Podcasts about keweenaw peninsula

Summer is underway, and that means events are in full bloom across our beloved Michigan. Here on Behind the Mitten, we'll visit with friends from all over to hear about new festivals, great beaches, new hotels and more on this edition of Behind the Mitten. Jesse Wiederhold is a verfiable Keweenaw Peninsula enthusiast, and his excitement about this part of the state is infectious. We are lucky that Jesse works for Visit Keweenaw, and gets to actually just be excited for his job. He also gets to come up with crazy new ideas to celebrate all the cool things about the Key. He's the man behind Pasty Fest, which returns August 16. He also reveals a brand new festival occuring the weekend of June 20, the Juhannas Summer Solstice Celebration.The Mill at Zehnder Park, a 13,700-square-foot boutique hotel, with four individual large suites is set  to open for bookings in early 2026. A former flour mill, the property was purchased by the Zehnder family in 2022, and renovations promptly began. The new hotel is set to open in 2026, and we go  behind the scenes on this exciting project.Now Ludington gets named as a "best beach" it seems like every year, moving into the national category in the last few years, and we won't lie, it's incredible. In fact, one of our favorite summer events are the beach bonfires held here the third Thursday of every month, with bands, food trucks, and so much fun. Brandy Miller joins us to share all the cool things happening this summer season right on the shores of Lake Michigan.Finally, we catch up with our friends from Frederik Miejer Gardens and Sculpture Park. Summer is when the gardens really shine, sparkle, and shout, with all the outdoor spaces open to visitors and the ampitheatre open for incredible concerts. I'm a personal fan of the children's garden, no matter your age, for awesome interactive exhibits, and the Japanese Garden for quiet gorgeous solitude. Seeing a show here is divine, but get your tickets early, lots of shows sell out. 

Long before the Keweenaw Peninsula became a destination for hikers, bikers, and Lake Superior rock hounds, it was the stage for a national copper rush. Shortly after Michigan became a state in 1837,  Geologist Douglas Houghton was sent to Copper Harbor to explore reports from Native Americans about copper in the region. By 1844, Fort Wilkins was built to be the military base helping to keep the peace as fortune-seekers came to the state's most northern port. In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with Barry James, Upper Peninsula historian with the Michigan History Center, about the fascinating past—and present—of this historic state park. From the 1840s copper rush chaos to Civil War reenactments, as well as lighthouse tours and tales of shipwrecks, Fort Wilkins remains a living classroom with extensive youth programs. Join us as we explore the enduring significance of this frontier fort—and the people working to keep its stories alive.Key Takeaways:Fort Wilkins was built in the mid-19th century in Copper Harbor to maintain law and order during the copper rush.The fort served as a frontier military post, supporting mining operations and maritime navigation in one of the most remote regions of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.The Copper Harbor Lighthouse and range lights were established in response to early shipwrecks, including the 1844 wreck of the John Jacob Astor, which supplied Fort Wilkins.Today, Fort Wilkins Historic State Park is part of the Keweenaw National Historical Park's heritage site network and offers youth camps, Civil War reenactments, and public education programs.Barry James and the Michigan History Center are working to expand exhibits, including a new display on how Fort Wilkins became a state park in 1923.Notable Quotes:“What it really represents is an excellent example of a mid-19th century military post as the United States was expanding westward.”“The Astor was the first wreck on Lake Superior in 1844. The military realized that their lifeline could be easily snapped.”“We also offer a living history program that's been ongoing since 1976, where we have costumed interpreters within the fort that represent the last occupation at Fort Wilkins, the summer of 1870.”“We've got 19 buildings on site, but 12 are original, dating back to the 1840s. So people can go into these buildings, look at the exhibits. We have period rooms with furniture and interpretation of the period.”“To get on the National Register of Historic Places, you really have to have something significant with the historic site, so that says enough right there.”Resources:Fort Wilkins Historic State Park: https://www.michigan.gov/mhc/museums/fwchl Michigan History Center: https://www.michigan.gov/mhcKeweenaw National Historical Park: https://www.nps.gov/keweConnect With Us:Website: https://nplsf.org/podcastFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/NationalParksOfLakeSuperiorFoundationLinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/national-parks-of-lake-superior-foundationSponsors:Cafe Imports: Supporting environmental sustainability in coffee-growing regions since 1993. Learn more at https://cafeimports.comNational Parks of Lake Superior Foundation: Support vital projects by donating at https://nplsf.org/donate

  We're kicking off the new month this week on Outdoor Magazine radio. First, John Cleveland of the Eppinger Company talks about their Daredevle Spoon featured on a postage stamp. Then, Mr. AnglerQuest, Brad Dupuie has an update on how his new company is doing and the response from dealers and anglers. Keweenaw Peninsula fishing guide Connor Baccus is my first guest in Hour 2. The ice is finally gone and Connor is excited to be back on the water. Then Tyler Mehigh of MUCC talks about their new “Field Team” and also their “Coyote Coalition” project. Ed Blissck from the Great Lakes Salmon Initiative answers this week's “Ask Avery” question with an update on the issue of trolling rods for Great Lakes Anglers. We're talking food plots in Hour 3 with Rich Chrzan of Killer Food Plots. He says now is the time to get busy. We wrap it all up with Chef Dixie Dave Minar. This week, Dave has a tasty turkey recipe.

Today we're welcoming Lynn from Fresh Coast Cabins, whose journey from digital marketing executive to cabin entrepreneur offers a refreshing perspective on placemaking in the wilderness of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. From renovating a single rustic cabin to developing a collection of lakeside retreats, a public sauna, and now even a bar and event space, Lynn shares how her passion for creating meaningful experiences has evolved into a thriving ecosystem of hospitality ventures. We'll explore her philosophy that cabin culture is about connecting guests to the unique beauty and heritage of Lake Superior, including the area's deep Finnish roots and mining history. Whether you're curious about managing guest expectations in remote locations, navigating the balance between rustic charm and modern comforts, or interested in leveraging digital marketing to build direct bookings, this conversation offers both practical wisdom and a thoughtful perspective on intentional growth. We'll dive into everything from the ritual of seasonality along Lake Superior's shores to the challenges of operating in a place where the nearest big box store is three hours away, and why sometimes the most memorable experiences come from embracing the imperfections rather than hiding them.  WEBSITE: https://freshcoastcabins.com INSTAGRAM@freshcoastcabins@cozyrockcabin@cozycampsebec@cozycabinbooneBOOKING SITESFresh Coast Cabins: https://freshcoastcabins.comCozy Rock Cabin: https://staycozycabin.holidayfuture.com/listings/311027Cozy Cabin Boone: https://staycozycabin.holidayfuture.com/listings/311026Cozy Camp Sebec: https://staycozycabin.holidayfuture.com/listings/311051Cozy Rock Website: http://www.staycozycabin.comBook a Cabin Consultation Here:  http://www.staycozycabin.com

Our recent frigid Michigan winter weather can make it a little hard to remember our mantra of embracing the season, but a flurry of upcoming fun festivals might help you change your mind. On this episode of Behind the Mitten, we'll take you all over the state, to some of our wackiest winter festivals you can experience. Do you have a secret desire to be a Viking, even if it's only for a weekend? Our friends at the Michigan Nordic Fire Festival see you, and have concocted one heck of a great time in Charlotte. The 10th annual festival will feature Viking-themed performances, reenactments and demonstrations, competitions and activities like archery and axe throwing, a costume contest and more. We had on Bryan Merkle, the top viking, to give us the scoop. He's particularly excited about the Mead Hall, where you'll be able to sip samples of this honeyed drink. The festival runs February 21 through the 23 and tickets can be purchased online. I'm shining my horn helmut right now.Next, we'll take you to the Upper Peninsula where the little town of Trenary will be hosting their famous Outhouse Races on Saturday February 22. Thousands of people will inundate downtown, while dozens will compete for amazing prizes. We had on Stacey Rucinski, President of the Trenary Outhouse Races to get to the bottom of this hilariously good time. Learn how to make a regulation outhouse, what must be inside said outhouse during the race, how the outhouses make their way down the street, and what it's like to be in Trenary on the big day. Finally, we have one of our favorite regular guests back on the show, Jesse Wiederhold from Visit Keweenaw. Jesse is always a font of knowledge and excitement about what is going on in the Key, and this week was no different. We talked about the Copper Dog 150, which starts in Calumet on February 28. The dog sled racers will then traverse the peninsula during several exciting races. Enjoy a variety of events throughout the weekend, including sled dog rides for the kids, a huge street party, fireworks and more. A new event is happening February 21-23, The Hancock Snow Sculpting Invitational. There will be some seriously awesome snow art here. This premier event will feature four talented teams of snow sculptors, including the renowned Sculptora Borealis, whose team members have won the National Snow Sculpting title four times, and Team USA, winners of the Bronze medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and two-time National Snow Sculpting title winners. You can find all the fun that is happening in the Keweenaw this winter here.

For Episode 186 we have Jason Aric Jones. Jason recently announced that he was stepping away from 30+ years of working extremely hard for mountain bike trail access and advocacy, and I know that it would be important to have Jason on the show to recount some of the experiences he has had along the way. Jason definitely took a creative approach to getting the job done, which eventually parlayed itself into the DTE Energy Foundation Trails, and multiple roles in statewide advocacy, that are even helping to influence regions around the entire state of Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula.    Topics Include: How Jason got into mountain biking The reasons behind Jason getting into Mountain Bike Advocacy Some of the challenges associated with mountain bike access in the early days Early days of mountain bike advocacy Creative ways to get mountain bikers involved with advocacy in Michigan Getting access to the Waterloo Recreation Area for mountain biking (and how that started) The Hell Riders (Black Hat Advocacy / Civil Disobedience) – FTW! Getting appointed to the Michigan Trails Advisory Council The Michigan Mountain Bike Association – and the value of Statewide Mountain Bike Organizations. How the DTE Energy Foundation Trail came to be, and the details behind all of it. Black Trails… Actual Data behind trail use numbers and how mountain bikers are a huge part of that Equestrian use and Mountain Bike use Keweenaw Heartlands Parcels and the explanation behind that initiative at the MI Trails Advisory Council. The power of Resolutions at the State Committee / Council level. The Keweenaw Peninsula and why that region is important to Jason What Jason looks for in Trail Communities Closing Comments Trail EAffect Show Links: Potawatomi Mountain Biking Association: https://potomba.org/ DTE Energy Trail: https://dtetrail.org/ DTE Trail - Pure Michigan: https://youtu.be/LctSL056YfY?si=6-wpG32OltelA4jU   Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/   Trail One Components 20% off Coupon Code: trailpod Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/?ref=XavfBrRJfk4VOh Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services

Happy Thanksgiving. Books make great gifts.   Author Larry Jorgensen tells the true-life adventure of the 1926 City of Bangor shipwreck rescue off the Keweenaw Peninsula in Upper Michigan.   A fierce November storm tossed the ship with a crew of 23 and 240 new Chrysler automobiles onto a Lake Superior reef. For the first time, Shipwrecked and Cars and Crew tell the near-tragic story of lost and desperate shipmates floundering for two days in the deep snow and near-zero temperatures. Jorgensen's detailed research and collection of historical photos chronicles what happened, introduces the key players, and finally reveals the fate of those collectors' prizes in the century since. Listen in to win a signed copy of Shipwrecked and Rescued. Contact Emma via the website emmapalova.com with the name of the city that deceived Captain Mackin's logistics in this story. Sponsored by @Moravian Sons Distillery and Doc Chavent Copyright (c) 2024 Emma Blogs, LLC. All rights reserved.

The forests that ring Lake Superior are some of the most magical on the continent. At the tip of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, in Copper Harbor, you'll find the Estivant Pines. This 570 acres of old-growth pine has lured hikers for decades. But saving this stand of ancient timber was no small feat. It started over 50 years ago and in this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with photographer and forester Charles Eschbach from Houghton, Michigan, about his work to protect one of the Upper Peninsula's most remarkable natural treasures. Tune in to learn how his story of conservation--from skiing in deep snow with his camera to the cooperation of classrooms around the region--has inspired generations.Key Takeaways:The Estivant Pines are one of the last contiguous stands of old-growth white pines in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with some trees towering over 150 feet and dating back 500 years. Grassroots efforts, including a committee of 17 citizens and even fundraising by schoolchildren, were critical to saving the sanctuary from logging in the 1970s. Photography played a pivotal role in raising awareness, with Charles documenting the pines' beauty and the destruction they faced, galvanizing public support. The sanctuary's preservation has inspired generations, creating a deeper understanding of the value of conserving natural habitats for future generations. Conservation efforts have not only saved the forest but also educated the public, fostering a culture of environmental responsibility in the region.Notable Quotes: “You always know your backyard the best, and the Keweenaw is my backyard.” “The kids led the way. School children raised money, from quarters dropped in buckets to can drives, to save these trees.” “These trees are four to five hundred years old. It's amazing that they're still there.” “Our little committee of seventeen people persevered through countless setbacks.” “This is a piece of history - a legacy of what we've preserved and achieved.”Resources:Estivant Pines Sanctuary Information: Estivant Pines (https://www.michigannature.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=locationgallery&action=listing&listing=110) National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation: NPLSF Website (https://www.nplsf.org/)Be sure to tune in to this inspiring episode of the Lake Superior Podcast to hear Charles's incredible story of conservation and community dedication.Connect With Us:Website: Lake Superior PodcastFacebook: National Parks of Lake Superior FoundationLinkedIn: NPLSF on LinkedIn

We report on the reporters! OK, sort of. Meet Dave Spratt from the Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources who takes journalists around the Great Lakes to get them into the environments they're reporting on and to talk with scientists and researchers. Then we meet one of those reporters: Lester Graham from Michigan Public (reporter) who has been doing award-winning work about the environment for decades.--Show LinksInstitute for Journalism and Natural ResourcesTMATGL Episode 93 with Peter AnninDave's Fav Sandwich Place: Zingerman's DeliDave's Special Great Lakes Place: Michigan's Upper Peninsula west of the Keweenaw Peninsula near the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State ParkLester Graham's Work at Michigan Public (Radio)Lester Graham's Wildlife Photography on InstagramLester's Fav Sandwich Place: Tecumseh Brewing Co.Lester's Special Great Lakes Place: Craig Lake State Park in MichiganShow CreditsHost and Executive Producer: Stuart CarltonCo-Host: Megan GunnProduced and Edited by: Sandra SvobodaPodcast Art by: Joel Davenport Music by: Stuart Carlton

  We're kicking off a new month on this edition of the Outdoor Magazine radio show. First, Captain John Littlefield of Premier Maritime Training talks about the process of getting a captain's license. Then Ed Roy of the Michigan Wildlife Council has an update on their “Here for Generations” campaign. Hour two features Upper Penninsula fishing guide Connor Backus. He talks about fishing smallmouth in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Steve Windom from MUCC is my next guest. He has an update out of Lansing and also talks about their Youth Camp to get kids involved in the outdoors. Gary Morgan of Wild Game Dynasty joins me in Hour 3. Gary is a hunting guide and talks about the upcoming Michigan bear season. We wrap it all up with Chef Dixie Dave Minar and another great recipe.

In his debut novel The Last Huck, author J. D. Austin tells the stories of cousins Jakob, Niklas, and Peter Kinnunen who have inherited a family farm in Michigan's U.P. The cousins spent their childhood playing together on the berry farm on Keweenaw Peninsula, and now they're older facing major challenges in their lives. Jakob goes to prison, while Niklas goes bankrupt in the recession of 2008. When Uncle Jussi dies young, the crux of the story evolves around the major issue they face; Are they going to sell the land out of necessity?   Listen in for a chance to win a signed copy of The Last Huck. Sponsored by Doc Chavent. Copyright (c) 2024. Emma Palova

This week, buckle up for part one of a riveting tale as Jennie and Dianne team up with Lynette Webber, an expert who has dedicated years to researching the cemeteries and their residents in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. Picture this: a time machine back to the 1800s when tin miners and their kin from Cornwall, Great Britain, made the Peninsula and its copper mines their stomping ground. As the copper mines declined in productivity, families sought opportunities elsewhere, leading to their migration. Fast forward to summer 2023, Lynette, Jennie, and Dianne, all members of the Association for Gravestone Studies, attended the annual AGS conference which was held in Colorado. As Lynette explored Gilpin County's picturesque mountain cemeteries, she unearthed surprising links between several graves of Colorado and Michigan. Lynette spins tales of resilient Cornish families who journeyed from Michigan to Colorado, with a spotlight on the Ordinary Extraordinary women who nurtured these families, enduring  challenges, heartache, and finding both success and happiness along the way.For a truly in-depth experience, make sure to watch this episode on YouTube where Lynette showcases photos, documents, and additional details while narrating these stories. https://youtu.be/OTLagJL2thY?si=LqVu7C8D-EzsIi6Y

Rick Flynn Presents, the official podcast soon to publish our milestone 200th episode proudly welcomes back author Larry Jorgensen in promotion of his book "Shipwrecked and Rescued: The City of Bangor." Larry Jorgensen first became fascinated with Michigan's Upper Peninsula and its unique history while writing and reporting for television news in Green Bay. However, his journey into that world of news had begun much earlier in northern Wisconsin where he worked during high school for the weekly newspaper in Eagle River. Later he was employed by a newspaper publisher in Milwaukee, and then on to radio and television news in Texas and Louisiana, along with wire service and freelance assignments. During all those years he looked forward to return visits to the Keweenaw Peninsula. During one of those visits, Larry discovered the tale of the wreck of the City of Bangor. Learning of that little-known event resulted in his decision to create this written account, which he hopes would share the story of one of Lake Superior's most unusual shipwrecks. www.ShipwreckedandRescued.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/rick-flynn/support

