June 2020 Issue

Loaded Questions: Local leaders mull over summer 2020 scenarios

By Craig Manning

What a difference a year makes.

Last year at this time, the big issues facing Traverse City as the summer season approached were low unemployment rates and the resulting labor shortage at local hotels, the possible disruptions posed by road construction on Eighth Street, the rise of Airbnb in the region, and the arrival of Ironman.

Today, unemployment rates across the country are nearing record highs, businesses are facing existential threats much greater than any road construction project, Airbnb rentals are temporarily banned, and Ironman’s return to Traverse City is in question.

COVID-19 has left earth-shaking implications in its wake, …

The Soul of an Entrepreneur: Work and Life Beyond the Startup Myth

By Chris Wendel

By David Sax

Published by Hatchett Book Group, April 21, 2020; 320 pages; hardcover, $28

Reviewed by Chris Wendel

In a nutshell: The way entrepreneurship is viewed in today’s popular culture and what is really happening in the world are two different things.

Who's it for? Broad audiences.

Author’s note: “When I first began thinking about this book, I wanted to focus on what it meant to be an entrepreneur. Not in an economic sense …

Retirement Planner to Radio Star: Sound advice, on-air warmth hook Dennis Prout's listeners

By Lynn Geiger

Dennis Prout, Shea Petaja and Heidi Thompson. Photo by Michael Poehlman Photography

Every week, Dennis Prout hops behind a microphone at WTCM in downtown Traverse City for New Retirement Radio, a one-hour program on NewsTalk 580 that’s made him a little bit famous.

Undoubtedly a pioneer in retirement radio when he first hit the local airwaves back in 2005, Prout has created a bit of a cult following – people planning for, or living out, …

Banks, credit unions scramble to help clients in wake of pandemic closures

By Rick Haglund

Healthy Start Child Care has been providing much-needed day care for families in the Traverse City area for a quarter of a century.

But the coronavirus epidemic, which prompted Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to order the temporary closure of most day care operations, threatened to shut the doors of owner Alison Burns’ business for good.

Alison Burns, who employs three child-care workers, obtained a $13,000 SBA Paycheck Protection Program loan through Honor Bank.

“It wasn’t a …

Reopening Your Business: Implementing required COVID-19 mitigation measures

The northern Michigan regions are the first regions in Michigan to be granted broader permission to reopen businesses due to their low numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths, as compared with other Michigan regions.

This welcome news for business owners and employees comes amidst several grim statistics: The U.S. recently …

By Lindsay Raymond

Striking It Rich: Oil and vinegar tasting rooms were scarce, but Jim Milligan took the plunge

By Craig Manning

In Hot Pursuit: Promethient inks vehicle seating deal with OEM for launch in July

By Craig Manning

Ground Breaking: Commongrounds construction on Eighth St. slated for late summer

By Ross Boissoneau

Sharing the Weight: As shutdown lifts, our region will lead by example

As difficult at the COVID-19 crisis has been, there are many silver linings across the region from our great local business retooling to the army of volunteer mask makers.

Close community collaboration has been one of the clear and welcome bright spots amidst the challenges. This regional teamwork has helped …

By Warren Call

Playing It Safe: Businesses prepare for summer season unlike any other

By Amy Lane

Letting Go of Normal

I have the honor of owning a 1915 Ford Model T that was delivered new that year to its first owner in Traverse City. It is painted black (the only color Ford offered back then) and it has the last of the brass radiators that Ford put on Model Ts. …

By McKeel Hagerty

PAST ISSUES

View this Issue in Archives