Northern Express - February 19, 2024

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NORTHERN MICHIGAN’S WEEKLY • february 19 - february 25, 2024 • Vol. 34 No. 07 Photo by Meg Bowen

Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 1

2 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

CONTENTS

letters Agree to Agree I absolutely feel Ms. Rogers’ (“Where’s The Party?”) pain and frustration. I’ll admit to missing John McCain and will go one better and admit to voting for Nixon once upon a time. I don’t cut on the diagonal, do identify as a Democrat but become more intensely progressive as the other side becomes more restrictively conservative.

It seems to me one side continually over-promises and under-delivers, while the other side is comfortable with lying.

And therein lie the roots of my political education, commitment, and dilemma.

Yes, we get caught up in Hunter’s laptop instead of hockey pucks taped under school desks because of no responsible firearms management. We complain about our taxes, fuel, food, and healthcare going up but stay silent on the disappearing taxes from corporations and the ultra-wealthy. We complain about the weather, and nobody does anything about it. Culture warxs and conspiracies are designed to distract us from what we desire.

We, the American People, have always known what we have wanted: life, liberty, happiness, safety, security, and peace through strength. For our votes to count and equal justice under the law. These we can all agree on. Unfortunately, there are bad players running amok and they may not want to share.

There is finite time to pick a side. I fear our way of life and union may not survive. Across this already great country there are calls for a national divorce, succession, or the dissolution of our federal government. A candidate who speaks freely about dictatorship, retribution, and his own personal immunity. I shudder to think of the anarchy and turmoil that could follow, and I refuse to witness the death of democracy or any book burnings.

However distasteful, we need to choose wisely…before our choices are taken away forever.

Heating bills, winter coats and boots, snow tires, and salt—a nuisance for some of us, but a real challenge for the many workers and families in northern Michigan working for $15 or less an hour.

What a difference an extra $550 might make for them!

The thousands of working adults and families with children in our region with jobs that pay $15 an hour or less could put that money to immediate use for food, clothing, utility bills, car repairs, childcare, medicine, and other essentials. Thanks to Governor Whitmer and the Democrats, those most in need will see that tax relief beginning in February in the form of Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) checks of approximately $550.

EITCs, both at the state and federal levels, have been proven to help people, especially children, stay out of poverty.

They also help our small rural communities by stimulating local economies and supporting small businesses. With all these clear benefits, we can only wonder why all three of our Republican representatives— Jack Bergman, John Roth, and Jon Bumstead—voted against expanding the Michigan EITC. For those “public servants,” $550 may mean nothing more than a few new golf clubs. But for lower income Michigan households, those refunds could mean the difference between well-fed, happy kids or hungry children—and productive, on-time workers and those who can’t make it to work because of unaffordable transportation or childcare needs.

In short, the benefits of the EITCs begin with helping workers and families meet their basic needs and extend to healthy, productive communities. Who would say no to that?

John Hunter | Traverse City

More on Section 3 In reply to the letter by Willie Jones, “Section 3 Clarity,” as an Independent, I am forced to reply.

Even though you quote the law accurately, sir, your ignorance of the law is amazing. We are still a country where one is “innocent until proven guilty.” Mr Trump has not been convicted of anything, and so

Who Could Say No? Welcome to “winter” in northern Michigan, where despite our inconsistent snow lately, it’s still cold enough to add extra expenses to already stretched budgets.

F

Greta Bolger | Thompsonville

So welcome, make yourself at home!

Lee Hallett | Beulah Histories & Mysteries Well done! Congratulations, Northern Express, on all four well-written stories in the Feb. 12 edition. They were all short and very informative articles on different topics not well known in northern Michigan. Who knew Hemingway never returned to northern Michigan after the age of 23? He sure drew on his northern Michigan experiences as a youngster in his later writings.

Thomas Christensen | Cedar SUBMIT A LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Keep your letter to 300 words or less, send no more than one per month, include your name/address/phone number, understand it may be further edited. That’s it.

Email info@northernexpress.com and hit send!

feature

Small Town Charm, Big City Kitchen ................10 Out of the Frying Pan, Out of the Fire..............14 From Field to Fork.......................................18 Your Winter Restaurant Guide.............................25 Inside the Ingredients..........................................31

columns & stuff

Top Ten..........................................................4 Spectator/Stephen Tuttle..................................7 Guest Opinion/Stamiris...................................17 Guest Opinion/Smith......................................23 Weird..........................................................29 Dates..........................................................32 Nitelife.........................................................36 Crossword..................................................37 Astro.............................................................37 Classifieds.................................................38 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 Finance Manager: Libby Shutler Distribution Manager: Roger Racine Sales: Lisa Gillespie, Kaitlyn Nance, Michele Young, Todd Norris, Abby Walton Porter, Caroline Bloemer For ad sales in Petoskey, Harbor Springs, Boyne & Charlevoix, call (231) 838-6948 Creative Director: Kyra Cross Poehlman

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

Distribution: Joe Evancho, Sarah Rodery Roger Racine, Gary Twardowski Charlie Brookfield, Rachel Cara Listings Editor: Jamie Kauffold Contributors: Anna Faller, Kierstin Gunsberg, Karl Klockars, Craig Manning, Nora Rae Pearl, Stephen Tuttle Copyright 2024, all rights reserved. Distribution: 36,000 copies at 600+ locations weekly.

Northern Express Weekly is free of charge, but no person may take more than one copy of each weekly issue without written permission of Northern Express Weekly. Reproduction of all content without permission of the publisher is prohibited.

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Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 3

this week’s

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Folksy and Indoorsy

From Concern to Change There’s no shortage of things to worry about in the world, and for the younger generations, the environment is often top of the list. A Pew Research report found that in the U.S., 76 percent of Gen Z consider climate change to be one of their biggest concerns, with 37 percent listing it as their top concern. There’s even a term for that overwhelming worry: climate doom. This Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Traverse Area District Library, Inland Seas Education Association (ISEA) is hosting an event for grown-ups to learn how to connect with kids on this Pictured: An ISEA river cleanup project. big topic. The goal is to help folks “feel confident having supportive conversations with young adults experiencing climate doom” and to offer ideas for positive environmental actions to effect change, even on a small scale. Learn more at tadl.org/doom-fuel.

TC’s Irish Fusion band The Wild Sullys is just one of the dozens of performers playing the Great Indoor Folk Festival on Sunday, Feb. 25, at The Village at Grand Traverse Commons from 12-5:30pm. With six stages, plus performances in Kirkbride Hall and Cuppa Joe, there is music for every age. This free festival is presented by Northern Michigan Songwriters in the Round, in memory of Louan Lechler and Fred Kramer.

4 Hey, read It!

The Happy Couple

At first glance, twentysomething couple Luke and Celine have it all figured out. After four years, they share a cat and apartment and might just be in grown-up love. Marriage is the next step, right? But Luke is a relentless cheater, while Celine, a devoted concert pianist, lives more in her head than reality. Will they make it all the way to the altar? Not if the wedding party has their say. There’s Archie, Luke’s friend and college ex, who stifles his feelings for Luke with drugs; Celine’s rebellious sister Phoebe, who’s bent on exposing Luke’s infidelities; and intellectual Vivian, who’s happy to pull the emotional strings from afar. As it turns out, the toughest part of any relationship is accepting the truth—and in bestselling author Naoise Dolan’s newest novel, The Happy Couple, you only do till you don’t.

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7 Monks’ Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich

This writer continues on her quest for the perfect fried chicken sandwich in northern Michigan. (And man, there are a lot of good ones out there!) The latest to get a gold star: the creation on 7 Monks Taproom’s menu ($15). This sammie has it all: perfectly crisp chicken, a brioche bun, tangy pickles, and a side of shoestring fries. And let’s not forget the generous dose of Southern hot honey that elevates both spice and flavor. Pair it with one of 7 Monks’ Michigan brews, or step it up a notch with a glass of dry, lightly fruity sparkling wine. (Food & Wine says the bubbles and acidity balance out the fatty, salty crunch of the chicken. MAWBY’s Sex is sure to fit the bill!) Eat up at 128 South Union Street in Traverse City. 7monkstap.com

4 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

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Restaurant 6 All Week, All the Time Ready those forks, friends—you won’t want to miss a dish! Harbor Springs Restaurant Week kicks off Feb. 23 to March 3. Choose from 14 establishments, including spots a bit south of town like NOMAD of Bay Harbor and Petoskey’s Palette Bistro. Menu prices range from $20 for lunch to $55 for dinner.

Hot on Harbor Springs’ heels, Traverse City Restaurant Week runs Feb. 25 to March 2, with price points of $25, $35, and $45. This year, there’s a new digital passport with menus and contact info, and anyone who checks in and dines at two or more participating restaurants gets a themed oven mitt! Diners will also have Pictured: A past TC Restaurant Week dish from Hotel Indigo. a chance to win random drawings for $50 gift certificates from the 45+ restaurants and a grand prize with lodging and dining. Sign up at traversecity.com/traverse-city-restaurant-week.

Stuff We Love: Seeing the Stars in a Whole New Way Look up! Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore has added an inflatable planetarium dome to their Interpretation and Education division to create immersive night sky experiences, plus other learning opportunities.

How does it work? A laser projector projects 360-degree images and video inside the dome, which measures 17 feet wide by 12 feet tall.

Educators can now sign up for a team of park rangers to visit their school (for free!) with two initial offerings: “Sharing Star Stories,” a nightsky themed program that features nocturnal animals, constellations, Anishinaabe night-sky oral traditions, and light pollution; and “Great Lakes from Below,” with underwater footage of the Great Lakes in the dome as well as stations on aquatic food webs, invasive species, and microplastics. To learn more, visit nps.gov/slbe/learn/education/classrooms/index.htm.

Giving Back Millions $3.5 million. That’s the grand total of grants and scholarships awarded by the Grand Traverse Regional Community Foundation (GTRCF) in 2023. GTRCF recently released the highlights of their 31st year, which included $91,000 in grants directed by the foundation’s Youth Advisory Councils to youth programs and services in Antrim, Benzie, Grand Traverse, Kalkaska, and Leelanau counties, as well as an ongoing partnership with Venture North Funding & Development that resulted in six loans to local businesses, totaling $512,850. Nonprofit partners received the bulk of this year’s funds, while $434,030 specifically supported student scholarships. The foundation received more than $1.26 million in donations throughout the year from 700 donor partners. Learn more about the foundation’s giving efforts at gtrcf.org.

8 Two tasting rooms, one cozy time Visit MAWBY and bigLITTLE Wines this winter to enjoy a range of wines, idyllic views and unique experiences

Bottoms Up Leelanau Coffee Roasting Co.'s Miel Latte Opened in 1993, Leelanau Coffee Roasting Co. has mastered the art of the home-grown cuppa, and their signature Miel latte is a must. It starts with a double shot of the roastery’s own Leelanau Espresso blend (that’s their inky Italian roast, amped up with Indonesian beans), topped off with a layer of frothy steamed milk. Then—and this is our favorite part— baristas layer in a golden spoonful of Sleeping Bear Farms’ Star Thistle Honey spiked with organic cinnamon. Rich and smoky with a hint of sweetness, this staff pick sips like sunshine on a dreary day. Psst: For an extra sugar buzz, pair one with a homemade apple cinnamon scone! Enjoy a Miel hot or iced ($4.40/M) at Leelanau Coffee Roasting Co.’s café in Glen Arbor (6433 W. Western Ave) or visit leelanaucoffee.com.

Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 5

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A NOT SO GRAND OLD PARTY

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spectator By steven Tuttle A balanced budget. A strong national defense. Smaller, less intrusive government.

Unambiguous anti-communism. Near isolationist foreign policy.

Those used to be the calling cards of politicians—and their supporters— calling themselves “conservatives.” Their loyalty was to a philosophy rather than an individual, their hero an ideology, not a politician.

Edmund Burke, the 18th century Anglo-Irish philosopher and politician, is considered the original founder of conservatism. But we think more of William F. Buckley as a founder of our modern conservatism and Barry Goldwater’s 1960 book, The Conscience of a Conservative, as a template for mid-20th century conservative politicians.

Things were a bit different then—neither the Civil Rights nor Voting Rights Acts had been passed; abortion was illegal everywhere; despite the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling, public schools in the south were still segregated; birth control was not yet legal; the Cold War was real and threatening; and the environment was a convenient place to get rid of our waste.

When Goldwater’s 1964 bid for the presidency was crushed by Lyndon Johnson, American conservatism took a quick turn away from some of its guiding principles.

Richard Nixon made the federal government bigger, not smaller, and supported the creation of a whole new federal bureaucracy, the Environmental Protection Agency. Far from being isolationist, he expanded our role in Vietnam and opened the door to trade with China. By the standards of today’s Republican party, Nixon was a liberal.

So too was their former standard bearer, Ronald Reagan. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the national debt almost tripled during Reagan’s two terms in office, and according to the Department of Labor, the federal workforce increased by 324,000 new employees. So, more debt and a bigger government.

George W. Bush, who admittedly had to deal with the aftermath of 9/11, saw more increases in the size of government and spending to fund that growth. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security consolidated 22 federal agencies into a single bureaucratic behemoth, further fattening both the deficit and our debt. Additionally, the Bush administration spent hundreds of billions on ill-fated wars in the Middle East, first to root out weapons of mass destruction that did not exist in Iraq and then to bring western-style democracy and capitalism to a part of the world unfamiliar with concepts they did not welcome.

(The last president to balance the budget or create a surplus was a Democrat. Bill Clinton, working cooperatively with a GOP controlled House, had budget surpluses for fiscal years 1998-2001.)

Today, too many self-described conservatives seem little committed to those original ideals and more committed to an individual whose ideals are…let’s call them flexible.

The current GOP leadership, starting with their putative presidential nominee, is minimally concerned with budget deficits or debt. According to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the Trump tax cuts and pandemic relief programs will add a whopping $8.4 trillion to the national debt by 2026.

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Despite all the grousing, the federal government didn’t get smaller, either.

According to the Partnership for Public Service, the federal workforce grew by 0.9 percent during Trump’s four years in office.

That doesn’t sound like much, but it is three times the federal employee growth rate in Barack Obama’s last four years as president.

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We’re not exactly at the head of the anticommunist class anymore, either. Donald Trump has gone out of his way to denigrate our traditional allies while praising many of the world’s leading dictators of some of the most oppressive governments including, but not limited to, Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Trump most recently said he would encourage Putin and Russia, already engaged in an invasion of Ukraine, “…to do whatever the hell they want…” to NATO countries who Trump believes haven’t paid enough to NATO. (Member countries are encouraged to pay 2 percent of their gross domestic product to NATO, but it is not a requirement, nor are there NATO dues.)

And it was Trump, not Joe Biden, who made a deal with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan.

Issues have certainly changed over the years, but too many Republicans have abandoned too many of their original ideals. Most leaders of the party that fought totalitarianism now support a presidential candidate who embraces its strongest adherents. The government they wanted to shrink keeps getting bigger and spending more, not less.

A political movement that began more than 60 years ago is now virtually unrecognizable, replaced not by new and vibrant ideals but by ovine fealty to a person who wants to be president so he can punish his perceived enemies. It has nothing to do with any political philosophy at all.

It’s a very long way from Buckley’s conservative philosophy and even farther from Barry Goldwater’s conscience.

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Small Town Charm, Big City Kitchen Why a Blue Apron chef chose northern Michigan over NYC

Photo by Meg Bowen

By Karl Klockars Many of us learned to love meal kits during the pandemic. They’re conveniently sent right to your front door, they’re pre-portioned, you often learn something new while using them, and at the end of the process, you have a fresh, homecooked meal.

