Marquette’s Most Influential People

The Latest from Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell

IT’S NOT AN easy task selecting Marquette’s most influential persons, and of course, it’s highly subjective. First of all, what exactly is meant by “influence”? For our purposes, we’ve defined it as having an impact on others—on their lives, their circumstances, their thoughts, their futures.

We solicited input from many others in the Marquette community, and, exercising editorial judgment, we ultimately came up with nine candidates—six individuals and three duos.

A few observations:

1…We were looking for people who are still intimately involved in Marquette, not simply those who have made all their contributions in the past.

2…We wanted to include an artist, artisan or cultural leader, but ultimately decided that, despite their admirable attributes, none of them, at least at this point, is exerting a broad enough influence on the rest of us. That’s more a statement about us, perhaps, than about them.

3…We thought that one of the “influencers” would likely be involved in the traditional or new media. Again, we didn’t find that person, at least not yet.

4…You’ll notice that some big names at big institutions and big companies are missing from this list. It’s not intentional; it’s just that we feel “influence” means something much more than hiring lots of people or overseeing a large staff.

With that, here are our Most Influential People, in strictly random order.

Bob Mahaney

He’s the president and founder of the Veridea Group which built Liberty Way, its flagship development, several years ago. It consists of an office building, the UP Health Plan building, and the Staybridge Suites, a 102 unit hotel. The attractive development greatly enhanced the neighborhood on West Washington Street. 

Veridea is also responsible for the upscale Harbor Vista apartments on US 41, south of downtown, and most recently, it undertook a major renovation of the languishing Kaufman Block downtown. Occupancy has skyrocketed since the redo.

Next up for Mahaney and Veridea is Hemlock Park, a new mid-priced subdivision by Marquette Mountain. But the big project that has garnered the most attention is the 23-acre property where the old hospital now sits; if all goes as expected, Veridea will transform that tract into an expansive, much-needed residential neighborhood.

Mahaney also helped found Invest UP and the Noquemanon Trail Network. And he recently served eight years as an NMU Board member. He’s truly a Marquette heavyweight.

Michele Butler

Back in the 90s, she saw Marquette children with nothing to do and nowhere to go for activities. It was a problem in need of a solution, and she found one: she became a major force in starting the YMCA in Marquette. She was the founding CEO of the organization.

When the Y ran into serious financial problems several years ago, she re-entered the picture, and helped engineer the Y out of bankruptcy. Now, her major focus is on raising funds for a much-needed fieldhouse for the Y—a place where kids can play sports when its bitterly cold and snowy outside.

On behalf of her deceased partner, Clark Lambros, she donated a large piece of beachfront property a few years ago and helped obtain a DNR grant to create the Lambros Beach Park.

She was also part of a team of golfers who helped the Marquette Golf Club escape from financial straits a few years ago. Over the years, she has given dollars, manpower, and resources to innumerable causes. And as the primary partner at Vango’s Pizza and Cocktail Lounge, one of Marquette’s venerable institutions, she has mentored hundreds of young people in business and job skills. And, amazingly, she still puts in hours in Vango’s kitchen.

Stosh Wasik and Logan Stauber

They are the co-owners and co-founders of the Fire Station Cannabis Company. Back in 2019, Wasik and Stauber, both NMU graduates, converted a former car dealership west of Marquette into the UP’s first recreational marijuana dispensary. They’ve since established seven other Fire Stations in the UP, including one in downtown Marquette. They have plans to open more.

They’re involved in a dozen businesses overall, employing 170 workers, 80 of them in Marquette County.

Last year, they organized and funded Camp Cannabis, a music and camping festival at Tourist Park that attracted big-name musical talent and a couple thousand attendees.

They’ve donated to several causes in the Marquette area and have partnered with several businesses on events. Their most important contribution: making the marijuana business an important, respected, and engaged member of the Marquette community.

Nheena Ittner

In Marquette, you need to say only one name—“Nheena”—and everybody knows who you’re talking about. Back in 1987 when she was a schoolteacher, she came up with the idea of creating a Children’s Museum. Fat chance. Ten years later, the Upper Peninsula Children’s Museum became reality. She was the only director of the museum until last year when she finally stepped down.

She was also a principal force in getting the Skate Plaza, by the YMCA, established.

Her most recent project is the Kids Cove, where she and a group of dedicated volunteers have been raising over a million dollars to rebuild the playground at the Lower Harbor to make it inclusive of children of all abilities. Construction begins this year, and the new Kids Cove should be open later this summer.

Nheena’s a member of a half dozen boards involved in causes for the arts, for kids, the economy, and for the elderly, but, when necessary, she doesn’t hesitate to take the lead. An intense determination to get things done, and an enthusiastic willingness to collaborate: she has both in spades.

Andrea and Wes Pernsteiner

They are both biomedical engineers by trade, and yet, twelve years ago, they decided to buy a former auto garage downtown—a 160-year-old building--and a year later, re-opened it as the Ore Dock Brewing Company. A micro-brewery.

