Life in Leelanau

S-B artist makes his mark on the world

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Suttons Bay Township resident Jim DeWildt is just one of many examples that you never really know who is relaxing in the woods somewhere in Leelanau County. He has an art gallery and studio tucked in the hills and woods of East Fort Road that features a large collection of art.

National Park Service seeks firewood vendors

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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is looking for service providers for two competitive Commercial Use Authorizations (CUA) to provide firewood vending for D.H. Day Campground in Leelanau County the and Platte River Campground in Benzie County and for calendar years 2024 and 2025.

Ditzler deeply rooted in Northport history

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Bobbie Ditzler, of Northport, recently celebrated her 80th birthday on Jan. 11. Shortly after reaching this milestone, Ditzler sat down with the newspaper to recount some of her knowledge about local history and her experiences watching her home village develop.

Priest of the roads

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David Priest was born and raised in Northport. He was born at the Memorial hospital and is Leelanau through and through.

TaShena Sams serves as new cultural assistant/director

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While TaShena Sams, 37, may have started in her new role as Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ (GTB) cultural department assistant/ director in November, she’s been working for the tribe for 22 years now and counting. After being employed by GTB for most of her life, she said she couldn’t see herself working anywhere else.

Researchers develop tool to fight lamprey

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A recently discovered chemical compound that makes it diffi cult for invasive sea lamprey to find their breeding grounds may be a new tool for controlling a parasite that threatens Great Lakes fish. Anne Scott, an assistant professor of fisheries and wildlife at Michigan State University, and her research team are creating a new method of sea lamprey control using a newly discovered chemical compound, petromyzonol tetrasolfate — also known as 3sPZS.

Moon suffers heart attack, returns to Elmwood marina

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Elmwood Township’s harbormaster, Pete Moon, is settling down after a busy season, both personally and professionally. He kept up with his duties this summer despite heart attacks putting him in the hospital on two separate occasions. The first one occurred just before the 2023 Cherry Festival in June, as Moon began experiencing chest pain near the end of the day.