Simple as they seem to the customer, it takes a lot of logistics to pull one of these meals together, from the sourcing of the products to the creation of the recipes,

10 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

and with cuisines being featured from around the world, it could be considered a global product. But if you’re a Blue Apron aficionado, did you know that the crafting of their meals also makes a detour through Leelanau County first?

Tim Kemp is the director of culinary innovation for Blue Apron, and after nearly two decades of cooking around the world, he boomeranged home to Michigan with his family in late 2020.

From the Operating Table to the Kitchen Table Kemp originally graduated from Michigan State University with plans to become a doctor, but following stints at hospitals in northern Michigan and the Chicago suburbs, quickly realized it wasn’t for him. A career in the kitchen was calling.

Kemp had worked in the dorm kitchens at MSU, where one of his bosses had mentioned going to the Culinary Institute of America, aka the CIA. “I was living in Chicago in the late ’90s and I was … really influenced by the Food Network. It was this very early, niche thing,” Kemp says. “I’m from the Detroit suburbs; we didn’t go out to eat in the late ’80s growing up. It wasn’t a thing we did. [But] I’m in Chicago, thinking these restaurants are cool … hm, the Culinary Institute of America … I just found my way there at the end of ’99.”

Kemp went into the CIA driven by a desire to work with his hands and he came out with the technical chops to walk into any early-2000s fine dining restaurant.

“When you went to the CIA at that time, it was a place where you learned how to be a Michelin-starred chef. Very classical training, highly focused on French cuisine,” Kemp says.

He ended up being part of the team who opened Per Se, the NYC outpost helmed by one of America’s most legendary chefs: Thomas Keller. “It probably took years off my life,” he says of the restaurant with a laugh. “It was baptism by by fire. It was absolutely insane and so fun, and I’m so proud of the work that we did there.”

Despite the 80-hour weeks, kitchen work didn’t really pay the bills. Luckily, following stints at other NYC restaurants, Kemp’s life changed again thanks to a bad check and a chance encounter with an old co-worker.

“I literally ran into a guy on the street who was an intern of mine at Le Cirque. I was walking out of a bank after my paycheck bounced, and he was like, ‘Oh! I was out for drinks the other night with my cousin’s friend’s brother who needs a private chef.

You should call him.’”

Kemp made that call 10 minutes later and found that his friend had, just moments before, already recommended him to his future employer, a billionaire financier (who Kemp politely declines to name).

Inspiring Home Chefs You’re probably wondering at this point: What does this have to do with northern Michigan and meal kits? Well, it turns out that working as a private chef is great training for a job as a culinary innovation director for a meal kit company. You’re cooking for a family one day and then for a huge party the next. You’re working in a gourmet home kitchen this week and on a small yacht kitchen right afterward.

You need to create new menus every day, sometimes on demand, while learning about many different kinds of cuisines. All of that adds up to some prime prep work.

Making the jump to Blue Apron in 2014 was the obvious next step. The meal kit company had launched in 2012, and those early days were all about growth and creativity.

“There was a period of time, the years of our hyper growth, it was me making the recipes in a studio with a wonderful, amazing team of folks,” Kemp says. “We would just make recipes in this little studio apartment and shoot them ourselves, and it was kind of a wild time.” (You may even recognize his hands from early Blue Apron recipe cards.)

Today his role is less hands-on but still culinarily creative. “It’s working crossfunctionally with our teams to bring new products and product lines to life. It’s been a super daunting and really humbling experience to figure out what America wants to eat for dinner.”

Even as his job has evolved, Kemp’s mark remains evident in the end product.

Compared to other meal kit services, Blue Apron is admittedly a little “cheffier,” as Kemp puts it, and he sees his influence at Blue Apron as both being able to introduce people to new flavors and helping to teach them to cook better, too.

“It’s a little bit of bringing in ingredients that people maybe haven’t had a chance to interact with and just teaching people the basics,” he explains. “We have a great team who’s able to think critically about what [it means] for people to cook dinner for themselves. I think it’s a pretty intimate thing to think about—the responsibility and privilege to come into someone’s home like that.”

Will Move for Food After years of work in the big city, Kemp relocated to the Traverse City area with his family in late 2020, a decision obviously prompted (like so many others) by the global pandemic. “Pre-pandemic, we always loved coming here for vacation, but it was never a real thought of, like, could we live here?”

Thanks to remote work, their time in Michigan was originally intended as an extended summer vacation, until one day they decided to see what would happen if they put their place in Brooklyn on the market. “The next day, we sold our apartment,” Kemp says. “And we’re like … well, the internet works. There’s a great airport. Maybe we can make this work.”

So, a big-city, globe-trotting fine-dining chef moves to a small resort town. You might think that’d be a bit of culture shock, right? Not so much. Leelanau County is “the most beautiful place on earth,” Kemp says. “[We’re] really embracing living in this amazing agricultural area. We’re kind of pinching ourselves every day that we get to do this.”

That local agriculture certainly helped sweeten the deal. “There’s so much wonderful food being grown around here and so many great cooks that are moving here,” Kemp tells us. A few favorites for the Kemp family are Farm Club, Modern Bird, Crocodile Palace, The Union in Northport, The Mill in Glen Arbor, and The Cooks’ House.

And don’t forget the farms: “You know, you live in cities, you go to the local farmers market, and things are grown hundreds of miles away. Now, literally being able to get 90 percent of our food in the county is pretty incredible—and has changed the way we eat and certainly influenced how I view cooking now,” Kemp says.

Of course, there’s always something to miss from the offerings of the city. Where does Kemp see openings in the culinary market? “I’m always amazed we don’t have a proper small wine bar here with some really interesting curated wines; there’s such great winemakers up here.” And, he adds, a New England-style seafood shack would be nice, too.

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RISK, CONSEQUENCES, AND PROBABILITY Guest Opinion

by Barbara Stamiris At the Northern Michigan Policy Conference, Democrat Hill Harper replied to the Republicans voicing their support for Line 5, saying, “We’re playing literally with poisoning our Great Lakes, which would be catastrophic to Michigan’s economy, catastrophic to Michigan’s tourism. And the juice is not worth the squeeze in this case.”

Straits route instead of its pipelines on land to the same destination.

My thoughts exactly. The consequences of a Great Lakes Line 5 failure are easy to envision and often cited. But every risk assessment has two parts: risk = consequences x probability. The probability half of the equation is often overlooked. The probability of failure increases with age, but like the frog in a pot of slowly heating water, it’s gradual and unnoticed.

Mechanical damage: In 2018 an anchor dented Line 5. Support structure E-17 was damaged in 2020, causing a temporary shutdown, which Enbridge attributed to a strike by its own vessel.

I decided to ask ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence content generator, for help.

It instantly replied, “Estimating the probability of failure for oil pipelines involves a comprehensive risk assessment.

Factors considered include the pipeline’s age, material, maintenance history, geographical location, environmental conditions, and the potential for corrosion or mechanical damage.” Let’s examine these generic factors for Line 5.

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Age of Line 5: 70 years, designed for 50. In 2018, Governor Snyder said Line 5 could operate until a tunnel for a new Line 5 was completed, so Line 5 will be almost 80, still operating, when a tunnel is bored below it.

Promising a tunnel keeps Line 5 earning $1.76 million per day ($6 billion total) in the decade a new tunnel will take. When the Army Corps of Engineers finishes its tunnel review in 2025, Enbridge gets to choose whether or not to build it.

Material: 1953 era material is outdated.

Corrosion protection was a wrap coated with coal tar, much of which is now compromised.

Maintenance history: Enbridge calls design changes “routine maintenance” to avoid accountability. When Line 5 bottomland support eroded, 200 brackets were needed to support it. This “fix” suspends the pipeline, causing bending and vibration stresses, and makes Line 5 more vulnerable to anchor strikes. The new design required an engineering review it never got.

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Geographical location: The Mackinac Straits were called “the worst place in the U.S. for an oil pipeline” by Pipeline Hazardous Materials & Safety Administrator Elliott at the 2018 Anchor Strike Hearing.

Environmental conditions: Erratic currents in the Straits are so strong, oil could spread into Lake Michigan and almost to the thumb in Lake Huron according to the University of Michigan. Line 5 now sways like a suspension bridge. It is also covered with invasive mussels, which impede inspection. And yet Enbridge chooses the

Potential for corrosion: Gaps in the corrosion coating occur when the pipeline scrapes against the support brackets, exposing metal.

Enbridge calls these bare spots “holidays” yet does not always report them.

These factors combine to make the probability of failure for Line 5 unacceptably high. Yet like the elephant in the room, Line 5 goes unmentioned in Great Lakes symposiums and commissions. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) spends billions, but without addressing Line 5, GLRI is funding restoration at risk of ruin.

Protecting the Great Lakes against invasives and pollution is important, but these studies take years. Fix the underlying problem first.

Simply turning one valve could quickly resolve the lakes’ greatest threat: oil.

Line 5 is one section of a 2,000-mile pipeline between Alberta and Montreal. It crosses the Upper Peninsula along Lake Michigan, an especially dangerous section, but the whole 645-mile pipeline is decrepit and in need of replacement, not just the four underwater miles. It has already leaked 33 times.

Enbridge contends that Line 5 is safe and can operate indefinitely, but having no plan to decommission it becomes a de facto plan to operate Line 5 until it fails. The probability of failure is 100 percent if you wait long enough.

When Governor Whitmer ordered Line 5 shut down in 2020, Enbridge sued in defiance.

While lawsuits drag on, Line 5 continues to deteriorate. Michigan bears the risk while Enbridge profits—about 95 percent of the oil goes to Canada. President Biden should shut down Line 5 to protect the interests of Tribes and all citizens, not of Big Oil. Back to the risk equation: consequence is multiplied by the likelihood of its occurrence. Consequences of Line 5 failure would clearly be catastrophic for Michigan’s economy, 700 miles of shoreline, and 20 percent of Earth’s fresh surface water. But the probability of failure is insidious, and 70 years of deterioration is out of sight.

Line 5 must be shut down to protect the Great Lakes before its gradual decline becomes sudden and Earth’s largest freshwater system is devastated. “The juice is not worth the squeeze in this case” for Michigan, or for the world.

Barbara Stamiris is an environmental activist living in Traverse City.

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Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 13

The interior of Lobdell's teaching restaurant.

Out of the Frying Pan, Out of the Fire How NMC’s Great Lakes Culinary Institute came back from the brink of oblivion

By Craig Manning Two years ago, the Great Lakes Culinary Institute (GLCI) was a massive money-losing operation for Northwestern Michigan College (NMC)—to the point where the college was questioning whether the beloved-but-expensive program should be eliminated entirely.

Instead, NMC doubled down on GLCI, reimagining the program for a more modern context, looking for opportunities to cut costs, and chasing down heretofore-untapped revenue streams. Fast-forward to 2024, and the program that was once running at a deficit of $375,000 is now on the verge of breaking even.

In this week’s Northern Express, we take a look at how GLCI turned the plane around— and at what the future may hold for culinary education in northern Michigan now that the program appears to be here to stay.

The Night Is Darkest Just Before the Dawn

Speaking to Northern Express sister publication The Ticker at the start of the 202223 academic year, NMC President Nick Nissley was candid about how GLCI had fallen upon hard times.

“We were looking at program assessments across the college, which we do periodically to ask how we’re doing,” Nissley explained. “And as we looked at the culinary program, a couple of things struck us. Number one, we’ve seen a decline in enrollment over the last decade. Back in 2014, we were at over 200 students; in 2022, that was down to about 80. And linked to that, our revenue [from GLCI] was halved in that time. In 2014, we were up to almost $600,000 in revenue; in 2022, we were down to about $300,000. For me, those were warning bells saying that we needed to take action.”

Subsequent consulting sessions with the Culinary Institute of America—a New York-based institution that Nissley described as “the gold standard of culinary education”—highlighted just how dire the situation was.

“A really positive thing they told us was that any culinary program in the country will typically run at a deficit,” Nissley said of those consulting

sessions. “In a college setting, a culinary program is almost always being funded by other programs, because culinary programs are so capital and labor intensive.” Even with that caveat, though, the consultants flagged GLCI’s sizable and quickly-growing deficit—$360,000 in 2022, compared to $60,000 in 2014—as a downright existential problem. “[The Culinary Institute] ultimately came back with some really harsh news for us,” Nissley said. “They told us that all indicators suggested that the program should be closed.”

Righting the Ship

While retiring GLCI might have been logical from a dollars and cents perspective, NMC leadership ultimately decided that the program—even as a money loser—was important to the college’s identity and to the Traverse City community as a whole. And so, the question internally at NMC became: How can the culinary program evolve so that, even if it’s still losing money, it’s losing less money?

So says Jason Slade, NMC’s vice president for strategic initiatives. Per Slade, when NMC was running baseline numbers for GLCI ahead of the reimagining process, the program was “$375,000 in the hole.”

“Our goal for them was just to lose less than $150,000,” Slade says.

In pursuit of that goal, NMC and GLCI made a few key changes. One step was slimming down the program’s staff, which was still calibrated to peak enrollment and revenue numbers from 2014. Another was subverting NMC’s standard 15-week semester structure; instead, GLCI classes now break down into shorter eight-week terms, which helps make them more approachable and accessible for students who need to juggle work, family, and other obligations along with their school commitments.

GLCI has also added new programming to its slate. The core GLCI curriculum now boasts several fresh course subjects—from plated desserts, to farm-to-table dining, to beverage management. GLCI has also created a variety of shorter-form culinary certificates, including one specializing in baking and pastry skills and

14 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

another designed to train students to be chefs on maritime vessels. In the fall, NMC will add another culinary certificate to the equation, this one focusing on sports performance nutrition.

According to GLCI Director Les Eckert, the new courses and certificates are all the result of emerging industry demands.

“When we start hearing a lot about a trend or a need out in the culinary industry, we evaluate the gap and our ability to close the gap,” Eckert explains. “And if we see that we can indeed help with the training to close that gap, that’s when we start looking at how we can create a new course or certificate.”

For example, on the subject of GLCI’s forthcoming sports performance nutrition certificate, Eckert points to a growing demand in the world of professional sports for chefs who are specifically trained in designing menus and preparing meals based on the dietary needs of elite athletes.

“This certificate would help a chef work with, say, a dietician or nutritionist to create menus and recipes, not only for sports teams but also for individual athletes, maybe even as a private chef,” Eckert says. “A lot of sports teams, both professional and collegiate, already have dieticians and nutritionists to help with pre-game and postgame training, or with bulking or cutting, or with whatever the athletes are trying to do. But they want their own chefs, too. This certificate will help address that industry demand.”

Other factors are helping drive new revenue to GLCI, too, including open-to-the-public master classes and a growing focus on selling student-made goods at NMC’s Hawk Owl Café.

Almost Out of the Hole

So far, the changes at GLCI seem to be working.

“This past fall, GLCI had a head count of 87,” Slade says. “The baseline year, enrollment was 76; last year, it was 74. So, that’s an 18 percent increase that we had in terms of headcount of students. In turn, that drives contact hours, and contact hours are how students pay for classes, and how we assign faculty load, and all these important things. So, there’s no doubt the GLCI

is rebounding.”

Most notably, Slade says GLCI is significantly outperforming the college’s original goals.

“As of June 2023, they only had a net loss of $27,000,” he notes. “Now, the program is still losing money, but recall that our goal for them was just to lose less than $150,000. So, really, they absolutely killed it last year. I just ran the numbers [for 2023-24], and I actually have GLCI on track to break even this academic year.”

