Election Signs Stolen, Craft Brewery Boom Slowed, Another "Lost Winter"?, the Latest on Westwood Mall and WE Energies Site, NMU Freshman Numbers, and an Unconventional Health Fair

The Latest from Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell

IT’S THAT TIME of year—pulling down the campaign signs of candidates you’re opposed to…“We’ve submitted charges against a couple of individuals,” says Marquette Police Chief Ryan Grim. “It ramps up almost every election year around this time. We can’t wait for the next ten days to be over with.”…Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt shares the sentiment. “It’s worse than I’ve ever seen before an election, and it’s been on both sides.”…So how are the miscreants being caught, since most of the mischief mostly occurs at night? With mounted cameras around houses and businesses…Seriously, does anybody truly think that removing a few candidates’ signs is going to change an election result?

FOR THE PAST five years, we’ve been hearing that the craft beer boom has faded, and in fact, more than 400 craft breweries nationwide have closed in the last year. But nearly 500 new ones have also opened…So, maybe the “boom” is over, but the industry is still alive and well…In Marquette, more than ever.

Evidence? Look at the huge expansions currently underway at the two craft brewing heavyweights in Marquette—Blackrocks Brewery and the Ore Dock Brewing Company…Both expansions will have a major impact on the look and feel of their neighborhoods—while also selling more beer to their customers…But it’s much more than that: Both breweries have become popular gathering spots, music venues, and hosts for important events in a community that needs and loves togetherness.

AS THE FALL colors fade and we get ready for that first real snowfall, we’re wondering whether we’ll be having another “winter that never was,” like last year…“We’re not expecting what we had last year,” NWS forecaster Greg Michels assures us. “Last year was abnormal. But what we do expect is that this year will be slightly wetter and slightly warmer than average.” We will see those customary major swings in temperatures this winter—like some “below zero” days, according to Michels…By the way, last year’s winter in the UP was unprecedented in modern times; you have to go all the way back to 1878 to find anything comparable.

FOLKS ARE STILL leaving the state of Michigan. According to Bridge Michigan, 155,000 Michiganders moved out of the state, while 135,000 moved in—a net loss of 20,000. Not only that, but we had more deaths in the state than births…Where are people moving to? Florida, of course, but also Ohio and Texas…

And yet we know some friends who left Michigan a few years ago for the warmth and carefree lifestyle of Florida…only to decide, after three harrowing hurricanes in two years, to return home. Better to be bundled up next to the fireplace in your cozy living room every Winter, than to be fleeing hurricanes and tornados every Summer and Fall…You gotta wonder whether the hurricanes will finally put a damper on the ever-escalating real estate prices in Florida.

A DEAL TO buy the troubled and partially vacant Westwood Mall is still simmering…Nothing definite yet. A local buyer is involved, which is great news—a vast improvement over the current absentee owner…Merchants and shoppers are anxiously awaiting and hoping for good news.

MEANTIME, IT’S UNCERTAIN what lies ahead for the former We Energies site out by Presque Isle…It’s been purchased by a local firm out of Ishpeming, but our attempt to contact them about their plans for the site hasn’t been successful. We’ll keep trying…Dennis Stachewicz, Marquette’s Director of Planning and Community Development, tells us a Michigan Tech student wants to conduct a solar farm study at the site…No word yet on whether that will happen.

COLLEGE FRESHMAN ENROLLMENT declined by 5% this year, according to The New York Times. That’s the largest decline in the last few years…Much of the drop-off last year was attributed to the lengthy delays in getting the FAFSA forms (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) approved…“The FAFSA definitely had an effect on the process last year,” says Derek Hall, the Chief Marketing Officer at NMU. “Students were in limbo a long time.” Still, NMU managed to defy the national trend, increasing its freshman enrollment by 1% over the previous year…NMU’s big on recruiting these days—three full-time recruiters focusing on the East Coast, the South, and the West Coast.

How’d the other Michigan universities do with freshman enrollment? Michigan State was up 3%, but U of M was down 2.5%…Michigan Tech was down 6%…and Lake State was down 3.5%.

LOCAL NEWSPAPERS ARE disappearing. It’s a continuing and troubling trend…Last year in the U.S., 127 newspapers closed up shop. We’ve lost 33% of our newspapers since 2005…Small, rural communities in “news deserts” are suffering the most…Sure, digital outlets such Word on the Street, Rural Insights, and Man About Town can help but they’re small, mostly one-person operations that post weekly at best…We need much more. TV stations with robust websites (like WLUC) are also trying to fill the void…But regular, probing, comprehensive local journalism is becoming a rare breed…Instead, we are subjected to a daily barrage of lazy, ill-informed, highly opinionated posts online and in social media that do little but sow discord and confusion.

IF YOU’RE NOT big fan of conventional Western medicine, we’ve got just the spot for you. The Second Annual Marquette Holistic Health Fair at NMU is coming up November 16th…Don’t expect vaccinations, medical prescriptions, blood draws, or Xrays when you attend…Nope, but what you will find is massage therapy, energy work, tarot readings, mental health therapy dogs, biofield tuning, hypnotherapy, sex and menopause therapy, healthful teas, astrology readings…and much, much more…We’re kinda guessing here, but we don’t expect Tonya Darner, the CEO of UPHS Marquette, to be attending.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The art of medicine consists of amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.”

-- Voltaire.