On the version of Hot off the Wire posted Feb. 17 at 6 a.m. CT: CHICAGO (AP) — Abortion rights advocates are trying to get initiatives to protect reproductive health on the ballot in several states this year. And one major difference has emerged in their proposed language: whether to include mental health as an exception. A Missouri proposal would allow lawmakers to restrict abortions after a fetus is considered viable, except if an abortion “is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.” A similar measure has been proposed in Arizona, but proposals in Florida, Montana and Nebraska do not explicitly mention mental health. The CDC says mental health conditions were the leading underlying cause of pregnancy-related deaths from 2017 to 2019. WASHINGTON (AP) — Doctors in states with strict abortion restrictions say an increasing number of pregnant women are seeking early prenatal testing. They're hoping to detect serious problems while they still have time to choose whether to continue the pregnancy or have an abortion. But early ultrasounds show far less about the condition of a fetus than later ones. And genetic screenings may be inaccurate. Since Roe v. Wade, about half the states have put in abortion bans or restrictions. And that's started the clock ticking. Many health care providers say more patients are deciding the fate of their pregnancies based on whatever information they can gather before state bans kick in. Officials in central Oregon this week reported a case of bubonic plague in a resident who likely got the disease from a sick pet cat. The infected resident and the resident’s close contacts have all been provided medication, public health officials say, and people in the community are not believed to be at risk. The cat was treated but did not survive. Plague isn’t common, but it also isn’t unheard of in the western United States, where a handful of cases occur every year. Here are a few things to know about what the plague is, who is at risk and how a disease that was once a harbinger of death became a treatable illness. NEW YORK (AP) — A recent death has brought new attention to the so-called Alaskapox virus. The bug belongs to a family of brick-shaped viruses that can infect animals and humans. Smallpox is perhaps the most famous of the group. But other family members include cowpox, horsepox and mpox — formerly known as monkeypox. An elderly man who died last month is believed to be the first known death from Alaskapox. He lived in the Kenai Peninsula and had a suppressed immune system because of cancer treatment. There have been fewer than 10 cases, all in Alaska, since the virus was discovered nine years ago. Nearly two-thirds of American Jews feel less secure in the U.S. than they did a year ago. That’s according to the latest annual survey from the American Jewish Committee. The AJC — a prominent Jewish advocacy organization — conducted the survey last fall, just as the Israel-Hamas war began. The survey released Tuesday found almost half of American Jews have altered their behavior during the past year to avoid being perceived as Jewish. AJC began its annual survey five years ago, after the Tree of Life synagogue massacre, the deadliest antisemitic attack on American soil. Since then, most Jews and more than half of Americans say they think antisemitism has increased. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Scientists say the back-to-back storms that lashed the Northeast in January were more of a sign of things to come than an anomaly. Many scientists who study the intersection of climate change, flooding, winter storms and sea level say such storms will arrive with increased frequency and ferocity, and the damage they leave behind will worsen as sea levels rise. They say the January storms that destroyed wharfs in Maine, eroded sand dunes in New Hampshire and destroyed houses in Rhode Island are becoming more the norm than the exception, and the time to prepare for them is now. UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations chief is warning that climate chaos and food crises are increasing threats to global peace. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a high-level U,N. meeting Tuesday that climate disasters imperil food production and “empty bellies fuel unrest.” He urged the U.N. Security Council to address the impact of food shortages and rising temperatures on international peace and security — a view echoed by many countries but not Russia. Guterres said: “Climate and conflict are two leading drivers of (our) global food crisis” and “where wars rage, hunger reigns." Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said climate and food should be discussed elsewhere in the U.N., and blamed former Western colonial powers and the U.S. for current crises in the developing world. CHICAGO (AP) — Mayor Brandon Johnson says Chicago isn't renewing its ShotSpotter contract and will stop using the controversial gunshot detection system later this year. The system relies on an artificial intelligence algorithm and microphones to identify gunshots. But it has been criticized for inaccuracy, racial bias and law enforcement misuse. Chicago’s $49 million contract with SoundThinking expires Friday. The city plans to wind down its use of ShotSpotter technology by late September. Johnson, a first-term mayor, campaigned on a promise to end the use of ShotSpotter, putting him at odds with law enforcement. Police say the technology puts officers on the scene of shootings much faster than waiting for 911 calls. PARKLAND, Fla. (AP) — The family of a teen murdered at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is launching a campaign where re-created voices of gun violence victims will call federal lawmakers. The parents of 17-year-old Joaquin Oliver launched the project on Wednesday, the massacre's sixth anniversary. Oliver and 16 others died in the shooting. The recordings re-creating voices of victims from around the country are being robocalled to U.S. senators and House members who oppose stricter gun laws. Manuel and Patricia Oliver say they hope the calls will pressure the lawmakers to shift their positions. The Olivers want the sale of military-style semi-automatic rifles like the one that killed their son banned. WHITEFISH POINT, Mich. (AP) — Shipwreck hunters have discovered a merchant ship that sank in Lake Superior in 1940, taking its captain with it during a storm off Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society and shipwreck researcher Dan Fountain announced Monday the discovery of the 244-foot bulk carrier Arlington just north of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. The Arlington was fully loaded with wheat and headed to Owen Sound, Ontario, when it sank on May 1, 1940. All crew members survived, but Captain Frederick “Tatey Bug” Burke went down with his ship after ordering it onto the open lake during the storm. —The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Lee Enterprises produces many national, regional and sports podcasts. Learn more here.

Part 2 is out! We're sharing the winner of the pasty-off, reliving the first time we stepped into Big Traverse Bay (straight from the sauna!), and continuing our adventures exploring the Keweenaw Peninsula.  Music Dirge of the Night by Tied With Twine Website https://www.thesaunatrail.com Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thesaunatrail Facebook https://www.facebook.com/thesaunatrail TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@thesaunatrail Locals https://thesaunatrail.locals.com (00:00) Introduction  (01:30) Finding a rental  (03:34) Exploring the Keweenaw  (04:47) The sauna on Big Traverse Bay  (13:43) Sauna country  (15:41) Nudity in the sauna  (22:06) Trying a fish fry  (23:30) 360 degree sauna photos  (26:41) Driving home and trip photos  (32:04) Pasty-off!  (37:02) Outro 

WE'RE BACCCKK!! Check out today's episode of On the Road to hear all about our experiences in the Keweenaw Peninsula! We talk about our time snowboarding at Mount Bohemia, watching the CopperDog150, the prettiest scenic drive,  and our area recommendations. CLICK HERE FOR A FULL RECAP & ALL THE LINKS!IG: @thatwisconsincoupleFB: @thatwisconsincoupleLeave us your feedback here!

Christmas Eve, 1913, was a tragic night in Calumet, Michigan. 73 people—59 of them children--were killed when someone falsely yelled, “Fire,” at a crowded Christmas party on the second floor of the Italian Hall setting off a deadly stampede. The disaster occurred five months into a crippling labor strike between Western Federation of Miners Union workers and the Calumet Hecla Mining Company. Now, 110 years later, Beth Kirschner has written about the historic labor dispute and what has been called the Italian Hall Massacre in her novel, “Copper Divide.” In this episode of the Lake Superior Podcast, Walt Lindala and Frida Waara talk with Beth, who works as a software engineer, about the 1913 Copper Strike and how the Keweenaw Peninsula's history inspires her writing.

Season 4: Episode 8--The UP Notable Book Club presents Larry Jorgensen speaking about his book "Shipwrecked and Rescued." The Crystal Falls Community District Library in partnership with the U.P. Publishers & Authors Association (UPPAA) presents author events with winners of the UP Notable Book List.  For more information please visit the links below www.UPPAA.org   www.UPNotable.com   https://shipwreckedandrescued.com  LARRY JORGENSEN first became fascinated with Michigan's Upper Peninsula and its unique history while writing and reporting for television news in Green Bay. However, his journey into that world of news had begun much earlier in northern Wisconsin where he worked while in high school for the weekly newspaper in Eagle River. Later he was employed by a newspaper publisher in Milwaukee, and then on to radio and television news in Texas and Louisiana, along with wire service and freelance assignments. During all those years he looked forward to return visits to the Keweenaw Peninsula. It was during one of those visits Larry discovered the tale of the wreck of the “City of Bangor”. It was learning of that little-known event that resulted in his decision to create this written account that he hoped to share the story of one of Lake Superior's most unusual shipwrecks.

For decades, the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.P. was home to more than 100 copper mines.One of the byproducts of that is stamp sands, the practice of crushing rock and extracting heavy metals.Remnants of it are still found throughout the peninsula.

On this Behind the Mitten podcast, John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman are all over the state from the Keweenaw Peninsula to Saugatuck, with stops in Mt. Pleasant and Grand Rapids.The show opens at the Laurium Manor Inn in Laurium, near Calumet in the Upper Peninsula. Owner Julie Sprenger takes John through the mansion, which was built in 1908 for Thomas H. & Cornelia Hoatson, owner of Calumet & Arizona Mining Co. The Edwardian Era mansion is spacious at 13,000 square feet and features 11 bedroom, all restored with history of who lived in each room. There is even a walking tour available for guests (for free), and the general public for a nominal fee. The Laurium Manor Inn, which was purchased by Julie and her husband Dave in 1989, is open from late May to October. View the Laurium Manor Inn Rooms & Amenities.Next, Amy and Gonzo take you to Mt. Pleasant for a segment with Chris "Elmo" Walton of Max & Emily's, a sandwhich shop that is a favorite for students and locals alike. He exudes enthusiasm and love for the community. He is one of the most positive people you will ever meet.On the show they also welcome Jack Eisinger and Kim Redlin of the Lakeshore Harvest Ride, a customized bike ride that takes you through farms, wineries and art studios from Saugatuck to South Haven or South Haven to Saugatuck. The rides can be as short as 15 miles or as long as 62 miles. The ride is Saturday, Sept. 16. Money raised will go to Friends of the Blue Star Trail, which hopes to build a 20-mile paved trail. Learn more about the ride at LHRide.com.Lastly, Gonzo and Amy get to hang out with Paul Soltysiak, who leads the Fans of Valley Field, a grassroots effort to restore and revitalize Sullivan Field (originally named Valley Field), located on the Westside of Grand Rapids. They organization is bringing life back the neighborhood ballpark with a variety of events from concerts to a chili cook-off. Learn more at fansofvalleyfield.org. It's a fun show!Keep up to date on everything going at Behind the Mitten by visiting amyandgonzo.com.

Larry Jorgensen, author of “The Coca-Cola Trail, People and Places in the History of Coca-Cola,” is a journailist with experience in weekly and daily newspapers. Jorgensen first became fascinated with Michigan's Upper Peninsula and its unique history while writing and reporting for television news in Green Bay. However his journey into that world of news had begun much earlier in northern Wisconsin where he worked while in high school for the weekly newspaper in Eagle River. Later he was employed by a newspaper publisher in Milwaukee, and then on to radio and television news in Texas and Louisiana, along with wire service and freelance assignments.During all those years he looked forward to return visits to the Keweenaw Peninsula. It was during one of those visits Larry discovered the tale of the wreck of the “City of Bangor”. It was learning of that little known event which resulted in his decision to create this written account which he hope would share the story of one of Lake Superior's most unusual shipwrecks. "Shipwrecked and Rescued: The City of Bangor," tells the near-tragic story of lost and desperate shipmates floundering for two days in the deep snow and near-zero temperatures.Website shipwreckedandrescued.com semediapro.com/larry-jorgenseBooks The Coca-Cola Trail: People and Places in the History of Coca-Cola Hot Wells: A Louisiana Ghost Shipwrecked and Rescued: The City of Bangor Return to the Coca Cola Trail

Welcome back Author Larry Jorgensen as he shares his new book, Shipwrecked and Rescued!LARRY JORGENSEN first became fascinated with Michigan's Upper Peninsula and its unique history while writing and reporting for television news in Green Bay. However his journey into that world of news had begun much earlier in northern Wisconsin where he worked while in high school for the weekly newspaper in Eagle River. Later he was employed by a newspaper publisher in Milwaukee, and then on to radio and television news in Texas and Louisiana, along with wire service and freelance assignments. During all those years he looked forward to return visits to the Keweenaw Peninsula. It was during one of those visits Larry discovered the tale of the wreck of the “City of Bangor”. It was learning of that little known event which resulted in his decision to create this written account which he hope would share the story of one of Lake Superior's most unusual shipwrecks.The Story of a Lake Superior shipwreck and two unbelievable but true successful rescues! We look forward to seeing you succeed! - www.KeepOnSharing.com - Code - KOS

“Behind the Mitten” is Michigan's premiere travel radio show and Podcast, and since 2015 it has published more than 500 episodes. It is co-hosted by veteran journalist John Gonzalez and longtime chef & beer expert Amy Sherman. The show has been recognized by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as Best in Category.This week's show is all about small towns!Season 5, Episode 17:Jaylyn McCloy, the Marketing Partnership Manager at Experience Grand Rapids talks about some of the small towns surround Grand Rapids, including Cedar Springs, Ada and others.We have two awesome reps from small towns you need to explore. Richard Anderson of Iron Fish Distillery in Thompsonville and Kerry Lynch of Short's Brewing Co. in Bellaire talk about the collaboration of Soft Parade fruit-infused Vodka.Deb Prater of Coldwater Country tells us about the many small towns surrounding her community, including Colon, the Magic Capital of the world, including the Magic City Grill Fest, which is June 17. Our very own Amy Sherman will be one of the judges.Finally, our friend Jesse Wiederhold, the Public Relations/Events Coordinator at Visit Keweenaw, takes us on a tour of the small towns in the Keweenaw Peninsula, including Copper Harbor, Eagle River and more!This show aired April 29-30, 2023.BTM airs on radio stations across the state, and you can always find us as a podcast on your favorite streaming service.Affiliates:*8 a.m. Saturdays on WBRN - 1460 AM and 107.7 FM in Big Rapids*8 a.m. Saturdays on Kalamazoo Talk Radio 1360 WKMI*8 a.m. Saturdays on WILS-1320 AM in Lansing*10 a.m. Saturdays 95.3 WBCK-FM in Battle Creek*10 a.m. Saturdays on News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM in Benton Harbor*4 p.m. Saturdays on WIOS "The Bay's Best!" - 1480 AM & 106.9 FM in Tawas / East Tawas*7 a.m. Sundays on the following Black Diamond Broadcasting stations:-WCFX - CFX Today's Hits (95.3) in Mt. Pleasant-WGFN - Classic Rock The Bear (98.1 & 95.3) in Traverse City-WMRX - Sunny 97.7 in Midland-WUPS - The Classic Hits Station (98.5) in Houghton Lake-WWMK - 1063 MAC FM in Cheboygan*Noon Sundays on News, Talk and Sports - 1380-AM WPHM in Port Huron*1 p.m. Sundays on WSGW-AM (790) and FM (100.5) in Saginaw*6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM (1300) and FM (106.9) in Grand RapidsFollow John and Amy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/behindthemitten orTwitter at @BehindTheMitten and Instagram at @BehindTheMitten_.

There are over 6000 recorded Great Lakes shipwrecks, but only ONE like the "City of Bangor" in 1926 in Lake Superior. A frozen and lost crew is finally rescued, and then the ship's cargo of 240 new Chrysler autos also are rescued. It is a 3-month ordeal toget them out of the snow covered Keweenaw Peninsula.

“Behind the Mitten” is Michigan's premiere travel radio show and Podcast, and since 2015 it has published more than 480 episodes. It is co-hosted by veteran journalist John Gonzalez and longtime chef & beer expert Amy Sherman. The show has been recognized by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as Best in Category.On this episode we travel to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to get more details about two big winter events in Febriary - Michigan Tech's annual Winter Carnival, and the Michigan Ice Fest in Munising, and we interview a couple passionate people about SNOW!Season 5, Episode 4:Our new friend, and new public relations and event coordinator for Visit Keweenaw, Jesse Wiederhold, kicks off the show. He shares some of his new favorite spots in the area, and his enthusiasm is infectious.We thought that since until very recently the only area of the state with snow was the Kee, we should probably get a UP weather update from meteorologist Jennifer Perez from TV 6.Feb 8-12 is the Michigan Ice Fest in Munising which attracts ice climbers from across the globe. Fest director Bill Whitman joins us to share the details.Finally, we get our yearly update on the Michigan Tech Winter Carnival from current Blue Key Honor Society President Joe Dlugos.BTM airs on radio stations across the state, and you can always find us as a podcast on your favorite streaming service.Affiliates:*8 a.m. Saturdays on WBRN - 1460 AM and 107.7 FM in Big Rapids*8 a.m. Saturdays on Kalamazoo Talk Radio 1360 WKMI*8 a.m. Saturdays on WILS-1320 AM in Lansing*10 a.m. Saturdays 95.3 WBCK-FM in Battle Creek*10 a.m. Saturdays on News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM in Benton Harbor*4 p.m. Saturdays on WIOS "The Bay's Best!" - 1480 AM & 106.9 FM in Tawas / East Tawas*7 a.m. Sundays on the following Black Diamond Broadcasting stations:-WCFX - CFX Today's Hits (95.3) in Mt. Pleasant-WGFN - Classic Rock The Bear (98.1 & 95.3) in Traverse City-WMRX - Sunny 97.7 in Midland-WUPS - The Classic Hits Station (98.5) in Houghton Lake-WWMK - 1063 MAC FM in Cheboygan*Noon Sundays on News, Talk and Sports - 1380-AM WPHM in Port Huron*1 p.m. Sundays on WSGW-AM (790) and FM (100.5) in Saginaw*6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM (1300) and FM (106.9) in Grand RapidsFollow John and Amy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/behindthemitten orTwitter at @BehindTheMitten and Instagram at @BehindTheMitten_.

How did making skis in 1908 in the Michigan Finnish Copper Country influence these Boyne City entrepreneurs to start making modern skis in 2005?Listen to Jeff Thompson, Co-Founder of Shaggy's Copper Country Skis, and host Ed Clemente, explore this unique ski manufacturer in Boyne City Michigan. In 1908, our great-grand-uncle Sulo "Shaggy" Lehto starting hand carving wooden skis for our family and neighbors in the village of Kearsarge, located in the heart of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, best known as the Copper Country.  In 2005, when the Thompson family started making skis, they knew they had to keep the family heritage alive and dedicated their ski building endeavor with the family name of Shaggy's Copper Country Skis. You can also read the transcript from our conversation. 

