Late Night Sandwich Shop to Open, Shoreline Restoration to Start, "Lost Winter" Relief, Population Climbing, Our Champion Sports Teams, Golf Course in Great Shape, and Our Kids' Cell Phone Addiction

The Latest from Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell

FINALLY! THAT LATE-night sandwich shop downtown will be opening its doors on Wednesday…It’s called Sandos Eatery, located in the old Rotations spot, just off of Washington on Third Street. The equipment’s in, the permits are set, the menu’s being fine-tuned…“We’ve been cooking like crazy for the last three weeks, getting ready,” says Ross Mulder, one of the three partners in the business. He says that, for weeks, people have been stopping by asking, “When are you gonna open up?”

Well, Wednesday at 10 am is the answer. The schedule will have them open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am to 11 pm, except for Friday and Saturday when they’ll be serving customers until 3 am. Yep, 3 am…The menu? Sandwiches, including a cheesesteak and chicken parm, fancy burritos, hot dogs, sausages and soup…Something to satisfy the late night and early morning munchies.

EXPECT TO SEE activity soon on that huge shoreline restoration project along Lakeshore Boulevard between Hawley and Pine Streets…It’s a big deal—$6 million worth, funded by a National Fish and Wildlife Federation grant and a city bond issue...“The point of it is to restore the land to its natural state while also preventing further erosion of the shoreline,” says Dennis Stachewicz, the city’s director of community development…The project will bolster the shoreline with a cobblestone, sloped revetment, while also providing plantings, pathways, and natural viewing spots for the public. Most of the project should be completed by this Fall.

ENROLLMENT IN MARQUETTE public schools continues to drop slightly—down just over 1% since 2019 to 3228 students…The statistics are provided by Bridge Michigan...The decline in public school enrollment is a statewide phenomenon, with Michigan losing nearly 78,000 students in the last few years…The one exception to the trend: Publicly-funded charter schools are gaining. They now make up nearly 11% of the public school students statewide.

ON THE OTHER hand, the population of Marquette County is climbing—up 1.5% since 2020 to 67,000…The newcomers, interestingly, include 78 people from other countries. Who knew? We’re becoming an international hotspot!…Alger County was down about 1%, Baraga was up almost 2%, and Houghton County was up nearly 1%…The pattern statewide? People are moving out of southeast Michigan, and into northern Michigan.

THE “LOST WINTER” update: Governor Whitmer has urged small businesses affected by the lack of snow over the last few months to apply to apply for federal funding from the Small Business Administration…Businesses in 42 counties in the UP and northern Michigan are eligible…So, what’s happening here? “We haven’t heard of anybody applying for relief downtown,” says Tara Laase-McKinney, the executive director of the Downtown Development Authority. Travel Marquette CEO Susan Estler concurs: “I don’t know of anyone in particular who’s taking advantage of relief funding.” It appears that business downtown this winter was slow, but not abnormally so.

And Marquette Mountain, which just wrapped up its shortened and challenging skiing and snowboarding season? Our attempts to get an update on the season and possible relief from the state have been unsuccessful so far.

A DIFFERENT STORY at the Marquette Golf Club…“What we see right now is really good,” says course superintendent Craig Moore, even after the most recent snowfall. “Winter kill on turf can be very complex but we’re seeing no major damage on the two courses. Of course, we’re not out of it yet.”…Still, for late March, Greywalls and Heritage have never really looked better, and late Springtime golf is looking promising. So, that means the courses are opening up next week? Uhh, that would be a big NO.

A BIG CHANGE in the real estate industry—the National Association of Realtors agreed to a settlement that effectively ends the standard 6% commission on sales…Fees will become competitive, the costs of buying and selling a house will likely go down…“Change can be painful,” concedes veteran RE/MAX broker Terry Huffman, “and it’ll change the way we do business as far as disclosure, but we’ll adjust. We always do.”…Huffman expects that less experienced agents might have to accept lower commissions, and fewer people might consider getting into the real estate business, as a result of the ruling.

AHH, THE JOYS of youthful competition and success. Astounding success! Congratulations to the Ishpeming High School girls basketball team, who won the D4 state championship with an emphatic 73-54 win over Kingston over the weekend…In hockey, it was the Bantams U14 team that claimed a championship. Now, on to the Nationals in Amherst, NY early next month…

NO SURPRISE HERE…We’re becoming…uhh…larger. The rates of obesity in the world and the U.S have more than doubled in the last three decades, according to Lancet, the esteemed medical journal…19% of women and 14% of men worldwide are now classified as obese…And it’s much worse in the U.S. More than 40% of us adults are obese, and 20% of our kids are classified as obese. Yes, some of us suffer from medical issues causing obesity, but for most of us, the culprits are lifestyle and our appetite for unhealthy foods.

A personal note: we recently returned from Southeast Asia where the people, almost without exception, were lean. Upon returning to an American airport, we found ourselves amidst large…in many cases, very large…people. It was a little unsettling. We’ve come to accept our protruding bellies as normal and healthy. And they’re not.

AND FINALLY THIS, from Todd Poquette, the brains and brawn behind the ever-expanding 906 Adventure Team…He and his wife have been dealing with their 13-year-old son obsessed with his cellphone. Couldn’t get the boy off his phone, couldn’t get him to engage with his family…So, as good, caring parents, what do you do? Nothing?

Poquette picks up the story: “Well, a month ago, I had enough and said it was time to take a break. He hasn’t had a phone for a month and a half. This is where it gets interesting. He doesn’t want it back. He told me he feels different (better)—less distracted and more focused…He’s not on edge, or anxious. He’s happier. He spends more time with us. It’s a night and day difference…”

Of course, not every parent will find the same result, but it is encouraging. Kids are smarter than we think, and some will be able to break their addiction…For their sake, and for ours, let’s hope so.

POEM OF THE WEEK

Family Tree

It seems strange to me
That a family tree is drawn from the top of the page.
Instead, draw mine with roots deeply planted in firm ground
Like forefathers, whose stories retold,
Nourish us.
Draw the trunk giving support and power,
Strongly branching out
So that young shoots can reach high
And buds,
Some yet unfurled,
May catch dreams in sunlight.

—Alison Jean Thomas