January 2026 Issue

WHAT2WATCH: What will make headlines in 2026?

By Craig Manning, Art Bukowski, Kierstin Gunsberg, Ross Boissoneau & Rick Haglund

What stories will we be talking about this year in and around Traverse City? The TCBN looked into the crystal ball and predicted the more than 20 people, places, products and projects we’ll be watching in 2026, from a new Meijer and film festival to arts funding and new home building innovations.

Meijer expects to break ground this year on Blair Township supercenter

If all goes according to plan, 2026 should be the year that Grand Traverse County gets a third Meijer.

The Ticker (TCBN’s sister publication) broke the news in March that the retail giant was actively planning …

Behind the Screens: Munson Healthcare's CIO on cybersecurity, AI and mountains of data

By Art Bukowski

Munson Healthcare has a lot of data. Just how much, you ask?

“A thousand gigabytes is a terabyte. And a thousand terabytes is what’s called a petabyte,” Munson’s Chief Information Officer Michael Saad said. “We have several petabytes of data at Munson Healthcare.”

Saad

Managing this eye-popping amount of data – much of it highly sensitive – is just one of the many critical tasks of the information technology team at northern Michigan’s largest hospital …

Elections Can Be a Primary Concern

By Gabe Schneider

Have you ever ridden a horse? In the late 1700s, long before Michigan became known for advanced manufacturing, health care innovation and a vibrant small business landscape, our civic structure was shaped by very practical realities. How far could a person reasonably travel by horse to reach the township center, participate in civic life and return home in a single day?

The answer was a division of land six miles by six miles, which we …

Traverse City Business Legends Hall of Fame: Meet the new inductees, Louise Hagerty and R. Floyd Clinch

By Art Bukowski

Now more than a decade in, the Traverse City Business Legends Hall of Fame includes a robust and diverse collection of business leaders, civic champions, philanthropists and others who have left their mark on the Grand Traverse region. Each of these individuals – some living, some deceased – made lifelong contributions to the economic growth and/or long-term vitality of northwest Michigan. After a 10-member inaugural class in 2013, two members have been inducted each year. …

IT in 2026: Tech leaders provide advice for the year ahead

By Art Bukowski

Keeping Pace: NMC’s computer information tech program keeps up with latest in trends, cyber threats

By Craig Manning

From the Desk of Andi Dolan, Owner of Traverse Benefits

By Art Bukowski

Crisis Averted: Why mid-sized businesses must prioritize an incident response plan

By Tim Cerny

Investment Manager, Financial Advisor, Wealth Manager: What do you need in 2026?

By Holly Gallagher

Passing the Leash: Second generation takes over at Pets Naturally

By Art Bukowski

The Case for Good Jobs: How Great Companies Bring Dignity, Pay & Meaning to Everyone’s Work

By Chris Wendel

Briefly

By Lynn Geiger

Newsmakers

By Lynn Geiger

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