We kick off the show with UP whitetail hunter Josh Stein. Josh talks about the challenges of hunting the Keweenaw Peninsula. Then Beth Gruden of the Michigan Wildlife Council checks in with an update on their Here for Generations campaign.

“Behind the Mitten” is Michigan's premiere travel radio show and Podcast, and it has more than 430 episodes. It is co-hosted by veteran journalist John Gonzalez and longtime chef & beer expert Amy Sherman. The show has been recognized by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as Best in Category.On this podcast, Amy and Gonzo head back to one of their favorite places - the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and they talk about snow, trails and burritos!First they stop at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge near Copper Harbor to talk to Chris Guibert, who is the Outdoor Activities lead. A professional photographer who visited many years ago while on assignment, he shares his personal story about how he settled in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Learn more about lodging and activities at https://keweenawmountainlodge.com/.They also interview Jennifer Perez, chief meteorologist at WLUC TV-6, who shares her passion for weather -- and all that snow -- in the U.P., and how a Florida girl ended up so far North. Learn more about her at https://www.uppermichiganssource.com/authors/Jennifer.Perez/.They also reconnect with their friend Dave Lawrence, owner and operator/head chef/ dishwasher at Rodeo Mexican Kitchen in Houghton. Amy and John talk about their love for his fresh salsas. Learn more at https://www.burritorodeo.com/.The show ends with John and Amy reflecting on their recent visit to the Laurium Manor Inn, and then talk to Visit Keweenaw's Brad Barnett of some of the area's best restaurants, including a new sushi spot and the longtime favorite The Ambassador. Learn more at https://www.visitkeweenaw.com/.This show aired Nov. 5-6, 2022.Make sure to listen to Behind the Mitten on the following stations: *8 a.m. Saturdays on WBRN - 1460 AM and 107.7 FM in Big Rapids *8 a.m. Saturdays on Kalamazoo Talk Radio 1360 WKMI *8 a.m. Saturdays on WILS-1320 AM in Lansing *10 a.m. Saturdays 95.3 WBCK-FM in Battle Creek *10 a.m. Saturdays on News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM in Benton Harbor*4 p.m. Saturdays on WIOS "The Bay's Best!" - 1480 AM & 106.9 FM in Tawas / East Tawas *Noon Sundays on News, Talk and Sports - 1380-AM WPHM in Port Huron *1 p.m. Sundays on WSGW-AM (790) and FM (100.5) in Saginaw *6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM (1300) and (106.9) in Grand Rapids Follow John and Amy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/behindthemitten orTwitter at @BehindTheMitten and Instagram at @BehindTheMitten_.

To support independent ski journalism, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This podcast hit paid subscribers' inboxes on Oct. 26. It dropped for free subscribers on Oct. 29. To receive future pods as soon as they're live, please consider an upgrade to a paid subscription.WhoLonie Glieberman, President of Mount Bohemia, MichiganRecorded onOctober 21, 2022About Mount BohemiaClick here for a mountain stats overviewOwned by: Lonie GliebermanPass affiliations: NoneReciprocal pass partners (view full list here):* 3 days each at Bogus Basin, Mission Ridge, Great Divide, Lee Canyon, Pine Creek, White Pine, Sleeping Giant, Mt. Spokane, Eaglecrest, Eagle Point* 2 days each at Porcupine Mountains; Crystal Mountain, Michigan; Giants Ridge; Hurricane Ridge* 1 day each at Brundage, Treetops, Whitecap Mountains, Ski Brule, Snowstar* Free midweek skiing March 1-2, 5-9, 12-16, and 24-25 at Caberfae when staying at slopeside MacKenzie LodgeLocated in: Mohawk, MichiganClosest neighboring ski areas: Mont Ripley (46 minutes), Porcupine Mountains (2 hours), Ski Brule (2 hours, 34 minutes), Snowriver (2 hours, 35 minutes), Keyes Peak (2 hours, 36 minutes), Marquette Mountain (2 hours, 40 minutes), Big Powderhorn (2 hours, 43 minutes), Mt. Zion (2 hours, 45 minutes), Pine Mountain (2 hours, 49 minutes), Whitecap (3 hours, 8 minutes).Base elevation: 600 feetSummit elevation: 1,500 feetVertical drop: 900 feetSkiable Acres: 585Average annual snowfall: 273 inchesTrail count: 147 (24% double-black, 49% black, 20% intermediate, 7% beginner)Lift count: 2 lifts, 4 buses (1 double, 1 triple - view Lift Blog's of inventory of Mount Bohemia's lift fleet)Bohemia has one of the most confusing trailmaps in America, so here's an overhead view by Mapsynergy. This displays the main mountain only, and does not include Little Boho, but you can clearly see where Haunted Valley sits in relation to the lifts:Here's an older version, from 2014, that does not include Little Boho or the newer Middle Earth section, but has the various zones clearly labelled:Why I interviewed himImagine: America's wild north. Hours past everything you've ever heard of. Then hours past that. A peninsula hanging off a peninsula in the middle of the largest lake on Earth. There, a bump on the topo map. Nine hundred feet straight up. The most vert in the 1,300-mile span between Bristol and Terry Peak. At the base a few buildings, a cluster of yurts, a green triple chair crawling up the incline.Here, at the end of everything, skiers find almost nothing. As though the voyage to road's end had cut backward through time. No snowguns. No groomers. No rental shop. No ski school. No Magic Carpet. No beginner runs. No beginners. A lift and a mountain, and nothing more.Nothing but raw and relentless terrain. All things tucked away at the flash-and-bling modern resort made obvious. Glades everywhere, top to bottom, labyrinthian and endless, hundreds of acres deep. Chutes. Cliffs. Bumps. Terrain technical and twisting. No ease in. No run out. All fall line.To the masses this is nightmare skiing, the sort of stacked-obstacle elevator shaft observed from the flat shelf of green-circle groomers. To the rest of us – the few of us – smiling wanly from the eighth seat of a gondola car as ya'lling tourists yuck about the black diamonds they just windshield-wipered back to Corpus Christi – arrival at Mount Bohemia is a sort of surrealist dream. It can't be real. This place. Everything grand about skiing multiplied. Everything extraneous removed. Like waking up and discovering all food except tacos and pizza had gone away. Delicious entrees for life.And the snow. The freeze-thaws, the rain, the surly guttings of New England winters barely touch Boho. The lake-effect snowtrain – two to eight inches, nearly every day from December to March – erases these wicked spells soon after their rare castings. And the snow piles up: 273 inches on average, and more than 300 inches in three of the past five seasons. In 2022, Boho skied into May for the third time in the past decade.There is no better ski area. For skiers whose lifequest is to roll as one with the mountain as the mountain was formed. Those weary of cat-tracks and Rangers coats splaying wobbly across the corduroy and bunched human bowling pins and the spectacular price of everything. Boho's season pass is $109. Ninety-nine dollars if you can do without Saturdays. It's loaded with reciprocal days at nearly two dozen partners. It's a spectacular bargain and a spectacular find. At once dramatic and understated, wide-open and closely kept, rowdy and sublime, Mount Bohemia is the ski area that skiers deserve. And it is the ski area that the Midwest – one of the world's great ski cultures – deserves. There is nothing else like Mount Bohemia in America, and there's really nothing else like it anywhere.What we talked aboutOctober snow in the UP; how much snow Boho needs to open; “we can get five feet in December in a matter of days”; why the great Sugar Loaf, Michigan ski area failed and why it's likely never coming back; a journey through the Canadian Football League; what running a football team and running a ski area have in common; “Narrow the focus, strengthen the brand”; wild rumors of a never-developed ski area in the Keweenaw Peninsula overheard on a Colorado chairlift; sleuthing pre-Google; the business case for a ski area with no beginner terrain; “it's not just the size, it's the pitch”; bringing Bohemia to improbable life; the most important element to Bohemia as a viable business; how to open a ski area when you've never worked at a ski area; community opposition materializes – “I still to this day don't know why they were mad”; winning the referendum to build the resort; how locals feel about Boho today; industry reaction to a ski area with no grooming, no snowmaking, and no beginner terrain; “you actually have created the stupidest ski resort of all time”; the long history of established companies missing revolutionary products; dead-boring 1990s Michigan skiing; the slow early days with empty lifts spinning all day long; learning from failure to push through to success; the business turning point; Bohemia's $99 season pass; the kingmaking power of the lost ski media; the state of Boho 22 years in; “nothing is ever as important as adding more and new terrain”; why Bohemia raised the price of its season pass by $10 for 2022-23; breaking down Boho's pass fees; the two-year and lifetime passes; why the one-day annual season pass sale is now a 10-day annual season pass sale; why the ski area no longer sells season passes outside of its $99 pass sales window; protecting the Saturday experience; could we see a future with no lift tickets?; the potential of a Bohemia single-day lift ticket costing more than a season pass; “reward your season ticket holders”; the mountain's massive reciprocal ticket network; the Indy Pass and why it wouldn't work for Bohemia; the return of Fast Pass lanes; “we have to be very careful that Bohemia is a place for all people that are advanced or expert skiers”; why Bohemia's frontside triple functions as a double; what could replace the triple and when it could happen; considering the carpet-load; what sort of lift we could see in Haunted Valley; whether we could ever see a lift in Outer Limits; a possible second frontside lift; where a lift would go on Little Boho and how it could connect to and from the parking lot; why surface lifts probably wouldn't work at Bohemia; what sort of lift could replace the double; whether the current lifts could be repurposed elsewhere on the mountain; what Bohemia could look like at full terrain build-out; the potential of Voodoo Mountain and what it would take to see a lift over there; whether Voodoo could become a Bluebird Backcountry-style uphill-only ski area; why it will likely remain a Cat-skiing hill for the foreseeable future; sizing up the terrain between Bohemia and Voodoo; where to find the new glades coming to Bohemia this season; the art of glading; breaking down the triple-black-diamond Extreme Backcountry; why serious injuries have been rare in Bohemia's rowdiest terrain; the extreme power of the Lake Superior snowbelt; Bohemia's magical snow patterns; why the Bohemia business model couldn't work in most places; whether Bohemia could ever install limited snowmaking and why it may never need it; how a mountain in Michigan without snowmaking can consistently push the season into May; “Bohemia is a community first and a ski area second”; why Bohemia is more like a 1960s European ski resort than anything in North America; and Bohemia's stint running the Porcupine Mountains ski area and why it ultimately pulled out of the arrangement.Why I thought that now was a good time for this interviewIt may be the most-repeated trope on The Storm Skiing Podcast: “skiing is a capital-intensive business.” It's true. Scope the battle corps of snow cannons lined hundreds deep along resort greens and blues, the miles of subsurface piping that feed them, the pump houses, the acres-big manmade ponds that anchor the whole system. The frantic rental centers with gear racked high and deep like a snowy Costco. The battalions of Snowcats, each costing more than a house. The snowmobiles. The cavernous day lodges. The shacks and Centers and chalets. And the chairlifts. How much does a chairlift cost? The price seems to increase daily. Operators generally guard these numbers, but Windham told me in March that their new 389-vertical-foot D-line detachable quad will cost $5 million. Again: more than a house. More than a neighborhood. And that's before you turn the thing on.But what if you get rid of the, um, capital? What if you build a ski resort like Old Man MacGregor did in 19-aught-7? Find a snowy hill and point to it and say, “there's my ski area, Sonny, go do yourself some ski'in. Just gimme a nickel and get the hell out of my face so's I can kill me a chicken for supper.”OK, so Boho stood up a pair of modern (used) chairlifts instead of MacGregor's ropetow slung through a Model-T engine, but its essential concept echoes that brash and freewheeling bygone America: A lift and a mountain. Go skiing.This isn't supposed to be good enough. You need Magic Carpets and vast lineups of matching-jacket ski instructors and “impeccably groomed” trails. A place where Grandpa Earl and Earl Jr. and Earl Jr. Jr. can bond over the amazing logistical hassles of family skiing and enjoy $150 cups of chili together in the baselodge.But over the past two decades, the minimalist ski area has emerged as one of skiing's best ideas. It can't work everywhere, of course, and it can't work for everyone. This is a complement to, and not a replacement for, the full-service ski resort. If you've never skied and you show up at Bohemia to go skiing, you're either going to end up disappointed or hospitalized, and perhaps both. This is a ski area for skiers, for the ones who spend all day at Boyne peaking off the groomers into the trees, looking for lines.There is a market for this. Look west, to Silverton, Colorado, where an antique Yan double – Mammoth's old Chair 15 – rises 1,900 vertical feet and drops skiers onto a 26,000-acre mecca of endless untracked pow. Or Bluebird Backcountry, also in Colorado, which has no chairlifts but marked runs rising off a minimalist base area, a launch point for Uphill Bro's bearded adventures. Neither pull the sorts of Holy Calamity mobs that increasingly define I-70 skiing, but both appear to be sustainable niche businesses.Of the three, Bohemia appeals the most to the traditional resort skier. Silverton is big and exposed and scary, a beacon-and-shovel-required-at-all-times kind of place. Bluebird is a zone in which to revel and to ponder, as much a shuffling hike as it is a day on skis. Boho skis a lot like the vast off-piste zones of Alta and Snowbird, with their infinite choose-your-own-adventure lines, entire acres-wide faces and twisting forests all ungroomed. Both offer a resort experience: high-speed lifts, (a few) groomed boulevards, snowguns blasting near the base. But that's not the point of Little Cottonwood Canyon. I skied Chip's Run once. It sucks. I can't imagine the person who shows up at Snowbird and laps this packed boulevard of milquetoast skiing. This is where you go for raw, unhinged skiing on bountiful and ever-refilling natural snow. For decades this was Utah-special, or Western-special, the sort of experience that was impossible to find in the Midwest. Then came Bohemia, with a different story to tell, a version of the Out West wild-nasty in the least likely place imaginable.What I got wrongIn discussing a possible skin/ski between Mount Bohemia and Voodoo Mountain – where Boho runs a small Cat-skiing operation – I compared the four-mile trek between them to the oft-skied route between Bolton Valley and Stowe, which sit five miles apart in the Vermont wilderness. The drive, I noted, was “about an hour.” In optimal conditions, it's actually right around 40 minutes. With wintertime traffic and weather, it can be double that or longer.I also accidentally said that the new name for the ski area formerly known as Big Snow, Michigan was “Snowbasin.” Which was kinda dumb of me. But then like 30 seconds later I said the actual name, “Snowriver,” so you're just gonna have to let that one go.Why you should ski Mount BohemiaMidwest skiing in the ‘90s was defined largely by what it wasn't. And what it wasn't was interesting in any way. I use this word a lot: “interesting” terrain. What I mean by that is anything other than wide-open groomed runs. And in mid-90s Michigan, that's all there was. Bumps were rare. Glades, nonexistent. Powder unceremoniously chewed up in the groom. The nascent terrain parks were branded as “snowboard parks,” no skiers allowed. A few ski areas actively ignored skiers poaching these early ramps and halfpipes – Nub's Nob was especially generous. But many more chased us away, leaving us to hunt the trail's edge in search of the tiniest knolls and drop-offs to carry us airborne.It didn't have to be this way. As often as I could, I would wake up at 4 and drive north across the border into Ontario. There lay Searchmont, a natural terrain park, a whole side of the mountain ungroomed and wild, dips and drops and mandatory 10-foot airs midtrial. Why had no one in Michigan hacked off even a portion of their Groomeramas for this sort of freeride skiing?In those years I visited friends at Michigan Tech, forty-five minutes south of where Bohemia now stands, each January. Snow always hip-high along the sidewalks, more falling every day. One afternoon we drove north out of Houghton, along US 41, into the hills rising along the Keweenaw Peninsula. Somewhere in the wilderness, we stopped. Climbed. Unimaginable quantities of snow devouring us like quicksand at every step. In descent, leaping off cliffs and rocks, sliding down small, steep chutes.We did not bring skis that day. But the terrain, I thought, would have been wildly appropriate for a certain sort of unhinged ski experience. Like a super-Searchmont. Wilder and bigger and rowdier. We could call it “The Realm of Stu's Extreme Ski Resort,” I joked with my friend on the long drive home.But I didn't think anyone would actually do it. The ski areas of Michigan seemed impossibly devoted to the lifeless version of skiing that catered to the intermediate masses. When Boho opened in 2000, I couldn't believe it was real. I still barely do. Live through a generation or two, and you begin to appreciate impermanence, and how names carry through time but what they mean evolves. The Michigan ski areas that once offered one and only one specific type of skiing have, as I noted in my podcast conversation with Nub's Nob General Manager Ben Doornbos a couple weeks ago, gotten much more adept at creating what I call a balanced mountain. Boyne, The Highlands, Caberfae – all deliver a far more satisfying product than they did 25 years ago.Boho drove at least some of this change. Suddenly, an expert skier had real options in the Midwest. Not that they new it at first – Glieberman recalls the dead, dark days of the ski area's first few seasons. But that's over. Bohemia is, on certain days, maxed out, in desperate need of more lifts and a touch fewer skiers – the famous $99 pass will increase to $109 this season for anyone who wants to ski Saturdays. The place works, as a concept, as a culture, as a magnet for expert skiers.Most ski areas, if you look closely enough, exist to serve some nearby population center. There are only a few that are good enough that they thrive in spite of their location, that skiers will drive past a dozen other ski areas to hit. Telluride. Taos. Jay Peak. Sugarloaf. Add Bohemia to this category. And add it to your list. No matter where you ski, this one is worth the pilgrimage.Podcast Notes* Glieberman references the book 22 Immutable Laws of Branding  - specifically its calls to “narrow your focus, strengthen your brand.” Here's the Amazon listing.* We don't get into this extensively, but Lonie mentions Mount Bohemia TV. This is an amazing series of shorts exploring Boho life and culture. Here's a sampling, but you can watch them all here.More Bohemia* A Vermonter visits Boho* A Ski magazine visit to Porcupine Mountains – a state-owned ski area – when Glieberman ran it in the mid-2000s.* A Powder Q&A with Glieberman.* I'm not the only one who's amazed with this place. Paddy O'Connell, writing in Powder seven years ago:Midwestern powder skiing is alive and real. The Upper Peninsula of Michigan is the home of the greatest grassroots ski resort in North America, Mount Bohemia. Storms swell over Lake Superior and slam their leeward winds on to the UP all winter long. Endless exploration is waiting up north through the treed ruggedness of Haunted Valley and the triple black Extreme Backcountry. The resort prides itself on being almost 100 percent unmarked and nearly devoid of ropes. The terrain is fun and adventurous and the bounty of snow is remarkable. Keweenaw County uses a 30-foot snow stake to measure season totals, and is currently measuring just under 25 feet. While my friends out West have been mountain biking and crack climbing, I have been slashing creek beds and frozen waterfalls, chomping on frosty Midwestern face shots. Yes, they exist here and in abundance in Michigan. The folklore is factual—all true skiers need to ski Mount Bohemia.* Boho was, amazingly, once part of the Freedom Pass reciprocal lift-ticket coalition, which grants season pass holders three days each at partner resorts. These days, Boho manages its own corps of reciprocals. This is an incredible list for a $99 ($133 with fees) season pass:Voodoo MountainPerhaps the most compelling piece of the Bohemia story is that the ski area is nowhere near built out. The mountain adds new terrain pretty much every year - Glieberman details the locations of three new glade runs in the podcast. But four miles due north through the wilderness - or 16 miles and 30 minutes by car - sits Voodoo Mountain, a three-mile-wide snowtrap that currently hosts Boho's catskiing operation. They even have a trailmap:Those cut runs occupy just 125 acres, but Voodoo encompasses 1,800 acres across four peaks on a 700-foot vertical drop. Glieberman tells me on the podcast that a 1970s concept scoped out a sprawling resort with 22 chairlifts (if anyone is in possession of this concept map, please email me a copy). The terrain, Glieberman says, is not as rowdy or as singular as Boho's, but Voodoo averages more annual snowfall - 300-plus inches - and its terrain faces north, meaning it holds snow deep into spring. Here's another map, currently posted at the resort, showing conceptual future build-outs at Voodoo:The Storm publishes year-round, and guarantees 100 articles per year. This is article 117/100 in 2022, and number 363 since launching on Oct. 13, 2019. Want to send feedback? Reply to this email and I will answer (unless you sound insane, or, more likely, I just get busy). You can also email skiing@substack.com.The Storm is exploring the world of lift-served skiing year-round. Join us. Get full access to The Storm Skiing Journal and Podcast at www.stormskiing.com/subscribe

