Up North Lowdown

We first met Leslie Meyers, aka "the Dam Lady," back in October — long before rising waters this spring that flooded many households downstream of the dam in Bellaire. When that happened, in April, it was Meyers who was tasked with orchestrating the emergency response, issuing evacuation preparedness orders, handling media contacts, and overseeing repairs to the 100 year old earthen berm that hold...

The Traverse City Pit Spitters begin their season today in Kalamazoo. After two games there, the team comes to Traverse City for a Wednesday home opener against the Rockford Rivets. Last year the team had the second most wins in franchise history. But it's hard to how what will happen this year. Pit Spitters Manager Todd Reed explains why and talks about the importance of building a team around mo...

A 12-hour concert this weekend will celebrate the life of Holly T. Bird, a lawyer, activist, tribal judge and former TCAPS school board member. Also: Our gardening segment returns, and we hear about more data center angst.

The state accuses Antrim County's clerk of mishandling voter registration data. The clerk, Victoria Bishop, says she's doing what voters elected her to do. Township clerks seem largely frustrated by the changes. Voters seem confused. And the state Bureau of Elections has threatened legal consequences. Votebeat reporter Hayley Harding joins us to talk about the laws governing how voter registration...

Gas prices are up and plane tickets are more expensive. For many, a summer vacation — the sort of thing northern Michigan's economy counts on to get by — might be in question this year. But some say high overall travel costs might actually help local tourism. Plus, what happens if you want to stay here? We take a look at northern Michigan's housing market as we head into summer.

IPR has learned that Antrim County Clerk Victoria Bishop canceled voter registrations, despite denying it to the state. Also, we visit the set of northern Michigan filmmaker Rich Brauer's latest movie — set at a retirement home. Brauer has been making films for decades and says he's quite far from retirement, thank you very much.

It’s election season for races you’ve probably never heard about — but can impact your energy bill. Michigan’s rural energy cooperatives set rates, manage multi-million dollar budgets and decide reliability standards. They're board of directors are voted in by co-op members but annual elections for these positions have low voter turnouts — as low as 10% for some energy co-ops. This could be the ye...

The Up North Lowdown is all about bringing you the news from your own back yard. But sometimes it's important to leave our back yards for a while and experience how the rest of the world operates. That's exactly what our host Ed Ronco did this week. He was at the BBC, learning how they put together the Newshour. While he was there, he ran into BBC World Service host James Coomarasamy on the street...

Due to recent closures of mental health facilities across the state, children experiencing mental health issues are being sent out of state for care. In 2025, three children from Grand Traverse County were placed at the Lakeland Behavioral Health System in Missouri. Abuse allegations were made against the facility every year from 2011 until 2024. They now have multiple lawsuits filed against them...

The Antrim County Clerk, Victoria Bishop, owns a radio station where her husband airs a daily three-hour-long conservative talk radio show. Producer Austin Rowlader takes you inside one of his recent episodes where Trucker Randy raises money so the Antrim County Clerk's office can sue Michigan elections officials. For more information about the Antrim County Clerk and the recent allegations from t...

Grand Traverse County is moving ahead with new building projects, plus the state Natural Resources Commission could consider enacting a "one-buck" rule on deer hunters this week. We also talk with Matthew Burtner, a composer and sound artist who records soundscapes from different environments and makes them into music. Burtner is completing an artist residency sponsored by the Elberta Labor Herita...

The pink salmon first entered the Great Lakes when a small number were discarded into a sewer. They eventually made their way into Lake Superior. That was 70 years ago. The population has just experienced a sharp increase in numbers worldwide. Ellie Katz discusses possible Great Lakes implications. Also, a popular local restaurant is hoping to open a cafe and bakery in a vacant space in downtown T...

Isiah Smith was astonished when an author shared some of his research — a bill of sale that enslaved Smith's great grandfather, just a boy at the time. The retired attorney and northern Michigan author talks tonight with that author — Orice Jenkins — whose book, "The Early County Massacre: Goolsby vs. The State of Georgia" is set in the county where Smith was born. We hear from Smith in this episo...