For her part, Eckert is pleased to see the changes doing what they were supposed to do, but isn’t ready yet to take her foot off the gas pedal just yet.

“Even though we see the deficit now shrinking and going away, we can’t get too excited,” she says.

“We can’t just say, ‘Oh, we did it, we saved the program,’ and then forget about this work that we did. And that’s the scary thing, because our team hasn’t only been on for the last year and a half, we’ve been on at about 300 percent. Can we slow down and just be on at 150 percent? I don’t know!

I’m a little nervous to say, yes, we can back down a little bit.”

Eckert’s goal now is to solidify GLCI as a program that can thrive sustainably for years to come. One potential lever NMC could still pull to take GLCI revenues to an even higher level?

An evolution of Lobdell’s, the program’s Hagerty Center-based teaching restaurant.

Last year, NMC hired a revenue enhancement consultant to take a closer look at GLCI—and specifically at Lobdell’s—and to identify potential opportunities to maximize the restaurant’s impact on the college’s bottom line. “[The consultant] did have a recommendation for more of a full-fledged restaurant in the Lobdell’s space,” Slade says. “We’re not dismissing that idea, but we need to figure out our Lobdell’s usage, because we’d need to be doing two things in tandem. One, we’re ramping up these academic classes, which means Lobdell’s is being used more often by GLCI. If we’re running a full-fledged restaurant there, we have to make sure that we don’t displace our students from that experience.

So, we’re currently getting a feel for what Lobdell’s looks like with the new numbers [for GLCI enrollment], and then we’ll go from there.”

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HOW OLD IS TOO OLD?

guest OPINION

by Isiah Smith, Jr. The United States and its professional politicians are aging. Joe Biden, 81, and Donald Trump, 77, are the oldest candidates to ever run for re-election as president. The median ages of U.S. senators and representatives are among the oldest on record, and some leaders are facing health questions.

To run for the House, one must be at least 25 years of age, 30 for the Senate, and 35 to seek the presidency. Is it also wise to set age maximums? For the presidency, it is unfortunately too late. But it’s not too late to start thinking about it.

There are arguments on both sides of the age question. Politicians in high office need to be capable and robust; presumably, they also benefit from wisdom and experience. Voters decide a candidate’s suitability, and legal requirements govern everyone’s eligibility.

The question of when it is too old to be president of this fragile United States has been much in the news lately. The question goes beyond the president; our political leaders tend to age in place, impacting the quality of the laws passed.

The U.S. has become a gerontocracy, an oligarchical rule by leaders significantly older than most adults. The numbers tell the story: approximately 83 percent of the U.S. population is under 65, and 17 percent is 65 and older. In 2023, the median age of U.S. Senators was 65.3. The median age of House Members was 57.9. A gerontocracy indeed.

Lately, the greatest failure has been the apparent inability to get any meaningful law-making done. Lawmakers, the current crop of lawbreakers, appear meretricious, mendacious, and incompetent.

“The 118th Congress, marked so far by utter chaos in the GOP-controlled House, passed only 20 bills signed into law by President Joe Biden, according to data from data analytics company Quorum and reported by Axios,” writes Sharon Zhang of Truthout. “By contrast, the analysis finds other historically unproductive sessions when Republicans controlled one or both chambers under Democratic Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama passed between 70 and 73 laws in their first year.”

HuffPost has reported the 118th Congress is on track to be the least productive since the Great Depression.

Is that all due to age? No. Partisanship, infighting, the need to replace the Speaker of the House, and other issues all played some part in that low number. In fact, it is the younger of the two chambers, the House, where the performance is abysmal.

The Senate appears more thoughtful, better house-trained, and less unruly. But compared to what?

Science has much to say about age and fitness for office. A Pew Research Center analysis reveals that of the 187 countries for which data are available, only eight had leaders older than President Biden. The oldest is Cameroon’s Paul Biya, 90.

“The trend since 1950 has been for the heads of government to get younger,” The Economist reported in a January 2024 piece.

“The average age upon taking up the top job has fallen from 60.2 to 55.5 in the past half-century.”

And there’s no denying that a stressful job like being president of the United States takes its toll. In 2015, Harvard Medical School and Case Western University Medical School researchers found that election winners lived 4.4 fewer years than runners-up who never held office.

(Hillary Clinton may yet have the last laugh.)

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In Leviathan (1660), Thomas Hobbes expressed his views that man’s life was “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short.”

And so, it is. Both men currently running for president have sometimes demonstrated decreased mobility and verbal tics that seem to have grown over time.

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Jay Olshansky, a University of Chicago gerontologist, opined that the scrutiny about the candidates’ age-related issues is “sampling errors resulting from relentless scrutiny. For example, much ridicule followed an incident where President Biden fell off his bike. Biden’s foot got caught in a pedal strap rather than losing balance. This might happen to anyone; as Mark Twain wrote, ‘Get a bicycle; you will not regret it if you live.’”

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More pertinent was that a 79-year-old man was cycling in the first place. One could not imagine the former president ever riding a bicycle.

During a May 27, 2017, Group of Seven meeting, “the six other world leaders— from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan—walked 700 yards to take a group photo at a piazza in a hilltop town. The U.S. leader decided to wait until he could get a golf cart,” wrote Julia Manchester for The Hill.

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Which proves age is more than a number.

Isiah Smith, Jr. is a retired government attorney.

Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 17

From Field to Fork (with a side of Sea Salt Fennel Sourdough) Jen and Nic Welty celebrate 15 years of 9 Bean Rows

18 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

Please help stock our food pantry!

The expansion of 9 Bean’s Suttons Bay location has made them a popular spot to stop in for lunch, especially when the pavilion opens in the warmer months.

9 Bean Rows does not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

They are a no-till farm so the nutrients in the topsoil are left for the vegetables instead of being washed away to pollute water systems.

Jen and Nic Welty with their new Ipsor Bread Oven.

Wood-fired pizzas are a newer 9 Bean addition thanks to adding a pizza oven in 2020.

Seasonal fruit tarts are among the rotating pastry selections on the farm.

By Kierstin Gunsberg In “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” poet William Butler Yeats writes that the lake’s lapping waves are calling him to a simpler, nature-focused life where he’ll sow “nine bean-rows.” So, it’s fitting that Jen and Nic Welty’s own 9 Bean Rows—this one a working farm, café, and bakery in Suttons Bay—came to be when a college-weary Jen left her master’s program to work at Black Star Farms, a place where she’d previously found intrinsic joy as an intern.

She and Nic joined as farm managers, among other responsibilities, but when the economy eroded in 2008, Black Star Farms couldn’t afford to keep the Weltys on in a traditional sense. Instead, owners Don and Mary Lou Coe offered the pair use of their gardens and kitchen. Now, the Weltys could garden and grow their own products in exchange for a nominal rent.

Those were the first seeds of 9 Bean Rows.

Taking Root A year after taking the offer, Jen and Nic had turned 9 Bean Rows into a CSA (community supported agriculture) and farmer’s market staple, rising early to set up their tables with punnets of veggies galore.

And, thanks to Jen’s experience working for a Belgian family who taught her the craft of artisan baking, the Weltys soon added baked goods to their repertoire.

“Immediately, people fell in love with our Sea Salt Fennel Sourdough bread,” says Jen. At the end of October 2012, the Weltys were approached by The Cooks’ House chefs Jen Blakeslee and Eric Patterson. They were moving out of 439 E Front Street, aka Traverse City’s unofficial restaurant incubator, and wondered if the Weltys wanted to take over their lease.

“It was so exciting … we were moved

in and open for business the first week of November,” recalls Jen of opening their first storefront, a breakfast, and lunch café focused on meals made with locally sourced ingredients.

By 2013, feeling spread thin juggling the tiny—and hopping—café plus their farmland and kitchen over at Black Star Farms, the Weltys moved 9 Bean Rows out of TC and into downtown Suttons Bay’s historic firehouse, a bigger space where they remained for the next five years.

During that time they secured a land contract to purchase property that had long operated as a farm market just off East Duck Lake Road. As Jen puts it, the property was a game-changer.

“It offered us land to grow vegetables and a kitchen and a retail space all on the same property.” Gone were the days of hustling back and forth to separate gardens and kitchens to keep 9 Bean Rows functioning— now they could do it all: grow, bake, and sell in one location. “It was exactly what we had been waiting for,” says Jen. Growing Strong It’s now been 15 years of 9 Bean Rows’ stacked sammies, homegrown greens dressed in Fustini’s oils and vinegar, and brioche buns baked with farm-fresh eggs from local vendors like Missaukee County’s Pristine Acres. Their vendor list isn’t the only thing that’s grown. After starting off solo, Jen and Nic now employ more than 20 full-timers (including Maureen “Mo” Earl who has been with 9 Bean Rows since it opened), plus seasonal workers.

While working the land for a decade and a half has certainly afforded the Weltys moments of oneness with nature, life and business have not been as simple as a Yeats poem. Balancing overhead (including paying their employees a fair wage and matching 401k) and product pricing has

been “tightrope walking,” admits Jen. this sandwich is Leelanau’s version of Affordable employee housing has also Jambon Beurre, a savory French classic. If a been a hurdle for the business, and the sandwich could be chic, it’d be this one. “To Weltys are currently working on obtaining me, it’s about the simplicity,” says Jen. a grant through the Michigan Department Carrot Cake: Get your sweet fix early! of Agriculture & Rural Development Each morning the dessert cases sell out (MDARD) in hopes of building farm worker quickly, stocked full of ever-changing housing on their property. options like apricot pinwheels, chocolate Meanwhile, they continue to work on espresso cookies, and even honey lavender a business and farm expansion that kicked cheesecake with lemon curd for a taste of off in 2020. In addition to their completed sunshine in the dead of winter. But Jen says 2,000 feet of retail and production space a mainstay is their carrot cake. “It may not and upgrades to their kitchen, the Weltys’ always look the same because sometimes upcoming projects for 9 Bean Rows include a we use our purple carrots and other times fermentation room and added walk-in cooler we use our white carrots. But what doesn’t storage, plus vineyard and orchard acreage. change is its awesomeness.”

And, after years of being an early-bird Wood Fired Raclette Pizza: This meal hub, they’ll be expanding their hours melty cheese pie is covered in Leelanau this summer, staying open until 7pm to Cheese’s creamy raclette then layered sling out woodfired pizzas to the post-beach with caramelized onions, roasted potato, crowd. They’ll also be collaborating with and rosemary ham, finished off with a Aurora Cellars to serve wine alongside their sprinkle of herbs. For a vegetarian option, fresh-weekly menu. the Artichoke is slathered with fresh basil “We hope all this brings people out pesto then topped with a four-cheese blend, to the farm so that they can experience a sundried tomatoes, and of course, artichoke. great meal in a laid-back atmosphere,” says (All of the restaurant’s pizzas start with a Jen. “We want people to be able to walk the naturally leavened dough.) farm paths, let the kids run, smell some The Sourdough Boule and Sea Salt flowers, meet some folks, and eat and imbibe Fennel Loaves: These hearty, crusty rounds Leelanau.”

Bean Rows’ most popular bread loaves.

Apply before April are 12,9 2024 at 11:00 P.M. EST Pair it with one of the store’s seasonally Menu Must-Haves inspired soups (like a rich tomato or the Anyone who’s ever carefully torn a 9 springtime Vichyssoise—a creamy onion, Bean Rows chocolate croissant in half to leek, and potato soup) for a complete meal. experience the perfect ratio of bittersweet Farm Fresh Lettuce Mixes: The No. 1 filling to buttery flakiness knows that each produce seller is their lettuce mix, selected so bite of the pastry menu is decadent. But it’s that each one offers a variety of colors, flavors, not just the pastries that offer a resounding and textures for the perfect healthy lunch on sigh of happiness. Here are the bakery and the go or dinnertime side salad. Other grabData Charges may applyhomemade tapenades cafe’s all-time bestsellers, foodie must-haves, and-go options include and Jen Welty’s personal favorites. and hummus plus a rich, smoked whitefish The Fine and Dandy (Ham and Butter pâté from Carlson’s Fishery.

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Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 19

The expansion of 9 Bean’s Suttons Bay location has made them a popular spot to stop in for lunch, especially when the pavilion opens in the warmer months.

9 Bean Rows does not use chemical fertilizers or pesticides.

They are a no-till farm so the nutrients in the topsoil are left for the vegetables instead of being washed away to pollute water systems.

WE HAVE 0 THE BIG 1 NETWORK

Jen and Nic Welty with their new Ipsor Bread Oven.

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TO-GO ORDERS AVAILALBLE 231-252-4157

Sun-Tues: 12-9pm, Thurs: 4-9pm, Fri-Sat: 12-10pm Kitchen open ’til 8:30pm Sun-Tues & Thurs, 9pm Fri & Sat

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Seasonal fruit tarts are among the rotating pastry selections on the farm.

this sandwich is Leelanau’s version of in and open for business the first week of been “tightrope walking,” admits Jen. Affordable employee housing has also Jambon Beurre, a savory French classic. If a November,” recalls Jen of opening their In “The Lake Isle of Innisfree,” poet first storefront, a breakfast, and lunch café been a hurdle for the business, and the sandwich could be chic, it’d be this one. “To William Butler Yeats writes that the lake’s focused on meals made with locally sourced Weltys are currently working on obtaining me, it’s about the simplicity,” says Jen. a grant through the Michigan Department Carrot Cake: Get your sweet fix early! lapping waves are calling him to a simpler, ingredients.

By 2013, feeling spread thin juggling of Agriculture & Rural Development Each morning the dessert cases sell out nature-focused life where he’ll sow “nine bean-rows.” So, it’s fitting that Jen and the tiny—and hopping—café plus their (MDARD) in hopes of building farm worker quickly, stocked full of ever-changing options like apricot pinwheels, chocolate Nic Welty’s own 9 Bean Rows—this one a farmland and kitchen over at Black Star housing on their property.

Meanwhile, they continue to work on espresso cookies, and even honey lavender working farm, café, and bakery in Suttons Farms, the Weltys moved 9 Bean Rows out Bay—came to be when a college-weary Jen of TC and into downtown Suttons Bay’s a business and farm expansion that kicked cheesecake with lemon curd for a taste of left her master’s program to work at Black historic firehouse, a bigger space where they off in 2020. In addition to their completed sunshine in the dead of winter. But Jen says 2,000 feet of retail and production space a mainstay is their carrot cake. “It may not Star Farms, a place where she’d previously remained for the next five years.

During that time they secured a land and upgrades to their kitchen, the Weltys’ always look the same because sometimes found intrinsic joy as an intern.

She and Nic joined as farm managers, contract to purchase property that had long upcoming projects for 9 Bean Rows include a we use our purple carrots and other times among other responsibilities, but when the operated as a farm market just off East Duck fermentation room and added walk-in cooler we use our white carrots. But what doesn’t change is its awesomeness.” economy eroded in 2008, Black Star Farms Lake Road. As Jen puts it, the property was a storage, plus vineyard and orchard acreage.

And, after years of being an early-bird Wood Fired Raclette Pizza: This couldn’t afford to keep the Weltys on in a game-changer.