“Behind the Mitten” is Michigan's premiere travel radio show and Podcast, and it has more than 430 episodes. It is co-hosted by veteran journalist John Gonzalez and longtime chef & beer expert Amy Sherman. The show has been recognized by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as Best in Category.On this podcast, Amy and Gonzo travel to several destinations.They open with Alaina Wiens, Executive Director Explore Flint & Genesee.Then they go to Mackinac Island to check in with Brian Bailey, GM of the Chippewa Hotel and Lilac Tree Hotel & Suites.Later they play an interview with Beth Fitzpatrick, Michigan Tech University admissions director.They close the show in Flint at Soggy Bottom Bar with GM Ken Laatz.Make sure to listen to this weekend's Behind the Mitten on the following stations: *8 a.m. Saturdays on WBRN - 1460 AM and 107.7 FM in Big Rapids *8 a.m. Saturdays on Kalamazoo Talk Radio 1360 WKMI *8 a.m. Saturdays on WILS-1320 AM in Lansing *10 a.m. Saturdays 95.3 WBCK-FM in Battle Creek *10 a.m. Saturdays on News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM in Benton Harbor*4 p.m. Saturdays on WIOS "The Bay's Best!" - 1480 AM & 106.9 FM in Tawas / East Tawas *Noon Sundays on News, Talk and Sports - 1380-AM WPHM in Port Huron *1 p.m. Sundays on WSGW-AM (790) and FM (100.5) in Saginaw *6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM (1300) and (106.9) in Grand Rapids Follow John and Amy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/behindthemitten orTwitter at @BehindTheMitten and Instagram at @BehindTheMitten_.

Teatime with Miss Liz joining me is LARRY JORGENSEN to share his book on Shipwrecks and Rescues' true stories and history on Lake Superior. Bring a strong tea of journalism and share his T-E-A with me. October 20th, 3 PM EST “LIVE SHOW ON MISS LIZ'S TEATIME YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND MULTI PODCAST STATIONS” LARRY JORGENSEN first became fascinated with Michigan's Upper Peninsula and its unique history while writing and reporting for television news in Green Bay. However, his journey into that world of news had begun much earlier in northern Wisconsin where he worked while in high school for the weekly newspaper in Eagle River. Later he was employed by a newspaper publisher in Milwaukee, and then on to radio and television news in Texas and Louisiana, along with wire service and freelance assignments. During all those years he looked forward to returning visits to the Keweenaw Peninsula. It was during one of those visits Larry discovered the tale of the wreck of the “City of Bangor”. It was learning of that little-known event that resulted in his decision to create this written account which he hope would share the story of one of Lake Superior's most unusual shipwrecks. https://shipwreckedandrescued.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/misslizsteatimes/message

Shipwrecked and Rescued Larry Jorgensen https://shipwreckedandrescued.com/ ()Growing up in the 1970's in Marysville, Michigan, I used to watch the lake freighters travel up and down the St. Clair River all of the time. I remember one of the most fascinating ships to spot was the “Edmund Fitzgerald” at over 1000 feet in length.  It was immortalized by the song, “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” written by Gordon Lightfoot, after it encountered a severe Lake Superior winter storm in November 1975. My own personal experience of how fast a storm can roll in from Lake Superior occurred Mothers Day in 1973. Our family drove almost 12 hours up to property we owned on Lake Bailey in the Keweenaw Peninsula. It was spring and the weather was beautiful. But we awoke the next morning to two feet of snow and bitter cold! And NOBODY had cold weather clothing!  We were wearing shorts, T-shirts and flip flops!  Needless to say, we loaded up the car and headed home! I'm saying all this because our guest today has written a book titled, https://shipwreckedandrescued.com (“Shipwrecked and Rescued, Cars and Crew.”) It is about a famous event in Michigan history. A story of another shipping disaster on Lake Superior. Just so  you know, there have been over 10,000 ship wrecks in the Great Lakes, about 500 or more in Lake Superior and many of them still remain undiscovered due to the depth of the Lake. Buthttps://shipwreckedandrescued.com ( “Shipwrecked and Rescued, Cars and Crew”)  is about a wreck that had a good ending. A rescue. Not just a rescue of the crew, but also the cargo. A tragedy that turned to victory. But it was not an easy feat to achieve. Larry Jorgensen has been fascinated by the wreck of the ship called, “The City of Bangor.” This was not just a ship wreck. This was a double rescue success!  What is a double rescue success? Well, instead of me telling you about it, let's welcome to the program historian and author, Larry Jorgensen! Larry, thank you for taking the time to join us today! Larry, let's jump into the book. What first caught your attention about the wreck of the “City of  Bangor” and why? This wreck occurred before there was, truly, any significant use of radio, radar and things like that which we take for granted today, correct? Tell us about this wreck and what made the rescue so difficult and, at the same time, so significant… The crew was taken in by a generous family that took care of them during the winter. A local businessman, basically, “invented” the snowmobile” and it was successfully used in the rescue? Once the crew was safe, then came the second part of the rescue, correct? Tell us about that aspect of the rescue? It took the highway department three weeks to plow the road 40 miles to get the cars back from Copper Harbor. I just have to ask, do you speak “Yoopernese?” For those that don't understand, “Yoopernese” is the dialect, accent or whatever you want to call of northern Michiganders. It sounds something like, “yah, you dalk like dis when you live der, eh?” Growing up in the thumb area of Michigan, I was referred to as a “Troll” (that's what Yoopers call people from the lower peninsula because we live “under the bridge” – referring to, of course, the Mackinaw Bridge). Anyway, I could talk for hours about the UP (for those that don't know, that means the “Upper Peninsula”). Larry, this is awesome. I truly appreciate you sharing this story with us. How can someone obtain their own copy of https://shipwreckedandrescued.com (“Shipwrecked and Rescued, Cars and Crew?”)  Is it on Amazon? If someone wanted to get in touch with you, maybe to ask a question or do an interview such as this, how can they do that? How can someone get in touch with you? I'll put links to all of this down in the show notes below. CONTACT INFORMATION: https://shipwreckedandrescued.com/ ()   Website:  https://shipwreckedandrescued.com/...

And now for some more Fatal Conceits…Last week we brought you Part I of our conversation with Harvard trained geologist and natural resources expert, Byron King. There was a lot on the table for discussion.For instance…Have you noticed news from the Ukraine seems to have dwindled over recent weeks? What was once non-stop, wall-to-wall coverage now garners comparatively little attention. Of course, there are other issues at hand… like inflation at a four-decade high… the worst start to the year for stock markets in half a century… and for bond markets in over 200 years… And now, we learn that the US has registered two consecutive quarters of negative GDP… the common definition for a recession, and the one practically everyone who follows the economy at all still uses. But all that doesn't mean the impacts of the war – and the west's response to it – are not working their way through the system. In fact, the knock-on effects for international energy markets, global supply chains and even sovereign currencies could hardly be overstated. As usual, Byron had plenty of insights on all of the above, and more. (If you missed Part I of our conversation, you can catch up here.)In Part II of the discussion, we pick up the action with the idea of a “methane-backed ruble.” That is, what happens if and when Mr. Putin decides he wants to back his national currency, which is stronger today than it was before the first tank rolled across the Ukrainian border, with Mother Russia's vast energy reserves? What does that do to the heretofore assumed petrodollar hegemony? Might Japan, almost entirely dependent on foreign energy (mostly from Russia), be forced to settle its contracts in Russian rubles? What are the other BRICS nations (Brazil, India, China and South Africa) thinking, as they stand by and watch the weaponization of the US dollar? Might an alternative to the petrodollar begin to look attractive to them?There's so much to cover, from the war itself to Russian military supplies, the unipolar verses multipolar political landscape, the philosophy of Eurasianism and much, much more…You can listen to the entire episode by simply hitting play above or downloading the Substack app (see the little headphones button there to listen in). Oh, and if you like what you hear, please help us spread the word by sharing this episode with comrades and enemy combatants alike, right here…For Bonner Private Research members, there's a full transcript, lightly edited for clarity, below the paywall and on our Substack Page. If you're not already a subscriber, but would like to enjoy the many benefits that come with membership, you can sort that out right here.We hope you enjoy the show…Cheers,Joel BowmanJoel Bowman:Welcome back to another Fatal Conceits Podcast, dear listener. A show about money, markets, mobs, and manias. Not necessarily in that order, of course. If you haven't already done so, please feel free to check us out on Substack. You can find us at bonnerprivateresearch.substack.com. There, you'll find hundreds of articles on everything from high finance to lowly politics, plenty of in-depth research reports, and of course, many more conversations like this under the Fatal Conceits Podcast tab at the top of the page.In part one of my conversation with Byron King, which we published last week, he and I spoke about the ongoing war in the Ukraine and what that means for international energy markets. Specifically, Germany's coming "energy Stalingrad." We also looked at what a decade or more of under investment in the real, stuff-based economy means for us today. That's everything from a lack of real investment in research and development through to a paucity of human capital. And we spoke about the ongoing financialization of the Western economies and what that might look like in reverse, during a de-globalization phase. If you haven't already done so, you can check out part one of my conversation with Byron King. Again, that's on our Substack page at bonnerprivateresearch.substack.com. In today's episode, we bring you part two of my conversation with Byron. We pick up the action while we're wondering about the potential of a gold and/or methane backed ruble. What impact might that have on global markets and, of course, the long enjoyed petrodollar hegemony. Might all that be coming to an end? I also ask Byron where he sees markets headed for the back half of the year and ask what he's doing personally with his own investments. There's all that, and plenty more, on the table in today's conversation. I invite you to please enjoy it after the break. Getting back to the money underpinning all of this, Byron, I asked you back in May about the possibility of a golden/gaseous ruble. You called it a methane-backed ruble, I think. How has that played out now? You mentioned, obviously, Putin playing his hand with the energy markets. What developments are you seeing along the lines of a potential bifurcation of global monetary systems and so forth?Byron King:Oh, I think that we are watching a slow unfolding of the next step of de-dollarization. I don't think the Russians perceive any real reason to make it all happen in a hurry. The Russians are still insisting on rubles for natural gas, and so there are countries in Europe that are making these deals. I mean, Hungary is like, "The rest of you guys in the EU, you do what you want, but we're Hungary. We want natural gas. We get cold in the wintertime. We want that Russian natural gas," and the Russians are like, "Yeah, sure. We'll make you a deal, and we'll work it out with you." Serbia is in the same boat.There are companies in Italy, in fact, that are again talking with the Russians. "Listen, guys. We want to work with you. We want to make a deal with you." You see that, but at the same time, you've got the high level political types. The Northern European political honchos, who are still banging the drum about how we're going to sanction Russia. "We're not going to buy anything from them," and everything else. It doesn't matter to Russia. They're going to sell their oil, their gas, etcetera to China, to India. Russia just fired a huge shot across the bow over in the Far East with the Sakhalin-2 project, where they essentially nationalized it.They said, "I mean, we know that you foreign companies own sections of this, but we're taking them from you and it's ours now." Now, if you're Japan and you are entirely reliant, 98% reliant on imported energy, much of which is Russian oil, Russian natural gas, you have to be looking at this and thinking, "Oh, my God. Holy smokes. Now, what?" There's so many things going on. There's so many moving parts to it. I mean, the Saudis are talking about not adhering a hundred percent to the old petrodollar idea.Joel Bowman:They're in talks with the Chinese, right?Byron King:Yeah. They're making deals with the Chinese to sell oil in Yuan. The Saudis, they'll take Chinese Yuan, and then they'll go back to China and buy Chinese things.Joel Bowman:And that's 25% of the Saudi total (oil) exports, straight to China, a not insignificant portion. And so, what happens then with Japan? To go back to the Far East, for example. If, let's say, Mr. Putin decides, for his next chessboard move, that he's going to demand gas sold down into Japan – again, another not insignificant market – if he demands that be settled in rubles?Byron King:If they want to keep their houses warm, their industry's running, the chemical industry working, they're going to have to make a deal with the Gazprombank. I mean, Gazprombank, the bank owned by Gazprom, is set up to say, "Okay. We will take your Japanese yen," or, "We'll take your dollars. We, the bank, and we'll convert them to rubles. We will be able to say that you are buying gas in rubles." But, what's really going on here is, there's an international currency exchange going on. Yen for dollars, dollars for rubles, however the wiring diagram is on any given transaction.But what it does, it strengthens the ruble as a currency. I mean, the ruble today is a stronger currency than it was back in February. Again, before the first Russian tank rolled across the border. I mean, when President Biden says, "Oh, we've turned the ruble to rubble," it's like, "Well, that didn't last very long now, did it?" Yeah, sure. In the context of a week or two, you crashed the ruble and things were in turmoil for a little bit, and then the ruble just got stronger and stronger and stronger. We talked about this before. When the Russians said, "We'll pay 5000 rubles per gram of gold." That 5000 has changed since then, but that's still out there.There is a ruble to gold, ruble to natural gas, hence energy to gold if you do your geometry, your 10th grade geometry. If you start to connect these little angles here, there is a ruble energy gold connection to whatever the price of natural gas is, or gold is, in dollars, that feeds back into the strength of the ruble. I think one of the big issues is not what happens when the dollar collapses. "When the dollar collapses." It's what happens after. What will replace it?Joel Bowman:Right. What replaces a petrodollar? What does that look like geopolitically as well, very interestingly, because the US, since the collapse of the Soviet Union back in '89 or '90, has maintained this dollar hedgemony, as a kind of unipolar superpower in the world. As you mentioned at the beginning of our conversation, 30 years of diplomacy that has gotten us essentially to where we are today. Now, it looks like that is being turned to rubble. Just to point out the facts.Byron King:Absolutely. I mean, I think most Americans have a sense that, "America, we're a big powerful country," and everything. If you said to them, "Do you understand the concept of a unipower," They would think, "Well..." If you talked it through, they'd be like, "Yeah, okay. That means we're number one," and all this sort of thing. Well, that's a myth. That is a myth. That's mythology, because America is not number one. We are not an energy-dependent country anymore. We have completely mismanaged our own internal energy system. We're having brownouts and blackouts across the country as the summer unfolds. We've mismanaged basic things, like food supply. I mean, what big powerful country doesn't have baby formula for months at a time? It's crazy.I mean, it's not that America is a weak nation. No, we're not, but the rest of the world, they're coming out of their shells. Industrially, there is simply no competition in basic industry to, say, China. I mean, they pour over a billion tons of steel a year. The United States last year, 2021, poured 85 million. I mean, it was 12 to one. China poured 12 tons of steel for every ton that the US poured. What'd they do with it? Well, they're building China. Building railroads, building cities, building ships, building whatever. Big country, big build out. In terms of Russia and Russian technology, there's this very strange concept in the US and in the West that the Russians are... "They're dumb. They can't do anything right," and all this sort of stuff. I don't know about that.I mean, if you look at the International Space Station orbiting over the earth, two thirds of that space station was built by Russia. I mean, for 10 years, we couldn't even get our astronauts up there without riding on Russian rockets. When people say, "Well, they're getting their butts kicked in Ukraine." No, they're not. I mean, who says that? They must be reading Western propaganda, because if you actually follow the facts on the ground, the Russians are using maybe 20% of their combat power in Ukraine. They're moving at their own pace. They've got weapons and systems behind the lines that they've never used just because they don't want to show us what they look like, but we suspect we know what they are. We don't ever want our guys to face their guys using those weapons, because it's going to be a mess.Putin talks about "new physical principles." Well, that gets back to the unipolar/multipolar aspect of the world. The world is going multipolar. The West has a certain philosophy about what life is and what the culture should be, but so does Russia. There's a concept in Russia, and very, very few people talk about it outside of Russia, it's called Eurasianism. There's a whole school of thought around this in Russia now. It's like, "We are not Europeans. Especially, we're not you Western Europeans, with all your decadence and all your weirdness. We are slightly European, but we're really Eurasians because we span the continent. The iron ribbon of the Siberian railroad ties us together." But, there is a whole school of thought in Russia called Eurasianism. That is how they see their future.That's a whole talk in and of itself. I mean, people write books about it. If anybody's listening to this and they're curious, go to Amazon and dial in "Eurasianism" and you'll find a whole bunch of books all about it written by ivory tower scholars. It's not something that you're going to hear on 60 Minutes, or the nightly news, or something like that, but that philosophically is what's animating a lot of what's going on in Russia, Russia-China, Central Asia with all the 'stans down into India. There is a whole sense that, "Okay. You Westerners, you had your couple of centuries of expansion, colonialism, and all that sort of stuff. You've played a really good game with this petrodollar thing for half a century. You pay us these alleged petrodollars and we send you real tankers full of oil. The dollars never even leave your country, because they wind up back in your banks and your treasury bonds. Somehow or another, we send you stuff, but we don't anything back for it. We're coming to the ending whistle of that game. It's just a question of when, not if.Joel Bowman:It does seem ultimately a kind of war of attrition, as you mentioned, with Russia happy to bide its time there on its Western front. It does seem like Putin will be able to go without Netflix and McDonald's for a lot longer than the West will be able to go without titanium and noble gases, for example.Byron King:Absolutely. People say these things that are just silly. They say, "Oh, the Russians are running out of ammunition." Every two weeks, there's a headline, but they have another two weeks worth of ammunition. No, they're not. I mean, are you kidding? ILook, I'm an American retired military guy and I know, I absolutely know Russia has entire mountains hollowed out filled with ammunition, with train tracks running right into them. If they need ammo, they just load up another train and off it goes. They have everything they need, whereas in the US... For example, just look at US artillery round production for the last, say, 10 years. If you took every single artillery round that the US Army Marine Corps produced in the last 10 years, and you somehow magically put them in Ukraine and fired them off, you would have about a month's worth of ammunition supply. 10 years would be shot off in about four or five weeks.Joel Bowman:That's incredible.Byron King:Right. The last three years of ammunition production would probably last about five days. I mean, that's the rate of expenditure. We say, "Well, we'll just buy more ammo." No, we won't. You need an ammunition factory to do that. You need a big plant. You need steel, you need chemicals, you need electronics. You need people who actually know what they're doing. People think, "Oh, yeah. You just crank those ammo rounds out like hot dogs," or something. Actually, no. You don't. I mean, you practically hand build an artillery shell, which means you need hands, which means you need somebody attached to the hands with a brain inside their head who knows what they're doing. Russia has factories for this. Russia has entire cities where they do this stuff. We don't in the United States, nor in the rest of NATO and everywhere else. It's depressing to talk about, except it happens to be true.Joel Bowman:Yeah. Again, if it hasn't been clear thus far in the discussion, this is just the facts. This isn't in praise of one side or another. This is just trying to basically get to the bottom of what's going on without any political persuasion here. Just the facts, as I said, but it does appear, when you read the Western media, that the "two weeks to run out of Russian ammunition" is the new "two weeks to flatten the curve." And we know how that claim went. Byron, I know you've got a shoot off for another appointment here. Finally, I've got a quick question from our mutual friend, Bill Bonner, for you. It's going to be a huge, huge achievement for you to condense an answer into the couple of minutes that we've got remaining, but maybe you can give a plug for some of your own writings, let people know where they can find all that good stuff. But to Bill's questions, he wants to know, Byron, what the hell is going on in the markets, and what are you doing with your own money?Byron King:Well, I am as worried as anybody else about the markets. The markets have slid down. I think they have further to fall. I mean, I think they could plateau along for a while, but I think they could also fall some more. It's July, and in August, half the world goes on vacation, although that doesn't mean that bad things don't happen in August. Then in the fall, typically... If we're going to have another market crash, why not in the fall? But me? I'm invested in mines and miners. A whole bunch of juniors that I know very well. And when I invest in a junior mining company, it's because I know the people. It's because I've visited the project, the site. It's because I've held the core from the drill rig in my hand. It's because I've looked at what they have. I believe in the asset. I believe in the technical people. I believe in the management. When I'm investing, that is what I do.I think energy has a nice, long upside to it. We've passed that inflection point where we can just fix it with a quick remedy, or whatever. Standby for energy to be more and more expensive over time. We were talking about Germany, and we were talking about exporting LNG from North America to Europe. Well, if we really do turn natural gas into a global commodity ,as LNG, then we in North America are going to be paying far higher prices. If you heat with natural gas, or you use natural gas for industry, it's going up.Where I live, I heat our house with natural gas, and I fully expect my natural gas bill to triple this coming winter. Like a lot of other people, I have cut back on things. I mean, I drive less because gasoline is twice the price. I'm a much more discerning shopper in the supermarket. I actually look at the labels and look at the price tags on things before I toss them in the cart. The travel that I'm doing, it's business-oriented travel. If I can get somebody else to pay for it, that's even better. Get the company that I'm going to go visit to pony up. "Okay. I'll come and look at you, but you guys have to share the burden here." Now, I'm not slash-your-wrist depressed, or anything like that. No, I think there's incredible opportunities out there for patient investors who are looking for bargains. But you've gotta be willing to ride the rough waves.I think gold/silver are wealth preservers over time. It's just a question of when and how long. Other things, like copper and other base metals, they absolutely have to do well because there's not enough out there considering the future demand that's happening as we speak. I mean, the battery metals, the technology metals. We could talk about that all day, but there are some incredible opportunities out there just waiting, which is not to say that in biotech, in robotics, in AI, and in medical system people aren't going to be making huge amounts of money investing in that too. That's just not my strength. If you're looking for the best biomedical ideas, I'm not your guy. But, in terms of what I'm looking at right now? Well, this is the 78th anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, back in 1944. Then, Nixon took the world off of the Bretton Woods standard in 1971, so it's the 51st anniversary of that come August 15th.I anticipate that there is going to be upheaval in the basic units of currency that we use to denominate everything. I mean, we call them dollars now. A long time ago, people called them seashells, or whatever. For a while, people called them gold. What's going to replace the dollar? I don't know, but something is. Something's going to. I think, on the other side of that event horizon, you want to have real things that will preserve your value in whatever it is that they are denominated in or calculated in. At some point or another, a chunk of copper is always going to be worth something. This copper is from Keweenaw Peninsula, Upper Peninsula of Northern Michigan. This is elemental, native copper. This got pulled out of a rock by a glacier. That's why it's rounded looking. This other one here is from Keweenaw too, but this I chopped this one out of a rock. This was copper. Anyhow. This stuff is future wealth, is preserving your wealth.Joel Bowman:Sounds like "stuff" is due for a comeback. And if there's anybody who knows a thing or two about getting stuff out of rocks and from under basins and subterranean, high-pressure deposits, it's Byron King. Mate, thank you so much for giving us the low down on everything from the geopolitics unfolding over in Europe to what we can expect back here in the West, in the Americas. And we didn't even get to South America in this call. We'll have to save that for an entire another discussion.Byron King:Another time. Thanks so much, Joel.Joel Bowman:And thanks to you, Byron. Thanks so much for your time. Always a pleasure to chat to you. Again, readers please head on over to bonnerprivateresearch.substack.com for many more conversations like this and plenty of articles, reports, and other resources besides. Again, it's been a pleasure. This is Joel Bowman for the Fatal Conceits Podcast. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bonnerprivateresearch.substack.com/subscribe

