Veridea in the Spotlight, a Major Vacancy Downtown, Bohnak’s Indecision, Day Care Crisis, and an Unforgettable UP Documentary
The Latest From Marquette, MI by Brian Cabell
PLENTY OF CRITICISM following the announcement that the Veridea Group has been selected as the developer of the abandoned hospital property…Conflict of interest! No transparency!...Maybe so, maybe not…Regardless, they’re the ones now charged with converting the 23 acre property into a vibrant, new residential neighborhood in the heart of Marquette…Bungalows, townhouses, apartments, senior living units are what they’re promising.
Veridea has a solid reputation and it’s local. That’s two pluses…Now let’s see what they come up with in the way of “affordable housing.” If the bungalows come in starting at $395,000, and the apartments at $1,500 a month, well, that could be a problem.
All of this is contingent on getting the property razed and prepared for development…The City Commission and the MEDC will have to agree to that…Seems likely at this point.
A MAJOR VACANCY coming soon downtown…RG Design on West Washington will be moving to Negaunee by late summer… “We wanted to own our building and be closer to our families in Ishpeming and Negaunee,” says Dax Richer…He and partner and fellow architect Jason Gauthier are renovating and expanding an older building on US 41, across from Fox Negaunee.
TWO MORE MARIJUANA shops approved for South Marquette on South Front Street! That’ll make four within a quarter mile of each other…We’re becoming the Weed Capital of Michigan…Time to move our money out of cryptocurrency and into cannabis (or have we already missed the boat?)
WE LOVE TO beat up on UP Health System-Marquette…It’s a popular local pastime, and they’ve deserved some of the criticism…But when the highly respected Leapfrog Group, which measures safety in hospitals across the nation, assigns UPHS-Marquette an “A” for safety this spring, we should acknowledge it…The analysis takes into account errors, injuries, accidents, and infections, and the hospital performed superbly…In the previous three years, UPHS-Marquette was graded a “B” for safety.
ONE IN THREE Americans now says the pandemic is over…If only…Numbers are again climbing in Marquette County, both for cases and hospitalizations…They’re not nearly what they were back in January and at the peaks last year, but the trend is troubling…And look out! Here come the tourists filling our hotels, restaurants, breweries, and coffee shops.
AND THEN THERE’S this…The federal government now estimates that 23 million Americans have been affected by “long COVID”—ailments that continue to plague people for weeks, months, or longer, after their initial bout with the infection…Symptoms include fatigue, difficulty breathing, heart palpitations, brain fog, lightheadedness, stomach pain, and an altered sense of taste and smell…Not enough to require hospitalization, but more than enough to diminish your enjoyment of life.
SPRING HAS SPRUNG after a crazy week or two in May, and warmer days lie ahead… “There are no strong signals one way or the other,” says meteorologist Karl Bohnak, “so it looks like this will be a near-average summer…” That’s for both heat and rain.
And what about Bohnak’s possible plans to end his abrupt retirement, and return as an on-air meteorologist for WZMQ, the brand new CBS TV station? He and the station have a verbal agreement, but nothing has been signed…He’s still undecided…The earliest he would appear on-air would be in September, a year after he left/was fired/resigned from his post at WLUC…In the meantime, Bohnak and his wife Liz have started building a cabin in Alger County.
THE UPPER PENINSULA’S biggest and best farmers market is opening for the season at The Commons Saturday morning… “We’ll be at full capacity, no restrictions,” says Sara Johnson, the market manager. That means 60 vendors each week, rather than the 45 last year, socially spaced…Live music will return this year, and something new—yoga…Crowds will likely be bigger than ever, since officials are predicting a record tourist season…and since, of course…(ahem)…the…uhh... pandemic is…you know…over…kind of.
ASK MOST MARQUETTE residents what’s the number one local problem, and they’ll probably tell you “affordable housing.” But a close second has to be day care…The YMCA struggles with it every day. They have about 50 spots open for infants, toddlers and Pre-K kids in their program. Not nearly enough… “It’s crazy,” says CEO Jenna Zdunek. “It’s so disheartening. We have to turn so many people down. We have people trying to get on the waiting list before they’re pregnant.”
The Y has plans to expand its day care programs—even architectural plans--but not the funding…It’s constantly searching for grant money.
The Y’s summer day camp in Marquette? Also under pressure. Only fifty spots open, with 100 kids trying to get in.
Zdunek makes a final point: The lack of adequate child care facilities hurts Marquette economically. If a couple or a single mother can’t find day care, they’re not going to move or stay here…They’ll find a town that can take care of their kids.
A MUST SEE: The Vimeo documentary, “Unforgettable”, by filmmaker extraordinaire Aaron Peterson and his crew:
The film chronicles a 1,600-mile journey last year around the UP by four local cyclists…They take only the back roads and trails through the dirt, mud, rocks, sand, and creeks of the UP…You see their struggles, their falls, their injuries, their bike breakdowns, their exhaustion…and their indomitable spirit…A glorious tribute to them, to the UP, and to Peterson and his stellar crew.
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More vaccines and boosters. That's the answer. Isn't it?