Northern Michigan's ice storm in March 2025 caused staggering damage to forests. Getting federal aid to make up for the losses has been a waiting game for many here. Now, things are starting to move forward — but not soon enough for many.
This episode details Grand Traverse County's plan to allocate millions from opioid lawsuit settlements, emphasizing public involvement and sustainable programs for treatment, prevention, and harm reduction. It also provides regional news updates, including efforts to connect Detroit to Petoskey by train, Traverse City schools' new sustainability measures, and a Boyne City Olympian. Finally, it highlights the Manistee County Library's "Screen and Stitch" event featuring the classic film "Arsenic and Old Lace."
A new season of "Pints North" trivia is coming up, so "Points North" host Dan Wanschura tests our mettle. Also, why the wild swings in the weather? A battle of the air masses, says a local meteorologist.
Following Traverse City's "no camping" ordinance, homelessness has become less visible, pushing individuals into deeper hiding. The episode shares poignant stories from day shelters and a firsthand account of someone navigating job searching and survival without an address. It also examines the systemic strain on support services and introduces new federal legislation aimed at tackling the national housing crisis.
The Up North Lowdown returns Jan. 12 as a daily podcast. New episodes Monday through Friday.
Over the last few months, we’ve been thinking a lot about how we serve you, our audience, and pouring a lot of energy into some new ideas. That’s taken a lot of our focus and attention. And so we took a pause here. But we'll be back!
There are a handful of traditional sailing vessels that depart from the shores of Michigan. These boats are wind-powered and look like relics of the past. Sailing on one of them was voted No. 3 on the Michigan Dreaming bucket list, which the nonprofit news organization Bridge Michigan put together with reader suggestions. Bridge Michigan’s Laura Herberg boarded one of them — Manitou, a schooner run by Traverse Tall Ship Company— and sends us this account.
In the summer, in the Upper Peninsula, there’s a place where you’ll find sled dogs running around. Bridge Michigan's "Michigan Dreaming" series takes us there.
President Trump wants the U.S. maritime industry to have more vessels under the flag of the United States. That will tap into a short supply of merchant mariners.
Cheering all night long was rated No. 4 on the Michigan Dreaming bucket list, which the nonprofit news organization Bridge Michigan put together with reader suggestions. Come with us to the Au Sable River Canoe Marathon.
In the last eight years, the number of cars traveling through Mancelona has gone up by 47 percent. And this has created some unique challenges for local police.
Last week, dozens of canoe teams made their way down the Au Sable River in an all-night marathon. But come morning, all that remains is the trash that people left behind. One conservation group is continuing a decade-long program to clean the river — while also teaching troubled kids to value the pristine waters.
Traverse City Police Officer Krista Fryczynski is the department’s Community Officer, a position focused on outreach to unsheltered residents in the city.
On July 26, a man started stabbing people inside the Walmart near Traverse City. We look at what transpired that day, where the story stands now, and what we know about the suspect. Reporter Eli Newman joins us to talk about his reporting into suspect Bradford Gille's history of mental illness and a conversation he had with Gille's older brother, Shane.
What’s on your summer bucket list? The nonprofit news organization Bridge Michigan asked readers that question this spring. The result is a list of ten under-the-radar adventures that can be completed in our state during the summer. One of the items on that list is to climb Mount Arvon, the state’s tallest natural point. Bridge Michigan’s Laura Herberg is checking off items on the list this summer and brings us this story about what she found atop the peak. Interlochen Public Radio is proud to b...
We'll get back to our usual stories in short order — a couple good ones coming later this week, in fact. But this episode is all about us. You've probably heard that Congress voted to take back federal funding already promised to public broadcasting. For Interlochen Public Radio, it's a $300,000 budget hit. Still, IPR Executive Director Peter Payette says despite the bad news for our federal funding, and the very real challenges ahead, he's optimistic about IPR's future and its mission to serve ...
In this episode, a short conversation with the author Katie Yee. She is known as a short story writer, but Yee is appearing later this month at the National Writers Series in Traverse City to talk about her debut novel. t’s called “Maggie; or, a Man and a Woman Walk into a Bar.” Ahead of her visit to town, Yee spoke with IPR’s Ed Ronco.
Cindy Monroe has been around music for decades. Fifty years, she figures. But never a marching band. So she showed up to play cymbals with the National Cherry Festival Marching Band. That's it. No audition, just a conversation with the director. She even gave him an out — offering to go on home if it didn't work out. But so far, so good.
Michigan's Attorney General is going after the Twin Flames Universe, a spiritual organization based in Leelanau County that's widely considered to be a cult.
In May, authorities in Traverse City cleared out an encampment from part of town known as "the Pines." What happened to those who left?
In Lake County — population 12,000 — a new ICE facility is opening in a shuttered private prison, promising to create hundreds of jobs in the poorest county in the state. Many residents have doubts about whether the jobs will last.
Just one story for you this week, and it's about deer, money and big piles of carrots. Or apples. Or whatever else deer are interested in eating.
An earful from those who experienced the ice storm. An interview with abuse survivor Tina Talbot. Hiring nurses for Munson Healthcare. And Elberta's Turtlefest.
This week, an interview with immigration attorney Marcelo Betti. He tells us about the different communities that have migrated to northern Michigan, and what their future might hold under the drastically different immigration policy of the Trump administration. Plus, a Bellaire woman's journey to becoming an American citizen. Ping He-Pridemore took her citizenship oath last month in Grand Rapids. And we meet Marcelline Budza, whose coffee cooperative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo face...
A wooded area near Traverse City held an encampment for people who are unsheltered, until this past week, when police cleared out the area. We'll hear what happened. Plus, we walk around the centerpiece of the Grand Traverse Commons with two composers who were tasked with writing music about an old psychiatric hospital.
It’s a big dose of nature on this week’s Up North Lowdown: How storm debris can turn into electricity, our gardening expert guides us through good fertilizer for northern Michigan soil, and we receive a shipment of bees!
This week on the Up North Lowdown, we’ll meet the host of a new podcast from Classical IPR called Intermezzo ... plus OUR host Ed Ronco goes on stage in Traverse City and dies. But on purpose.
How damaged trees spell economic hardship for many in northern Michigan. Plus, funding cutbacks for regional arts groups, and we hop through some Easter egg traditions.
After the ice storms, the conversation is shifting from response to recovery, and utilities are figuring out how to prepare for the next storm. Also, Marc Maron talks to us about his career in comedy, podcasts, film and more.