July 9, 2022 The development of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, which juts about 60 miles north from the Upper Peninsula into Lake Superior, was based mostly on copper mining. Increased maritime traffic related to the copper industry led to the establishment of Eagle River Lighthouse on the northwest part of the peninsula in 1858. Local maritime traffic decreased and the lighthouse was deactivated in 1908. Meanwhile, there was a call for a lighthouse and fog signals at a location known as Sand Hills a few miles to the southwest. The station established in 1919 at Sand Hills consisted of a buff-colored brick dwelling with a square tower mounted on top, with a light 91 feet above lake level. The light was discontinued in 1954 and was sold at auction to H. Donald Bliss, who used it as a summer home for a few years. Eagle River Lighthouse, Michigan. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont. Bud and Jan Cole, courtesy of Jan Cole. A subsequent owner, Bill Frabotta, renovated the property and opened it as the Sand Hills Lighthouse Inn in 1995. Historic preservationist Bud Cole purchased the property in 2014. After a thorough restoration, he began offering it as a vacation rental with three bedrooms and 3000 square feet of living space. Bud Cole also bought Sand Hills Lighthouse in 2019. His sister, Jan Cole, manages the lighthouse properties at Eagle River and Sand Hills. Sand Hills Lighthouse, Michigan. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont. Jan and Jean Gertz's father, Maxwell Gertz, was a keeper in the 1940s and ‘50s at Manitou Island and Sand Hills, Michigan. The Gertz sisters have stayed involved with lighthouses as volunteers for the Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association. Special thanks to Nick Korstad for his help with this episode.

June 24, 2022 ~ The Keweenaw Peninsula's Visitors Bureau Executive Director tells Paul they are thrilled that the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) has picked the Keweenaw Dark Sky Park to be part of their program.

There are two interviews related to Michigan lighthouses in this episode, plus a special "Be a Lighthouse" segment for Father's Day, with co-host Sarah MacHugh interviewing her father about his company, Adaptive Design Hudson River. Old Mackinac Point Light Station, Michigan. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont. The Straits of Mackinac, which connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron and also mark the dividing line between Michigan's Upper and Lower peninsulas, were treacherous for mariners. The first lighthouse in the area was established in 1829. Mackinac Point, at the northern tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, was given a fog signal in 1890. A 50-foot-tall lighthouse was added to the station in 1892, built of cream city brick and attached to the keepers' house. Craig Wilson The construction of the Mackinac Bridge in 1957 rendered the lighthouse obsolete. The lighthouse property was purchased by the Mackinac Island State Park Commission in 1960, and it was incorporated into a state park. Today, the light station is open to the public from late spring to fall, with a maritime museum in the keepers' house. Craig Wilson is the chief curator for Mackinac State Historic Parks. Eagle Harbor Light Station, Michigan. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont. Eagle Harbor Light is one of several light stations that guide mariners on Lake Superior across the northern edge of the Keweenaw Peninsula. The original lighthouse, built in 1851, was replaced in 1871 by the present red brick structure. In 1999, Congress transferred ownership of the Eagle Harbor Light Station to the Keweenaw County Historical Society. The U.S. Coast Guard continues to operate the light at the top of the tower as an active navigational aid. Karen Hintz Karen Hintz is the vice president of the Keweenaw County Historical Society.

In this two-part episode our hosts, Cayla, Nathan, Halli and guest Courtney take a look at four cases of intrigue:Poveglia Island: Who would have thought that a tiny island in a lagoon near Venice would be considered the most haunted place on earth? Not us! Nathan tells us about a tiny piece of land that has a long and terrifying historyBloody Mary: If you grew up in North American you have likely heard at least one iteration of the story, but turns out there's dozens if not hundreds and that come from around the globeGhost Towns of the Upper Peninsula: The story isn't an unfamiliar one; many of these towns were built around a booming industry - mining, specifically for copper; lumber; intercontinental shipping on railroad grades that are now used as snowmobile trails. Welcome to the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan's beautiful, rugged copper country.Courtney's Ghosts: Courtney tells us about some spectral and unexplained encounters from her childhoodPt. 2Ghost Towns of the Upper PeninsulaCourtney's Ghostshttps://www.thehumanexception.com/l/file-0071-0072-haunted-people-places-and-things/

In this two-part episode our hosts, Cayla, Nathan, Halli and guest Courtney take a look at four cases of intrigue:Poveglia Island: Who would have thought that a tiny island in a lagoon near Venice would be considered the most haunted place on earth? Not us! Nathan tells us about a tiny piece of land that has a long and terrifying historyBloody Mary: If you grew up in North American you have likely heard at least one iteration of the story, but turns out there's dozens if not hundreds and that come from around the globeGhost Towns of the Upper Peninsula: The story isn't an unfamiliar one; many of these towns were built around a booming industry - mining, specifically for copper; lumber; intercontinental shipping on railroad grades that are now used as snowmobile trails. Welcome to the Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan's beautiful, rugged copper country.Courtney's Ghosts: Courtney tells us about some spectral and unexplained encounters from her childhoodPt. 1Poveglia IslandBloody Maryhttps://www.thehumanexception.com/l/file-0071-0072-haunted-people-places-and-things/

“Behind the Mitten” is Michigan's premiere travel radio show and Podcast, and it has more than 400 episodes. It is co-hosted by John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman. The show has been recognized by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as Best in Category.This Podcast was recorded at the Pure Michigan's Governor's Conference on Tourism at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Traverse City. We focus on Michigan's Tourism industry, as well as the Keweenaw Peninsula. Our special guest co-host was Paul Beachnau of Gaylord Tourism. It aired April 23-24, 2022.Behind the Mitten is presented by Treetops Resort in Gaylord - Michigan's Most Spectacular Resort. Make your summer golf reservations now at https://www.treetops.com/.Segment 1 - Paul Beachnau of the Gaylord Area Convention & Visitors Bureau is our special co-host, with a cameo from Susan Wilcox Olson of Grand Bay Promotions.Learn more about Gaylord at https://www.gaylordmichigan.net/.Lear more about Grand Bay at https://grandbaypromotions.com/.Segment 2 (10:00) - We go Above the Mitten with Brad Barnett, the Executive Director of the Keweenaw Convention & Visitors Bureau.Learn more about the Keweenaw at https://www.keweenaw.info/.Segment 3 (19:02) - We talk to Candice Smith of Tours Around Michigan, who offers tours about Grand Rapids History, Art, Architecture & Ghost Stories. She even brings a couple of "creepy dolls" to the set.Learn more at https://toursaroundmichigan.com/.Segment 4 (29:42) - Taste of the Week is from Caroline Rizzo, public relations manager at Grand Traverse Resort & Spa. It's one you don't want to miss.Learn more about GT Resort at https://www.grandtraverseresort.com/.BTM airs:*8 a.m. Saturdays on WILS-1320 AM in Lansing*10 a.m. Saturdays on News/Talk/Sports 94.9 WSJM in Benton Harbor.*1 p.m. Sundays on WSGW-AM (790) and FM (100.5) in Saginaw.*6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM (1300) and (106.9) in Grand Rapids.Follow John and Amy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/behindthemitten orTwitter at @BehindTheMitten and Instagram at @BehindTheMitten_.

The colonizing of America separated Indigenous people from their nourishing “first foods,” plant and animal species that native communities relied upon for subsistence, ceremony and medicine. More than a decade ago, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), Michigan Technological University (MTU), and the Western UP Planning and Development Region came together to create a space that celebrated and preserved the knowledge and cultural identity of tribal people living in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. From this collaboration came the Debweyendan Indigenous Garden (DIGs), a place to grow foods and medicines and drive the community toward food sovereignty. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, host Lynne Golodner interviews two important DIGs contributors:  Valoree Gagnon, Assistant Professor in the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Tech and Director for University-Indigenous Community Partnerships at the Great Lakes Research Center; and Karena Schmidt, an ecologist with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Natural Resources Department. In this episode, Lynne, Val, and Karena discuss:  The creation & growth of DIGs How to define native foods  The importance of food sovereignty  The native communities of Michigan's Upper Peninsula  How to be an ally to Native Americans Loving the land you come from Finding the foods native to your community Your role in achieving food sovereignty Links and Resources:  History of First Foods Diabetes & the Native American Diet  Remote Indigenous Gardens Network  Debweyendan Indigenous Garden Keweenaw Bay Indian Community  KBIC Natural Resources Department  Michigan Technological University (MTU) Western UP Planning and Development Region Great Lakes Research Center  University of Arizona  The Seed Keeper Elizabeth Hoover, Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States  Robin Wall Kimmerer  Potawatomi   Anishinaabe Ojibwe Odawa Pow Wow Michigan Tribes  Keweenaw Peninsula  Dr. Martin Reinhardt  Sean Sherman - the Sioux Chief

Saint Emmelia Ministries is grateful to announce that Matushka Melissa Naasko has joined us and will add "Podcast Interviewer" to her impressive biography! Join us as we catch up with the ongoings of homeschooling, life and everything in between! Matushka Melissa together with Fr. Benjamin and their 11 children live large on the Keweenaw Peninsula of northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and are assigned to the Monastery of Sts. Sergius and Herman of Valaam in Houghton, Michigan.

Saint Emmelia Ministries is grateful to announce that Matushka Melissa Naasko has joined us and will add "Podcast Interviewer" to her impressive biography! Join us as we catch up with the ongoings of homeschooling, life and everything in between! Matushka Melissa together with Fr. Benjamin and their 11 children live large on the Keweenaw Peninsula of northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and are assigned to the Monastery of Sts. Sergius and Herman of Valaam in Houghton, Michigan.

Saint Emmelia Ministries is grateful to announce that Matushka Melissa Naasko has joined us and will add "Podcast Interviewer" to her impressive biography! Join us as we catch up with the ongoings of homeschooling, life and everything in between! Matushka Melissa together with Fr. Benjamin and their 11 children live large on the Keweenaw Peninsula of northernmost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and are assigned to the Monastery of Sts. Sergius and Herman of Valaam in Houghton, Michigan.