“It offered us land to grow vegetables and meal hub, they’ll be expanding their hours melty cheese pie is covered in Leelanau traditional sense. Instead, owners Don and Mary Lou Coe offered the pair use of their a kitchen and a retail space all on the same this summer, staying open until 7pm to Cheese’s creamy raclette then layered gardens and kitchen. Now, the Weltys could property.” Gone were the days of hustling sling out woodfired pizzas to the post-beach with caramelized onions, roasted potato, to separate gardens and crowd. They’ll also be collaborating with and rosemary ham, finished off with a garden and grow their own products in back and forth Pahl’s Country Store offers exceptional 9 Bean Rows functioning— Aurora Cellars to serve wine alongside their sprinkle of herbs. For a vegetarian option, for a nominal rent.to cozy mankitchens Country Store offers exceptional Fromexchange gorgeous homes caves.to keep Pahl’s Country Store offers exceptional quality spaces that fit yourPahl’s lifestyle.

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Jen. “We want people to be able to walk the naturally leavened dough.)

A year after that taking the offer, Jen and Growing Strong It’s now been 15 years of 9 Bean Rows’ farm paths, let the kids run, smell some The Sourdough Boule and Sea Salt Nic had turned 9 Bean Rows into a CSA (community supported agriculture) and stacked sammies, homegrown greens flowers, meet some folks, and eat and imbibe Fennel Loaves: These hearty, crusty rounds are 9 Bean Rows’ most popular bread loaves. farmer’s market staple, rising early to set up dressed in Fustini’s oils and vinegar, and Leelanau.”

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Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 21

22 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

lOGY

FEB 19 - FEB 25

BY ROB BREZSNY

SUMMER 2024

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The planets Mars and Venus are both cruising through Aquarius. Will they generate synchronicities that weave magic into your destiny? Here are a few possibilities I foresee: 1. arguments assuaged by love-making; 2. smoldering flirtations that finally ignite; 3. mix-ups about the interplay between love and lust or else wonderful synergies between love and lust; 4. lots of labyrinthine love talk, romantic sparring, and intricate exchange about the nature of desire; 5. the freakiest sex ever; 6. adventures on the frontiers of intimacy.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): My poet friend Jafna likes to say that only two types of love are available to us all: too little and too much. We are either deprived of the precise amount and quality of the love we want, or else we have to deal with an excess of the stuff that doesn’t quite match what we want. But I predict that this will at most be a mild problem for you in the coming weeks—and perhaps not a problem at all. You will have a knack for both giving and receiving just the right amount of love, neither too little nor too much.

decipher what’s ahead. One of my main mottoes is “The future is undecided. Our destinies are always mutable.”

Please keep these caveats in mind whenever you commune with my horoscopes. Furthermore, consider adopting my approach as you navigate through the world—especially in the coming weeks, when your course will be extra responsive to your creative acts of willpower. Decide right now what you want the next chapter of your life story to be about.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): In my astrological

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): If the devil card

comes up for me in a divinatory Tarot reading, I don't get worried or scared that something bad might happen. On the contrary, I interpret it favorably. It means that an interesting problem or riddle has arrived or will soon arrive in my life—and that this twist can potentially make me wiser, kinder, and wilder. The appearance of the devil card suggests that I need to be challenged so as to grow a new capacity or understanding. It's a good omen, telling me that life is conspiring to give me what I need to outgrow my limitations and ignorance. Now apply these principles, Libra, as you respond to the devil card I just drew for you.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): A taproot is a thick, central, and primary root from which a plant's many roots branch out laterally.

Typically, a taproot is fairly straight and grows downward. It may extend to a depth that is greater than the part of the plant sprouting above ground. Now let's imagine that we humans have metaphorical taproots. They connect us with our sources of inner nourishment. They are lifelines to secret or hidden treasures we may be only partly conscious of. Let's further imagine that in the coming months, your own taproot will be flourishing, burgeoning, and even spreading deeper to draw in new nutrients. Got all that? Now I invite you to infuse this beautiful vision with an outpouring of love for yourself and for all the wondrous vitality you will be absorbing.

SAGITTARIUS

(Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Behavioral ecologist Professor Dan Charbonneau has observed the habits of ants and bees and other social insects. He says that a lot of the time, many of them are just lolling around doing nothing. In fact, most animals do the same. The creatures of the natural world are just not that busy. Psychologist Dr. Sandi Mann urges us to learn from their lassitude. "We've created a society where we fear boredom and we're afraid of doing nothing," she says. But that addiction to frenzy may limit our inclination to daydream, which in turn inhibits our creativity. I bring these facts to your attention, Sagittarius, because I suspect you're in a phase when lolling around doing nothing will be extra healthy for you. Liberate and nurture your daydreams please!

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): "Education is an admirable thing," wrote Oscar Wilde, "but it is well to remember that nothing worth knowing can be taught." As I ponder your future in the coming weeks, I vociferously disagree with him. I am sure you can learn many things worth knowing from teachers of all kinds. It's true that some of the lessons may be accidental or unofficial— and not delivered by traditional teachers—but that won't diminish their value. I invite you to act as if you will in effect be enrolled in school 24/7 until the equinox.

PISCES (Feb 19-March 20): Unlike the

Pope’s decrees, my proclamations are not infallible. As opposed to Nostradamus and many modern soothsayers, I never imagine I have the power to definitely and absolutely

estimation, the coming weeks will be an ideal time for you to declare amnesty, negotiate truces, and shed long-simmering resentments.

Other recommended activities: Find a way to joke about an embarrassing memory, break a bad habit just because it's fun to do so, and throw away outdated stuff you no longer need. Just do the best you can as you carry out these challenging assignments, Aries. You don't have to be perfect. For inspiration, read these wise words from poet David Whyte: "When you forgive others, they may not notice but you will heal. Forgiveness is not something we do for others; it is a gift to ourselves."

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “When a mountain doesn’t listen, say a prayer to the sea,” said Taurus painter Cy Twombly. “If God doesn’t respond, direct your entreaties to Goddess,” I tell my Taurus daughter Zoe. “If your mind doesn’t provide you with useful solutions, make an appeal to your heart instead,” my Taurus coach advises me. All these words of wisdom should be useful for you in the coming weeks, Taurus. It’s time to be diligent, relentless, ingenious, and indefatigable in going after what you want.

Keep asking until you find a source that will provide it.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Gemini philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson offered advice that's perfect for you. He said, "Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not."

Here's what I will add. First, you very much need to commune with extra doses of beauty in the coming weeks. Doing so will expedite your healing and further your education—two activities that are especially important right now. Second, one way to accomplish that is to put yourself in the presence of all the beautiful people, places, and things you can find. Third, be diligent as you cultivate beauty within CANCER (June 21-July 22): I bet that sometime soon, you will dream of flying though the sky on a magic carpet. In fact, this may be a recurring dream for you in the coming months.

By June, you may have soared along on a floating rug more than 10 times. Why? What’s this all about?

I suspect it’s one aspect of a project that life is encouraging you to undertake. It’s an invitation to indulge in more flights of the imagination; to open your soul to mysterious potencies; to give your fantasy life permission to be wilder and freer. You know that old platitude “shit happens”? You’re ready to experiment with a variation on that: “magic transpires.”

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): On February 22, ancient Romans celebrated the holiday of Caristia. It was a time for reconciliation. People strove to heal estrangements and settle longstanding disagreements. Apologies were offered and truces were negotiated. In alignment with current astrological omens, I recommend you revive this tradition, Leo. Now is an excellent phase of your life to embark on a crusade to unify, harmonize, restore, mend, and assuage. I dare you to put a higher priority on love and connection than on ego!

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By Northern Express Writers & Staff Mmm…comfort food. Whether your go-to is bubbling soup, buttery grilled cheese, hearty pasta, or something else entirely, you’re sure to find it in one of these NoMi restaurants.

Below, we look back at eight establishments Northern Express writers have visited over the past few months to share the places where food, drinks, and ambiance combined for an especially memorable experience. The menus might have morphed since we were last there, but that’s all the more reason to head out and go find your new favorite dish.

Kane’s Lobster Pot & Bourbon Bar Gaylord Restaurateur Kat Steinbrecher is known for her popular family of restaurants in Gaylord. There’s Mary’s Stein Haus, offering German and American fare. Porter Haus, with a menu featuring steaks, burgers, and seafood. Abi’s Bistro, open for breakfast and lunch. And now there’s Kane’s Lobster Pot & Bourbon Bar. Her latest venture opened in July and offers an impressive menu of New Orleansinspired fare and one of the best bourbon selections around.

“We painted the walls the colors of New Orleans. We had a company print murals of alligators and bourbon barrels and added swamp decor,” Steinbrecher says of the eatery housed in the former Bearded Dogg Lounge. “We turned it over in a couple of weeks.”

On the Menu Steinbrecher did her own research to create the Big Easy-influenced menu, gathering some tips from Bryant Bells, the culinary chef at Gordon Foods (and originally from New Orleans), and her own staff, many of whom have been with her culinary enterprises for years.

While many of the dishes are traditional, Steinbrecher added her own touches. Standouts include Pork Belly Bites, Jambalaya, Shrimp and Grits, Crawfish Boil, and Maine Lobster. “The lobster is shipped in overnight. If we don’t get it overnight, we don’t accept it,” she says, adding that’s only happened once.

The dessert selection leans Southern as well, with bourbon pecan pie, peach cobbler, and bread pudding among the offerings.

Including a top-notch selection of bourbon was a no-brainer for the restaurant. “Bourbon is America’s greatest spirit, and it’s really made a comeback,” Steinbrecher says.

The bourbon offerings include familiar brands such as Buffalo Trace, Angel’s Envy, Eagle Rare, Blanton’s, Colonel Taylor, Weller, and no less than three hard-to-find Pappy Van Winkle bourbons on the shelf.

Kane’s also offers customers an unusual option for their cocktails. They can smoke their own drinks (a technique usually left to bartenders). “It’s a lot of fun. Try smoking a gin and tonic. Once you do, you’ll know what you’ve been missing,” Steinbrecher says.

Find Kane’s Lobster Pot & Bourbon Bar at 302 S Otsego Ave. in Gaylord. (989) 4482444; @KanesLobsterPot on social media.

The Golden Stag Manistee The Golden Stag in Manistee opened its doors July 2023 to glowing reviews and enthusiastic repeat customers.

In fact, first timers not only returned to the Mediterranean restaurant, and returned quickly, but they brought their friends along as well.

“The response was overwhelming during the summer,” explains owner Jamil Alam. “People were waiting at the door. It was almost immediate.”

The Alams spent 26 years in the restaurant business in Birch Run before relocating to Portage Point Resort in Onekama, where they own and operate Lahey’s Pub, Portage Point Café, and the Portage Point event space.

Jamil, with 40 years of culinary experience, works the kitchen. Wife Laura fine-tunes the recipes and works the front of the house. The stunning logo is the creation of their son, Merek, a graphic designer. And son Victor takes care of the business end as well as social media. They are a family committed to the business.

“Our heart and soul are in this,” Jamil says.

On the Menu Starters and salads include a trio of vegan Stuffed Grape Leaves, Fresh Hummus, and Tabbouleh; Saganaki, seared goat cheese with sherry and lemon and house-made pita; and Spanakopita, the traditional phyllo crust with spinach, feta, dill, ricotta, and fresh herbs.

Diners can expect “built in the pan” traditional specialties, including Lemon Chicken Piccata, Chicken Marsala, and Pasta Carbonara. Abbacchio A Scottadito is composed of marinated lamb chops, grilled medium rare, over rice with mint marmalade. Shish Tawook and Shish Kabob (chicken and beef respectively) are loaded with peppers, onion, and grape tomatoes, served with a tahini drizzle.

When asked about customer favorites, Alam says that the namesake Golden Stag, their version of traditional saltimbocca, is the biggest seller. The dish features medallions of Nevada-raised elk, with shallots, garlic, fontina, and prosciutto, in a pan deglazed with red wine. (Filet can be substituted for the elk.)

And who can resist a rustic, wood-fired pizza? Choose from one of eight options, or design your own from two dozen available toppings.

Desserts include warm baklava, with local honey, pistachios, and walnuts, and wood-fired cobbler made with fresh local fruits, served in its own skillet. Both offerings come with a serving of gelato du jour.

Find the Golden Stag at 318 River St. in Manistee. (231) 299-1200; thegoldenstagrestaurant.com.

Art’s Tavern Glen Arbor Chances are, if you spend any time exploring the Leelanau Peninsula, you’re going to end up eating at least one meal at Art’s

Tavern in Glen Arbor.

This welcoming throwback to another era stands proudly on M-22 in the heart of Glen Arbor, welcoming tourists and locals alike, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner almost every day of the year. Staples like burgers and tater tots and a rotating selection of Michigan craft beer and other ales keep customers coming back.

But it’s more than that. Art’s Tavern is a big personality in a small resort town and has been serving meals for generations; this year, the beloved landmark marks its 90th anniversary.

“Art’s has been at the corner of Lake Street and M22 for a long time,” says Bonnie Nescot, who, along with her husband, Tim Barr, are the current proprietors, the third owners since Prohibition. “Many people enjoy coming back and seeing that Art’s is still there. For a lot of people that have property in the area, gathering at Art’s has become a family tradition, something going back generations.”

On the Menu Art’s served only burgers and fries when Barr and Nescot took over more than two decades ago. Today’s menu includes breakfast staples, everything from eggs to pancakes, and a variety of sandwiches, salads, and entrees like parmesan crusted whitefish and European perch. Dessert options include Art’s chocolate chip cookies and Moomers vanilla ice cream.

But what has continued to make Art’s Tavern relevant in an ever-changing and growing tourism town has been consistency.

Tried-and-true menu items—burgers, tater tots, chicken jalapeño soup, grilled cheese, chili, and mac and cheese—endure and remain as popular as ever. Art’s has also continued the tradition of 2-for-1 burgers on Mondays through the winter months, much to the delight of locals.

While seasonal businesses in Leelanau County’s resort towns close during the winter, Art’s keeps the lights on and the grill going.

“The diversity of our visitors and the

Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 25

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experienced, top-notch staff keep things interesting at Art’s,” Nescot says. “There are always new stories to share.”

Find Art’s Tavern at 6487 Western Avenue in Glen Arbor. (231) 334-3754; artsglenarbor. com. Cash only.

Foundry Craft Grillery Elk Rapids Foundry Craft Grillery celebrated its Elk Rapids opening last summer in the space previously occupied by American House Pizza and, before that, Siren Hall. Here you’ll find upscale bar food in generous portions in a no-nonsense industrial environment that creates its own fun, invites lingering, and caters to all ages.

The venue might be new to Elk Rapids, but its sister location in East Jordan has been prospering since 2019. With the rapid growth and success of the East Jordan venue, owners Andre Bushell and Loren Akerman set out to expand the brand.

They were joined by entrepreneurial couple Adam and Nichole Earle, owners of two Firehouse Sub locations in Traverse City and Gaylord, and the group turned their focus to the Foundry Craft Grillery in Elk Rapids.

On the Menu The menu is a big, sophisticated spin on the standards, with bold flavors and ample portions. Garlic Cheese Curds are a big favorite. (“The best” says more than one patron.) Also try the Pig Iron Fries topped with smoked pulled pork, three cheese sauce and roasted red peppers, or the

Molten Beer Cheese Sliders, with roasted jalapeños, caramelized onions, bacon jam, and white cheddar on pretzel buns. And don’t forget the seven variations of chicken wings, one for every day of the week.

Burgers are crafted from Zeeland’s Michigan Craft Beef. Channel your “inner ironworker” with a burger of the same name, featuring double patties topped with caramelized onion, garlic aioli, cheddar, and bacon. (Bushnell indicates that it is the most popular item on the menu.)