The Father Fred Foundation food pantry in Grand Traverse County served 47,000 people last year. That's in a county of just over 90,000 people. We look at the demand on one resource in Grand Traverse County. Also, a newly restored barn just opened at Traverse City's Historic Barns Park and, when it did, the public got a look at a message left behind nearly 70 years ago by a grumpy worker who wrote...

Northern Michigan wineries are leaning on hybrid grape varieties to withstand less predictable winters and other obstacles brought on by climate change. Reporter Miles MacClure takes us to a winery in Charlevoix to learn more. Also, we hear about a conference planned for Traverse City that aims to prevent threats facing children — things like campus safety, internet predators, bullying and AI-driv...

We're talking about representation today. In one sense, it's literal representation — who will fill the open state Senate seat in Michigan's 35th District? It's far away from Up North, but the ramifications of today's special election could be felt statewide. We also hear from Classical IPR's Isabel Li, whose new podcast — AAPI Classical Musicians of Interlochen — looks at the musical contribution...

Bellaire, Michigan. People gather in a bar on a Saturday. Sports? No. Beverages? Maybe. Probably, really. But the main reason they're here is to copy the United States Constitution, every word of it, by hand. These events have been going on for a while now — and IPR's Austin Rowlader went to see what it's all about. He found some pondering over the document itself (why the weird capitalizations?)...

Taped LIVE from Right Brain Brewery in Traverse City, Ed kicks off the first full day of the Fresh Coast Film Festival. Traverse City Mayor Amy Shamroe joins us to talk about the film industry. Rachel Felder, producer of "Detroit to Gloryland," talks about the experience of taking a group of students to see the Yosemite National Park. Also a preview of "An Autumn Summer" — a coming of age romance...

Julie Cordier keeps a binder filled with notes on each person’s name, some details about them, and how often she’s seen them. She guesses she's visited between 15 and 20 detainees at the North Lake Processing Center. Today, we hear her story, plus we meet a composer who takes inspiration — and sound — from the natural world to make his music.

Michigan dams are not built for climate change. Many of the state's 2,500 dams were built more than a century ago and updates have not kept up with the warming world. So as waters continue to recede across northern Michigan from historic flooding, several close calls have renewed a push for dam upgrades, maintenance and even removal. In this episode, we also check in with Shannah Vergote of Northw...

Christian clergy in northern Michigan and around the state are holding a 'solidarity fast' with a Traverse City man detained by ICE and on hunger strike at the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin. They spoke to reporters and others in Suttons Bay. Also: Antrim Co. Clerk Victoria Bishop has responded to state demands for information, after the Bureau of Elections questioned her methods in handl...

Northern Michigan needs a facility to help people with mental health issues. That's the recommendation of a Michigan House report. The region has a severe lack of psychiatric hospital beds. We'll hear what local mental health advocates say about it. Also, we look in on construction at FishPass, a big project along the Boardman-Ottaway River. And the monarchs are coming! The butterflies, we mean, m...

Understaffing. Mandatory overtime. Physical danger. Michigan's prison workers face serious obstacles and the issue is especially acute in the Upper Peninsula. A special report from the Northern Michigan Journalism Collaborative explores what's happening, how we got here and what officials are doing about it. IPR's Claire Keenan-Kurgan walks us through the details and brings us some voices.

The man who runs a group called the Election Integrity Force … based in metro Detroit … says he just wants free and fair elections. But he’s flagging individual voters for investigation by their local clerks without verifying if there’s any reason to be concerned. And his sights are set on Antrim County. Plus, the U.S. Supreme Court hands a win to opponents of Line 5, deciding that a lawsuit over...

The Michigan Bureau of Elections has sent a letter to the Antrim County Clerk demanding that she explain some actions she’s taken in the year-or-so she’s been in office. State officials say Victoria Bishop has been too zealous in her efforts to "clean up" Antrim County's voter roll and is acting outside her legal authority. Votebeat reporter Hayley Harding explains what's happening. Also, a show o...