles of sand beach, towering bluffs, lush forests, & clear inland lakes, & is a vital part of the world’s largest freshwater dune ecosystem. Free. glenlakelibrary.net

18 • april 18, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

Known for his unusual raspy and high-pitched voice as Zed in the “Police Academy” franchise, Bobcat Goldthwait has also had a thriving career as a writer, director, voice actor and stand-up comedian. Laugh with him at the Traverse City Comedy Club on Fri., April 22 at 7:30pm or 10pm, or Sat., April 23 at 7pm or 9:30pm. Tickets: $30$35. traversecitycomedyclub.com

GTHC PROGRAM: SAWYERING ON THE NCT: 7pm, Boardman River Nature Center, TC. Grand Traverse Hiking Club monthly meeting & program: “Sawyering on the North Country Trail.” Free. facebook.com/GTHikers

---------------------NWS VIRTUAL EVENT: JOY HARJO: 7pm.

This internationally renowned performer & writer of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation who is serving her second term as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States will discuss “An American Sunrise,” her volume of work informed by her tribal history & connection to the land. Free. nationalwritersseries.org/product/joy-harjo

---------------------SWEETWATER EVENING GARDEN CLUB APRIL SPEAKER: 7pm, Acme Township Hall, Williamsburg. Featuring Brad Kik, co-director from Crosshatch Center for Art & Ecology in Bellaire, speaking on sharing common ground through small farms, gardens, arts, work & food. RSVP: 938-9611. Free.

apr 20

wednesday

GAYLORD AREA RESTAURANT WEEK: (See Mon., April 18)

-------------

DENNOS FILM SERIES: 1pm & 2:30pm, Dennos Museum Center, Dutmers Theatre, TC. “America’s National Parks at 100.” Take a tour through iconic Yellowstone & the Grand Canyon & discover smaller, hidden treasures throughout the country as you explore the agency’s evolution over the last century. Register. Free. shop.dennosmuseum. org/product/national-parks-100/4919

---------------------AFTERNOON DELIGHT: 4-6pm, Harbor Springs Area Chamber office, 118 E. Main St., Harbor Springs. Enjoy appetizers & drinks & find out what’s happening around town. Free. harborspringschamber.com/events/details/afternoon-delight-at-the-chamber-office-11408

---------------------BIKE RIDE WITH GRAND TRAVERSE CITIZENS’ CLIMATE LOBBY & NORTE: 6pm, F&M Park, TC. It’s a Slow Roll! Cele-

brate neighbors, community, bicycles & staying healthy. Meet at 5:50pm at F&M Park & ride around town & on the Tart trail (about 3-4 miles), then ending at The Little Fleet. Free. facebook.com/events/380445203597963

---------------------NEA BIG READ: POET CECELIA LAPOINTE: 7pm, Petoskey District Library Carnegie Building. An evening of poetry & discussion of boarding schools & healing justice. Good Hart Artist Residency is one of the partners for the Big Read, & Cecelia will be their artist in residence for the week they come to speak. Cecelia is the founder & executive director of the Native Justice Coalition. petoskeylibrary.org

---------------------INTERLOCHEN ARTS ACADEMY SINGER-SONGWRITER & POP ENSEMBLE: BECOMING OURSELVES: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium.

Enjoy diverse selections in a wide variety of genres, styles, & instrumentations. $14 full price; $11 student. interlochen.org/events/ singer-songwriter-and-pop-ensemble-becoming-ourselves-2022-04-20

apr 21

thursday

FREE LAUNDRY SERVICE FOR THOSE IN NEED: 8:30-11:30am, Traverse City Laundry, 1131 S. Garfield Ave., TC. Held the first & third Thursdays of the month. 947-3780.

---------------------KID’S CRAFT LAB: STAINED GLASS EARTH: (See Mon., April 18 except today’s times are 10:30am, 1pm & 3:30pm.)

---------------------GAYLORD AREA RESTAURANT WEEK: (See Mon., April 18)

---------------------DO IT FOR DANIEL: 5:30pm, TC West Senior High School. Traverse City Area Public Schools, in partnership with EverGROWTH Consulting & the Good Works Lab, presents this free community screening of “Do It For Daniel,” a documentary about Daniel Olson’s life. Daniel was an All-State quarterback for

the Ishpeming football team, & had a great family & friends, & few people knew the battles of depression & anxiety he was fighting on the inside. Daniel ultimately took his own life, not because he wanted to die, but because he just couldn’t live with the pain any longer. Coach Jeff Olson, Daniel’s father, will present the documentary. eventbrite.com/e/tcaps-presentsdo-it-for-daniel-at-west-senior-high-tickets277033182707?utm-campaign=social&utmcontent=attendeeshare&utmmedium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utmsource=cp&

---------------------IAF: CLIMATE CHANGE - RISKS & RESPONSES: 6pm, NMC, TC. Featuring Principal Climate Scientist, Climate & Energy Program, Union of Concerned Scientists Rachel Licker, Ph.D. In-person ticket: $15. Livestream access for non-members: $10 suggested donation. tciaf.com/event-4-21-2022

---------------------OPEN MIC POETRY NIGHT: 6pm, Benzie Shores District Library, Frankfort. Celebrate Poetry Month by stepping up to the mic to share your favorite poem or poetry you have written.

Or just come listen. Each reader will have 3-5 minutes to read depending upon total number of participants. Free. benzieshoreslibrary.org

---------------------OWLS & AMPHIBIANS DUSK WALK: 7:30-9pm, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire.

Listen & look for signs of spring like owls calling, frogs singing, or salamanders migrating. $10/person. grassriver.org

---------------------WIND SYMPHONY: FRIENDS OF THE INTERLOCHEN PUBLIC LIBRARY BENEFIT CONCERT: 7:30pm, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Corson Auditorium. Dr. Matthew Schlomer & the Wind Symphony explore the many ways to listen to sounds. $8.50 full; $5.50 student. interlochen.org/events/wind-symphony-friends-interlochen-public-library-benefitconcert-2022-04-21

apr 22

friday

THE BIG NATURE SIT ON EARTH DAY: 6-9am, Grass River Natural Area, Bellaire.