Trail EAFFECT Episode 22 Copper Harbor Series Part 3 with Sam Raymond This Episode first aired on March 15th, 2021 on Mountain Bike Radio Topics Covered in this show: The Sam Raymond Backstory Why Sam moved to Copper Harbor How Sam acquired the Keweenaw Adventure Company The Early Years of Mountain Biking in Copper Harbor The formation of the Copper Harbor Trails Club Bringing paid trail building staff on board Bringing the Copper Harbor Trails Club forward by hiring an Executive Director Bell Built Grant to Build the Overflow Trail Keweenaw Point Trail Project Expansion of Green (easy rating) Trails in Copper Harbor The Potential of the entire Keweenaw Peninsula KORC – Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition Other forms of Outdoor Recreation in Copper Harbor Keweenaw Adventure Company is For Sale! Links: Copper Harbor Trails Club: https://copperharbortrails.org/ Keweenaw Adventure Company: https://www.keweenawadventure.com/ Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition: https://www.keweenawoutdoorrecreation.org/ Sign Up to Expand Public Access in the Keweenaw Peninsula: https://www.keweenawoutdoorrecreation.org/keweenaw-tip-recreation-area   If You would like to enquire about purchasing the Keweenaw Adventure Company please contact Sam at: keweenawadventurecompany@gmail.com   Support for Trail EAffect Comes from Smith's Bike Shop in La Crosse, WI https://smithsbikes.com/ This show has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services, for more information go to: Evolution Trail Services: www.evotrails.com Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com Support the Trail EAffect through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/traileaffect

“Behind the Mitten” is Michigan's premiere travel radio show and Podcast, and has more than 400 episodes. It is co-hosted by John Gonzalez and Amy Sherman. The show has been recognized by the Michigan Association of Broadcasters as Best in Category.On this week's Behind the Mitten, John and Amy travel to the beautiful Keweenaw Peninsula, where they get a taste of what this popular summer destination is like during the cold winter months. They recorded on-site at the Hampton Inn in Houghton during Michigan Tech's Winter Carnival week. In segment 1 they talk to Brad Barnett from the Keweenaw CVB, and he shares fun things to do all around the peninsula this winter, like skiing and snowshoeing. Learn more at https://www.keweenaw.info/.Segment 2 takes them behind the scenes of the Michigan Tech Winter Carnival, with Tech student Rachel May. She is a member of the Blue Key National Honor Society, which organizes this extremely popular community event each year. Rachel also shares what it's like to attend Tech as a student. Learn more https://www.mtu.edu/carnival/2022/.Segment 3 they visit with Jen Julien, who owns two hotels in town, the recently renovated Hampton Inn, and the extremely charming and all-new boutique hotel, The Vault. A former student at Tech, Jen and her husband have created exciting new spaces to stay in downtown Houghton.Learn more about The Vault Hotel at https://thevaulthotel.com/.Book at the Hampton at https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/cmxhghx-hampton-houghton/.Segment 4 they visit with their friend Trisia Narhi. She and her husband Roy own Roy's Pasties and Bakery, and she just opened a new restaurant in Houghton, The Copper Range Depot. She shares what makes Roy's famous pasties so good, and what you can expect at the Depot.Learn more about Roy's at https://royspasties.com/.Learn more about Copper Range Depot on its Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/Copper-Range-Depot-Family-Restaurant-102663888186452/BTM airs:*1 p.m. Sundays on WSGW-AM (790) and FM (100.5) in Saginaw.*6 p.m. Sundays on WOOD-AM (1300) and (106.9) in Grand Rapids.Follow John and Amy on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/behindthemitten orTwitter at @BehindTheMitten and Instagram at @BehindTheMitten_.Email them suggestions or places you want them to visit at behindthemitten@gmail.com.

What does Winter Carnival mean to the economy of the Keweenaw Peninsula? Convention and Visitor Bureau Executive Director Brad Barnett discusses.

