Smoke!, New Apartments, New Hotel, Solo Camping, Cultural Trail, Toll Scams, Whitmer Kidnapping, and MSHS Graduation

The Latest from Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell

IT’S STARTING TO seem like a yearly occurrence…or annoyance—smoke from the Canadian wildfires drifting down to the U.P…The fires were catastrophic back in 2023 with more than 6000 individual blazes blackening 5% of Canada’s forest land. They returned in the Spring of last year, and now, here they are again. Currently, about 200 fires are burning, with the vast majority labeled “out of control.”

The problem for us, of course, is that the drifting smoke renders our air quality unhealthy (although the haze can create pretty sunrises). It literally smelled like a campfire throughout Marquette on Tuesday morning. The rain later in the day helped, taking most of the smoke particulates out of the air, but we’re not entirely in the clear. “We could see a few shots of smoke through Wednesday,” says NWS forecaster Taylor Prislovsky, “but after Wednesday, it looks like the winds will be southwesterly which should keep the smoke away.”

At least for a while, anyway. The fires are still burning, the winds can change. And we’ll probably see more hazy skies in the U.P. over the next several weeks.

NEW APARTMENTS COMING on line this summer. Rolling Meadows, on McClellan Avenue out toward Marquette Mountain, plans to open up twelve newly constructed units by August 1st. Sixteen more will be available in November. All of them two bedrooms/one bath, about 1000 square feet…They’re located in the woods, just off the bike trails, three minutes from the ski hill, and seven minutes from downtown. Price? Right around $2000 a month (not for low-income folks)…No units listed for rent yet. “But it’ll be soon,” says developer Jim Conlin. “We’re working on the website. It’ll be up soon.”

Eventually, Rolling Meadows is planning to build a total of 160 units over 17 acres.

CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY ALONGSIDE Fairfield Inn and Suites. But it’s not technically an expansion. Instead, they’re calling it “Dual Branding” because the new addition will be TownePlace Suites, a different kind of Marriott development. Long-term stays, with full kitchens…“We’ll get some vacationers in Towneplace Suites,” says GM Lynn Stiebe, “but we expect that it’ll be mostly for people staying five days or longer…a lot of business people.” She adds that firefighters on their way to Canada have been staying at the Fairfield this Spring, just as they did last year…

Opening date for TownePlace Suites is June 1st, 2026—50 units available on four floors.

AN INTERESTING TREND in camping…More of us are choosing to camp alone. According to The Dyrt, at least 31% of all campers in the U.S. last year went solo. In 2021, the figure was only 19%…What’s behind the trend? The pandemic was probably a factor initially, but generally, we’ve become a less social society. Americans, unfortunately, seem more isolated from each other than ever. More of us are living alone…Oh, we should mention that, technically, half of these solo campers weren’t really alone: they brought their dog with them to sleep under the stars.

LAST YEAR’S BANKRUPTCY by Wellpath Holdings not only hurt EMS services in the eastern U.P.—they’re owed $6 million by Wellpath—but it’s also affected U.P. Health System-Marquette. “UPHS-Marquette is owed money by Wellpath,” Janell Larson, the director of marketing and communications, tells us, “though we are fortunate that we have not been as severely impacted as others across the Upper Peninsula and state.”…Will the hospital or the EMS services ever get the money owed to them? Unknown….Wellpath has been the health care services provider for the Michigan Department of Corrections.

BALLROOM WEDDINGS ARE out, Micro weddings are in. That’s according to Axios. The statistics: In 2006, the average guest count at weddings nationwide was 184. Last year, it was only 131…And smaller celebrations, with 50 guests or fewer, made up 18% of last year’s weddings. The advantages of micro weddings? Lower costs and less stress.

EXPECT TO SEE eight story markers installed in the next two weeks along the walking and biking path on Lake Superior…It’s being called the Shoreline Cultural Trail by the Arts and Culture department…The markers will tell the story of Marquette. “It’s important for us to educate ourselves about the history of this place,” says Tiina Morin, the manager of Arts and Culture. “The shoreline connects us all—the Anishinaabe, the settlers, and everybody else who’s come to Marquette.”

As for the less-than-attractive former LSCP building on Front Street adjacent to the trail, it’s being repurposed as the Trailhead, as well as the office for Arts and Culture, and a gathering space for groups or individuals…Work has begun on it…It’ll be open to the public next summer.

IT SEEMS THAT most of us have gotten them—those mysterious and alarming emails (“Final Notice!!!”) telling us that we somehow failed to pay road or bridge tolls somewhere sometime in the past…And, of course, some of us are suckered into paying them. Well, they’re scams…It was reassuring to see that electronic sign at the junction of US-41 and M-28 posting this message last week: “Be aware toll texts are scams” Bottom line: Yes, ignore that email, delete it, and scroll down to the next worthless or malicious email below it.

SO NOW IT looks as though President Trump is considering pardoning those two militia members who were plotting to kidnap and possibly assassinate Governor Gretchen Whitmer back in 2020. Trump has suggested that maybe it was a “railroad job.”…As Americans, we can have honest disagreements over immigration, tariffs, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, but when it comes to this—a politically motivated crime of violence against a political figure—we can certainly agree to abide by the verdict in a courtroom. Can’t we? We respect our judicial system, don’t we? We’re a nation of law and order, aren’t we?

Then again, some would say, if the 1500 rioters who laid siege to the nation’s Capitol three years ago can be pardoned, and others who attacked the police and violently threatened our Vice President and elected representatives can be freed from prison, then, clearly we are not who we thought we were.

A NEW CHAPTER in their lives awaits them…A couple hundred Seniors were awarded their diplomas over the weekend at Marquette Senior High School under the watchful eyes of a thousand proud family members and friends…A wonderful ceremony marred only by the fact that most of the spectators struggled to hear the finely crafted and heartfelt words of the speakers…Bad audio…It seems that the school should invest in better equipment if it’s going to continue holding its graduation ceremony outside…In any case, good luck to these Seniors who are entering a brave new world where they’ll be tackling the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence, climate change, and toxic political division.

POEM OF THE WEEK

“A Cry for Help”

Don’t keep me hidden,
in this dark room,
please show me the sun,
so that I can bloom.
I know you kept me here,
just to keep me warm,
but now it is time,
to show me the dawn.

—Sylvia Spencer