Meet in the main parking lot & hike out to the Grass River dock. Find a space on the boardwalk to sit quietly & observe the sights & sounds of nature coming to life. Bring a portable, quiet camp chair, a flashlight/headlamp, binoculars (or borrow some from GRNA), quiet snacks, & warm clothes. Register early. $10. grassriver.org

---------------------EARTH DAY WORKBEE EVENTS: 10am2pm. Help the GTCD staff with Boardman River streambank restoration efforts by planting native tree & shrub seedlings in the Brown Bridge bottomlands. natureiscalling.org/events

---------------------STORYTIME ADVENTURES: (See Tues., April 19)

---------------------GAYLORD AREA RESTAURANT WEEK: (See Mon., April 18)

---------------------EARTH DAY CONCERT: 12-8pm. Held under a tent outside of the NMC Innovation Center on main campus, TC. Bands include headliners Erin Zindle and the Ragbirds, with openers Silver Creek Revival, & featuring The Lofteez, Stonefolk, Jimmy Olson/Friends, Avid Kain, & Skylea with David Chown. Free.

---------------------2ND ANNUAL GREAT LAKES CLEANUP: April 22 - May 6. The Watershed Center & local partners will host several public beach cleanups. Today’s will be held at the Eyaawing Museum & Cultural Center in Peshawbestown at 2:30pm. Register. gtbay.org/ events/great-lakes-cleanup

“EYES ON THE FOREST: SENTINEL TREE WORKSHOP”: 3-4:30pm, Boardman River Nature Center, Oleson Pavilion, TC. Join GTCD & MSU Extension at this workshop to be trained on how to identify signs of invasive pests & how to monitor & report the condition of sentinel trees. Register. Free. gtcd.wufoo.com/ forms/mu8c9ct1jj93k6

---------------------CULTIVATING THE CURE. EXPLORING THE BENEFITS OF CANNABIS: 3-5pm, Pincanna Kalkaska, 786 S. Cedar St. (US 131) at M-66. Learn how nature can help you heal.

Featuring Vince Volovlek, founder of Michigan Organic Rub. Sponsored by Northern Express.

Raffles, CBD samples, swag, giveaways, Trout Fest deals. Free. pincanna.com

---------------------EARTH DAY CRAFTS & ACTIVITIES: 3-5pm, Elk Rapids District Library. From 3-5pm stop by the Island House to go birding & build a bug hotel. Free. elkrapidslibrary.org/ earth-day-crafts-and-activities

---------------------WATER, SAND, & SKY FILM PREMIERE AT THE HOMESTEAD: 6pm, The Homestead, Mountain Flowers Lodge, Glen Arbor. The kid friendly, family showing will begin at 6pm & conclude with a sunset hike to the top of Bay Mountain overlooking the Sleeping Bear Lakeshore. Atop Bay Mountain, yard games will be available. The Main showing will begin at 9pm following the sunset hike. Reserve your free spot: mynorthtickets.com/events/watersand-and-sky-film-premiere-at-the-homestead-4-22-2022-105306

---------------------2040 FILM SCREENING: 6:30-8:30pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. The film screening will be followed by short talks about personal climate actions by GT Citizens’ Climate Lobby, West Senior High School Environmental Club students & TC Central High School students for environmental advocacy. The film is rated PG. Free. facebook.com/events/714746189889302

---------------------LONE WOLF COLLABORATION: 6:30pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Theater, Petoskey.

A live collaborative music & dance performance involving the CTAC School of Ballet, The Croft Residency, Goodhart Artist Residency, Big Water Creative Arts & Pellston Schools. Donation. crookedtree.org/event/ ctac-petoskey/lone-wolf-collaboration

---------------------TC TRAIL RUNNING FESTIVAL: 6:30pm, Timber Ridge RV & Recreation Resort, TC. Tonight includes the 5K & 10K Relay. Register. tctrailrunningfestival.com/registration

---------------------COMEDY WITH BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT: 7:30pm & 10pm, TC Comedy Club, TC. Since his first appearance at the age of 20 on the David Letterman show in 1983, Bobcat has gone on to maintain a thriving career as a writer, director, actor, voice actor, & stand-up comedian. $30-$35. traversecitycomedyclub.com

apr 23

saturday

ARCADIA MARSH BIRDING: 7am. Leonard & Barb Graf will guide an exploration of this extensive wetland & the surrounding fields. They will meet at Meijer on U.S. 31 South in TC & lead a caravan to the marsh. 946-5120 or bluethroat@charter.net. Bring a lunch. Free.

---------------------TC TRAIL RUNNING FESTIVAL: 8am, Timber Ridge RV & Recreation Resort, TC. Today features the 100K/50K, 25K & 10K. tctrailrunningfestival.com/registration

---------------------7TH ANNUAL BIG LITTLE HERO RACE: 9am, NMC, TC. 1 mile fun run/walk: Free to participate & free cape for kids. 5K run/walk:

Northern Express Weekly • april 18, 2022 • 19

$20 students; $25 adults. 10K run: $25 students; $30 adults. Virtual: $15 all. All races begin & finish near the West Hall Innovation building. There will also be food, an inflatable obstacle course, live music by Drew Hale, & more. Benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwestern Michigan & NMC’s College for Kids. biglittleherorace.com

---------------------HBA HOME EXPO: 9am-5pm, Grand Traverse Resort & Spa, Acme. Sponsored by the Home Builders Association of the Grand Traverse Area. Featuring exhibits of over 100 building contractors, landscapers, financiers, & other businesses related to the region’s construction & remodeling industry. $12 per person; $10 pre-sale; $20/family pass. hbagta.com

---------------------2022 SPRING WORK BEE: 10am-noon.