“Much of the world's oil doesn't go to people just driving their cars to the mall. I mean, a big part of it goes to the trucks that pull everything around, to the ships that sail everything around, to the airplanes that fly everything around, to the plastics and to the precursor materials that go into everything that you wear. I mean, the buttons on your shirt, the soles on your shoes. It's… everything.” ~ Byron W. KingTRANSCRIPT:Joel Bowman:Before we get started, Byron, I was just looking at the time zone differences here. I know you're in Pittsburgh. I didn't realize that Pennsylvania was a commonwealth or designated as a Commonwealth. I thought that was a yolk only we once and former colonists labored under. I didn't know that it extended to Pennsylvanians, too.Byron King:It's one of those things that goes back to colonial days, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Then there are 46 states and four commonwealths. Although Puerto Rico is considered a commonwealth as well. It has colonial roots. I used to know the answer to that or I used to have an explanation for it, but I actually don't recall why that is. Ben Franklin-ish kind of things or something.Joel Bowman:One of those historical anachronisms. Byron, you and I have known each other for a little while now, longer than I've care to mention. I don't want to date our young dapper looking selves, but you are a man who wears many hats. A historian, an energy investor, a international geopolitical commentator, Well, for listeners who perhaps recognize your name and probably they've seen you around the traps for the last couple of decades, I'd say, writing alongside Bill and some other well-known cast of characters throughout the newsletter publishing world, do you want to just fill us in a little bit by way of a bio to get started? And maybe talk us through up and until how you got to meet Bill and came to working with and writing alongside him?Byron King:Thanks very much, Joel. It's really a pleasure to speak with you and certainly to be on your podcast. I have been part of the Agora Familia since, I believe, around 2002 in one way or another. I've been on the payroll. I was on the payroll at Agora from about 2007, and so the next 15 years. I met Bill Bonner as a subscriber. I was just a reader of The Daily Reckoning. One day I was reading my Reckonings and he made some comment. This is about 2002 or so, he made a comment about the war in Afghanistan. I was just a reader. I was Joe reader out there, and I was a free reader. In fact, I wasn't even ... I thought, "I have a bunch of friends just got back from Afghanistan and I know a few things about what's going on over this." So I send him a little email, "Dear Bill Bonner, we've never met. You don't know me. But I have a bunch of friends just got back from Afghanistan. Here's what's really going on." Next thing you know, we had this discussion going on. Next thing I know, he's printing my emails to him in The Daily Reckoning and I was his friend. Then eventually I became his friend in Pittsburgh. I was a dear friend. Like, "Oh my goodness. This is starting to warm up."Joel Bowman:You're moving up the ladder here.Byron King:Next thing you know we started having this very nice correspondence. Then one day I went to one of the Agora conferences, The Vancouver Investment Conference. And I talked to Addison Wiggin, an old name from the past. Very still around, doing well. And I said, "Addison, hi, I'm Byron King. I'm your unpaid correspondent in Pittsburgh." And he says ...Joel Bowman:That's right. Unpaid correspondent. I remember that.Byron King:He said, "Would you be interested in starting in writing for us and we'll pay you?" I'm like, "Yeah, sure." "Just freelance." "Yeah. Okay." So I started writing Whiskey and Gunpowder with Dan Denning, who we know, Jim Amrhein, he's still around as well, and myself. I said, "What do you want me to write about?" He said, "Well, you seem to know a lot about energy and military stuff. So my first article I ever wrote for Whiskey and Gunpowder was the Ghost of Colonel Drake. Colonel Drake being 1859, drove the well in Titusville. Kind of the birthplace, the DNA of the modern oil industry. Although people in Canada say they drove an earlier well and people in West Virginia say they drove an earlier well. But Colonel Drake gets the credit. We started Whiskey and Gunpowder. I would write about energy and the oil industry. We were writing about military things, US strategy. I mean, the war in Iraq. I remember this one article I wrote about the Sicilian invasion of ancient Greece when the Athenians invaded Sicily. And somebody says, "Why are you writing about the Athenian sailing across the Mediterranean to invade Sicily?" And I said, "I'm really not writing about the Athenians sailing across the Mediterranean to invade Sicily. I'm writing about the war in Iraq, I'm writing about the war in Afghanistan."Joel Bowman:This is actually a Trojan horse for me to get my point across, to go back to the Greeks. Byron King:I would write about Herodotus and I would write about ... But it was fun. We picked up a lot of names, and Whiskey and Gunpowder was a highly successful newsletter. Then one day in 2007, the phone rings, I picked it up, and it's someone from Agora. And they said, "Hey, Byron. The guy that edits our energy and mining pub, outstanding investment, just quit. You want the job?" I'm like, "Is it a real job?" "Yeah." "You pay me?" "Yeah." "You guys have healthcare coverage?" "Yeah. Don't give that job away."Joel Bowman:Sounds like a real job.Byron King:Literally, I hung up. This was in the morning, about 8:00 in the morning. I got in the car, I drove to Baltimore, which is about four and a half, five hours depending on traffic. I had lunch. I came home and I told my wife, I said, "Hey, I got a new job." She says, "What kind of job?" I said, "You know that Agora Group down in Baltimore?" "Yeah." I said, "They offered me a job." She's like, "Do they pay you?" And I said, "Yeah." She said, "Healthcare coverage?" "Yeah." And she said, "Great. Because you hate your other jobs so do this job."Joel Bowman:I liked that she had the same filters as you. That you get paid, there is healthcare...Byron King:I get paid, there's healthcare coverage, and we'll do some fun things. Anyhow, that was 15 years ago and I'm still around, part of the Agora family. I think first time I met you was we actually went to Titusville together.Joel Bowman:I was going to mention that.Byron King:I think it was 2005.Joel Bowman:I think it was probably back in 2005 because I'd read that piece that you wrote in Whiskey. I just mentioned it to you somewhat offhandedly maybe on the sidelines of an editorial meeting or something where we fleshed out these ideas. Within a week, you had sent an invitation saying, "Hey, if you're keen on having a look at this, why don't you come on up and we'll do an old school dynamite frack? I've got some buddies in the industry who can show us around." That was a real hoop. A blast, I got to say.Byron King:And that's what we do. You were up there and one or two others. I had my two children with me. And we went up to Titusville. It was a beautiful, gorgeous fall afternoon. The trees were beautiful and gorgeous, leaves of Western Pennsylvania. We go out to this a working oil well. I knew these fellas. They were doing an old time ... Well, it was an early frack, but it was an old time exploding the well. Literally, they would drop a charge down there. they called it a torpedo. And they would drop it down to the oil bearing zone. And then they covered it with water to keep all from blowing up out of the hole. And boom, they exploded and they fractured the well.They started doing that in the 1860s. There was some colonel or some general from the Union army, got wounded in battle in the Civil War. He couldn't be in the army anymore so he came back. But he knew a lot about explosives so he went to work in the oil fields. And so they came up with it. So fracking, in a sense, has been around for a long time. Although, today with hydraulic fracking, it's quite different than exploding things. For all the listeners, readers, viewers out there, it's an old story, it was a fascinating, old story. And that's how we started, that's how we really got up close and personal to the oil fields.Joel Bowman:For sure. It's very interesting because that dovetails very nicely into the something that I want to get into with you here. And that is an email that you sent around, like the old days, send on a letter and it spawns all these different branches here. Down here in South America, we say, [foreign language 00:11:54], to go for the branches. But anyway, the email that you sent earlier in the week, and I've got the article here was linking to a column that cited a well-known Goldman commodities analyst, Jeff Curry, who's been around the traps for, goodness, I think 30 odd years, maybe more, very well-known. And he said he's been examining the commodities markets, of which you're very familiar, and said he hasn't seen anything like it in his entire career.And I want to get this quote right here because it's a pretty powerful one. He says, here it is, "I've been doing this for 30 years. Never seen markets like this." Here's the key takeaway, "This is a molecule crisis." He said, "We're running out of everything. I don't care if it's oil, gas, coal, copper, aluminum, you name it, we're out of it." And I guess we're starting to see that reflecting itself in prices across the board with oil at its highest mark since 2014, I think. A basket of commodities covered by Bloomberg, a couple of dozen of them from ags to metals, to energy all across the spectrum were really, really ramping up here. So I guess, first, is that similar to your reading, with your experience in the commodities markets? These big shortages that are driving prices? What do you see when you look out across the horizon?Byron King:Well, I mean, I'm old enough to have been around for a few things. There are cycles and then there are really humongous cycles. So we're in a humongous cycle. Not to say that it won't be resolved, but I mean, as people say, the cure to high prices is high prices, the cure to low prices is low prices. But there's more to it than that really, because we're changing the whole investment paradigm industry in what is passed for the industrial revolution for the last 200 years. I mean, when Colonel Drake drilled his well, getting back to the 1859 and Colonel Drake, I mean, people lit their houses with whale oil. I mean, petroleum was this exotic stuff that they skimmed off of creeks and they sold it as a patent medicine. There was no petroleum. So to the modern mind or the modern ... A lot of people think, "There's no petroleum. I guess there were no gasoline engines. I couldn't drive to the mall." That's right. You didn't have any internal combustion engines and you couldn't drive to the mall, but there was no mall. And when you got to the mall that wasn't there, there was no stores selling clothing made out of plastics. And you didn't have natural gas to heat your house and you didn't have electricity for your light bulb, to illuminate.The industrial age has been a coal age but a petroleum age as well. Because you can't have electric wire without copper, but you can't have it without something to wrap around a copper, which is plastic. Much of the world's oil doesn't go to people just driving their cars to the mall. I mean, a big part of it goes to the trucks that pull everything around, to the ships that sail everything around, to the airplanes that fly everything around, to the plastics and to the precursor materials that go into everything that you wear. I mean, the buttons on your shirt, the soles on your shoes.Joel Bowman:Every molecule.Byron King:It's everything. The medicines, you think you're taking an antibiotic and you can label it as that. But if you really go back to where it all started, that antibiotic began in an oil well somewhere because the materials in which they ... The medium in which they grew the bugs that they wound up pressing in to it, the little plastic bottle that it came in. I mean, if you didn't have that, we would live in a very different world. Actually, we wouldn't be here. Somebody else would be here. We would've gone off, would be some alternative universe. Joel Bowman:Is there a shortage of molecules? Byron King:Yeah, of course. Of everything we can get into.Joel Bowman:For sure. I guess, right out the gate, an obvious question presents itself and that is what do you, as someone who is a trained geologist at one of those fringe institutions, I think, it was Harvard university. One of those ...Byron King:Wild and crazy place.Joel Bowman:So what do you say to people who essentially advocate for a world in which all of those processes, those very, very careful processes that you just outlined in which we take these raw materials, these petroleum-based materials, and turn them into finished goods, and all of the energy inputs that are needed along that value chain, what do you say to people who want to go back to an era pre that? To a so-called carbon neutral era? I mean, it seems like we're asking for trouble there.Byron King:They're not just asking for it, they're calling in the artillery on their own position. I mean, it's completely totally destructive. I mean, if you want to say we need to be better about using our energy, you want to be more efficient about energy, you want you want to change life. Well, yeah, except when it comes to changing lifestyles, I mean, how do you plan to do that? Are you going to lock the world down for two years and hold everybody at the point of a gun, and if they drive their trucks in front of your parliament building and honk their horns, you're going to arrest them all or something? I mean, how do you plan to really get this done other than to make life miserable for everybody? To borrow from Ernest Hemingway, "Slowly and then all at once."I mean, that's a very, very, very long talk, you know what I mean? Before we come here, I showed you a ... This is a piece of copper. This is elemental copper, literally chopped out of the ground with a rock hammer. This is a rock hammer, which helps to prove that I'm a geologist. Literally chopped out the ground in the Keweenaw Peninsula, the upper peninsula of Michigan there. I mean, this is copper. America's first mining boom was in about the 1840s in upper Michigan, upper peninsula, where people went up there and literally chopped this stuff up. This is the copper that that era of America used for its tea kettles and to line its ships and to make its wagon wheels and make copper nails to hold the shingles down on people's slate roofs and stuff like that.We don't have this anymore. Well, I mean, you can find it as an exotic specimen every now and then. I mean, this is 99% copper. Today, copper mining, people are mining fractions of a percent of grade of copper. How do you mine fractions of a grade of copper? Well, you go to a mountain somewhere in the Andes, big mountain in the Andes, and you put all sorts of explosives in the ground and you blow it up and you haul this rock out in the great big, huge trucks, and you crush it, and you process it, and you go through all sorts of chemistry. And eventually at the end, you wind up with copper, which you make your electric wire or what-have-you. At every step of the way, the explosive, the trucks, the facility where they crush it, the facility where they process it, the facility where they turn it into copper, all the trucking along the way, the ships that haul it across the ocean or whatever, if you don't have some stored energy in the form of hydrocarbon or various materials that come from hydrocarbon for your chemicals, that's not going to happen. So people will say, "Well, we're just going to go to electric cars." Your electric car uses about four times, maybe five times as much copper as your normal conventional internal combustion car. I mean, you're talking about increasing ... Just in the auto sector, you're increasing the use of copper by four X and five X. So when the man says there's not enough copper, that's partly what it means.Joel Bowman:And that's just one, of course, that's just one metal. This is just one element we're talking about.Byron King:One element on the periodic table. That's just one. I mean, we could go to other things. If you want to do exotic stuff. This is a specimen here, this is a titanium ore. This is rutile. Titanium dioxide. This is a beautiful specimen. I mean, no way I'm going to throw this one in the crusher. These crystals are as big as my thumb. I mean, if you want this thing, maybe I'll take 2,000 bucks for it as a mineral specimen. But it's not for sale.Joel Bowman:Where does this come from?Byron King:Well, this came from Graves Mountain in Georgia. Again, chopped out with my hammer. It's a unique geologic locale, but we don't have any of these anymore. When I say we, pretty much anywhere in the world, you don't find this stuff anymore. Maybe one or two here and there. You can go to Graves Mountain on a Saturday afternoon dig and maybe dig out a few of these things. But most of the world's titanium comes from very, very disseminated mineralization. What do you use titanium for? Well, it's everything in the white paint, all the way to a landing gear on airplanes. So where does most of the world's titanium come? It comes from Russia. I mean, let's all get mad at Russia. Let's all blame Russia for everything so that they can shut off titanium. They'll shut down Boeing in about three days if we don't have any titanium to build the jets with. Now we've covered two elements on the table. There's 90 others. Joel Bowman:So we've got a couple of ... I mean, you've touched on a few points here, but a couple of key takeaways thus far, I think is A, we're not just raking this stuff up off the front lawn anymore. These are hugely energy intensive processes in order to be able to get this stuff from whatever highly pressurized cavern. It is a subterranean, extreme environment up to whether it's painting your walls or driving your car, what-have-you. But the second component and from the Andes and to Russia, you've now mentioned, is not all of these elements, these raw materials are in geopolitically friendly jurisdictions. Which adds a huge price premium or at least a certain amount of market volatility that might be this kind of at the whims of just hoping things go the way that you want them to go. But that's not always the case.There's two angles to that geopolitically unfriendly jurisdictions. There are the geopolitically unfriendly jurisdictions where their government has contrary interest to our government, there's that kind of thing. But then there are the geopolitically unfriendly jurisdiction like Minnesota, where a very significant mine for copper, nickel, cobalt, there's several different proposals in Minnesota have all been shot down. They've all been killed off by the environmental lobby. Another geopolitical jurisdiction, California. You got to try opening new mines in California. Nevada, you can mine Montana, Idaho as if the ... The US and to some extent, Canada. Even Canada has become an unfriendly place to try to do any major projects because ... Byron King:It's not just that the permitting is so hard, it's the level of opposition. You get sort of I call it permanent capital. You know how BlackRock goes out and buys up entire neighborhoods, buys all the houses and nobody can ... You have to rent now. You can never own a house because BlackRock owns them all. Well, you get that same east and west coast permanent capital. And it funds these environmental lobbies and they come in, and their job is to stop projects. It doesn't matter the merits of the ore deposit, it doesn't matter the merits of the geology, it doesn't matter how many water quality analyses you do, how many air quality analyses you do, it doesn't matter how carefully you're going to run your mind or whatever. And if you've ever been around a modern mine, you'll see the absolute lengths to which the modern big guys go to to be safe and be careful and not be environmental stewards. There's those sort of geopolitical issues. And you know what? It's not even just a mining thing. I mean, a lot of people say, "We need more titanium. We need more copper here." It's a mining thing. It's sort of a mining thing. Your deposit is where it is. If it's not there, you can't mine it. If it is there, you still might not be able to mine it. It's a mining thing. But then, all you've done when you've blown up the rock and hauled it out in a truck is you've hauled out a bunch of rock. Now what? Now you need an entire industrial chain. You need the mills, you need the processing facilities, you need the refining facilities, you need the downstream facilities that keep adding value to it, add value, add value, add value. And the people who know how to do this in the world today, we call them Chinese. We don't call them Americans. We hardly ever call those kind of people Americans anymore. There are very, very few places in America where you can go to school and actually learn about, for example, rare earth refining. I mean, at one point, there were no places to go. Now there's Colorado School of Mines and a few other places around the country. China has entire universities that are devoted to teaching people chemistry metallurgy, hydro metallurgy, extracting these minerals. And they're capturing that part of the value chain. I'll just add one thing because I know we're going to talk some more of it. China is actually getting out of the mining industry. They don't want to dig up their ground as much anymore because they've got a huge environmental problems, water problems, food problems. They don't want to do that. They would rather buy the materials, process them in China down to a certain value add level, and then sell them to Western companies and sell them with strings attached saying that, "If you guys don't build a factory in China, if you don't share your technology with us, we're not going to sell you the materials you need." That would be the rarers, the permanent magnets, the phosphorous for lighting systems, things like that. We could talk about that all day.Joel Bowman:For sure. And if I'm not mistaken, China has some enormous percentage of the world's rare earth deposits, 90 plus percent or something. Am I in the right ballpark there? Byron King:You are absolutely in the right ballpark. I mean, you see a lot of figures and a lot of these figures are fudged figures. Well, China used to control 95%, but now it's only 80%. Well, really, when you get to the sweet spot, to the stuff that you can actually have a magnet and put it in the alternator of your car or have a phosphor and put it in your light bulb, things like that, China's back up around. They're way, way, way over 90%. What they're doing is, for example, in the US, there's a company called MP Materials, which mines rare earth ore at a place called Mountain Pass, California. It's a legacy operation going back to the '50s. Otherwise, they would never be able to build it today. But they literally mine the material, they crush it, they concentrate. They put it on in trucks, they haul it down to the port of Long Beach. And when those ships get done unloading in Long Beach and Los Angeles, they put the material on those ships and they send it back to China and we never see those molecules again. I mean, China isn't processing those on behalf of MP Materials. That's not what they call a tolling agreement. They're just selling them the ore, China gets it. And then they export it in the form of high value added materials, whether it's your microwave oven or your air conditioner or ...Joel Bowman:They send us back iPads and sneakers.Byron King:Yeah.Joel Bowman:I mean, all of these little tiles add up to a pretty dismal looking mosaic for the future of energy independence. If not only the US but in the west as well. So talk a little bit about how ... Because you touched on BlackRock just before and the idea of permanent capital and they're having such a mammoth share in the market. I'm talking BlackRock and Vanguard and these gigantic funds. When they move into the kind of mindset that is very high focused on environmentally sustainable governance, or ESG is another buzzword around now, when they go long on that type of regulatory framework, what does that do for American energy independence, and how much is it sending folding those cards to jurisdictions abroad?Byron King:Well, there you go. I guess you'd call it postmodernism. The philosophical postmodernism has transformed itself or it has beamed itself down as this ESG movement. And you get permanent capital, you get really big funds, really big organizations. They own a whole bunch of shares of all these different companies, pick her name, whatever you want. You had the one funded, owned enough shares in Exxon that they could influence other shareholders and they got their people on the board of Exxon. So all of a sudden Exxon went from saying, "We're an oil and energy company and this is who we are and this is what we do." To saying, "We're going to be carbon neutral and we're going to throttle back on this and that." Joel Bowman:That was just in the summer of '21, I think.Byron King:Just three, four months ago. Six or five months ago. Or you look at other big companies, Shell Oil, the Dutch company, or BP, British Petroleum, as it used to be called, as President Obama used to call it during the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the British Petroleum, BP is their name. They're basically saying, "Well, we don't want to be called names, we don't want people to think harshly of us. We're going to be deinvesting in our traditional business opportunity. We're not going to drill as many wells. We're not going to explore as much. We're going to walk away from certain project, we're going to walk away from this big, huge gas project off of Mozambique or we're going to walk away from this opportunity offshore, Brazil or wherever."What it means is they are intentionally, consciously underinvesting in their business. When you say, "Who cares about Exxon?" "Well, I care about Exxon." I do not own a single share of Exxon. I don't think I ever have. Maybe I've bought and sold, I don't know. But I do not own a single share of Exxon. But I do care that they produce oil, gas, chemicals, plastics, what-have-you because I live in this world.Joel Bowman:You want to turn the lights on. Wear some shoes.Byron King:I like it when I flip the switch and the lights come on.Joel Bowman:Button your shirt up.Byron King:I like having little bull plastic buttons on my nice shirt. But when they underinvest, maybe we won't notice it today ... Well, we won't notice it today, tomorrow, next week, next month. But if they underinvest for the next year or two, by year three, we're going to begin to notice. Well, guess what? First of all, during COVID, there was a lot of underinvestment just because people are sick, can't work, can't show up to the office. Entire areas were just off limits. You can't fly anywhere, you can't drive anywhere, you can't cross borders. There was a lot of underinvestment for two years just because of COVID. And now as we wake up coming out of COVID because I mean, the COVID is ending. It's not over, but it's ending. That's a whole another discussion, but as we come out of it, we look around and we say, "Hey, wait a minute. Geez. People have been underexploring, under drilling, under developing, underplaying their geophysics, underdoing for the last two years. And we've got a couple more years of this as we look out on the whole ESG waterfront. What happens then? Well, if you don't invest in, go out, explore, drill fine, so what do the markets tell us? They're going to have a shortage of oil in the future. I guess, I'll bid oil up to $90 a barrel, maybe $100. How about $110 or $120? I mean, I've seen estimates of oil at $300 a barrel. Of course, when oil's at $300 a barrel, the economy crashes and everybody gets laid off. We'll see what happens. You'll see what the markets do. But then the other angle on that is that when a Western oil company walks away from developing a big oil or gas project somewhere, guess who else moves in? Either the state oil companies, the national oil companies of those other countries, Chinese capital moves in. China has plenty of permanent capital as well. They know how to write checks just as well as BlackRock and Vanguard. And if you pull out of here and you leave a vacuum, somebody else's capital will come in. Joel Bowman:Exactly as you would expect. As you said, we've been, goodness, I don't know how many years, but it would've been probably since the last peak in oil around 2014, thereabouts, that we've had this kind of cyclical turn. And as you mentioned, undercapitalization, underinvestment, under exploration, and now we're reaping the high prices of that under attention, I guess, to an entire sector. So let me ask you, because the people who are advocating for this, great transition, which they never fully get around to explaining how it's going to be funded, although we know the price tag is something extraordinary. I think Janet Yellen put it in the ballpark of $150 trillion. I guess they just print those. I have no idea where they all come from. Those people will say, "Okay, Byron, it's going to be tough. We're going to have to move from these fossil ideas, I guess, of the old oil and gas and the old stalwarts in delivering our energy. But what we're looking forward to is this utopia where we've got windmills and solar panels and all the rest of it." So talk a little bit about how that doesn't quite compute, doesn't quite deliver, how the sun doesn't shine, the wind doesn't blow, and all the rest of it. Because it seems to be a big gap between wishful thinking and cold, hard reality there.Byron King:For sure. I mean, windmills and solar have a place in the world. I call it a niche. They are niche performers. I mean, just to do windmills and solars, what do you need? You need steel, which comes from iron ore, which comes from rocks in the ground. You need coal to make the basic steel. You need coal to make the pig iron, and then once you have the iron, you can melt it. But you still need electricity, and where do you get your electricity from? You can't do big industrial scale electric things off of solar and wind because they ... Unless you have huge capacitors that somehow store the energy. I mean, I don't want to get all electrical engineering on you here. But to do solar and wind, you need a lot of steel, you need a lot of exotic elements, you need a lot of rare earth, you need a lot of silver. The polysilicon that is in the face of the solar panels. I mean, polysilicon is a very exotic material that the ... I mean, where's most of it made? Well, China. For windmills, you need all these big, fancy, permanent magnets in there. And these rotating machinery as the big blades go round and round and round. Where do those rares come from? China. Magnets? China. You've got other issues and these things have a life cycle. They aren't really renewable in the sense that after, pick a number 10, 15, 20 years, these machines, they too will wear out. They aren't going to last forever.Maybe you can rebuild them. Maybe there's a recycling element to them, but right now, what happens to old windmill blades? They bury them in landfills. Well, that doesn't seem very renewable. That's just the machinery about it. But you mentioned, the wind doesn't blow the sun, doesn't shine. The sun comes up and the sun goes down. And when the sun comes up, the little solar panels are out there and you go from no electricity, no electricity to, "Good. We're making lots of electricity. Lots of electricity." Sun goes down, no more electricity.What happens when you want to run your society during those nighttime periods or if it snows or if it's cloudy day or something like that? Well, now you need baseload power. Well, where's the baseload power come from? Well, traditionally coal. Nuclear, that'd be great. But we've really put a lid on nuclear. In the west, I mean, in Germany, they're shutting down their new plants. I wrote an article for Bonner Private Letter about that in December. Germany's energy StalingradJoel Bowman:That's right. Excellent metaphor and not a very good one for students of history who know how Stalingrad went.Byron King:It didn't work out well for the Germans the first time, they want to do it again. I don't get this. Some people don't learn. They don't learn too good, as the saying goes. Right now, as we speak, what happens when the sun goes down and we need to get that base load balanced again? We need to balance the load so that literally the lights will go on, so the refrigerators keep running, people's computers keep working, so that you can charge your Tesla at night or what-have-you. How do we get that power? In a lot of places in the United States, the way to get quick, almost instant electric power is you turn on your natural gas fired turbines. You have out there in the gas fields, you got the pipelines. Again, pipelines are made out of this thing called steel. That comes from ... They're put together by big, heavy machinery that are run by this stuff called diesel fuel. And they're wrapped in these protective coatings that are made out of this stuff called plastic, which comes from this thing called oil, which comes from these things called oil fields. In comes the natural gas to the great, big, huge gas turbines that are made by Siemens and General Electric and what-have-you, made out of all sorts of exotic materials like titanium and all sorts of fancy magnets made out of materials that came from China. We spool these babies up and we generate this electricity and now we balance the load. So by day, we are subsidizing solar power because they all have tax breaks and tax credits and everything for their solar panels and such. By day, we're flooding the market with this subsidized solar power. And by night, we're having to turn on these merchant power systems, these natural gas fired systems just to balance the load. We're really ruining the economics of a broad scale electric power industry. I mean, across the country, public utility commissions in every single state are wrestling with this. I mean, where the public utility goes to the commission and says, "Listen, we're having to pay these high rates back to the homeowners for their solar panels by day on the sunny days but that doesn't support our grid." And then meanwhile, we have these idle plants that we have, these natural gas plants on each side of the sunrise, sunset, we have to pay ... Those are capital costs, too. We have to pay for those. We don't use them for eight or 10 or 12 hours a day but then we have to spin them up at night. You get into public utility law that is very, very complex. The lawyers are having a field day with it, the lawyers and the economists who deal with this. Great jobs for those guys, those gals. There's a whole thoughtless sense to it all. Then you go to a place like California, which has reached something, on a sunny day, something like 30% of the California on a sunny day is solar-powered or so-called renewable power. Okay, but now you destabilize the whole grid with on again, off again power. And they're importing power from British Columbia, they're importing power from Nevada and Utah and other places. How do you do that? Joel Bowman:I mean, it goes back to what you were saying about Germany and what you wrote. I'll link to this article below for our listeners because it's really well worth their reading. It's a little peek into the future just as I'm down here in Buenos Aires, Argentina is a little peek into America's inflationary future if it doesn't pull its breeches up. But I think you can look into the future by having a look at what's going on in Germany. And if we keep down this path as Germany has done, not only do we watch just basic electricity heating costs go through the roof, as we've seen natural gas futures, and oil price skyrocket over the past couple of months during this winter.But also you eventually have to revert if you put a whole load of your power load onto an unreliable, so-called renewable or green energy grid. When that doesn't come through or when the wind doesn't blow, as they found out in Texas last year, then all of a sudden you're back to dirtier fuels. Coal, in the case of Germany. Where you're undercuting your whole reason for going green in the first place when you're ... I think it was actually lignite they went back to. It was even worse.Byron King:They come burning lignite. Is there a dirtier fuel than lignite? The answer, no. I guess if you could burn your front lawn or something...Joel Bowman:You could burn a rain forest.Byron King:They're burning lignite to release the energy to boil water, make steam, spin a turbine and literally keep their lights on and keep their little street cars running in diesel cars.Joel Bowman:Crazy. So what about people who say, "Okay, this is all well and good. But man has innovated past paraffin. We've had whale oil." In some parts of the world, in Indonesia, they're still burning through forests." We used to burn various types of fuels until we got to this high grade, high ERORI of the petroleum energy return and energy invested ... There you go. Until we got to these high ERORI fuel sources. So we've just got to have a bit of faith in technology, we've just got to have a bit of faith in innovation and tomorrow's battery cells and tomorrow's whatever. They're just going to be so much better that we just need to transition to the eutopic future and we'll all live happily ever after over there. What say ye, Mr. King?Byron King:Well, there's an old expression that I heard it long ago from a guy at Westinghouse, the old Westinghouse Electric Company, which was this massive company that it did everything. It made electrical appliances, it made electrical equipment, built nuclear plants. I mean, it built the nuclear reactors for Navy submarines, things like that. But they were very stovepipe company, they had a lot of different branches. And the guy said, "If we only knew what we know, we could really do much better." And when you say, "People are innovative, there's lots of patents out there." Yeah, there are. There's lots of patents out there. And if we knew what we know, we might be able to cobble something together. That takes political leadership and that takes policy making people who actually understand this stuff and who didn't just read a couple magazine articles or didn't just spool up after reading a New York Times article or two about, "We're going to kill ourselves. We're ruining the world," and all this sort of stuff. We're ruining the world and we're all going to die, okay. I grant you that. I mean, in rare earth, for example, there was a not too long ago study that I saw, heard about. They compared patents in the rare earth arena by different countries and they adjusted per population, what-have-you. For every patent in rare earth, which are important if you're going to do renewable, for every patent in rare earth that happens in the United States, there are 35 patents in China. Joel Bowman:Wow. This is population adjusted as you mentioned. That's an important caveat there.Byron King:When it comes to who's going to own the future, the people who are going to own the future are people who are thinking about it and thinking about tying it all together. Which is not to say that China's 10 feet tall, but Chinese people are 10 feet tall, that they strongest gorillas and all this sort stuff. No, no, no. I mean, they're people, too. But they think about it. And it doesn't mean that I want the CCP, the Chinese Communist Party, approach to running life in America or Canada. Even though sometimes you wonder. You kind of wonder, I mean, how much of that rule book over there have they brought over here?Joel Bowman:Gramsci's long march through the academies is alive and well.Byron King:These long march through the academy. I mean, when people say, "We have a carbon dioxide crisis." I said, "Well, all I can say for sure is that every year, there's more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere." It's a very, very, very small fraction. Some people say, "Well, it's enough to change the climate and everything else." "Well, I don't know that the models are that good." Other people who are smart have different models of it. I've spoken with Russian scientists who cover this and they think that Western scientists are just they don't know what they're talking about. And the Russians, they know a few things about the high arctic. I mean, half their, of countries in the north of the Arctic Circle. But we have really a global environmental crisis. I mean, if you look at how much crap is just being thrown into the rivers and streams and the off flow of agriculture chemicals and things, I mean, we're ruining the ecology of the planet, I'll grant you that. I mean, it just seems to me that the policy ought to be broader than just this crackdown on what I'd call the center of gravity of modern life, which is a petroleum-oriented or hydrocarbon-oriented energy and materials economy. When you say, "We've got to turn the valves and we've got to shut in the oil wells and shut in the natural gas. We're going to put the coal companies out of business. They should all go bankrupt." The woman who almost became the comptroller of the currency that President Biden nominated be the comptroller of the currency, from Cornell Law School. She was an immigrant from the Soviet Union. She wrote her thesis on A Marxian analysis of the economy. She said that in order to ...Joel Bowman:Omarova, I think her name was.Byron King:... have the future that we want, we're going to have to bankrupt all the oil companies. It's like, "Well, to bankrupt all the oil companies means our energy's going to go away. Our classics are going to go away, our agricultural fertilizers are going to away, our chemicals are going to go away. I guess that means you just want to kill us all off. Well, no, thank you. No, thank you. We're just fine killing ourselves off without you helping."Joel Bowman:Right. Saule Omarova I think her name was. Another of her quotes, I think she was taking the scorched earth approach. Not only to oil and gas, but I think to banking as well. She wanted something like some federal deposit accounts where, of course, the government would be able to control maybe through a central bank digital currency or some such. Where you spent your money, with whom, at what time, under what circumstances. Because of course, central planning worked out so well for the Soviets. She was a School of Moscow graduate, I think.Talk a little bit, Byron, about a potential kind of transition fuel. It strikes me that when people talk about, "Okay, let's throw the baby up with the bath water." Let's throw the entire petrochemical industry just in the drink. First of all, there's not enough room in St. Greta Thunberg's arc for two of every species at this point, let alone the whole human race. But is there some possibility that we could transition to say, a larger percentage of our energy needs reliant on, say, natural gas or nuclear, if we could get the political will behind it and move away from either geopolitical risk in some places? I mean, you speak about the United States, there's no shortage of natural gas there. One would think that would be a perfect strategy for ensuring a bunch of jobs, reinvesting in America's energy independence and its energy grid, and having a somewhat of a lot, well, a lot cleaner source than say coal or German lignite, for sure.Byron King:Well, it is a rough and rocky road ahead to change. I mean, we're looking at 200 years of inertia here. We're looking at a lot of what we call the built economy, the things that run on things that we used to have. I mean, the easements and the rights of way kind of like with the railroad, they are where they are and they were established long ago. And it's if you want to build a new railroad today or change the trackage of a railroad, how do you do that? I mean, I talked to a guy once at the US Department of Transportation and I said, "What's your biggest problem when it comes to building roads?" He says, "The biggest problem that we encounter most is graveyards." Every time they want to build a road or expand a road, they have to dig up a graveyard, move all the caskets. Transition the economy, every time you want to do something slightly different, you're going to have to dig up somebody else's graveyard. You break their rice bowl or dig up their graveyard. You know what I mean? Now we said, "The thing is we have what we have." And like I said earlier, if we knew what we already know, if people could actually synthesize what we already know, we can do this. And in fact, this is future looking in terms of where Byron is going with his writing. We'll talk about that in a few moments, if you wish. But if we knew what we know and we started to really tie things together, we could take what we have. We could take where we are and begin a reasonably decent transition and people who are part of it could make some money at it investment -wise.We can't just turn the valves and shut off the oil industry because a third of the oil goes for transportation and a third of it goes for industry and chemicals. I mean, it's not just people driving to the mall that's destroying the world. Don't take what you see every day when you're out and about. Don't take that as the problem or, natural gas. Let me just leap frog ahead a couple of things. I mean, we must absolutely revitalize the nuclear sector for base load electricity. Lots of great ideas out there for that. There's uranium. I mean, I could get into thorium but that's a whole another ... We could spend all day talking about thorium.Joel Bowman:It's another episode.Byron King:A whole another episode to talk about thorium. Just basic uranium reactors have an incredible future for base load electricity. Another thing and another point, and this is something that I'm working on right now and I'm going to be coming out eventually, give me a month or so with a report, it's going to be on fuel cells. You take a solid oxide fuel cell. You pass the hydrocarbon over it, natural gas or you could use diesel or you could use almost any hydrocarbon you want. But because of the chemistry and the physics of a fuel cell, and I don't want to get into it, this isn't going to be mechanical, electrical engineering class here. But because it is an immensely efficient way of removing the energy from that hydrocarbon, turning that energy into electricity and capturing and controlling the emissions, I'm not going to say that there will be zero emission. Fuel cells will never emit another molecule of CO2 again, but we will sure emit a lot fewer using fuel cells. And when you say, "Well, tell me more about this fuel cells." I don't want to get into the electrical engineering of how they work. I mean, you can read, I'll tell you more when I write about it and you can read about it eventually and you'll know about it.But the materials that go into these fuel cells, they are familiar materials, again, from the mine mill factory side, copper, nickel, platinum, palladium, rare earths. Oh my goodness. Yttrium-stabilized zirconia. You want exotic metals. I mean, we got to have yttria-stabilized zirconia to make these things work. Is there a molecule shortage of that? You're damn right there is. But what that means that if how to get yttria or if you know how to get zirconia, you're on the right track here investment-wise. That's one example.Joel Bowman:Well, let me ask that because I want to get around to your writings and where people can find them. But before we do that, give us a broad sweep. I don't want to undercut any of your own paid subscribers here, but for investors who are out there, who are they've been having a bit of a turbulent ride in the markets potentially so far this year, to say the least, if they've been investing in the new shiny things and they're looking at getting back to basics as it were. And this of course, Dan Tom have been writing about their trade of the decade, which very generally speaking is long energy, long, old energy that is. We spoke about this earlier in the year or late last year, rather, with Rick Rule, Winter Catastrophe Summit for Bonner Private Research. But when you are looking at ways to actively invest in this long term trend, what kind of sectors are you're looking at and how specific can you get with regards to sharing with us things that are on your radar?Byron King:Well, I'm still writing for one of the old line at Agora pubs. I work with Zach Scheidt on one called Lifetime Income Report. Every week or so, I write a little column that goes out in every month, I write another longer column for the monthly. It's a value investing kind of approach. I mean, just good basic companies in good basic sectors that can survive the tsunamis of what's going on. Nothing big and flashy, no Facebooks that are going to drop 25% one day, that kind of a thing. Joel Bowman:You mean we can't power the world with cat videos and the likes?Byron King:No. You just can't power the world with invitations to your birthday party kind of thing.Joel Bowman:Who would've thunk it?Byron King:That's where I'm at right now. In terms of what do I talk about? I talk about the classic things. I mean, I talk about gold, silver, just basic. I mean, there's definitely an upside to them but they also have what I like, which is the limited downside. And even if they do drop during a market crash, what's the first thing that recovers after a market crash? Gold. It's the most liquid thing there is. People sell their gold to pay their margin calls on Facebook or on Tesla or whatever like that because they got slammed. But then the thing is when they sell their gold, somebody else goes in there and buys it as with a lot of other things. Why do you think Facebook dropped 25%? Well, because it went no bid. Nobody wanted to buy it up there. Maybe some bottom feeding sharks came in to buy it down there. But I actually think some of those bottom feeding sharks are going to wish that they had found a lower bottom, so there's that.I like classic traditional energy. I mean, a company like Exxon or a company like Chevron. I mean, I was writing about Exxon a year ago when the share price was about 50% of where it is now. When the dividend yield was something like, I don't know, 10%. And you say, "Well, Exxon, who needs to be told to buy Exxon?" Well, I don't know. A lot of people seem to be told to buy Exxon because the share price has gone up significantly in the last year. Somebody was buying into it. And even with the people on the board who were like, "We're going to go ESG and we're going to decarbonize ourselves." They're making all this money in spite of themselves in the current oil environment. And I don't see the current oil environment self-correcting.I mean, it's not like government policy. Not this government, not the one we got now, not this ... They're not government policying towards more oil lower prices. I mean, you may have seen our wonderful Secretary of Energy, the former fashion model, tour guide at Universal Studios, Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm, when she was asked, "What's your solution to lowering energy prices?" She literally laughed at the person who asked her that question. Somebody asked her, "How many barrels of oil does the United States use every day?" And she says, "Well, I don't really have that data." I'm like, "You're the secretary of energy and you don't know how many barrels of oil the United States uses every day? Why are you there?"Joel Bowman:You would think of all the pieces of information, that particular data might be one that would maybe spring forth from a well-fertilized mind, but doesn't appear that that's what we're speaking about at this juncture.Byron King:And it's an easy number. I mean, it's in the realm of about 20 million barrels a day to run the United States. Joel Bowman:It's a nice round number. Byron King:Nice round number. You just have to remember that. You don't have to get down to the nearest 100,000 or whatever. Just throw that out and you'll sound like you're smart, like you know what you're talking about. Where does it come from? Well, I mean the United States imports more oil every day from Russia than we do from Saudi Arabia or Mexico. I mean, nobody knows that. Again, let's get into a war with Russia here. Unless we can somehow make another Mexico to make up for that deficit. But anyhow, in terms of like, "What am I looking at?" I mean, basic energy, US natural gas, certain pipeline plays because ... Not all pipelines. I mean, if you have a pipeline to a declining energy basin, well, you have a 50% full pipeline. That's not a good pipeline.If you have pipelines into the Permian basin, which is 98% capacity, that's a good pipeline. So things like that. I have been spending a lot of time talking with the mining place and the processing place for the battery metals, the technology metals, the energy metals, the rare earth place. As I've mentioned earlier, in North America, US, Canada, we have some mining place. We don't have a lot of the downstream place. It's just not there. There are a couple that might turn into something. I mean, Canadian companies, a company like Appia Energy, A-P-P-I-A. Appia Rare Earths and Uranium is their full name, they have the best deposit of a mineral called monazite in North America, maybe the world. It's the highest grade minerality I've ever seen. It's unbelievable minerality. Monazite for again, not to get into all minerology on you here, but it's a fabulous ore for rare earth. The problem is with Monazite is you also get low levels of uranium and thorium so it's a radiation problem. They're in Saskatchewan. They have a relationship with the Saskatchewan Research Council, which has a licensed nuclear capable facility. So when they process their minerals, when they get there ... They're still developmental. But when they get there, when they process the minerals, the Saskatchewan Radionuclide site, they're going to take those radioactive minerals away. That's a good thing. And we'll be left with the molecules we want, which is the rare earths, the neodymium and the dysprosium and the erbium and terbium and gadolinium and all those good stuff that make things work. I've been working on that. It's a model of an investment paradigm that feeds on where the war world is going in the future. Again, if we could only know what we knew. That's going to be ...Joel Bowman:I think we have a title for this episode. If only we knew what we knew.Byron King:If only we knew what we know.Joel Bowman:Well, Byron, I'm cognizant of the fact that we've run a little over time here, but I'm always thrilled to talk to you. It's such an encyclopedic knowledge of all of the aforementioned subjects and so many more. Besides, we didn't even get into half of the things that I wanted to talk about but we can save those for another podcast in the future. And in the meantime, as you mentioned, it looks like trends in motion are going to stay in motion, at least for the remainder of this administration and who knows how long beyond. What that means, I guess, is to torture a metaphor, a rich vein for you to tap with regards to individual investments in a field that you know probably better than anyone out there. So that's good for followers of Byron King and good for followers of Bonner Private Research. We'll be talking to Byron plenty more in the future if we're so lucky. So mate, thank you so much for taking the time. I really appreciate.Byron King:That's great. I thank you for your time and your courtesy. For all the viewers and listeners out there who watch this or listen to it, thank you so much. I truly appreciate that you would give me any of your time at all. And I hope that we've helped you with your thinking.Joel Bowman:Excellent. Byron, thanks a lot, man. I really appreciate it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bonnerprivateresearch.substack.com/subscribe