Sandwiches include buttermilk chicken, served two ways, and Da Reuben, a gutsy take on the classic with Michigan sourdough piled with corned beef, white cheddar, sauerkraut, and crispy onions smothered with stone-ground Dijon honey mustard.

If you really want the Foundry dinner experience, try the Foundry Poutine, a Canadian-inspired dish with a spin— think crispy fries and cheese curds topped with grilled steak and smothered with fresh beef gravy.

Elevated bar offerings are the standard, and you can expect the Foundry to take craft to the next level with beer, wine, and spirits.

Find Foundry Craft Grillery at 151 River St. in Elk Rapids and 101 Main St., Ste. B in East Jordan. foundrycraftgrillery.com Jax Northside Food & Spirits Charlevoix It’s not every day a popular restaurant changes hands.

But that’s been the case with Jax Northside Food & Spirits, a dining and drink destination in Charlevoix that’s

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been around in various incarnations for decades and has been a go-to for year-round and seasonal residents, tourists, and golfers.

Jax’s new owners are the Wineguys Restaurant Group. “It was a bit of a new community for us, and this presented an opportunity for us to be more involved in that community,” says Joe Keedy, a partner in the Wineguys Restaurant Group. “It really made a lot of sense for us.”

On the Menu The restaurant is well known for casual food, and the new owners see Jax as Charlevoix’s answer to the 21st-century roadhouse. The expansive restaurant includes a sports-style bar, enclosed porch, and an umbrella-covered patio. On the menu, you’ll find ribs and steaks, John Cross whitefish and salmon, and a selection of half-pound specialty burgers, along with other standard favorites. The salad bar is a standout as well.

“Every single customer we talked to loved the salad bar,” Keedy says. “It’s a fun thing and unique in this day and age. People like to mix it up.”

Sandwiches include classics like the Reuben and a Chicken Buffalo Wrap and creative options like the Brisket Melt, slowroasted brisket with Swiss cheese, sauteed onions, and garlic pesto and served with au jus; and the Cheezie Carson, made with melted gruyere, cheddar, and muenster cheeses, grilled onions, and rosemary buttered toast.

Menu changes have been minimal.

However, both prime rib, slow roasted and lightly smoked, and marinated flank steak are popular selections at City Park Grill, and they have been added to the ranks.

The new owners also updated the wine program. “Wine is a big part of what we like to do. We expanded offerings by the glass and by the bottle to cover a lot of ground and

bring more options to our guests,” Keedy says, noting the emphasis is on New World wines with local offerings among them.

Find Jax Northside Food & Spirits at 757 Petoskey Avenue (U.S. 31 South) in Charlevoix. (231) 437- 6400; jaxchx.com NoBo Mrkt Traverse City NoBo Mrkt inside Commongrounds Coop of Traverse City is a collaborative café, retail spot, and food court, anchored by an eyecatching beverage center with Higher Grounds coffee on one side—their second brick-andmortar site—and craft brews, wines, and spirits on the other. The entire space seats up to 100, including the outdoor patio.

The ethos of the place is devoted to supporting small-scale, regional food and beverage purveyors, including farms, markets, breweries, vintners, and distilleries, through retail sales and from the fresh, wholesome dishes emerging from the NoBo café kitchen.

On the Menu Enjoy breakfast sandwiches, grilled cheese, and French Onion soup finished with port wine, among other offerings. Here’s a little detail to whet your appetite. The musttry breakfast sandwich is oven toasted with Leelanau Cheese raclette, Sleeping Bear Farms Star Thistle Honey, house made garlic aioli, and Anavery Fine Foods scrambled eggs on your choice of 9 Bean Rows Bread— sourdough, multigrain, or ciabatta.

NoBo’s staple salad changes based on seasonality and is always named after the bird

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that the colors best coincide with; for example, the present and delightfully purple salad is named the Starling, made with radishes, pickled beets, port cranberries, Ginger Gold matchsticks, and Idyll Farms goat cheese.

The café received its liquor license in December, and launched brunch and dinner service this year. Chef James Thomas III says the menu will include some traditional American/continental and French cuisine (his favorite) like Steak au Poivre, and Chicken Quarters in Herbs de Provence, as well as seasonally available fish. “Folks can easily order several of each…to sample, share, and eat socially in our cozy dining room overlooking the river,” he explains.

Chef James adds the menu will change throughout the seasons in response to local and regional ingredients. “I hope to have a diverse menu…that will be incredible and [show] how important it is [to] support our highly valuable local farmers and businesses.”

Currently, NoBo partners with Cherry Capital Foods, Leelanau Cheese, Idyll Farms, Grocer's Daughter Chocolate, 9 Bean Rows, Light of Day Organics, Earthly Delights, Food for Thought, Michigan Farm to Freezer, and NanBop Farm. Other partners will be added as NoBo Mrkt continues to grow.

Find NoBo Mrkt at 414 E. Eighth St. in Traverse City inside Commongrounds Coop. nobomrkt.com Gilchrist Farm and Winery Suttons Bay As the summer season wound down in Suttons Bay, Gilchrist

Farm and Winery swung open its doors.

With their kids by their side, founders Elizabeth and Marc Huntoon celebrated the opening of their brand-new tasting room inside a renovated turn-of-the-century home with peekaboo views of the bay.

Both Elizabeth and Marc are retired doctors turned vintners, but Elizabeth’s green thumb always kept her busy gardening and tending to hobby orchards before turning farming into a family vocation.

“Starting a winery is a lot like medicine in the sense that one has to be prepared to delay gratification for several years,” Elizabeth says.

On the Menu The farm’s top-selling wines include Four Daughters, a red blend paying homage to Elizabeth and Marc’s own four daughters, and the Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, a white that business manager George Brittain notes isn’t too “oaked or buttery.”

For gifting, Brittain recommends the 100 percent chardonnay sparkling wine. “It’s very easy to drink and all about celebration,” he says. And, to thaw out from a crisp afternoon of snowshoeing the shoreline, he points to a warm glass of spiced mulled wine sipped inside the tasting room.

Of course, Gilchrist Farm doesn’t only grow—or serve—wine.

To complement their drink menu, the tasting room’s chef-led kitchen offers brunch and dinner options, like a heaping bowl of locally-raised bison gumbo or a plate of creamy Basque cheesecake topped with cardamom cookie crumbles. Before anyone gets their heart set on one of these tasty dishes though, Chef Deanna Mikalauskas, one of Gilchrist Farm’s five chefs, says their daily offerings are unique

and dependent on what the farm and local vendor farms have available.

Each day, the kitchen team inventories their own ingredients, then collaborates with other producers like Loma Farms, Guernsey Farms Dairy, 9 Bean Rows, and Fustini’s Oils & Vinegars to brainstorm oneof-a-kind meals for Gilchrist Farm’s guests.

It keeps Chef Deanna and the rest of the kitchen testing their creativity from one dish to the next while ensuring a sustainable, minimal-waste kitchen.

Find Gilchrist Farm and Winery at 417 N Saint Joseph Street in Suttons Bay. (231) 9163902; gilchristfarmwinery.com Happy’s Taco Shop Boyne City Ten years ago, Drake Nagel of Ellsworth and Drue Wright of Boyne City set out to create a good product and a friendly vibe with the help of a used step van. That good product was, of course, a taco.

In Petoskey, Happy’s Taco Shop operates out of a refurbished shipping container located at The Back Lot, the year-round, pet-friendly venue with five food trucks and two bars. On a Saturday in the off season, they serve around 200 patrons, twice that in the summer.

You can also find a Happy’s truck at Boyne Mountain, parked at the base of the Express lift throughout the ski season.

Once the snow melts, Happy’s Headquarters in Boyne City, where all food is prepared, will serve lunch and dinner, spring through fall, from their

food truck adjacent to the brightly colored outdoor dining area fashioned to match the Happy’s brand.

On the Menu Look for fresh and innovative taco variations, like the Crispy Shrimp taco with green curry mayo, red chili jam, cabbage and fried shallot; or the Spicy Pork version with Napa cabbage kimchi, ssamjang glaze (spicy Korean paste), and togarashi (Japanese 7 spice). And you don’t have to be vegan to fall for the Smoked Potato Taco with chile sour cream, pickled veggies, and pepita crunch.

The biggest seller is the Super Burrito, with a choice of roasted pork, smoked potato, shrimp, griddled kimchi, or pinto beans, with chihuahua cheese, salsa verde, chile sour cream, cabbage, and tortilla strips.

Weekly specials depend on whatever the staff feels like cooking.

Sauces are all house-made, and Nagel, the self-described “ranch freak,” has created a macha ranch, made with homemade salsa macha with dried chilies, roasted garlic, miso, olive oil, and sesame seeds, all mixed with mayo, traditional ranch spices, and a few ingredients which must remain a secret.

“It all goes on our Crunchwrap Royale, and it is sublime,” he says. The Crunchwrap Royale offers a choice of pork, smoked potato, shrimp, kimchi, or pinto beans, with pickled veggies, tostada, lettuce, and chile jam, folded up and grilled in chihuahua cheese. Sublime sounds about right.

Find Happy’s at The Back Lot at 425 Michigan St. in Petoskey and their food truck at Boyne Mountain, Friday through Sunday, in Boyne Falls. happystacoshop.com

OUR COMMITMENT RUNS DEEP At Munson, commitment is the promise we make to our communities. It’s why we show up. In the hard times, and the beautiful ones. We work hard for our communities because we are our communities.

We’re committed to Northern Jessica D. Arden, MD

Michigan. And to you.

Radiation Oncologist

Learn more at:

munsonhealthcare.org/commitment

COMMITTED TO NORTHERN MICHIGAN Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 27

HOUSE-BREWED BEERS & HEARTY PUB FARE LOCATED IN TRAVERSE CITY

400 W FRONT STREET • TRAVERSE CITY NORTHPEAK.NET • @NORTHPEAKBREWINGCO 231.941.7325

VISIT KILKENNY’S IRISH PUBLIC HOUSE FOOD & DRINK SPECIALS | DARTS | POOL | LIVE MUSIC LOCATED BELOW NORTH PEAK BREWING CO! 28 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

SPECIALS!

SPECIALS!

WEDNESDAYS: WEDNESDAYS: D.A.T.E. NIGHT D.A.T.E. NIGHT

News You Can Use Researchers at Western Sydney University have revealed results of a study showing that frequent nose-pickers may have a higher probability of developing Alzheimer's disease. WION-TV reported on Feb. 7 that the habit introduces germs into the nasal cavity that trigger the brain to produce betaamyloid as a defense. An abundance of betaamyloid is believed to be the leading cause of Alzheimer's. "It is essential to note that the temporary relief obtained from nose-picking is not a substitute for proper nasal hygiene," the report said -- "proper nasal hygiene" being "regular cleaning and maintenance of the nasal passages through gentle methods such as saline nasal rinses or blowing the nose."

Sweet Revenge Paul Gibbons, 63, of Kingsclere, England, paid about $32,000 to have his kitchen remodeled a year ago, the Basingstoke Gazette reported. Wickes, the company he chose to do the work, bungled it, according to Gibbons: "The finish throughout is so poor, and half the kitchen doesn't fit as it should.

I agreed to the contract and what I was told would be two weeks of work, and ... I am left with a kitchen which I can't even use as you should." As a result, Gibbons demanded a refund, but when he couldn't get that, he parked a decommissioned 1963 gun tank that he had borrowed from a friend outside the store.

Wickes called that "unacceptable and aggressive behavior" and threatened to have the tank removed. But Gibbons isn't budging: "I want my money back and want them to take that kitchen out of my house so I can get a new one."

Consumer Report After 2 1/2 years, Jackie Nguyen of Seattle "just didn't like" her couch anymore, USA Today reported on Feb. 1. After checking with Costco's return policy, Nguyen returned the couch to the store for a full refund. "We just didn't like the color anymore," she admitted on a TikTok video. Nguyen didn't even have a receipt -- but she did have a good memory and could tell the clerk the date she bought the sofa. The clerk looked it up and refunded $900 to her card. Costco told Nguyen that returned items are donated, resold, returned to the manufacturer for a credit or refurbished.

Field Report On Jan. 20, as an Amish couple from Shipshewana, Indiana, shopped at a Walmart in Sturgis, Michigan, Lona Latoski, 31, allegedly climbed inside their buggy and directed their horse away from the parking lot, MLive.com reported. A witness saw the woman drive off and thought it was odd that she wasn't Amish, but didn't report the theft.

When the couple came out and realized their ride was gone, a truck driver offered them shelter from the cold and alerted police, who tracked down the buggy at an Admiral gas station, where it was parked. Latoski was located in the motel next door, hiding under a pile of clothing in a shower. She admitted taking the horse and buggy and said she had "instant regret ... but she was cold and needed to get home," the officer said. "I asked her if she had ever had any training with equestrians," he said. "She did not know what 'equestrian' meant." (Apparently, nor did the officer.) Latoski was charged with larceny of livestock and general larceny.

Free Dessert or Appetizer with purchase of TwoFree Entrees Dessert or

Naked, Not Afraid Being naked in public in Florida is right on the cusp of being No Longer Weird. On Feb. 5, Martin Evtimov, 36, parked his car on the sidewalk at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and climbed out without a stitch of clothing on, the New York Post reported.

He entered Terminal 1 and approached the TSA security line as he spoke incoherently, then wandered toward the baggage inspection area.

That's where Broward County sheriff's deputies and TSA officers caught up with him. Evtimov resisted arrest but was eventually subdued. A judge later banned him from the airport and ordered a mental health screening.

Weird Science Jason Clampit, 43, was arrested on Jan. 24 after it came to the attention of the FBI that he might be manufacturing the poison ricin on his property in Winslow, Arkansas.

KNWA-TV reported that an anonymous caller told the Washington County Sheriff 's Office that Clampit might have poisoned his mother with ricin, and when his property was searched, officers found castor beans (the source of ricin) and a jar of suspected liquid ricin. According to text messages included in the affidavit, Clampit told his sister that he "made it to get people to stay out of our woods. There's a group of thieves out here called the Owlers. They snoop around watching people at night. They dress in gilly suits and hide in the bushes. So I made this stuff and I set up traps in the woods." He was held on a $500,000 bond.

THURSDAYS: PASTA NIGHTAppetizer w/purchase

of Two Entrees 2 pasta dinners and a bottle of wine for $62 (Begins 11/29)

Join the Fun – Play Funi Bingo!

WEDNESDAYS: THURSDAYS:

Get your Bingo cards when you dine at Funistrada Feb 18 - June 14 PASTA NIGHT! Five in a row: $25 gift card | Entire card: $250 gift card 2 pasta dinners & a Indulge in a variety of Funistrada favorites & get rewarded for it! bottle of wine for $62

D.A.T.E. NIGHT

D at 5:00pm!

231.334.3900 | www.trattoria-funistrada.com | 4566 W MacFarlane*Now Rd,open Maple City Appetizer w/purchase of Two Entrees Free or restrictions apply *Now open Tues–Sat at 5:00essert pm | *some

Tues - Sat

231.334.3900 | www.trattoria-funistrada.com | (not 4566 W. MacFarlane Maple City, MI 49664 available forRd. take-out * not available 12/27-28)

(Begins 11/29) C e l e b rati n g

o u r bTHURSDAYS: e st

522 E. Front Street | Traverse City, MI 49686

PASTA NIGHT!

Congratulations, Dan!

2 pasta dinners & a bottle #1 of coldwell wine for $62 banker commerical profesional in michigan for 2022

*NowDan open at 5:00pm!