TART Trails is hosting work bees at various locations along the trail network. If you have light tools, bring them. Please register ahead of time. 941-4300. Free. traversetrails.org/event/ tart-trails-spring-work-bee

---------------------EARTH DAY TREE PLANTING: 10am-2pm, Goodhart Farms Nature Preserve, Harbor Springs. Join LTC staff for a day of tree planting & giving back. Bring water, gloves & a lunch.

---------------------EARTH DAY WORKBEE EVENTS: (See Fri., April 22)

---------------------5K TAKE A HIKE HELP FIGHT THE FIGHT: The Barracks, South Boardman, 5210 E. Boardman Rd., TC. Presented by 22 2 None. Hike a 5K around South Boardman to help raise awareness of veteran suicide & the inner struggles of men & women who have served our country. Check-in, 11am; Opening, 11:30am; Hike, noon. There will be food available for purchase from area

food trucks & live music to enjoy when you return. Free. runsignup.com/Race/MI/ SouthBoardman/222NoneHike

---------------------GAYLORD AREA RESTAURANT WEEK: (See Mon., April 18)

---------------------MARCH TO BRING HOPE!: 11am, City Park, next to Shay Locomotive, Cadillac.

Supports survivors of domestic violence, sexual abuse & those who suffer with anxiety & depression. Walk ends at the Presbyterian Church on Harris St. Join there for drinks & doughnuts & a short program. 231-846-4495.

---------------------MOREL MUSHROOM SEMINAR WITH THE CHAMP: 11am, Traverse Area District Library, McGuire Community Room, TC. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or a first time picker, you are bound to find a new perspective to gathering the elusive morel with (retired) five time National Morel Hunting Champion, Anthony Williams. Registration required. Free. events.tadl. org/event/morel-mushroom-seminar-champ

---------------------EARTH DAY CELEBRATION: 1-3pm, Interlochen Public Library. Stem kit activities, snacks & a make & take craft. 231-276-6767.

---------------------“WATER, SAND, AND SKY”: 2pm, 3pm & 4pm, The Bay Theatre, Suttons Bay. Community-wide premiere. This movie explores the stunning landscapes, rich biodiversity, & history of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. Free. thebaytheatre.com

---------------------ANTHONY WILLIAMS, MOREL MASTER: 2pm, Glen Lake Community Library, Program Room, Empire. Learn about the elusive morel mushroom with world champion hunter Anthony Williams of Boyne City. Anthony serves as the “Expert in Residence” for the

g the Cure n i . t

efits of Ca n en B

ring th plo e x E

National Morel Festival. Free. glenlakelibrary. net/events

GAYLORD AREA RESTAURANT WEEK: (See Mon., April 18)

COMEDY WITH BOBCAT GOLDTHWAIT: (See Fri., April 22, except tonight’s times are 7pm & 9:30pm.)

HBA HOME EXPO: (See Sat., April 23, except today’s times are 11am-3pm.)

------------------------------------------TAKE TO THE SKY: 7pm, Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Bay Harbor. Presented by Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra. Featuring violin soloist Dmitri Berlinsky. Pre-concert talk with Music Director Libor Ondras at 6pm. $35, $45, $65. glcorchestra.org

---------------------NMC JAZZ BAND SPRING CONCERT: 7:30pm, Dennos Museum Center, Milliken Auditorium, NMC, TC. $7-$15. nmcmusicdepartment.simpletix.com

---------------------DOKKEN + GEORGE LYNCH: 8-11pm, Little River Casino Resort, Manistee. Guitarist & songwriter George Lynch performs with heavy metal band Dokken. Songs include “Kiss Of Death,” “When Heaven Comes Down,” & “Tooth And Nail.” $35, $45, $50. lrcr.com/eventcalendar/concerts/dokken-george-lynch

apr 24

sunday

BIRD WALK WITH GRAND TRAVERSE AUDUBON CLUB: 7:30am. Join Kirk Waterstripe from the Grand Traverse Audubon Club for a birding experience designed for those just getting started, or wanting to polish their skills. Meet in the Grand Traverse Area Children’s Garden, directly behind the Traverse Area District Library, TC. Dress for the weather & wear your walking shoes. Free. events.tadl.org/events/bird-walkgrand-traverse-audubon-club

------------------------------------------ELITE WEDDING EXPO: 12-3:30pm, Park Place Hotel & Conference Center, TC. Featuring a vast collection of wedding planning professionals: everything from cakes & favors to photographers, reception sites & much more. $10 advance; $15 door. eliteweddingexpo.com

---------------------11TH ANNUAL YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL PERFORMANCE: 1:30pm, City Opera House, TC. Six original one act plays performed as a stage reading. These plays are written by regional high school students who have been matched with national playwright mentors. Free. cityoperahouse.org/node/376

---------------------FIRST CONTACT: WHEN THE INDIANS AND EUROPEANS FIRST MET: 2pm, Helena Township Community Center, Alden. Robert Downes, author of “Windigo Moon” & “The Wolf and The Willow,” shares stories of first contact between Native peoples & the Vikings, English colonists & French voyageurs with a focus on the Anishinaabek & tribes of the Great Lakes.

Sponsored by Friends of Alden District Library.

231-331-4318. Free.

---------------------NMC CHILDREN’S CHOIR: 3pm, Lars Hockstad Auditorium, TC. Enjoy an afternoon of choral music from around the world. Dolce, Bel Canto, Intermezzo, & Cantus Choirs. $7$12. nmcmusicdepartment.simpletix.com

---------------------JAZZ (LATE) BRUNCH: JEFF HAAS TRIO WSG MARCUS ELLIOT & BILL SEARS: 3pm, GT Circuit, TC. Chateau Chantal wine, food from the Good Bowl. $20 donation.

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For use by individuals 21 years of age or older or registered qualifying patients only. Keep out of reach of children.

