In today's newsletter, Fourth of July weekend drownings, Traverse City’s campground closes until 2027 and how Trump’s spending bill will impact your money. |
Mackinac Island rated No.1 in the world for biking |
Mackinac Island is receiving praise once again this year, but this time for its car-free lifestyle. PeopleforBikes.com just named the tourist hotspot as the best place for biking in the world on its recently released 2025 list of Best Places to Bike. Mackinac Island is home to more than 70 paved and natural trails. Visitors can also bike the 8.2 miles around the island. Speaking of Michigan tourist destinations, Gaylord's 60th annual Alpenfest kicks off today with a bit of old-fashioned fun. The festival features parades, a carnival, concerts, vintage games like potato-sack races pie-eating contests, and more. |
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The world’s oldest and most productive common loon, Fe, executing a wing flap on July 12, 2024, alongside her 41st and 42nd documented chicks and her I Pool mate at Seney National Wildlife Refuge in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. (Photo courtesy of Dani Fegan) |
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Here’s how Trump’s spending bill will impact your money: child tax credit, no tax on tips and more |
Big Beautiful Bill: Following weeks of negotiations, Congress narrowly passed a new tax and spending bill last week that was signed into law Friday by President Donald Trump. Several major changes were approved in the bill which will change the bottom line for millions of Americans. From changes to the child tax credit to Medicaid and SNAP cuts, here’s a look at some of the ways your finances could be impacted by the bill. Michigan lawmakers are intervening in what some say is a monopoly over ferry access to Mackinac Island that has resulted in rising fees. State Sen. John Damoose’s bill would clarify that Mackinac Island leaders can regulate all aspects of ferry service to and from the island, including related fees like parking and luggage and other charges to customers. It passed the Senate on Tuesday, July 1, by a 30-6 vote. The America Party: Billionaire Elon Musk says he’s serious about forming a new political party following his split with President Donald Trump. The move is in response to the passing of a Trump supported tax and spending bill that is expected to increase the national debt by $3.3 trillion over the course of the next 10 years. |
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World’s oldest loon is a record-setting Up North mom again with chicks 43 and 44 |
Bundles of joy: Michigan’s best-known wildlife mom has done it again, hatching chicks #43 and #44 last week at the Seney National Wildlife Refuge in the Upper Peninsula. This makes the loon, known as Fe, the world’s most productive common loon on record. In sharing the record-setting news this weekend, researchers also said they believe her real chick tally could be in the 50s. Fighting forest threats: Walking into a sticky spider web can be a day wrecker, and Michigan’s woods are full of them. That stickiness, however, could make spider webs natural traps for researchers to use to find new forest pest infestations that kill trees and harm forest health. This week's weather: Temperatures will be warm this week, but not what most of us Michiganders would call hot for July. The idea on temperatures is morning temperatures starting in the 60s and quickly warming through the 70s. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday will make it into the low-80s in the afternoon. A strong batch of thunderstorms should move through Michigan sometime around Saturday. |
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Legislative clash leaves proposed remedy to Michigan’s prison staffing crisis in limbo |
A trio of bills aimed at helping to solve Michigan’s prison staffing crisis were passed in the final hours of 2024 but have been held in legal limbo ever since. If approved by the governor, the bills would add correctional officers to the Michigan State Police retirement plan, a hybrid pension plan. Michigan’s prison system has been in a perpetual staffing crisis for years as the state has been struggling to bring in and keep its correctional officers working in its prisons. A man on a Delta flight was arrested after he allegedly groped a young girl’s buttocks and tried to fight other passengers. The incident took place Saturday on a flight from Tokyo to Detroit, according to WDIV Detroit. Crew later reported that he tried to fight another passenger on the flight and had to be restrained with zip ties until the flight landed at Detroit Metro Airport. A body found decomposing in a wooded area near Ann Arbor has been identified as a missing 44-year-old Ann Arbor woman Jennifer Dodd. She was reported missing on June 9 after no one had seen her since May 21. |
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Fourth of July weekend drownings: 10 dead in inland lakes, Lake Michigan |
Holiday weekend drownings: Ten people, including two father-son pairs, drowned in Michigan waterways over the Fourth of July weekend. The tragedies occurred in inland lakes, ponds, pools, and Lake Michigan, with several victims attempting to rescue others who were struggling in the water. Tanda Gmiter reports that in both father-son incidents, the fathers died trying to save their children who were struggling in the water. Lake Michigan rescue: Three people were rescued from Lake Michigan after becoming separated from their watercraft during rough conditions with waves up to 8 feet. A kayaker initially helped two people who fell from a personal watercraft, but eventually needed rescue himself. Bradley Massman reports that Park Township firefighters used a specialized watercraft to bring all three safely to shore, with one firefighter sustaining minor injuries during the operation. In recovery: A 9-year-old Livingston County boy who was rescued Friday, July 4, after being buried in the sand dunes in Mears has been released from the hospital. The boy was visiting the Silver Lake State Park from Fenton with his family and preparing to watch the fireworks when he was buried by about 5 feet of sand for a period of over 5 minutes, Oceana County sheriff’s deputies reported previously. |
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Years in the making, Traverse City’s campground closes until 2027 for $8.5M transformation |
Revamp: One of Michigan’s most popular campgrounds will undergo an overhaul nearly 50 years in the making. Keith J Charters Traverse City State Park’s campground is taking a year-and-half long hiatus for $8.5 million in upgrades. The modern campground closed Monday, July 7 and will remain closed through the 2026 season. It will reopen in April 2027. For the adults: John Ball Zoo will be transformed into an escape room for a series of evening events this summer, giving guests the opportunity to solve puzzles and unravel nature-related mysteries. The events for ages 18 and up are happening July 11, Aug. 15, Sept. 5 and Sept. 26. A new view: Ready to take a virtual Up North mini vacation? Now you can indulge in a Northern Michigan beauty break by clicking on the new webcam being sponsored by the Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau. The tourism group recently announced the online camera feed, which serves up views of the town’s gorgeous Little Traverse Bay area. |
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