New Airline at Sawyer, Uber and Lyft in Town?, Helping Hand for Victimized Kids, Marquette Mountain Prepares, Stonehouse Steps Back, Closser Is Bogged Down
The Latest from Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell
IT’S NOT A major airline and it’s only one flight so far, but it’s something, and this could be the start of something bigger…Sun Country Airlines, the 11th largest air carrier in the U.S., flew out of Sawyer Airport Thursday with well over 100 passengers on board, bound for Laughlin, Nevada…A charter flight for those seeking casinos and sun.
“The flight was a trial run to see how it worked,” says Airport Manager Duane Duray. “It went smoothly, everybody chipped in. We expect to see more Sun Country flights out of Sawyer in the months ahead.”…Sun Country is an ultra-low cost airline flying routes to 120 destinations across the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean…It’s big on vacation spots.
The airline, based in Minneapolis, has experienced problems in the past—two bankruptcies—but seems to have stabilized. A few years ago, it flew out of Houghton, but Sawyer seems a better choice with a bigger terminal and longer runways…It’s not certain yet when the next flight out of Sawyer will be scheduled.
A FREQUENTLY ASKED question we hear: Why doesn’t Marquette have Uber or Lyft taxis?…Well, it appears we did have Lyft a couple of years ago, for a few months. “We had a gentleman with Lyft who approached us about starting something, but it just seemed to fizzle out,” says Airport Manager Duane Duray. “We’ve had no communications at all with Uber.”
“I think Lyft tried to launch here a while back,” says Checker Transport owner Jesse Schramm, “but it just will not work in a smaller town. The premise is that when you drop one passenger off, you will almost immediately have another one to pick up.”…That’s probably not going to happen in a mostly rural county where the largest town has only 21,000 people…So, Checker Cab remains the primary option for those seeking a cab ride.
“WE ARE STILL investigating, trying to determine the cause and the origin.” There’s not much more that Marquette Fire Marshal Jeff Fossitt can say at this point, referring to the fire at Jeffrey’s Restaurant last week…He’s hoping to have something more definitive next week…Most of the damage was done in the kitchen, which leads you to believe that’s where the fire started…Fortunately, no one was in the restaurant when the fire was started, after 6 pm…Uncertain when Jeffrey’s might reopen.
A BIG WIN for the United Auto Workers and the union movement overall…The UAW and the Big Three automakers reached an historic agreement a few days ago which includes an immediate 11% pay hike and restoration of a yearly cost-of-living increase…And according to Axios, the lowest paid workers will see a huge 150% increase in wages over the four-and-a-half-year agreement.
THIS IS SOMETHING we’ve sorely needed…Northern Lights, a children’s advocacy group, opened up its doors in September (at a former dentist’s office) without much fanfare…The group deals with children who’ve experienced sexual or physical violence, or witnessed violence, suffered neglect, or were victimized by human trafficking.
Until now, those kids would have to speak to the police, the prosecutor, Children’s Protective Services, and maybe others…Usually separately…“They’d have to re-tell and re-live what happened to them,” says Northern Lights Executive Director Sarah Zyburt. “That can be traumatic.” With Northern Lights, they have to tell their story only once—to a sympathetic staff member, in a comfortable living room atmosphere, with snacks available…The interview is videotaped for others to watch. No need to repeat the sad and frightening stories…That’s the least we can do for youthful victims who didn't deserve what they experienced.
THE SNOW’S NOT piling up on Marquette Mountain yet but…soon. Maybe. “I’d like to open on December 2nd,” says General Manager Kaet Johnson, “but it’s Mother Nature and Lake Superior who are in control of that.”…The Mountain has five new mobile snow guns this season, and has replaced some old piping. Johnson’s big on infrastructure—she’s a Michigan Tech grad who majored in electrical engineering. They’ve also got new rental skis and snowboards.
Weekend adult tickets are up slightly, to $76; weekday tickets will be $66. Johnson says those prices remain lower than many other ski resorts.
A busy summer at the Mountain—mountain biking, volleyball, ping pong, disc golf, weddings, parties, musical events, even kayak tours…Food-and-beverage revenue was up this year over last…Marquette Mountain, as was envisioned by Eric Jorgensen when he bought the ski hill three years ago, is truly becoming a year-round resort.
HERE ARE SOME figures to mull over…The average net worth in a Black household: $45,000…a Hispanic household: $62,000…a White household: $285,000…and an Asian household: $536,000…Quite a disparity…The numbers come from the Federal Reserve…Fortunately, Black and Hispanic households have made the greatest percentage gains since the last survey in 2019.
ONE OF MARQUETTE’S civic leaders is stepping down later this month…City Commissioner Fred Stonehouse, who’s served a non-consecutive 12 years on the Commission, is term-limited. New Commissioners will be elected next week…Stonehouse’s view of the city’s condition in 2023? “Marquette is in excellent hands with a bright future,” he says. “We’ve got excellent Commissioners, with a top notch City Manager and a great staff.”…The biggest challenge? Finances, he says emphatically. Half of the city—the University, schools, parks, churches, government buildings, and prison—doesn’t pay property taxes. Not much you can do about it, but it puts a strain on the other 50% who do pay taxes.
78-YEAR-OLD Bruce Closser recently pedaled his bike 4200 miles across the United States, making him the oldest man to ever complete that journey…But now at home in Marquette, he’s not exactly sitting around twiddling his thumbs…In order to get his feat recognized by Guinness World Records, he has to carefully document his journey.
“I’ve been bogged down in videos,” he explains. “They want 10 minutes of video of each day I was riding. I have that, but I have much more video than that, and now I have to cut it down.” That’s 91 days of riding, 10 minutes each day…On top of that, they want his detailed log book, signed witnesses along the way, selfies at landmarks, and media clips…He’s got it all; it’s just a matter of organizing it so that Guinness doesn’t have any questions…He’s hoping to get certification from Guinness before the end of the year. And what a year it’s been for him.
POEM OF THE DAY
Risk
And then the day came,
when the risk
to remain tight
in a bud
was more painful
than the risk
it took
to blossom.
—Anais Nin
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Don't underplay Sun Country. Speaking as a Minnesotan, Sun Country is our first choice if we can make the trip work. If you can get them to fly to MSP's Terminal two, the world is only a quick light rail ride to Terminal One.
Lyft has had multiple drivers in Houghton and Hancock for at least the last three years and possibly four years. they service MTU students along with locals including to and from Walmart and other stores. I just assumed they were in Marquette too. Lyft has a business model that will focus on smaller cities (especially with colleges) where Uber will typically not bother.