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Northern Express Weekly • april 18, 2022 • 21

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everything everywhere all at once Joyous. Brilliant. Poignant. Transcendent.

Dizzying. Beautiful. Giddy. Genius.

Straight-up bananas. Everything Everywhere All At Once is a film that is so easy to attach a glowing descriptor to, yet it’s also nearly impossible to describe.

For instance, it’s a sci-fi martial arts movie.

But it’s also a domestic drama. Plus there are also elements of fantasy, comedy, and romance. The film is both a highbrow work of art and lowbrow expression of juvenile humor. Pure spectacle melded with thoughtful allegory. It will confuse you. It will gross you out. It will make you laugh.

It will make you cry. It’s a film that seems to throw literally everything up on the screen in order to what sticks, and remarkably it all does. Every beat, every kick, every note, every joke, every cut.

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This is all to say that Everything Everywhere All at Once is a film that not only lives up to its ambitious title, but also lives up to its ambitious filmmaking. It’s all from the minds of the dynamic filmmaking duo of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as The Daniels, who are famous for their inventive music videos and also their first feature about a farting corpse. That film was Swiss Army Man, and it was a movie that showed such bright and bold promise, but just couldn’t manage to stick the landing. Here, they nail it.

The film’s one true EVERYTHING, however, is arguably Michelle Yeoh. She stars as Evelyn Wang, a wife and mother who runs a laundromat with her husband (Ke Huy Quan—yes, Short Round is back, baybeee!) after immigrating to the U.S. from China decades ago. Evelyn is overworked, overwhelmed, exhausted, and unhappy, and she’s making everyone around her unhappy too. She steals the joy from her sweet, softspoken husband Waymond as she peels off the googly eyes he sticks everywhere to make their daughter Joy (Stephanie Hsu) smile. And Evelyn criticizes Joy for just about everything, from her weight to her ambitions, unable to give her daughter the emotional support she craves.

Plus, Evelyn’s extra on edge because her father (James Hong) is visiting from China, and she’s throwing a Chinese New Year party for him and her customers. And Joy, who recently came out, wants her girlfriend introduced to her grandfather as her girlfriend and not as a friend. Oh, and Evelyn’s also being audited by the IRS and having an impossible time preparing.

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22 • april 18, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

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But something unusual happens on the way to the IRS appointment, and Waymond appears like a stealth secret agent, telling Evelyn he is from another universe and is searching for the right version of Evelyn who is needed to save all of existence from total annihilation. Turns out, due to all the emptiness and failures that mark Evelyn’s life, she is exactly the blank slate the universe needs to stop the evil Jobu Tupaki from ending everything.

And so through some of the most virtuoso action sequences ever committed to screen, Evelyn and Waymond hop between

universes and versions of themselves to stop Jobu from sending all of existence into an Everything Bagel Black Hole, all the while trying to get through her appointment with the ultimate government stooge, Deidre Beaubeirda (Jamie Lee Curtis).

Once the inter-universe action starts, it doesn’t stop. Moving at a breakneck speed, this is a true marvel of pacing and artistry. There is more movie in here for your time and dollar than just about anything I can remember experiencing.

It is truly an assault on your senses in the best way, overloaded with gags and jokes and references from everything to a truly inspired Ratatouille bit to the Hong Cinema of In the Mood for Love.

But through all the chaos, the characters and their relationships are what guide us and keep us grounded. Depending on what version of a character or what timeline we are in, relationships shift: enemies become lovers, friends become foes. Evelyn takes on a myriad of different lives ranging from hibachi chef to a famous movie star (a la the actual Michelle Yeoh). And in each different path or version, Evelyn sees her life and her choices in a new light, carefully weaving together all these emotional threads. Even if you don’t really know what the heck is going on, the cogency of the film’s feeling is unmistakable.

Ke Huy Quan is a true revelation. It is wonderful to see him on screen again, and he gives us true vulnerability, in many ways carrying the emotional weight of the film.

Jamie Lee Curtis is an absolute treasure.

And if you didn’t already think Michelle Yeoh was one of the greatest action stars of all time, there will be no question in your mind after this.

A film that encompasses the infinite and the intimate equally as well, Everything Everywhere All At Once will leave you like a fever dream: mesmerized by what you just saw and unsure that it was actually real.

It is a work of such daring and slaphappy vision, you can’t help but feel like you’re falling in love with film all over again.

nitelife

apr 16 - apr 24 edited by jamie kauffold

Send Nitelife to: events@traverseticker.com

Leelanau & Benzie

live

stand-up

DICK’S POUR HOUSE, LAKE LEELANAU Sat. -- Karaoke, 10-1 DUNE BIRD WINERY, NORTHPORT 4/23 -- Blair Miller, 5 LAKE ANN BREWING CO. 6:30-9:30: 4/16 -- The BooneDoggies 4/22 -- The Ted & Ron Show - Ted Alan & Ron Getz Guitar Duo 4/23 -- Pat Niemisto & Chris Skellenger Multi-guitarist and singer Blair Miller brings his Delta Blues and roots music to Hotel Indigo, TC on Sat., April 16 at 6pm; Cellar 152, Elk Rapids on Fri., April 22 at 6:30pm; and Dune Bird Winery in Northport on Sat., April 23 at 5pm.