But it’s so much more than a brewery. In a sense, it’s become a community center for Marquette—hosting events involving science, technology, theater, comedy, film, and, of course, music. The Pernheimers have expanded the brewery inside and out, and once a year, in April, when Spring is trying to bust through, they take their business out to the street with the ever-popular Festival of the Angry Bear.

Next up: a major expansion out to Front Street, thanks to a $4 million revitalization and placemaking grant that the Pernsteiners will have to match. They’ll be creating a beer garden and pathway outside, and renovating a partially dilapidated building on Front Street—converting some of it to apartments.

They will help change the look of downtown, much as they have changed the cultural life here.

Barry Polzin

He is Marquette’s most prominent and prolific architect. One observer (ahem) has dubbed the city’s lakeshore as “Polzinville” because of the string of buildings that Polzin has designed there. Among them: the Hampton Inn, the Fairfield Inn, the Waterfront Condos, the “Birdhouses,” Gaines Rock, the Flanigan condos, One Marquette Place, and Two Marquette Place. And many more. 

Up next, Three Marquette Place, the Boardwalk Condos (alongside One Marquette Place), and the Vault—a renovation and huge expansion of the Marquette Savings Bank. Also, a 160-unit apartment complex out toward the ski hill.

Not a bad portfolio for a guy who, decades ago, started his business by walking door-to-door downtown asking merchants if they wanted to spend a few bucks sprucing up their buildings.

Sure, he’s had his critics—most of his projects are large and they’ve changed Marquette’s landscape. And there’s a sameness to many of them. But talk to visitors from out-of-town, and many will tell you they find the buildings attractive, something they’d love to see in their own hometowns.

Joe Thiel

He’s the CEO of Innovate Marquette (the Smartzone) and Invent@NMU--both major players in Marquette’s push to become a technology hub in Michigan. Under his leadership, Innovate has obtained two major grants recently to set up an outdoor innovation center and a capital venture fund in Marquette.

One-hundred-fifty aspiring entrepreneurs and inventors walk through the doors of Innovate and Invent every year, and it’s up to Thiel and his staff to show them whether their ideas have merit and how to proceed. Many of them have succeeded, but many, many more will likely succeed in the years ahead.

Twenty students work at Innovate and Invent, gaining valuable experience, and Thiel says 100% of them go on to find fulltime jobs in their field. They’re helping to build a talent pipeline between Marquette and the technology industry.

Technology—especially outdoor innovation tech—is the hoped-for future of Marquette and the UP—and if we’re to succeed at it, Thiel will likely be one of those leading the way.

Bill and Pat Digneit

Twenty years ago, these twin brothers, both students at NMU, decided to start a DJ business—it seemed like a fun way to make a little money. That decision blossomed into Double Trouble, a business that still provides DJ’s, but also supplies, tents, tables, chairs, bounce rooms, and much more for parties and events, while also helping plan and consult for events, some of them far beyond Marquette.

In 2017, the Digneits, with Pat’s wife Alyssa, opened up Digs, a gastropub downtown, and quickly made it a center of fun and entertainment downtown. They also stepped up to assume control of the New Year’s celebration downtown, and infused it with first class musical production. They made it a genuine happening.

In 2019, Bill ventured off in a slightly different direction, and assumed chairmanship of NMU’s Theatre and Dance Department. The results since? Productions have expanded, become more diverse, and they’re being showcased better.

The Digneits have shown a remarkable knack for creating entertainment for the Marquette community over the last two decades, and they’ve done it while frequently helping many other local organizations and businesses plan and conduct their events, sometimes free of charge. Their belief: if you support your community, your community will support you.

Karen Kovacs

When she took office as City Manager back in 2021, the city was facing a litany of challenges: Covid to start with, but also debt problems, the loss of tax revenue with the shutdown of the WE Energies plant, a slowdown of the overall economy, and rapidly escalating inflation.

But talk to some of her associates, and they’ll tell you she has met those challenges. Her number one accomplishment has been putting Marquette’s financial house in order. That’s involved making tough decisions, cutting costs while still protecting the city’s safety and services. And she’s done it diplomatically—a tough chore during these times.

She’s nurtured healthy relationships with the city’s power-brokers and institutions, as well as with state officials.

Challenges lie ahead. Namely, keeping the city financially afloat in an increasingly difficult environment, expanding the tax base, diversifying the economy, providing sufficient housing for the residents, and helping the city find and abide by a new master plan. So much of her work involves money. The city needs it. But as Kovacs, herself, puts it, the increased revenue and  development have to be balanced with the recognition that most residents want Marquette to retain its feel as a small, attractive town with deep roots in its history.

(A reminder: Man About Town is a newsletter, not a blog. It arrives by email, free of charge. You can tap the Subscribe button below to sign up. Know someone who would like to subscribe? Let them know they can go to www.SubscribeToMAT.com and they can sign up there.)