Stiebel, CCIM

Tues - Sat 231.633.0432 dan@realestatetc.com

231.334.3900 | www.trattoria-funistrada.com | (not 4566 W. MacFarlane Maple City, MI 49664 available forRd. take-out * not available 12/27-28)

Animal Antics On Feb. 1, the lights went out in central Toronto, darkening traffic signals and trapping people in elevators, Reuters reported.

Crews who investigated found it was a roguish raccoon who made contact with equipment at the city's Hydro One electric station. (The raccoon did not survive, a spokesperson said.)

About 7,000 were affected for about three hours, Hydro One reported. While raccooncaused outages are not unheard of, squirrels are the more common culprits.

Inexplicable Florida man Jason Brzuszkiewicz, 49, laughed his way through an incident on Feb. 6 in New Smyrna Beach, the New York Post reported. Around 9 a.m., Brzuszkiewicz allegedly drove his pickup around a "Do Not Enter" sign at the beach and straight into the ocean as beachgoers looked on and recorded video. When deputies questioned him about his antics, Brzuszkiewicz said, "It's not my fault the truck don't surf!" He also claimed he thought he was in England. Brzuszkiewicz's only charge was for failing to pay the access fee to the beach; his truck was towed away.

The Entrepreneurial Spirit On Feb. 3, police in Calgary, Canada, caught up with "Alex Lee," whom they had been tracking since Christmas Eve. The Calgary Herald reported that Lee, whose real name is Seyyed Amir Razavi, was charged with drug trafficking in connection with an unusual scheme: The 30-year-old handed out business cards with "free samples" of cocaine stapled to them at a local casino in an effort to boost his sales. At a search of Razavi's home, police found almost 60 grams of cocaine, a digital scale, cash and "Alex Lee" business cards.

Smile with e! c n e d fi Con www.schulzortho.com

TRAVERSE CITY

231-929-3200 • 4952 Skyview Ct.

CHARLEVOIX

231-237-0955 • 106 E. Garfield Ave.

Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 29

Your Northern Michigan

Connection

Cherry Capital Airport tvcairport.com

It’s Time For You To Fly! 30 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

DINING IN WITH RESTAURANT-INSPIRED RECIPES Inside the Ingredients

By Nora Rae Pearl To dine in or eat out? That is the question…and we have the answers.

For a night on the town, head to Nonna’s Ristorante at The Homestead Resort in Glen Arbor. Start the evening off right with a signature Old Fashioned or a bottle of Caymus.

Pair your drink with the raclette made with the pinky’s very own Leelanau Cheese. Nibble on fresh baked house-made focaccia while you await a plate of their famous bolognese or short ribs, and finish the evening with the chef ’s favorite, Espresso Panna Cotta with a Caffè Corretto.

Sounds amazing, right? There’s just one problem: Nonna’s is open only on Friday and Saturday nights, so here’s a plan to eat like you’re in Italy the other days of the week.

Pro tip: For these recipes, stop into Raduno in Traverse City for fresh made pasta and Leelanau Cheese in Suttons Bay for their award-winning raclette.

CAULIFLOWER BOLOGNESE

A mighty, “meaty” vegetarian dish.

NO KNEAD OVERNIGHT FOCACCIA Who needs dinner rolls when you can have focaccia?

Ingredients • 2 1/2 cups room temperature water • 1 tablespoon honey • 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast • 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil • 5 cups flour • 3 tablespoons potato flour • 1 tablespoon sea salt • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme • Flaky sea salt To make the dough: The night before dinner, stir together the water, honey, and yeast in a large bowl. Let sit for 5 minutes. Add 1/4 cup olive oil, both flours, and salt. Stir until a dough forms and no dry spots remain. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Cover and let rise for 90 minutes, then put in the refrigerator overnight.

To make the bread: The next day, line a 10x14 inch or similar sized baking sheet with parchment. Make sure the parchment has a 2-inch overhang around all sides. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil on the parchment. Take the dough out of the fridge. Pick up the dough out of the bowl, being careful not to deflate. Place on the oiled paper and press to the edges of the pan. (If the dough seems to bounce back, just let it sit for 15 minutes and come back to press it out.)

Cover and let rise till puffy, two to three hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Uncover dough, dimple all over with your fingertips.

Drizzle on 2 tablespoons of olive oil and thyme. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until nicely golden. Once the focaccia comes out, drizzle on another 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sprinkle on flaky sea salt. Let cool slightly before slicing.

Ingredients: • 1 small cauliflower, broken into chunks • 1-8 oz. box white mushrooms • 1 cup walnuts • Olive oil • Salt and pepper • 1 teaspoon fennel seed • 1 onion, finely chopped • 1 large carrot, finely chopped • 1-6 oz. can tomato paste • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning • 2-8 oz. packages of Raduno Fresh Pasta Creste • Leelanau Cheese Raclette • Dried parsley To make the sauce: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment. In a food processor, pulse the cauliflower until finely chopped. Empty the processor, but don’t clean, and do the same with the mushrooms. Empty, and repeat with the nuts. Put the cauliflower, mushrooms, and nuts onto the prepared sheet. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and fennel seed. Toss to combine. Bake for 20 minutes, then toss the mixture. Return to the oven, bake for 20 more minutes or until nicely browned.

Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add onion and carrot. Cook until just starting to brown. Stir in tomato paste, cook for two minutes. Deglaze pan by stirring in balsamic vinegar. Stir in 1 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Once smooth, stir in 2 more cups of water. Stir in all the browned cauliflower mixture. Simmer for 10 minutes. If too thick, add more water.

To make the pasta: Cook pasta as directed till al dente. Drain, then divide between six plates. Add 1/2 cup sauce to each. Although less traditional than the usual parmesan—but equally delicious—grate some raclette cheese over the dish and then sprinkle on some parsley. Eat it while it’s hot!

Nora Rae Pearl is 99 percent foodie and 1 percent chef. When she is not writing about food, she can be found waiting in line at the farmers market hoping to get a croissant before they run out. Photo credits Cody Werme.

Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 31

feb 17

Saturday

ALPENFROST: Gaylord.

Featuring the Frosty 5K, OCCWA Arts & Craft Fair, Cocoa Crawl, snowman building, build a pizza, GACA-Pets & Wild Life Exhibit, Frosty Dip, & much more. alpenfrost.com

---------------------WINTER WONDERLAND WEEKEND: Downtown Petoskey Social District, Feb. 16-19. Featuring ice carving demonstrations, Downtown shopping & restaurant specials, a scavenger hunt through the Downtown shops, & a Downtown Dollars shopping contest. petoskeydowntown.com/events/winter-wonderland

---------------------INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: Downtown Charlevoix, Feb. 16-19.

---------------------OPEN STUDIO, PETOSKEY: 10am-1pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Visual Arts Room, Petoskey. Drop-in free arts & crafts for the whole family. New projects are offered each week. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-petoskey/ open-studio-february-17

---------------------THE BEST YETI FEST THIS SIDE OF THE HIMALAYAS: 10:30am-5:30pm, Downtown Suttons Bay. Sponsored by the Suttons Bay Chamber of Commerce. Chili Cook-off, live music, free movie at The Bay Theatre, adult & kids scavenger hunts, Yeti Cup Hockey Tournament, SB Library Yeti Exploration, face painting, hot cocoa, sledding & more. Tickets for Chili Cook-off are $10/person; advanced tickets available at mynorthtickets.com. Scavenger Hunt is $20/team. suttonsbayarea.com

---------------------WINTERLOCHEN: 11am, Interlochen Arts Academy, Main Campus. Join the students, faculty & staff of Interlochen Arts Academy for this annual winter festival. Sledding & s’mores, arts exploration activities, musical instruments, acting, dancing & much more. Free. interlochen.org/winterlochen

---------------------ELK RAPIDS CHILI COOK-OFF: Noon-3pm, Downtown Elk Rapids. Vote for your favorite chili & enjoy! $5. facebook.com/events/11062 36240826987?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[]%7D

---------------------PHANTASMA GORIA 2024 RECEPTION: 1pm, Right Brain Brewery, TC. The pub at Right Brain Brewery is filled with nearly 40 local artists’ work, ranging from drawing & painting, mixed media, photography, wood & much more. A reception will be held today including over 10 art vendors with pop up booths, selling pottery, jewelry, wall hangings & more. The brewhouse will be open for an all day concert with bands, Robert Rolfe Feddersen at 1pm, Radel Rosin from Oh Brother Big Sister going solo at 4:30pm, & Rob Coonrod with Jazz Cabbage from 7-9pm. rightbrainbrewery.com/75/ phantasmagoria-art-show

---------------------PETOSKEY CHILI TRAIL: 2-4pm, Downtown Petoskey. Join several downtown businesses during the Winter Wonderland Weekend. Businesses will be serving their very own chili recipe, which is free for you to eat. grandpashorters.com/event/petoskey-chili-trail

---------------------2ND ANNUAL TRAVERSE CITY BOURBON FEST: Visions Weddings & Banquets, TC. Featuring 100+ whiskeys & bourbons, store picks, classic cocktails & high-end bottle section.

There will also be food trucks, live music by Jesse Ray and the Carolina Catfish, vendors & more. GA tickets are $50 until Feb. 10 & $60 week of event. VIP tickets are $100. Designated Driver tickets are $10. Choose from Session 1 that runs from 4-6:30pm or Session 2 that runs from 7:30-10pm. Proceeds benefit Friends of The River. traversecitybourbonfest.com

---------------------COCKTAILS, CANAPES & COMEDY: 4pm, Willowbrook Mill, Northport. Presented by Northport Performing Arts Center in collaboration with Old Town Playhouse’s Aged to Perfec-

tion Reader’s Theatre. “5 for 1,” An Evening of Short Comedies. $45 per person. northportperformingarts.org/tickets-and-events

february

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

17-25

SLEDDING & S’MORES: 4-6pm, Kiwanis Park, Harbor Springs. Sledding, food, hot cocoa & s’mores around a bonfire. Rides up the hill from the fire department. 231-526-2104. Free.

---------------------CANDLELIGHT HIKE: Explore Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore at night on a candlelit winter hike at the Dune Climb. Arrive anytime between 6-7:30pm to enjoy the full experience. If there is adequate snow, this will be a snowshoe hike. Bring your own, or snowshoes will also be loaned on a first-come, first-served basis. Free with a valid park entrance pass. nps.gov/planyourvisit/event-details.htm?id=2DFDB85C-AD2D6B7D-1EE0A2C6927D91CB

send your dates to: events@traverseticker.com

---------------------2ND ANNUAL SNOWBALL GALA: 6:30pm, The Barn Hall, Manton. An evening of elegance, dancing, raffle prizes, drinks & more.

All proceeds from this event help Healing Private Wounds Center continue providing free services to survivors of sexual abuse & other traumas. 1 for $35; 2 for $60. healingprivatewounds.org

---------------------STARS, STRIPES & SWING: 7pm, VFW Cherryland Post 2780, TC. Jump & jive in style with a 40s, 50s & 60s Victory Party. Enjoy an evening of heavy hor d’oeuvres, DJ & dancing, & a cash bar. Tickets are $30/person or stop into the VFW for 2 for $50. eventbrite.com/e/ stars-stripes-and-swing-tickets-791438362447

---------------------TC WEST CHOIR MIX & MINGLE CONCERT & HORS D’OEUVRES FUNDRAISER: 7pm, The Presbyterian Church of TC, 701 Westminster Rd. Doors open at 6:30pm. Enjoy jazz, show tunes, & American classics. Featuring food donated by local restaurants, a silent auction, & a raffle. $30$40. tcwestchoirs.booktix.com/index.php

---------------------SARA DAVIS BUECHNER, PIANO CONCERT: 7:30pm, Cathedral Barn at Historic Barns Park, TC. Climb aboard the sonic cruise to the musically exotic worlds of Spain, Portugal, & South America with pianist Sara Davis Buechner. Students & first-time attendees, call for 50% off: 947-7120. $45.50. traversesymphony.org/concert/sara-davis-buechner

---------------------BROADWAY ON FRONT: SHINE LIKE STARS: 8pm, City Opera House, TC. Hosted by Paul Canaan & featuring stellar performers from Broadway, singing iconic songs from the stars of stage & screen. This year’s gala includes live music, a live auction, & fun opportunities to support City Opera House. Balcony GA: $50. cityoperahouse.org

---------------------FUEL: 8pm, Odawa Casino, Ovation Hall, Petoskey. This American rock band is known for their hit songs “Shimmer,” “Bad Day,” “Falls on Me” & many more. $40. odawacasino.com/ entertainment

---------------------THE LIGHTEN UP COMEDY SHOW: 8pm, Leelanau Sands Casino & Lodge, Peshawbestown. Featuring headlining stand-up comedians Ron Rigby & Steve Hansen. Host & emcee will be Leah Gray. $20. events.humanitix. com/the-lighten-up-comedy-show-at-leelanausands-casino-02-17-2024

feb 18

Sunday

WINTER WONDERLAND WEEKEND: (See Sat., Feb. 17)

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

INDOOR SALES: Charlevoix, Feb. 16-19.

SIDEWALK Downtown

---------------------SARA DAVIS BUECHNER, PIANO CONCERT: (See Sat., Feb. 17, except today’s time is 3pm.)

---------------------COCKTAILS, CANAPES & COMEDY: (See Sat., Feb. 17)

32 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

A “tale as old as time” will run at the Old Town Playhouse, TC with “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast” on Feb. 23-24, 29 and March 1-2, 7-9, and 15-16 at 7:30pm and Feb. 25 and March 3, 10 and 16 at 2pm. For this musical featuring 38 cast members, a production team of 36, and 30 musicians, tickets run $33 adults and $20 youth under 18. tickets.oldtownplayhouse.com

feb 19

monday

WINTER WONDERLAND WEEKEND: (See Sat., Feb. 17)

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

INDOOR SIDEWALK SALES: Downtown Charlevoix, Feb. 16-19.

---------------------STORYTIME ADVENTURES: 1pm, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Featuring “In the Snow: Who’s Been Here?” by Lindsay Barrett George. greatlakeskids.org

---------------------CHILI AND THE BLUES: 7pm, Peninsula Community Library, TC. Enjoy a cup of chili & music by Hugh Pool that harks back to 60’s blues. peninsulacommunitylibrary.org

feb 20

tuesday

KID’S CRAFT LAB: FEED THE BIRDS: 10am, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Make a recycled feeder for your yard for birds. Sign up at the front desk when you arrive. Register on web site. greatlakeskids.org

---------------------POP-UP PEEPERS PROGRAM: “WINTER SURVIVAL”: 10am, Boardman River Nature Center, TC. Adult-accompanied program for early learners ages 3-5 years old of all experience levels with the natural world. Join for a 60-minute nature program that includes stories, crafts, music & discovery activities. Register. $5 per child per session. natureiscalling.org/ preschool-peepers-program

---------------------STORYTIME ADVENTURES: (See Mon., Feb. 19)

---------------------HOW THE GRID WORKS: 1:45pm, Leland Township Library, Munnecke Community

Room. The Leelanau County Energy Futures Task Force is hosting this public education event. Chief Operating Officer of Cherryland Electric Cooperative Frank Siepker will show you how the modern electric grid is able to get all those electrons from the point of production, safely & reliably into our homes every day.

You’ll also discuss how electric vehicles, crypto currency & A.I. will add new challenges to future grid capabilities. Free.

