Covering politics in the late 1800s

The following is an excerpt from “Good Harbor Michigan: The Story and the People, 18501913,” written by Norbert Bufka.

The Leelanau Enterprise reported political news occasionally. On Aug. 2, 1888 it gave advice that may seem appropriate even in today’s polarized political debates: “Republican papers declare that Grover Cleveland is after David B. Hill’s scalp and Democratic papers deny it. So all the average man has to do is to read both sides and wait.”

Surprisingly, the Enterprise even wrote about the controversy over whether the Dakota Territory should enter as one or two states and what they should be named.