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1 month ago | 
northernexpress.com | Kierstin Gunsberg |Todd VanSickle |Abby McKiernan |Art Bukowski
How (and why) schools are dialing down distractions for young learners By Kierstin Gunsberg | March 22, 2025 The human brain is a magnificent thing, capable of unconsciously processing millions of bits of stimuli every second—the cool glow of overhead fluorescents, a teacher’s shoes clicking against linoleum, and the woody aroma of a freshly sharpened pencil.
What the brain isn’t so great at is consciously handling all that stimuli at once.
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2 months ago | 
traverseticker.com | Craig Manning |Beth Milligan |Kierstin Gunsberg
Got thoughts about a long-discussed revitalization of passenger rail service in Michigan? Traverse City’s Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities wants to hear them.
Groundwork is a key partner in a long-gestating effort to restore passenger rail connectivity between northern Michigan and downstate and beyond. After years of delays, most of them caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the rail project found new traction last year thanks to $2.3 million in state and federal grants.
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2 months ago | 
traverseticker.com | Craig Manning |Beth Milligan |Kierstin Gunsberg
In 2023, the United States Department of Defense spent a whopping $431.4 billion on contracts for products and services – the majority of a $609.2 billion budget that accounts for 2.2 percent of America’s GDP. Next month, a new conference is coming to northern Michigan with the goal of helping local companies get a piece of that pie.
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2 months ago | 
traverseticker.com | Beth Milligan |Kierstin Gunsberg |Craig Manning
By Beth Milligan | Feb. 17, 2025 A key part of any bear’s hibernation strategy is to fill up on plenty of food to last the winter. The writers of the Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker, take a similar approach, dining out whenever they can in the fall and winter months at new restaurants and old favorites.
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2 months ago | 
traverseticker.com | Beth Milligan |Kierstin Gunsberg |Craig Manning
Traverse City commissioners will tackle a packed agenda this week that includes a proposed workforce housing project on Eighth Street, an implementation policy for a recent voter-approved charter amendment on tax increment financing (TIF), approval to continue downtown’s two-way street project for two more years, and a notice of intent to issue bonds for city sewer projects. Commissioners will meet Tuesday instead of Monday at 7pm at the Governmental Center due to the Presidents Day holiday.
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2 months ago | 
traverseticker.com | Kierstin Gunsberg |Craig Manning |Beth Milligan
With 42 percent of adults eager to dine out more often, the National Restaurant Association reports a pent-up demand that could mean more spent in restaurants this year. That’s a bright spot in an otherwise gray and chilly shoulder season for the northern Michigan restaurants gearing up for the 14th annual Traverse City Restaurant Week.
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2 months ago | 
northernexpress.com | Kierstin Gunsberg |Ross Boissoneau |Brighid Driscoll |Abby McKiernan
Tastemaker Feb. 1, 2025 You read that right—Patisserie Amie is back! Traverse City’s beloved French restaurant closed its doors during the pandemic and was reinvented as Le Métropolitain Cuisine de Rue food truck, which could often be found this summer at TC Whiskey Co. Well, the partnership has gone one step further, with Patisserie Amie returning for pop-up Saturday and Sunday brunch service (10am-1pm) at the stillhouse at 201 E. 14th St. What to order?
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2 months ago | 
northernexpress.com | Kierstin Gunsberg |Ross Boissoneau |Brighid Driscoll |Abby McKiernan
Spots fill up fast for these summer programs! By Northern Express Staff & Contributors | Feb. 1, 2025 The first official day of summer is still four months off, but many local parents are already thinking about how their kids will spend the warmer months. With some camps already open for registration and others prepping for sign-ups in the coming weeks, here’s your guide for how to get on the list for many local camps.
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2 months ago | 
northernexpress.com | Jamie Kauffold |Kierstin Gunsberg |Ross Boissoneau |Brighid Driscoll
By Jamie Kauffold | Feb. 1, 2025 Gov. Gretchen Whitmer brings the young adult version of her memoir True Gretch: Lessons for Anyone Who Wants to Make a Difference to Traverse City’s City Opera House on Friday, Feb. 7, at 7pm. “That Woman from Michigan” has packed this new edition with a Q&A with her two teenage daughters, along with backmatter resources relating to surviving sexual assault and gun violence.
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2 months ago | 
northernexpress.com | Anna Faller |Kierstin Gunsberg |Ross Boissoneau |Brighid Driscoll
Bottoms Up By Anna Faller | Feb. 1, 2025 Deciding on our next go-to cocktail is usually a black and white affair—unless the famous Grey Manhattan ($15) is on the menu at Wren in Suttons Bay. This elegant twist on a Black Manhattan—aka, rye whiskey, bitters, and a category of herbal liqueur called amaro—combines velvety Carpano Antica Formula vermouth with bittersweet Amaro Montenegro.