Grand Traverse & Kalkaska ENCORE 201, TC 4/16 -- Drew Hale, 9 4/21 -- DJ Ricky T, 8 4/22 -- One Ton Trolley, 9 4/23 -- The Truetones, 9 GT CIRCUIT, TC 4/24 -- Jazz (Late) Brunch: Jeff Haas Trio wsg Marcus Elliot & Bill Sears, 3 HOTEL INDIGO, TC 4/16 -- Blair Miller, 6 LEFT FOOT CHARLEY, TC THE BARREL ROOM: Mon. -- Barrels & Beats w/ Rob Coonrod, 6-9 LIL BO, TC Tues. – Trivia Thurs. – Jazz Night w/ Larz Cabot, 6-9

Fri. – Live Music Sun. -- Karaoke MAMMOTH DISTILLING, TC 7:30-10:30: 4/16 -- Chris Smith 4/20 -- Eric Clemons MIDDLECOAST BREWING CO., TC 4/22 -- David Lawston, 6-9 ROVE ESTATE VINEYARD & WINERY, TC 4/22 -- Rhett & John, 5-8 TC COMEDY CLUB, TC 4/22 -- Comedy with Bobcat Goldthwait, 7:30 & 10 4/23 -- Comedy with Bobcat Goldthwait, 7 & 9:30 THE PARLOR, TC

8-11: 4/16 -- Jazz Cabbage 4/19 -- Jesse Jefferson 4/20 -- Wink Solo 4/21 -- Jimmy Olson 4/22 -- Chris Smith 4/23 -- Chris Sterr THE WORKSHOP BREWING CO., TC 4/16 -- DJ Ras Marco, noon; Charlie Millard Band, 7 4/19 -- Open Mic & Musical Talent Showcase, 7 4/20 -- Jazz Show, 6 4/22 -- Stonefolk, 7 4/23 -- Distant Stars, 7 THIRSTY FISH SPORTS GRILLE, TC 4/17 & 4/24 -- Music Bingo, 6-8 4/19 -- Tuesday Trivia, 7-9

MAMMOTH DISTILLING, BELLAIRE 4/16 -- Clint Weaner, 7:30-10:30

CELLAR 152, ELK RAPIDS 4/22 -- Blair Miller, 6:30

SHORT’S BREW PUB, BELLAIRE 4/16 -- Hannah Rose, 8-10:30

4/17 & 4/24 -- Sunday Vibes Sessions w/ Local DJs, 2-5 4/22 -- Eric Engblade, 8-10:30 4/23 -- One Ton Trolley, 8-10:30

Emmet & Cheboygan BEARDS BREWERY, PETOSKEY 6: 4/16 -- Owen James Trio 4/23 -- Charlie Millard - Solo Piano BOYNE VALLEY VINEYARDS, PETOSKEY 2-6: 4/16 -- Lou Thumser 4/23 -- Tyler Parkin

STORMCLOUD BREWING FRANKFORT 7-9: 4/16 -- Patty Pershayla

CITY PARK GRILL, PETOSKEY 10: 4/16 -- CIRCUIT.2 Electronic Muzik Night: House, Techno, Electro 4/22 -- Annex Karaoke

ODAWA CASINO RESORT, PETOSKEY VICTORIES, 10: 4/16 -- Crosscut Kings 4/23 -- Derailed

NORTHLAND BREWING, INDIAN RIVER 4/20 -- ONE LOVE Reggae Party w/ DJ Franck, 6

THE BEAU, CHEBOYGAN 7:30: 4/16 -- Mark Bowen 4/22 -- Lara Fullford 4/23 -- Jimmy Olson

oldthwa

it

april 22-23 Legendary Comedian, Bobcat Goldthwait, is no stranger to show business. Since his first appearance at the age of 20 on the David Letterman Show in 1983, Bobcat has gone on to maintain a thriving career as a writer, director, actor, voice actor, and stand-up comedian. He has directed numerous TV shows, including Jimmy Kimmel, Chappell’s Show, Community, among others.

may 6-7

CO.,

Michael Palascak grew up in Indiana and now lives in LA. He performed on both The Late Late Show with James Corden and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the same year. He has over one million views on YouTube.

Michael’s likability allows him to relate to his audiences in a real way which sets up the huge laughs he gets from his sharp, personal material.

Manistee, Wexford & Missaukee LITTLE RIVER CASINO RESORT, MANISTEE 4/23 -- Dokken + George Lynch, 8-11

Otsego, Crawford & Central BENNETHUM’S NORTHERN INN, GAYLORD 4/19 -- Randy Reszka, 5

Antrim & Charlevoix BC LANES, BOYNE CITY 4/16 -- Delilah DeWylde, 8-11

ST. AMBROSE CELLARS, BEULAH 6-9: 4/16 -- John Paul 4/21 -- Open Mic Night 4/22 -- Jesse Jefferson 4/23 -- Chris Michels

Bobcat G

BIG BUCK BREWERY, GAYLORD 6-9: 4/22 -- Nelson Olstrom 4/23 -- Lou Thumser SNOWBELT BREWING CO., GAYLORD 4/22 -- Delilah DeWylde, 6-9

AK

MICHAEL PALASC

MAY 20 A hilarious Detroit native, John Heffron is both Energetic and accessible. His uniquely honest perspective on relationships with family and friends and even himself is widely praised among his comedy peers. Audiences of all ages relate to his enthusiastic, hard-won wisdom.

JOHN HEFFR

ON

june 3 - 4 Lynn Koplitz june 17 Larry Reeb

enjoy

food, drgreat & LAUGHinks, S!

to purchase tickets and view our full schedule, visit traversecitycomedyclub.com or call 231.421.1880 ask about hosting your next event here!

738 S. Garfield Avenue, Traverse City

Northern Express Weekly • april 18, 2022 • 23

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You don’t need 1,000 of these to buy a house

Q&A with the Advice Goddess

Workin’ for the Workforce Call today to learn how 231-668-9297

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By Northern Express Staff & Contributors

(231) 252-3552 439 E Eighth St. Traverse City

Open 7 Days | Free Admission | South End of 2nd Street Frankfort, MI | oliverart.org | 231-352-4151 24 • april 18, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

We are sad to say goodbye to Amy Alkon, the Advice Goddess who has shared her science-based wisdom in Northern Express for the last 20 years. Before she steps away—and on to a new adventure— we caught up with her to ask a few final questions of our own.

Q: How did you get started as an advice columnist?

A: This is my accidental career. I’m from the Detroit suburbs, which are perhaps the most boring place to be from in America.

