Costco Coming to Marquette, a New Sentinels Controversy, a Scorching Summer, an Unpopular Beach Proposal, a New Landfill, and a Cannabis Megastore

The Latest from Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell

A DREAM COME true, sort of…Costco is coming to Marquette. Actually, it’s Costco Limited, a brand new line of truncated stores that Costco is rolling out later this year in twelve midsized towns across the U.S., including Marquette…The average Costco store is 146,000 square feet, while the new Costco Limited stores will average only about 38,000 square feet. Smaller, with less inventory…No electronics, no furniture, no wine, a more modest food selection…“No, we won’t be offering the massive inventory in these new stores that our Costco customers have come to expect,” says Lou Zurr, the VP for Costco Development, “but it’ll be the same Costco experience that we all love, at slightly elevated prices.” Zurr estimates the Costco Limited prices to be about 8% higher than regular Costco prices.

Costco has a purchase agreement on a property just outside the city limits.

WELL, THIS IS something we didn’t need. The Farmville Independent School District of Farmville, Iowa is threatening a lawsuit against the Marquette Area Public School District over the newly anointed nickname of Marquette Senior High School—the Sentinels. Turns out, Farmville High School has been the Sentinels for the last 74 years, and administrators claim to have a trademark on the name…“We’ve just been apprised of this development in Marquette, Michigan,” says Stu Pidmess, the attorney for the Farmville District, “and needless to say, we’re upset. We’ll pursue every legal action to protect our Sentinels name.” No response yet from MAPS officials, who are already dealing with a local trademark issue.

LOOKS LIKE THERE’S competition for those soon-to-be cleared 23 acres of the old hospital campus. A Japanese firm, Hitotarashi Enterprises, says it’s preparing a bid to locate a computer assembly plant on the property along with housing for as many as 300 of the company’s employees…The plan until now, of course, has been to build a large housing and mixed use development on the property. It’s uncertain what happens next…Hitotarashi has manufacturing plants on four continents, with assets totaling more than $29 billion…We’ve contacted a spokesman for Hitotarashi, Sam Yureye; he issued a “no comment” for now but says the company will have an announcement within two months.

IT COULD BE a summer to remember. The highly regarded French meteorological institute, Agence du Climat Canular, is projecting that the Upper Great Lakes will experience 25 days of 32 degrees Celsius (90 degrees Fahrenheit) and above this summer, and at least five days topping 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit)…“This summer in the Upper Midwest will be a…how do you Americans say?…a scorcher!” says meteorologist Dr. Amelie Blague, who won the Nobel Prize for Science in 2014.

PAYING FOR ACCESS to our beaches? It’s certainly not a popular concept, but Heavenly Tides Inc., a consulting group out of California, is planning to make just such a pitch to the City Commission next month…The idea, which frankly seems almost unworkable, would require an entry fee (likely $2) to the beaches, while also providing amenities along the shore, namely snack kiosks, chairs, umbrellas, and paddle boards…“It may not be popular at first,” says Liza Lott, the CEO of the Heavenly Tides, “and we understand that. But, trust me, residents and tourists will come to love it, and the cities, with the licensing fees we’ll pay, will love it because it fills their coffers with additional revenue.” Heavenly Tides has opened up similar pay-for-entry beaches in Delaware, New Jersey, and North Carolina in the last three years.

PLANS UNDERWAY FOR a new landfill in Chocolay Township…ResponTrash, which operates eight landfills downstate, has applied for a permit to locate a fourteen-acre landfill in Chocolay. The landfill, according to the application, would accept and bury conventional garbage—no medications, no electronics, nothing toxic—from downstate Michigan, Wisconsin, and Canada…“We are a highly respected, long- established business with a stellar safety record,” ResponTrash COO Ross Oowidge assured us on the phone. “We will be a model corporate citizen.”…Dunno, seems like there might be some pushback on this.

SO, YOU’RE THINKING we might already have too many cannabis stores in Marquette County? Think again. A new megastore is hoping to open its doors in Negaunee by Fall. It’ll be called GreenTopia, the brainchild of 27-year-old Lars Senney, who proclaims himself a proud Harvard dropout…It’ll offer not only a 7500 square foot supermarket of cannabis products, but also a cannabis cafe, a bar and lounge for those who prefer liquor, a lottery counter, a bitcoin exchange, and, if approved by city authorities, a separate room for exotic dancers…“You give people what they want,” Senney says. “It’s all market-driven.” Senney is reported to have a net worth of $125 million.

SOMETHING NEW FOR NMU students this Fall. Scholar-in-Residence, Dr. Abe Lowehard (PhD, Bob Jones University), will be teaching three new courses—one undergraduate class, and two graduate seminars—on former President Trump. The undergrad class, “Donald J. Trump: a Lasting Legacy” will cover the domestic and foreign policy record of Trump while he was in office from 2017 to 2021…The graduate seminars will focus on his methods of political persuasion…“No matter whether you agree or disagree with Mr. Trump,” Lowehard explained to us, “you have to admit he’s had a profound effect on America. We need to study him.”…At last report, 69 students had already pre-registered for the undergraduate course.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.”
― Mark Twain