---------------------PETOSKEY REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE BUSINESS AFTER HOURS: 5-7pm, NOMAD, Bay Harbor. Enjoy networking, food, door prizes, a cash bar & more. $10 chamber members; $15 not-yet members. petoskeychamber.com

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

NCTA GRAND TRAVERSE CHAPTER - FEB. MEETING: 7pm, Boardman River Nature Center, TC. Audrey Menninga, ISN director for the Northwest Michigan Invasive Species Network will give a presentation on invasive species that we may encounter on the NCT & how we can help prevent them from spreading. Free. meetup.com/grand-traverse-chapter-north-countrytrail-association/events/298679692

---------------------QUEER TALES BOOK CLUB: 7pm, Traverse Area District Library, Nelson Room, TC. Chat about books that are by &/or about LGBTQIA+ people. Reading is not required & everyone is welcome. Held the third Tues. of the month. This month’s book is “Dread Nation” by Justine Ireland.

Free. tadl.org/event/queer-tales-book-club-12115

feb 21

wednesday

HERE:SAY STORYTELLING - FLIRTING WITH DISASTER: 7-9:30pm, The Alluvion, TC. Five storytellers take the stage to tell true, first-person stories about a time in their

lives that they took a risk that could have gone horribly, horribly wrong. $10 sliding-scale-suggested donation. thealluvion.org/tickets/heresay-flirting-with-disaster

feb 22

thursday

COFFEE @ 10, PETOSKEY: 10-11am, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Gilbert Gallery, Petoskey. Megan Heeres will join for a conversation about her plant, paper, & installation-based work.

Free. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-petoskey/ coffee-10-megan-heeres

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

FIRST STEPS SCIENCE: I’M PICKIN’ UP GOOD VIBRATIONS: 10am, Great Lakes Children’s Museum, TC. Discover different hands-on ways to experience sound. Hear it, feel it, see it. Try to make a little music & experiment with what sound waves can do. Make a kazoo to take home. Sign up at front desk when you arrive. Make your reservation on web site. greatlakeskids.org

town, & the Beast, a young prince trapped under the spell of an enchantress. $20-$33. tickets.oldtownplayhouse.com/TheatreManager/1/ online?event=0

---------------------NMC CHAMBER SINGERS & CANTICUM NOVUM CHORAL PERFORMANCE: 7:30pm, The Alluvion, TC. This concert will include choral works from around the world & will feature several classic & contemporary spirituals in celebration of Black History Month. $15 advance; $20 door. thealluvion.org/tickets/nmc-chambersingers-canticum-novum

feb 24

saturday

STORYTIME ADVENTURES: (See Mon., Feb. 19)

HEMLOCK WOOLLY ADELGID SURVEY & TREATMENT TRAINING: 10am, Mills Community House, Benzonia. Join ISN to learn about how to protect & manage your ecologically important hemlock trees on your own property. Learn how to survey your hemlocks for hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA), & how to conduct your own treatments, should you find HWA on your property. Register. Free.

HabitatMatters.org/Events

READER CHEF, JR. COOKING CLASS: 4pm, Interlochen Public Library. For ages 1014. Kids will learn a new recipe & be able to cook the meal from start to finish. Limited to 10 kids per class. Registration required: 231-2766767. Free.

OPEN STUDIO, PETOSKEY: 10am-1pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Visual Arts Room, Petoskey. Drop-in free arts & crafts for the whole family. New projects are offered each week. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-petoskey/ open-studio-february-24

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

---------------------MICHIGAN MYSTERIES: 6:30pm, Peninsula Community Library, TC. Ross Richardson shares stories of missing persons, aircraft & ships. This program explores some lesser known mysteries & offers updates on efforts to solve them. peninsulacommunitylibrary.org

---------------------NWS: TWIN FLAMES: BURNED! A SURVIVOR & CULT PSYCHOLOGIST SPEAK OUT: 7pm, City Opera House, TC. Featuring Dr. Janja Lalich, author of “Take Back Your Life: Recovering from Cults and Abusive Relationships,” & Keely Griffin, survivor of Twins Flame Universe. Guest host is journalist Jacob Wheeler. $10-$48.50. nationalwritersseries. org/twin-flames-janja-lalich

feb 23

friday

HARBOR SPRINGS AREA SPRING RESTAURANT WEEK: Feb. 23 - March 3.

Enjoy special menus at each participating restaurant. harb o r s p r i n g s c h a m b e r. c o m / events/details/restaurant-week-2024-13765

---------------------PETOSKEY REGIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE’S STATE OF THE COMMUNITY: NEW DATE! Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. Doors open at 1pm for networking & light refreshments. Program begins at 1:30pm.

This is a fast-paced, interview style program where attendees get to hear from local officials, employees, & business owners as they learn more about what is going on in northern Michigan. $25. petoskeychamber.com

---------------------STORYTIME ADVENTURES: (See Mon., Feb. 19)

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

STRAIGHT AHEAD: CO-SPONSORED BY THE ALLUVION: 7pm, Dennos Museum Center, Milliken Auditorium, NMC, TC. Out of Detroit’s jazz scene comes the jazz group Straight Ahead. Widely recognized for their eclectic & soulful approach to creating music, the Straight Ahead sound ranges from mainstream jazz to Salsa & neo-soul. $25 - $35. simpletix.com/e/ straight-ahead-co-sponsored-by-the-alluviotickets-153329

---------------------DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: 7:30pm, Old Town Playhouse, TC. The classic story of Belle, a young woman in a provincial

ON ALL JAZZ SERIES SHOWS

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

---------------------WINTER GUIDED HIKE: 10am-noon, Brown Bridge Quiet Area, TC. Join Grand Traverse Conservation District staff for a guided hike on the trails of Brown Bridge Quiet Area to learn about the parkland’s history, management, flora & fauna, & more. A limited amount of snowshoes are available. Meet at the East Overlook Trailhead of Brown Bridge Quiet Area. Register. Free. natureiscalling.org

---------------------COFFEE WITH A COP: 11am, Traverse Area District Library, Atrium, TC. Join Officer Fryczynski of the North Boardman Response Team & others from the TCPD. Coffee, tea, hot cocoa, & activities for kids. Discuss issues & learn more about each other. The mission of this national organization is to break down the barriers between police officers & the citizens they serve. Free. tadl. org/event/coffee-copcocoa-popo-13013

---------------------HARBOR SPRINGS AREA SPRING RESTAURANT WEEK: (See Fri., Feb. 23)

---------------------ICEBREAKER: 11am, Old Art Building, Leland. Professional ice sculptor Matt Cooper will be showcasing his skills with a live demo. Local (amateur) teams will also be carving their own sculptures. Enjoy food & beverage options & warm up at one of several bonfires. Free. oldartbuilding.com/events/icebreaker-2024

---------------------GALLERY WALK +TALK: 1pm, Glen Arbor Arts Center. A guided walk-and-talk through Glen Arbor Arts Center’s new exhibits, “Happy” & “Tree Of Life - Connecting The World.” Sarah Bearup-Neal, GAAC gallery manager, leads a conversational tour of the exhibits. Free. glenarborart.org

---------------------AUTHOR EVENT: 2pm, Crooked Tree Arts Center, Petoskey. Join Beto O’Rourke for a candid talk about protecting our sacred right to vote & what it will take to save our democracy at this critical moment of truth. O’Rourke is the author of “WE’VE GOT TO TRY: How the Fight for Voting Rights Makes Everything Else Possible.” RSVP: 231-347-1180. Free. mcleanandeakin.com/event/beto-orourke-event

---------------------DOOM AS FUEL FOR THE FUTURE: 2pm, Traverse Area District Library, McGuire Community Room, TC. Presented by Inland Seas Education Association. The intended outcome for attendees is to feel confident having supportive conversations with young adults experiencing climate doom. Free. tadl.org/doom-fuel

STOREWIDE CLEARANCE & SALES! SAVE UP TO 50% STOREWIDE IN-STOCK ITEMS ONLY. WHILE SUPPLIES LAST. 231-946-8810 890 Munson Ave, Traverse City DONORRSKIHAUS.COM

Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 33

BEARCUB OUTFITTERS TORCHLIGHT SNOWSHOE: 5-8pm, Camp Daggett, Petoskey. Enjoy trekking across snow-covered trails illuminated by more than 100 torches. Afterwards enjoy cocoa, cookies & roaring fires.

Free; donations encouraged. campdaggett.org/ torchlight-snowshoe

---------------------THE BARRICADE BOYS: 7pm, Great Lakes Center for the Arts, Bay Harbor. Enjoy a musical journey with stars from the West End Cast of Les Misérables. $42-$87. greatlakescfa.org/ events/detail/the-barricade-boys

---------------------DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: (See Fri., Feb. 23)

feb 25

Sunday

TRAVERSE CITY RESTAURANT WEEK: Downtown TC, Feb. 25 - March 2. Downtown TC participating restaurants will have either a $25, $35 or $45 set menu. Call or make reservations online at the restaurant(s) of your choice. downtowntc.com/traverse-city-restaurant-week

---------------------HARBOR SPRINGS AREA SPRING RESTAURANT WEEK: (See Fri., Feb. 23)

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

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

GREAT INDOOR FOLK FESTIVAL: Noon5:30pm, The Village at GT Commons, TC. Rigs & Jeels, The Wild Sullys, Song of the Lakes, Ben Traverse, Terry Coveyou, Flylite Gemini, Robin Lee Berry & dozens of other performers take over six stages, Kirkbride Hall, & Cuppa Joe at this free festival. There will be music for every age. Presented by Northern Michigan Songwriters in the Round, in memory of Louan Lechler & Fred Kramer.

---------------------DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: (See Fri., Feb. 23, except today’s time is 2pm.)

ongoing

Your pet deserves

the best

Deadline for Dates information is Tuesday for the Premium Dog & Cat Food following week.

House-Baked Dog Treats Grooming Supplies Leashes, Beds, Collars Knowledgeable Staff Holistic Health Aids

SNOWSHOES, VINES, & WINES: Explore the trails at Black Star Farms Suttons Bay & then warm up with mulled wine, soup or wood-fired pizza. Held on Saturdays through the winter with the exception of Feb. 10. Onsite snowshoe rentals are available from noon-4pm. Additional date includes Sun., Feb. 18. blackstarfarms. com/snowshoes-vines-wines

---------------------BELLAIRE WINTER FARMERS MARKET: Bee Well Mead & Cider; Short’s Brewing Co. Southside event space; & Terrain. Held on Fridays through the middle of May from 9am-noon.

---------------------BOYNE CITY MARKET AT THE PAVILION: Veterans Park Pavilion, Boyne City. Held every Sat. through May from 9am-12:30pm. Shop local artists, food makers & farmers. boynecityfarmersmarket.org/series/market-at-the-pavilion-2

---------------------INDOOR FARMERS MARKET: Saturdays, 10am-2pm, The Village at GT Commons, The Mercato, TC. More than 35 vendors offer a variety of items from farm fresh eggs, meats & cheeses, to fruits, veggies, homemade breads & more. thevillagetc.com

art

JOURNEY THROUGH ABSTRACTION: Oliver Art Center, Frankfort. This group exhibition of diverse abstract art will open with a reception on Fri., Feb. 23 from 5-7pm. The work of Michigan artists Kenneth Anbender, Nancy Clouse & Marat Paransky is showcased in this exhibition. Runs through April 5. Oliver Art Center is open Tues. Sat. from 10am-4pm; Sun.: noon-4pm. Closed on Mondays. oliverartcenterfrankfort.org

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Traverse City • 231-944-1944 • PetsNaturallyTC.com 34 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

“SPOTLIGHT ON INNOVATION”: Charlevoix Circle of Arts. This annual regional high school student exhibit is a vibrant showcase of student artwork. Featuring the talents of local 11th & 12th grade students, this artwork will be on display through Feb. 24. charlevoixcircle.org

ART EXHIBIT: KATI ROSENBAUGH & LYNN STEPHENSON: City Opera House, TC. Enjoy contrasting visual arts mediums & styles - each taking inspiration from the beauty of northern Michigan. The exhibit runs through Feb. 29. cityoperahouse.org

---------------------“BARBARA REICH EXHIBIT: ART IN THE LIBRARY”: Bonobo Winery, library, TC. This exhibit features a select collection of Barbara’s original paintings that focus on still life & snow.

Runs through Feb. 26. barbarareich.com

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CROOKED TREE ARTS CENTER, PETOSKEY: - “CURRENTS OF COLOR: WORK BY CTAC’S WATERCOLOR STUDENTS”: Held in Atrium Gallery through March 16. Artist Trish Morgan teaches beginner, intermediate, & advanced watercolor courses for Crooked Tree Arts Center-Petoskey. CTAC invited Trish’s current & former advanced students to participate in this exhibition. crookedtree.org/event/ctacpetoskey/currents-color-work-ctacs-watercolor-students - CULTIVATED: RELATIONSHIPS WITH NATURE: Runs through Feb. 24 in Bonfield Gallery. Contemporary photographs, fiber works, & installations explore the concept of cultivation. crookedtree.org/event/ctac-petoskey/cultivated-relationships-nature - FIELDS OF VISION: JURIED FINE ART EXHIBITION: Runs through Feb. 24 in Gilbert Gallery. Annual juried all-media exhibition featuring works by Michigan artists. crookedtree. org/event/ctac-petoskey/fields-vision-juriedfine-art-exhibition

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DENNOS MUSEUM CENTER, NMC, TC: - NORTHLAND WEAVERS & FIBER ARTS GUILD’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION: The exhibition runs through March 3 & includes the work of 27 current & past members. Open Tues. through Sun., 11am-4pm. dennosmuseum.org - HEMINGWAY IN COMICS: This exhibition presents a new, more complicated way to look at Hemingway: a man, an artist, & a character that has taken on a life of its own & allows visitors to consider why Hemingway’s image, in particular, is so enduring. It’s not only for the dedicated Hemingway fan, but for all those with an appreciation for comics, pop culture, & the absurd. Runs through May 26. Hours are Tues. - Sun., 11am-4pm. dennosmuseum. org/art/upcoming-exhibitions/hemingwayin-comics.html?utm_source=cision&utm_ medium=email&utm_campaign=DMC-winter-2024 - YOUNG AT ART: A SELECTION OF CALDECOTT ILLUSTRATIONS: This exhibition includes original illustrations from Caldecott Medal recipients & from “runnerup” Honor books, as well as other illustrations by award-winning artists. It is an exhibition of works from Wichita Falls Museum of Art’s permanent collection. It runs through April 28. Hours are Tues. through Sun., 11am-4pm. dennosmuseum.org/art/ upcoming-exhibitions/young-at-art.html?utm_ source=cision&utm_medium=email&utm_ campaign=DMC-winter-2024

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GLEN ARBOR ARTS CENTER: - “HAPPY”: Held in Main Gallery. “Happy” features the work of 26 artists who explore & interpret the many facets & meanings of happiness: literal to metaphorical, in 2D + 3D. Runs through March 21. Open Mon. through Fri., 9am-3pm; Sat., noon-4pm. Free. glenarborart. org/events/exhibit-happy - TREE OF LIFE -- AN EXHIBIT: TC artist Mary Fortuna explores the Tree Of Life - Connecting The World in this mixed media installation. This small show runs through April 25. The Tree Of Life that will grow in the GAAC’s Lobby Gallery is populated with animals, birds & insects.