And so, as soon as possible, I escaped to New York. I got a job at the best ad agency then—Ogilvy and Mather—as an assistant producer. My friends and I there were pranksters. One of the things we did was to—à la Lucy from Peanuts—do free advice on the street corner.

We did it for free because we thought that nobody would even give us a nickel. … We thought people would just walk by and laugh. [But] they lined up around the block. … And I thought, “Oh my god, this is so terrible and irresponsible. I better know something.” I am this extreme nerd, lifelong, obsessive reader, so I basically read through all of psychology.

Q: How did you find your way to Northern Express?

A: I was writing [an advice] column for the New York Daily News. I was told that my column was the most popular thing in the feature section, and I thought, “Maybe other papers will like it too.” So I approached syndicators, and they all said to me, “Ann Landers and Dear Abby have all the real estate; you’ll never make any money.”

All you need to do to motivate me is to tell me I can’t do something, and so I looked at the newspaper market, and I thought, “Well, they’re not in alternative weeklies, and those are fun papers.” I went to my first alternative weekly newspaper conference in Montreal … and I approached editors there. Bob Downes of Northern Express was awesome. He gave me a chance, and he picked up my column.

Q: What is one of your favorite topics to write about?

A: One of them is sex differences. There’s

this idea that men and women are basically the same with a few odd, fun parts that are different. We’re really not. This comes out of evolutionary psychology, that we are physiologically different and our psychology conforms to that. Our psychology evolved to solve the unique problems of each sex.

Q: What will you miss most about writing your column?

A: It’s so satisfying to get a problem and then dive into the science. I don’t always know what the answer is. … I love it. It’s so fascinating. And I feel great about it, because I feel like every week, this will make a difference for some people.

Q: Do you have any parting advice for our readers?

A: Your feelings are not the boss of you. What this means is, you might be afraid to go approach somebody, or ask for something, or, you know, take some big step, and you want to be wise. But you know what will happen if you go and take that risk?

Someone might shut you down. They might sneer at you. I don’t think anyone’s died from being sneered at yet. Look at the upside …

And then keep going forward.

Another one is—and this is so important—the way you change behavior, like a habit, is to repeatedly act in a new way over and over and over. And then that starts to become your current habit; it becomes more and more comfortable. You have to have the guts to go through the period where it’s uncomfortable. … It’s not “fake it till you make it.”

Q: What’s next for you?

A: I’m doing two amazingly hard books.

They’re really important. I call them Book Monster One and Two to tell you how fun they are to write. I need to put the time into that in order to finish these on time. They should be out in 2023.

Q: Would you like to say a final farewell to Northern Express?

A: I’m so grateful, over the years, to all the readers from Northern Express. I’m from Michigan, and there’s a decency of people in Michigan, but especially people from the “Great North.” … It’s just been such a pleasure writing back and forth with all the readers.

lOGY

APRIL 18 - APRIL 24

BY ROB BREZSNY

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Aries author Marge Piercy writes, “I love people who harness themselves, an ox to a heavy cart, who pull like water buffalo, with massive patience, who strain in the mud and the muck to move things forward, who do what has to be done, again and again.”

According to my analysis of the astrological factors, you’ll be wise to be like a person Piercy describes. You’re entering a phase of your cycle when diligent work and impeccable self-discipline are most necessary and most likely to yield stellar rewards.

LIBRA

(Sept. 23-Oct. 22): British Admiral Horatio Nelson (1758–1805) was born under the sign of Libra. He was a brilliant and unconventional strategist whose leadership brought many naval victories for his country. Yet he was blind in one eye, was missing most of his right arm from a battle wound, and was in constant discomfort from chronic seasickness. I propose we make him one of your patron saints for the coming weeks. May he inspire you to do your best and surpass your previous accomplishments even if you’re not feeling perfect. (But also keep in mind: The problems you have to deal with will be far milder than Nelson’s.)

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): Anti-apartheid

activist Bantu Stephen Biko (1946–1977) was profoundly committed to authenticity. The repressive South African government hated that about him. Biko said, “I’m going to be me as I am, and you can beat me or jail me or even kill me, but I’m not going to be what you want me to be.” Fortunately for you, Scorpio, you’re in far less danger as you become more and more of your genuine self. That’s not to say the task of learning how to be true to your deep soul is entirely risk-free.

There are people out there, even allies, who may be afraid of or resistant to your efforts. Don’t let their pressure influence you to dilute your holy quest.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “The artist

must train not only his eye but also his soul,” said Sagittarian painter Wassily Kandinsky. Inspired by his observation, I’m telling you, “The practical dreamer should train not only her reasoning abilities but also her primal intuition, creative imagination, non-rational perceptivity, animal instincts, and rowdy wisdom.” I especially urge you to embody my advice in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. Now is a favorable time to make abundant use of the other modes of intelligence that help you understand life as it really is—and not merely as the logical, analytical mind conceives it to be.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): The

language spoken by the indigenous Cherokee people is at least 3,000 years old. But it never had a written component until the 1820s. Then a Cherokee polymath named Sequoyah formulated a syllabary, making it possible for the first time to read and write the language. It was a herculean accomplishment with few precedents in history. I propose we name him your inspirational role model for the rest of 2022. In my astrological understanding, you are poised to make dramatic breakthroughs in self-expression and communication that will serve you and others for a long time.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): A study by

psychologists concludes there is a good way to enhance your willpower: For a given time, say one week, use your non-dominant hand to brush your teeth, wield your computer mouse, open your front door with your key, or perform other habitual activities. Doing so boosts your ability to overcome regular patterns that tend to keep you mired in inertia. You’re more likely to summon the resolution and drive necessary to initiate new approaches in all areas of your life—and stick with them. The coming weeks will be an especially favorable time to try this experiment. (For more info, read this: https://tinyurl.com/BoostWillpower)

PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): In his book

Thus Spoke Zarathustra, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” According to my reading of the astrological omens, you will be justified to say something like that in the near future.

