Blakely’s Goodbye, TV6’s Black Eye, Facebook Hysteria, Erickson’s Surprising Exit, and a Long-Hauler’s Gradual Recovery

The Latest From Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell

THE ME TOO movement converges with the Anti-Vax movement. A strange pairing, but that’s what we have with the super-hyped resignation of TV6 anchor Sarah Blakely….Her lengthy Facebook post cited the station’s vaccine mandate, and alleged sexual harassment by a former employee as reasons for her leaving…More important, she felt that the station didn’t react firmly and quickly enough to the harassment.

“I’d like to just lay low and rest for a while,” Blakely says, now that the Facebook-generated sensationalism has died down. Word is, she’s staying in town and has found another job here….No surprise—she’s talented and popular, and seemingly comfortable in the UP.

WLUC GM RICK Rhoades is also lying low in the aftermath of the crisis. A boilerplate response from the station mentioned taking employee concerns seriously and maintaining a positive and inclusive workplace, but not much more…Officially, no further comment. No reason to keep stirring the pot.

Especially with gaping holes in your anchor lineup. Namely, three news anchors (Blakely, Elyse Chengery, and Shawn Householder) suddenly gone, along with chief meteorologist Karl Bohnak…Also with a clearly shaken and confused news staff. News director Andrew LaCombe, by all accounts, is handling the ship calmly and sensitively amid stormy seas.

AND HERE’S THE thing. Despite all the Facebook hysteria—“I’ll never watch that station again!!!”—TV6’s news ratings will remain dominant…Their newscasts generally draw at least ten times the audience of the other stations, and losing anchors will not change that long term…Why? Because the station devotes so much more money, time, resources, and personnel to the news than its competitors. It’s not even close.

Like all black eyes, this one suffered by TV6 will fade over time. 

AND YET ANOTHER local institution—NMU—in the unflattering spotlight. President Fritz Erickson out after seven years. Fired by a unanimous Board. Shocking that he didn’t have even a single ally at the end….Reasons cited were poor communication with the Board, and lack of bold leadership. The pandemic may have played a part, too: the Board reportedly wanted a vaccine mandate. Erickson did not….Rumors had circulated for the last few weeks that he was on thin ice. Reportedly, though, he remains in an upbeat mood, and plans to take a sabbatical, then return to NMU and teach.

FINANCIAL ADVISOR MARK Aho is one of those COVID “long-haulers” but he’s finally, thankfully, feeling almost normal. He contracted COVID last November—“It hit me like a train.”…He was hospitalized for days, lost 25 pounds, had trouble breathing, could hardly move, contracted viral pneumonia, truly wondered whether he’d make it…He did, barely, left the hospital, went to Florida, learned how to walk again….And now ten months after being stricken, he still has reduced lung capacity and can’t smell or taste anything…but he finally feels almost like his old self. He’s grateful.

THE LATEST REDISTRICTING plan put out by the non-partisan commission can’t be good news for any prospective candidates in the First Congressional District (Bergman’s district). The reconfigured boundary, of course, includes the entire UP, but also extends far, far south toward Flint…Nearly half of the state, it seems, will comprise the First District….That will make for expensive and exhausting campaigning.

APPARENTLY, YOU CAN have too many coffee shops, after all. Café Allenatore on Third Street has shut down…It was billed as a European coffee shop—dark, quiet, casual—and featured a remarkable assortment of coffees and delicious crepes, and Google reviews gave it five stars…but it never captured a broad customer base….Oh well. There are a few other options in town.

COGNITION BREWERY WON’T be opening on Third Street this year. Various delays are the reason, says owner Jay Clancy. Sometime early next year is likely…Clancy’s still embroiled in a nasty legal dispute with the landlady at his now closed-down Cognition brewery in Ishpeming…. “We’d like to stay there,” he says, “but we’ll never do it with the current owner.”

MARQUETTE’S YOUNGEST CITY Commissioner, Evan Bonsall (“I’ll be 25 in October!”) has gotten married….It’s about time. He and his wife, Aubrie, have known each other since they were in fourth grade, and have dated since eighth grade…. “We’re at a stable time in our lives,” he explains, “and it made sense to get married.” She’s working toward a doctorate in music, he’s getting a Masters in education…They plan to stay in Marquette.

OH WAIT!!! WE forgot to mention their honeymoon! Was it Bermuda? Cancun? Paris? Hawaii? N-n-n-n-no…It was actually a two-destination honeymoon---Republic and Ontonogan….Yeah, they’re Yoopers, and we’re thrilled that they’re choosing to make this their home.

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