Coal has become a dirty word to the four electric utilities that serve the pristine Grand Traverse region. Traverse City Light & Power, Cherryland Electric Cooperative, Great Lakes Energy Cooperative and Consumers Energy all are touting plans to reduce or eliminate their dependence on fossil fuel...
Life's not just a bowl of cherries in Grand Traverse. Manufacturing plays a major role in the area’s economy, employing more than 10,000 people and representing about 13 percent of the workforce in Grand Traverse, Benzie, Kalkaska, Leelanau and Antrim counties, according to the Grand Traverse...
The way most homes are built is archaic: Materials, ordered from hundreds of suppliers, arrive at one place for on-site assembly. Former tech exec Paul Bandrowski believes it’s a costly, time-consuming, mistake-laden process. “Why are we doing it this way? The construction industry is ripe for disruption,”...
After a number of false starts over the past few years, 20Fathoms opened in late July, moving in to 5,700 square feet of space on the second floor of 101 North Park at the corner of Front and Park streets. The technology business incubator, which has...
Ever-rising costs are prompting more employers to consider ditching their health insurance providers and paying the medical claims of their employees themselves. Self-insurance was once mainly for large corporations that could afford the risk of potentially expensive claims. But benefit consultants say self-insurance can work for...
[caption id="attachment_15883" align="alignleft" width="300"] Big Sky Resort, Big Sky, Montana[/caption] It started with a one dollar bill and a young man's dream to own a ski hill. Boyne Resorts, North America's third-largest mountain resort company, was founded when 30-year-old Everett Kircher bought 40 acres of barren property...
An informal meeting last year prompted a $63.2 million merger between a downstate banking behemoth and Traverse City State Bank (TCSB). The deal was one of many in the Midwest last year, which leads the nation in the number of bank mergers. Lending limit restrictions in a...
This isn't your father's credit union. Credit unions, long known for loans to everyday Joes, are looking into a controversial new market: the cannabis industry. Since the state began licensing dispensaries, interest in marijuana-related businesses in Michigan is rising. This could allow credit unions and other financial institutions...
Boat registrations in Michigan have fallen 10 percent since peaking in 2003, but the five-county Grand Traverse region is bucking the trend. That’s not a surprise to Rick Venner, general manager of Harbor Springs-based Walstrom Marine’s Traverse City showroom, which sells new and used boats ranging...
A proposal that would require owners of kayaks, canoes and paddleboards to register their craft with the state is generating a boatload of controversy in the paddling community. The Michigan State Waterways Commission passed a little-noticed resolution in February recommending that paddlecraft owners pay a registration...