Now is a favorable time to honestly acknowledge differences between you and others—and accept those differences just as they are. The important point is to do what you need to do without decreeing that other people are wrong or misguided.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In 1879,

Taurus-born Williamina Fleming was working as a maid for astronomer Edward Charles Pickering, director of the Harvard Observatory.

Impressed with her intelligence, Pickering hired Fleming to do scientific work. By 1893, she had become a prominent, award-winning astronomer. Ultimately, she discovered the Horsehead Nebula, helped develop a system for identifying stars, and cataloged thousands of astronomical phenomena. I propose that we make her your role model for the duration of 2022. If there has ever been a year when you might achieve progress like Fleming’s, it’s this one.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): For 2500 years,

Egypt was a conquered territory ruled by nonEgyptians. Persians took control in 525 BCE. Greeks replaced them. In succeeding centuries, Egypt had to submit to the authority of the Roman Empire, the Persians again, the Byzantine Empire, the Arab Islamic Caliphate, the Mamluk Sultanate, the Ottomans, and the British. When British troops withdrew from their occupation in 1956, Egypt was finally an independent nation self-ruled by Egyptians. If there are any elements of your own life story that even partially resemble Egypt’s history, I have good news: 2022 is the year you can achieve a more complete version of sovereignty than you have ever enjoyed. And the next phase of your freedom work begins now.

CANCER

(June 21-July 22): During the next four weeks, some of the best lessons you can study and learn will come to you while you’re socializing and communicating. Even more than is usually the case, your friends and allies will offer you crucial information that has the power to catalyze dynamic decisions. Lucky encounters with Very Interesting People may open up possibilities worth investigating. And here’s a fun X-factor: The sometimes surprising words that fly out of your mouth during lively conversations will provide clues about what your deep self has been half-consciously dreaming of.

LEO

(July 23-Aug. 22): “Hold on tight, I would tell myself, but there was nothing for me to hold on to.” A character in one of Haruki Murakami’s novels says that. In contrast to that poor soul, Leo, I’m happy to tell you that there will indeed be a reliable and sturdy source for you to hold onto in the coming weeks—maybe more than one. I’m glad! In my astrological opinion, now is a time when you’ll be smart to get thoroughly anchored. It’s not that I think you will be in jeopardy.

Rather, you’re in a phase when it’s more important than usual to identify what makes you feel stable and secure. It’s time to bolster your foundations and strengthen your roots.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): In the latter half of

the 19th century, the US government collaborated with professional hunters to kill millions of bison living in America’s Great Plains. Why? It was an effort to subjugate the indigenous people who lived there by eliminating the animals that were their source of food, clothing, shelter, bedding, ropes, shields, and ornaments. The beloved and useful creatures might have gone extinct altogether if it had not been for the intervention of a Virgo rancher named Mary Ann “Molly” Goodnight. She single-handedly rebuilt the bison herds from a few remaining survivors. I propose that we make Goodnight your inspirational role model for the rest of 2022. What dwindling resources or at-risk assets could you restore to health?

“Jonesin” Crosswords

"Intro To Puzzles"--the three digits you'd see in college courses. by Matt Jones ACROSS 1. Equilateral figure 8. Crow’s call 11. “Milk” director Van Sant 14. Amalfi Coast’s gulf 15. “Without any further ___” 16. CN Tower prov.

17. Label for some TV jacks 18. Litigator’s field 19. Barracks VIP 20. Bulbed vegetable 21. Omelet bar option 22. A neighbor of Minn.

23. Carbon-14 or strontium-90, as used in dating 27. Paris 2024 org.

30. Some bridge seats 31. Record-setting Ripken 32. Carson of “The Voice” 34. Word often seen after “shalt” 35. Billiard ball feature, maybe 38. 2004 Hawthorne Heights single considered an “emo anthem” 41. Luck, in LeÛn 42. “The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar ___” 43. The “E” in QED 44. Cage of “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”, familiarly 45. Actress Arterton 47. Late Pink Floyd member Barrett 48. Hippie-inspired perfume ingredient 52. Smashing fellow?

53. Coldplay’s “Death and All ___ Friends” 54. Wishes it weren’t so 57. Actress Nicole ___ Parker 58. “___ in the Kitchen” (2022 TBS cooking show featuring sabotage) 59. Artificial tissue materials for 3-D printing 62. Pump output 63. Notable time period 64. Secret group in “The Da Vinci Code” 65. Suffix after fast or slow 66. “As ___ my last email ...”

67. “You busy?”

DOWN 1. Pretoria’s home (abbr.)

2. Lug along 3. Ye ___ Shoppe 4. Video game designer behind the “Civilization” series 5. NBC Nightly News anchor for over 20 years 6. Prefix with cycle or verse 7. Sean, to Yoko 8. City near one end of the Chunnel 9. Washington’s successor 10. “Amazing!”

11. Venetian boatmen 12. Open, as a toothpaste tube 13. Add fuel to 21. Post-shave amenities 22. What they say to do to a fever, versus a cold (or is it the other way around?)

