Camp Cannabis Preps, Airbnb Threat, Crazy Ideas That Worked, Tech Success in Marquette, No Union at Swick, and an Assassination Text
The Latest from Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell
THIS IS A big deal…Camp Cannabis next weekend, October 7th and 8th…A two-day concert and camp-in at Tourist Park sponsored by The Fire Station with 40 bands (including big names Sublime with Rome, and The Floozies) on three stages…Yes, cannabis will be smoked and consumed freely at the festival site, and, for the more conventional types, you’ll have two beer gardens where you can imbibe…Between 3000 and 4000 people expected to attend.
A huge and risky investment by the Fire Station folks because of all the costs involved, the planning required, and the unpredictable UP weather in October… “Yeah, we could lose money,” admits Fire Station co-owner Logan Stauber. “We’re keeping our fingers crossed on the weather, but we just want everything to go off without a hitch.”…Campsites are sold out, but day passes are still available.
“WE HAVE NO serious concerns,” says City Manager Karen Kovacs of Camp Cannabis, which is being staged on city property. “The people at the Fire Station have been involved in every step along the way, and they’re very responsible.”
REGARDING THE RECENT rejection of a Hilton hotel on Lakeshore Boulevard, Kovacs will simply say the public process worked: the Planning Commission listened to both sides, and made their decision… “There’s going to be development in Marquette,” she says, “but it has to be the right development.”….She is concerned about proposed legislation in Lansing that could open up far more homes and apartments to short term rentals (VRBO, Airbnb). The city’s current ordinance limits those rentals to 250…If hundreds more are allowed, neighborhoods could be radically changed. The character of Marquette could be degraded.
Of extreme interest to Kovacs and the city is the design of a new Community Master Plan, now underway…The Planning Commission is guiding the process, but all city departments and residents can play a part in forging the document which will essentially determine how the city will look and operate over the next several years…Should be completed by next year.
PROGRESS ON THE former hospital/NMU/Veridea front…The NMU Foundation, after due diligence, has agreed to buy the 23 acre property from LifePoint (the hospital owner)….Interior demolition of the buildings expected to begin this winter, exterior demolition starts next spring…Uncertain whether the large parking structure will remain for future use or be razed.
Yet to come is an actual, written contract between the NMU Foundation and Veridea, the expected developer of the property…Also yet to come is certainty about what type of housing will be built at the site and how much the units might cost… “We’ve heard loud and clear from the community that there is a demand for housing across a wide spectrum,” says Dave Nyberg, the NMU Foundation’s executive director of business engagement...Actually, what we’ve mostly heard is a loud and clear demand for “affordable” housing—the kind that regular, hard-working people in regular jobs can afford.
IT STARTED WITH an idea, a lofty vision, a hope…and now the Fresh Coast Film Festival is getting ready for its sixth annual event…October 13th-16th…82 documentary films about the great outdoors, with 50% of them dealing with the Great Lakes… “We’re on par or above with ticket sales,” says festival co-founder Bugsy Sailor, “but we’re looking to sell more, and get more volunteers…” It opens Thursday, October 13th, under a big tent at the Lower Harbor.
ANOTHER CRAZY IDEA… “When we first mentioned it, everybody around here said it’s stupid. It’s never gonna work.” The words of Todd Poquette, one of the co-founders of the Marji Gesick, the sadistic 100 mile bike endurance race that he and others started back in 2015…100 masochistic bikers took up the challenge that first year over the most challenging terrain that Marquette County has to offer: huge climbs in elevation, frightening drops, rocks, boulders, trees, roots, darkness, with no established relief stations…Spring forward to the recently completed 2022 Marji Gesick, now offering several tough races for both bikers and runners, and you had 1300 masochists entered…That’s an unqualified success.
Those guys and gals who create something out of nothing? Something for the good of the community (Think Nheena Ittner and the Children’s Museum)? Aren’t those the people we should admire the most?
IMPRESSIVE…KALL MORRIS INC, a research and development firm based in Marquette County, has just landed $750,000 in contracts from the Space Force’s Orbital Prime program…The technology involves removing debris from space…These first contracts will determine whether Kall Morris’s technology is feasible…If it is, they would then move on to prototypes—and much bigger and more lucrative contracts…
The three partners in the business are Adam Kall, Austin Morris, and Troy Morris…They met at NMU where they started talking about space…In 2019, they formed their business. Now, three years later, they’re catching a glimpse of the bigtime…So, is it tough to do tech in the UP? “With talent and technology, no. We have it here,” says Troy Morris. “With travel, yes.”…Amen.
A UNION AT Swick Home Services?...Looks like No. “We had enough votes to hold an election,” claims Dean Gutzman, the business agent for UP Plumbers and Pipefitters, “but not enough to win.” They would have needed more than 50% of the employees voting Yes to form the union…Our attempt to get a response from Swick failed, but previously, Swick owner Rick Gilles had said support for a union among his employees was minimal.
A SIGN OF our toxic times…An assassination threat against District One Congressional candidate Bob Lorinser…The texted threat: “I am going to assassinate Dr. Bob Lorinser during this event (in Elk Rapids) using a Remington .270 rifle from the rooftop of a nearby building…” The alleged perpetrator has been questioned, authorities are investigating…Yeah, it’s easy for the rest of us to say, “Oh, that was nothing. If it was serious, the guy wouldn’t have said where and when he was going to do it.”…It’s easy to dismiss it unless you, yourself, are the possible target...Then it gives you pause, hinders your sleep, makes you wonder every time you walk out in public.
THEY LOOK INVITING—those two new piers just south of the ore dock…They were funded by Brownfield dollars…Trees and landscaping are in, also sails to provide shade on the southern pier…Eventually, there’ll be a kayak launch on the northern pier, and events on the southern pier…Benches arriving soon…No bikes, no motorized vehicles allowed, just leisurely walking, sitting, and gazing…Jon Swenson, the city’s Director of Community Services, says we’ll all be able to venture out onto the piers in about two weeks.
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