Each one is a hand-sewn soft sculpture. Hours: Mon. through Fri., 9am-3pm; Sat., noon-4pm. glenarborart.org/events/exhibit-tree-of-life-connecting-the-world

YOUR LOCAL FAVORITE

BARBECUE SPOT

423 S UNION ST, TRAVERSE CITY

BLUETRACTOR.NET | @BLUETRACTORTC | 231.922.9515 Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 35

Grand Traverse & Kalkaska ENCORE 201, TC 2/17 -- Jon Archambault, 7:3010:30; DJ Ricky T, 10:30 2/23 -- DJ Ricky T, 9 2/24 -- Pulse of the Atom, 7:3010:30; DJ Ricky T, 10:30 KILKENNY'S IRISH PUBLIC HOUSE, TC 2/16-17 -- The Equality Show Band, 9:30 Mon -- Team Trivia, 7-9 Tue -- The Will Harris Trio, 8 Wed -- The Pocket, 8 Thu -- DJ Leo, 9:30 2/23-24 -- Protea, 9:30

NORTH BAR, TC 7-10: 2/17 -- Chris Sterr 2/21 -- Jesse Jefferson 2/22 -- Drew Hale 2/23 -- Tai Drury 2/24 -- Rebekah Jon THE DUNE ROOM: 2/25 -- Writers in the Round: February Showcase w/ SkyeLea, Elizabeth Landry & A.S. Lutes, 4-6 PARK PLACE HOTEL, TC BEACON LOUNGE: 2/16-17 & 2/23-24 -- Jim Hawley, 7-10

KINGSLEY LOCAL BREWING 6-8: 2/19 -- Trivia 2/20 -- Open Mic

SECONDHAND SOCIAL CLUB, TC 2/24 -- The Party Members, Dude Man Sir & Hail Your Highness, 7

LEFT FOOT CHARLEY, TC BARREL ROOM: 2/19 -- Open Mic w/ Rob Coonrod, 6-9 TASTING ROOM: 2/23 -- Ted Alan & Ron Getz, 5-7 LIL BO, TC Tues. – Trivia, 8-10 Sun. – Karaoke, 8 MAMMOTH DISTILLING, TC 2/22 -- Chris Smith, 7:30-10:30 MARI VINEYARDS, TC 2/23 -- Ben Richey, 4-6 MIDDLECOAST BREWING CO., TC 2/23 -- Clint Weaner, 6-9 2/24 -- Jazz Cabbage, 8-10

SORELLINA'S, TC SLATE RESTAURANT: Thurs. -- Tom Kaufmann on Piano, 5-8 Fri. & Sat. – Tom Kaufmann on Piano, 6-9 STONE HOUND BREWING CO., WILLIAMSBURG 2/22 -- Chris Sterr, 7 THE ALLUVION, TC 2/17 -- Max Lockwood Band & Elisabeth Pixley-Fink, 7:30-10 2/19 -- Funky Uncle - Funky Fun Mondays, 6-8 2/21 -- Here:Say Storytelling - Flirting with Disaster, 7-9:30 2/22 -- Jeff Haas Trio feat. Laurie Sears & Lisa Flahive, 6-8 2/23 -- The NMC Chamber Singers & Canticum Novum Choir, 7:30-9 2/24 -- Frontier Ruckus wsg Elizabeth Landry, 7:30-9:30

THE HAYLOFT INN, TC 2/16-17 & 2/23-24 -- Tyler Gitchel's Traditional Country Show, 7:30-11 Thu -- Trent Breithaupt's Open Mic, 6

BRIDGE STREET TAP ROOM, CHARLEVOIX 2/20 -- Patrick Ryan, 7 CAFE SANTE, BOYNE CITY 2/24 -- David Lawston, 7-10

ETHANOLOGY, ELK RAPIDS 7-10: 2/17 -- Slim Pickins String Band 2/24 -- 80's Dance Party w/ DJ Franck FIRESIDE LOUNGE, BELLAIRE 6:30-9:30: 2/17 -- The Marsupials - Tai Drury 2/24 -- Clint Weaner JAX NORTHSIDE, CHARLEVOIX 2/21 -- Trivia Night, 7-9

THE GREENHOUSE - WILLOW/ PRIMOS, CADILLAC 2/17 -- Sam Cronkhite, 7-10 2/21 -- Trivia Night & Music Bingo w/ Shawny-D, 6-10 2/22 -- Karaoke Night w/ DJ

THE PUB, TC 2/17 -- One Hot Robot, 8-11 2/18 & 2/25 -- Rob Coonrod, 6-9 2/21 -- Tyler Roy, 7-10 2/24 -- Drew Hale, 8-11 THE WORKSHOP BREWING CO., TC 2/17 -- Ted Alan & the Underprivileged, 8-10 2/18 -- Comedy Open Mic, 7-9 Tue -- Open Mic Night, 7-9 Wed -- Jazz Show & Jam, 6-8 Thu -- Trivia Night, 7-8 2/23 -- Sean Kelly, 8-10 2/24 -- Pinter Whitnick, 8-10 2/25 -- TiltThink Improv Comedy Mixtape, 7-9 UNION STREET STATION, TC 2/17 -- Slow Tako, 10

LOST CELLARS, CHARLEVOIX 2/23 -- Jazz, Big Band, & Swing Night, 4-8 TORCH LAKE CAFÉ, CENTRAL LAKE Thu -- Open Mic & Nick Vasquez, 7 Fri - Sat -- Leanna Collins & Ivan Greilick, 7:30 Sun -- Trivia, 5:30; Dominic Fortuna, 6:30

Shawny-D, 7-10 2/24 -- Blacklight 80's/90's & More Dance Party Silent Disco Style, 8

Otsego, Crawford & Central ALPINE TAVERN & EATERY, GAYLORD 6-9: 2/17 -- Rick Woods 2/23 -- ZIE 2/24 -- Pete Fetters

BIG BUCK BREWERY, GAYLORD 2/23 -- Nelson Olstrom, 6

36 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

Send Nitelife to: events@traverseticker.com

THE PARLOR, TC 8-11: 2/20 -- Jesse Jefferson 2/21 -- Wink Solo 2/22 -- Luke Woltanski & John Piatek 2/23 -- Rolling Dirty Duo 2/24 -- Rhett & John

A huge part of the northern Michigan music scene, Jesse Jefferson brings his own blend of gritty soul and acoustic vibes, including rock, pop, hip-hop, country, oldies, originals and popular classics to St. Ambrose Cellars in Beulah on Feb. 17 from 5-8pm; Crystal Mountain at the Slopeside Tent, near Crystal Clipper Chairlift in Thompsonville on both Feb. 18 and 24 from 3-5pm; The Parlor in TC on Feb. 20 from 8-11pm; and North Bar in TC on Feb. 21 from 7-10pm.

Leelanau & Benzie CICCONE VINEYARD & WINERY, SUTTONS BAY 2/18 -- The North Bay Celtic Band, 2-4:30 CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, THOMPSONVILLE SLOPESIDE TENT, NEAR CRYSTAL CLIPPER CHAIRLIFT, 3-5: 2/17 -- Tim Krause 2/18 & 2/24 -- Jesse Jefferson VISTA LOUNGE: 2/17 -- Nick Vasquez, 2-5; Broom Closet Boys, 8-11 2/18 -- Levi Britton, 2-5; Jim Hawley, 8-11 2/23 -- Somebody's Sister & the Goodfellas, 8-11 2/24 -- Tim Krause, 2-5; Somebody's Sister & the Goodfellas, 8-11 DICK'S POUR HOUSE, LAKE LEELANAU Sat. -- Karaoke, 10-1 FIVE SHORES BREWING, BEULAH 6-9: 2/22 -- Trivia Night 2/23 -- Open Mic

C.R.A.V.E., GAYLORD 6-9: 2/17 -- Dan White 2/23 -- Randy Reszka 2/24 -- Brad Corpus

FRENCH VALLEY VINEYARD, CEDAR 2/19 -- Mic It Up Monday, 4-7

NORTHERN LATITUDES DISTILLERY, LAKE LEELANAU 2/24 -- Dominic Fortuna, 4:45-6:45

GLEN ARBOR WINES 2/20 -- Luke Woltanski, 5:30-8 2/24 -- Saturday Night Live Music, 7-9

ST. AMBROSE CELLARS, BEULAH 2/17 -- Jesse Jefferson, 5-8 2/22 -- Open Mic Thursdays, 6-8:30 2/23 -- Billy & The Kid, 5-8 2/24 -- Aaron Dye, 5-8

IRON FISH DISTILLERY, THOMPSONVILLE 6-8: 2/17 -- Wink 2/23 -- Tim Krause 2/24 -- J & O Junction LAKE ANN BREWING CO. 2/17 -- Silver Creek Revival, 6:309:30 2/18 -- Pat Niemisto & Chris Skellenger, 5-8 2/22 -- Trivia Night, 7-9 2/23 -- Manitou Blues, 6:30-9:30 2/24 -- Tim Jones, 6:30-9:30 LEELANAU SANDS CASINO & LODGE, PESHAWBESTOWN 2/17 -- The Lighten Up Comedy Show w/ Ron Rigby & Steven Hansen, & Host Leah Gray, 8-9:30

SHADY LANE CELLARS, SUTTONS BAY 2/23 -- Friday Night Live w/ Jeff Socia, 5-8 STORMCLOUD BREWING CO., FRANKFORT 2/17 -- Aaron Dye, 7-9 2/20 -- Storm the Mic - Open Mic Night, 6:30-8:30 2/21 -- Trivia, 7-9 2/24 -- Tai Drury, 7-9 THE HOMESTEAD RESORT, GLEN ARBOR WHISKERS BAR & GRILL: 2/17 -- Billy & The Kid, 6-9 THE RIVERSIDE INN, LELAND 2/23 -- Sarah + Aaron Ryder, 5-7

Emmet & Cheboygan

Manistee, Wexford & Missaukee NORTHERN NATURAL CIDER HOUSE & WINERY, KALEVA 2/17 -- Cheryl Wolfram, 6-8

edited by jamie kauffold

THE LITTLE FLEET, TC 2/17 -- Biggie Moll's Dance Party, 8-11

Antrim & Charlevoix BOYNE CITY TAP ROOM 7-9: 2/17 -- Adam Engelman & Patrick Ryan 2/22 -- Adam & The Cabana Boys Fri -- Patrick Ryan & Josh Raber 2/24 -- Patrick Ryan

nitelife

FEb 17- FEb 25

BOYNE VALLEY VINEYARDS, PETOSKEY 2-6: 2/17 -- Michelle Chenard 2/24 -- Chris Calleja

NOGGIN ROOM PUB, PETOSKEY 2/17 -- Michelle Chenard, 7-10 2/21 -- PubStumper's Trivia, 6:30 2/23 -- Donald Benjamin, 7-10 2/24 -- Sydni K, 7-10

CITY PARK GRILL, PETOSKEY 2/17 -- CIRCUIT Electronic Dance Party w/ DJs ClarkAfterDark & Franck, 9 Tue -- Trivia Night, 7-9 2/23 -- Annex Karaoke, 9:30

ODAWA CASINO RESORT, PETOSKEY OVATION HALL: 2/17 -- Fuel, 8 VICTORIES: 2/23 -- Lavender Lions, 9

MAMMOTH DISTILLING, BAY HARBOR 2/22 -- Trivia, 7-9

POND HILL FARM, HARBOR SPRINGS 5-8: 2/17 -- Underleaf Band

2/24 -- Two Track Mind THE BEAU, CHEBOYGAN 2/17 -- Dale Rieger & The Iconics, 8 2/22 -- Musicians Playground ‘Open Mic,’ 7 2/23 -- Ahab and the Smelt Dippers, 8 2/24 -- Lori Cleland, 7-11 THE HIGHLANDS AT HARBOR SPRINGS SLOPESIDE LOUNGE: 2/21 -- Nelson Olstrom, 6-9 ZOO BAR CANTINA: 2/17 -- Jelly Roll Blues Band, 4:30

“Jonesin” Crosswords "I Remember That!"--returning the favor. by Matt Jones ACROSS 1. Ceremonial act 5. Angry 8. Toy manufacturer in a 2023 movie 14. Even, to Yvette 15. Sugary suffix 16. Kay Thompson's Plaza Hotel girl 17. Effect of ongoing muscle strain, maybe 19. Gas station brand 20. "God giveth, and the DMV ___ away" (memorable line from 1988's "License to Drive") 21. Skirt length 22. "Can I buy ___?" (request to Graham Norton on the U.K.'s "Wheel of Fortune") 23. Soda concoction that's not quite cream soda 29. Clothing 31. LAX postings 32. Prepared 33. Seal-hunting swimmers 36. Corned beef dishes 39. Business with wholly owned subsidiaries 43. Medium setting?

44. Alphabetically last Marx brother 45. "32 Flavors" singer DiFranco 46. World of Warcraft beginner, perhaps 48. Clean (up) 52. Description that spares no detail 57. Teachers' org.

58. Number after sieben 59. Magic Johnson's real first name 61. Sly question of confirmation 64. Repeat reference, or what the long theme answers demonstrate 66. Longtime Vogue photographer Richard 67. "Beds Are Burning" band Midnight ___ 68. Inkling 69. Fit in 70. Thirsty 71. MirÛ Museum architect Jose Luis ___ DOWN 1. Item for a markdown sale

2. Baja lizard 3. Chatterbox 4. Magazine with a palindromic name 5. Coffeehouse order 6. Mt. St. Helens output (which I was around for) 7. "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" duettist Kiki 8. High school class with basic welding 9. Echo responder 10. 2004 Britney Spears single 11. Tamera's "Sister, Sister" sister 12. "Cancel" PC key 13. Summer sign 18. Dirt bike's cousin 21. Gp. that publishes a scholarly style manual 24. "Snow Crash" novelist Stephenson 25. "Crazy stuff going on here" 26. Workplace-monitoring gp.

27. Sharp 28. Crafter's website 30. Word before yesterday 34. "Parks & ___" 35. Closing into a fist 37. Guitar intensifier 38. Identify 39. Academy in Colorado, briefly 40. Handout at a restaurant 41. Leave abruptly 42. "From Peru to ___ ..." (line from Enya's "Orinoco Flow") 47. 10 of 12, for short 49. Intrude upon 50. Airport winter need 51. Pull vigorously on 53. "Star Wars" character Calrissian 54. Respond to, as an order 55. "Hot in Herre" rapper 56. "QuÈ ___?" ("How's it going?")

60. Baseball card stats 61. The Last ___ ("Hot Ones" closing sauce, usually) 62. Suffix for reflect or reflex 63. Improv comedy pioneer ___ Close 64. Fish and chips fish 65. Show on television

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PAID PART TIME JOB TRAINING FOR SENIORS 55+: Paid Part-Time Job Training in Grand Traverse, Antrim, Benzie, Kalkaska and Emmet counties. Applicants must be age 55 and over, unemployed and seeking work and meet income guidelines. Position available in Reception and Clerical Support, Cashier, Sort-Stock, Food Prep-Servers, Custodial. To learn more call the AARP Foundation SCSEP office at 231-252-4544. ___________________________________

LEELANAU CONSERVANCY IS HIRING A NEW MAJOR GIFTS OFFICER We are growing! Put your passion for the environment and building relationships to work! See our website for full details and application instructions. Apply by March 8, 2024. https:// leelanauconservancy.org/about-us/work/

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38 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly

Mike Annelin Enthusiastic & Experienced

231-499-4249 | 231-929-7900

VACANT LAND NT A C VA

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A Golfers Dream! One of the best locations on The Bear golf course. Enjoy great views and a private setting at this golf course lot with views over holes 10 & 11 in Arrowhead Estates.

Lot #25 Arrowhead Circle • MLS# 1915996 • $75,000

Northern Express Weekly • february 19, 2024 • 39

40 • february 19, 2024 • Northern Express Weekly