24. Like coffee cake, often 25. “Time ___ the essence!”

26. Bi x bi x bi 27. Promising exchanges 28. “Hawaii Five-O” setting 29. Salesperson’s leads, generally 33. “Alas, poor ___!” (line from “Hamlet”) 35. Sports replay speed 36. Religious hit for MC Hammer 37. Abbr. before a founding year 39. Bite result, perhaps 40. Actor Malek 45. Fender offering 46. Freshen, as linens 48. Suffix meaning “eater” 49. Charismatic glows 50. Midwest airline hub 51. Opera star Tetrazzini (she of the chicken dish) 55. Comes to a halt 56. ___-ball (arcade rolling game) 58. Salesperson, briefly 59. Peaty place 60. 2008 event for Visa 61. Clarifying word in brackets

Northern Express Weekly • april 18, 2022 • 25

NORTHERN EXPRESS

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POSITIONS WAITING TO BE FILLED FOR 55 AND OVER: PAID PART-TIME POSITIONS WAITING TO BE FILLED! Must be age 55+, Unemployed and Seeking Work and Meet Income Eligibility. Positions in retail, customer service, inventory, stocking and clerical. Contact AARP Foundation SCSEP at 231-252-4544 to learn more about opportunities for seniors in Grand Traverse, the Upper Peninsula & other Michigan counties. ______________________________________ SEWING, ALTERATIONS, MENDING & REPAIRS. Maple City, Maralene Roush 231228-6248 ______________________________________ DAN’S AFFORDABLE HAULING: Hauling junk, misc, yard debris, estate sales, foreclosures, heavy demo. Free estimates. Call (231)620-1370 ______________________________________ RESPONSIBLE CAREGIVER LOOKING FOR PATIENTS: Medical Marijuana. 100% guarantee in all categories. Call (231)-409-6688 ______________________________________ BEAUTIFUL SALON RENTAL OP: Escape Salon has full/part time chair rental ops. New

to rental, no worries! Mentoring and beginner programs available! Beautiful salon, talented non drama team! 231-649-0883 ______________________________________

SPRING CLEAN-UP, BEDCARE, AND GARDENING: Need Spring, Summer and Fall help with Gardening, Mulch, Planting, Pruning, Weeding, Landscape and Design? We can help. Please call for Estimate 231-342-6861 231-499-4395 ______________________________________ BLACK STAR FARMS IS HIRING FOR BOTH LOCATIONS: Now hiring cooks, chefs, servers, housekeeping, cellar, warehouse and more! sfenton@blackstarfarms.com ______________________________________ HOME HEALTH WORKERS NEEDED (NORTHERN MICHIGAN): We are looking for caring and skilled Home Health Aides, CNA’s, MA’s and LPN/RN/BSN. Come join our growing professional and caring team. We have a need for full and part time caregivers all over Northern Michigan. If you are a caring and dependable home health care professional please submit application online at WWW.GLHCU.COM or call 231-668-4171.

SEEKING HOME HEALTH AIDES: IMMEDIATE NEED FOR HOME HEALTH AIDES! Compassionate Care Home Health is seeking home health aides for many locations around northwest Michigan. Flexible schedules and hours vary. Travel time paid between clients, vacation time, and a $2.35 COVID premium on top of base pay. Applicants may apply online at CompassionateCareMi.com or call 231-929-5491 ______________________________________ GREENHOUSE & FARM FLEX SCHEDULE 2040 HOURS AVAIL family farm 20 years growing specialty produce. hiring now. year round or seasonal. use hand tools to plant, weed, harvest, prepare beds. $15/hr with monthly review/raise. weekly paycheck. gas allowance. 20 miles south of meijers. to discuss text 231 649 2763 ______________________________________ SERVERS, BARTENDERS, BUSSER, COOKS, HOSTS The Traverse City Country Club is hiring! Seeking experienced front and back of the house staff for the club house and the pool.

Hard-working, but new to the industry? We will train! Flexible schedule, generous pay, free golf and staff meals included! Join our team! Call 231.947.9140 or email Concierge@tcgcc.com

TCS IS HIRING! The Concrete Service has a couple of openings for enthusiastic and driven salespeople. Experience in the landscaping or building industry is a plus and we are willing to train the right people. Along with excellent co-workers, we offer an unmatched benefits package with health insurance, 401k, profit sharing, cell phone allowance, etc. Come and check out one of Traverse City’s oldest familyrun businesses serving the region since 1932! scott@theconcreteservice.com ______________________________________ YOUR SATURDAY SIDE HUSTLE AT $25 PER HOUR! Two newspaper delivery routes now available with short hours and great pay!

Route 1: Saturday mornings 8am-noon in TC & Interlochen areas. Route 2: Saturday or Sunday, approximately 6 hours in TC, Manistee & Cadillac areas. Must be able to lift bundles of newspapers and have a dependable vehicle. Ideal work for students, retirees or someone seeking extra cash! Email us for details. accounting@ northernexpress.com

JOIN US FOR

(LATE)

Jeff Haas Trio FEATURING

Making new smiles!

WSG

Marcus Elliot & Bill Sears

Discreet and effective orthodontics for smiles of any age

Sunday, April 24th

easy. accessible. all online.

GT Circuit CHARLEVOIX TRAVERSEwww.northernexpress.com/classifieds CITY www.schulzortho.com

231-929-3200 • 4952 Skyview Ct.

231-237-0955 • 106 E. Garfield Ave.

26 • april 18, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly

3 PM, DOORS OPEN 2:30

MASKS REQUIRED

Château Chantal wine

Food from the Good Bowl

225 W Fourteenth Traverse City Across from the State Police Post

$20 donation

Mike Annelin

Enthusiastic & Experienced

Call Mike 231-499-4249 or 231-929-7900

M

C BA

15,000 sq. ft. office space in Copper Ridge business development Well-maintained, versatile office space $2,495,000 MLS# 1883032

0.72 acres, corner of Carver & Hastings Zoned industrial, empty lot $850,000 MLS#1896772

G! DIN N PE LE A S

Unique property directly on East Bay on OMP Unbelievable sunrise views, make this your own! $700,000 MLS# 1897682 e

W NE

Charming 4 bed, 3 bath, 2,812 sq. ft. home on base of OMP Highly desirable Highland Park neighborhood $550,000 MLS# 1898331

G! TIN S I L

0.67 acre corner lot on OMP, prime for new build 190’ shared neighborhood access on West Bay $500,000 MLS# 1898329

3.47 acre parcel in Holiday Hills.

Zoned high-density residential $395,000 MLS# 1897516

Northern Express Weekly • april 18, 2022 • 27

28 • april 18, 2022 • Northern Express Weekly