Beth Kirschner grew up in upstate New York and thought she knew everything there was to know about winter snows until she moved to Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula for college. There she discovered an average snowfall between 200 and 300 inches and a record winter snowfall of 390 inches. In addition to the harsh winters, she found a place rich with history, personality, and the world's only known source of pure, native copper. The Keweenaw Peninsula is the setting for her debut novel, Copper Divide.Her writing has moved from poetry to travel journals, short stories, and novels, aided by a supportive writer's group, writer's conferences, and classes. When not writing, she works as a software engineer, flies single-engine airplanes, and enjoys exploring Michigan's Upper Peninsula. She has two grown children, two large cats, and a room of her own for imagining her next story.BETH KIRSCHNERCOPPER DIVIDE, BETH KIRSCHNERANNA CLEMENC, AMERICAN LABOR ACTIVISTEXIT WEST, MOHSIN HAMIDDAMASCUS GATE, ROBERT STONESupport the show

For bonuses and to support the show, sign up at www.patreon.com/themidnighttrainpodcast   This week is our Christmas special here on the train. First, we've covered Krampus, Christmas killings, and ghost story Christmas traditions. Then, in keeping with our tradition of crazy Christmas episodes, today, we bring you some crazy Christmas disasters! Christmas isn't immune to crazy shit going on, from natural disasters to fires. Not only that, we're giving you guys a pretty good dose of history today. So with that being said, let's get into some crazy Christmas stuff!   While this first topic isn't necessarily a disaster in the usual sense, it definitely caused nothing but problems. And yes, it's a disaster. In 1865 on Christmas Eve, something happened that would change things for many people in this country and still causes grief to this day. While most people in the u.s. were settling down for the night with their families, leaving milk out for Santa, and tucking the kids in for the night, a group of men in Pulaski, Tennessee, were getting together for a very different purpose. Frank McCord, Richard Reed, John Lester, John Kennedy, J. Calvin Jones, and James Crowe were all officers with the Confederacy in the civil war. That night, they got together to form a group inspired at least in part by the then largely defunct Sons of Malta. While it started as a social club, within months, it would turn into one of the most nefarious groups around, the Ku Klux Klan. According to The Cyclopædia of Fraternities (1907), "Beginning in April, 1867, there was a gradual transformation. ...The members had conjured up a veritable Frankenstein. They had played with an engine of power and mystery, though organized on entirely innocent lines, and found themselves overcome by a belief that something must lie behind it all – that there was, after all, a serious purpose, a work for the Klan to do." It borrowed parts of the initiation ceremony from the sons of Malta with the same purpose: "ludicrous initiations, the baffling of public curiosity, and the amusement for members were the only objects of the Klan," according to Albert Stevens in 1907. In the summer of 1867, local branches of the Klan met in a general organizing convention. They established what they called an "Invisible Empire of the South." Leading Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest was chosen as the first leader, or "grand wizard," of the Klan; he presided over a hierarchy of grand dragons, grand titans, and grand cyclops. The organization of the Ku Klux Klan coincided with the beginning of the second phase of post-Civil War Reconstruction, put into place by the more radical members of the Republican Party in Congress. After rejecting President Andrew Johnson's relatively lenient Reconstruction policies from 1865 to 1866, Congress passed the Reconstruction Act over the presidential veto. Under its provisions, the South was divided into five military districts. Each state was required to approve the 14th Amendment, which granted "equal protection" of the Constitution to formerly enslaved people and enacted universal male suffrage. From 1867 onward, Black participation in public life in the South became one of the most radical aspects of Reconstruction. Black people won elections to southern state governments and even the U.S. Congress. For its part, the Ku Klux Klan dedicated itself to an underground campaign of violence against Republican leaders and voters (both Black and white) to reverse the policies of Radical Reconstruction and restore white supremacy in the South. They were joined in this struggle by similar organizations such as the Knights of the White Camelia (launched in Louisiana in 1867) and the White Brotherhood. At least 10 percent of the Black legislators elected during the 1867-1868 constitutional conventions became victims of violence during Reconstruction, including seven who were killed. White Republicans (derided as "carpetbaggers" and "scalawags") and Black institutions such as schools and churches—symbols of Black autonomy—were also targets for Klan attacks. By 1870, the Ku Klux Klan had branches in nearly every southern state. The Klan did not boast a well-organized structure or clear leadership even at its height. Local Klan members, often wearing masks and dressed in the organization's signature long white robes and hoods, usually carried out their attacks at night. They acted on their own but supported the common goals of defeating Radical Reconstruction and restoring white supremacy in the South. Klan activity flourished particularly in the regions of the South where Black people were a minority or a slight majority of the population and were relatively limited in others. Among the most notorious zones of Klan activity was South Carolina, where in January 1871, 500 masked men attacked the Union county jail and lynched eight Black prisoners. Though Democratic leaders would later attribute Ku Klux Klan violence to poorer southern white people, the organization's membership crossed class lines, from small farmers and laborers to planters, lawyers, merchants, physicians, and ministers. In the regions where most Klan activity took place, local law enforcement officials either belonged to the Klan or declined to act against it. Even those who arrested Klansmen found it difficult to find witnesses willing to testify against them.    Other leading white citizens in the South declined to speak out against the group's actions, giving them implicit approval. After 1870, Republican state governments in the South turned to Congress for help, resulting in three Enforcement Acts, the strongest of which was the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871.   For the first time, the Ku Klux Klan Act designated certain crimes committed by individuals as federal offenses, including conspiracies to deprive citizens of the right to hold office, serve on juries and enjoy the equal protection of the law. In addition, the act authorized the president to suspend the habeas corpus, arrest accused individuals without charge, and send federal forces to suppress Klan violence. For those of us dummies that may not know, a "writ of habeas corpus" (which literally means to "produce the body") is a court order demanding that a public official (such as a warden) deliver an imprisoned individual to the court and show a valid reason for that person's detention. The procedure provides a means for prison inmates or others acting on their behalf to dispute the legal basis for confinement.   This expansion of federal authority–which Ulysses S. Grant promptly used in 1871 to crush Klan activity in South Carolina and other areas of the South–outraged Democrats and even alarmed many Republicans. From the early 1870s onward, white supremacy gradually reasserted its hold on the South as support for Reconstruction waned; by the end of 1876, the entire South was under Democratic control once again.   Now, this was just the first version of the Klan. A second version started up in the early 1900s and later on another revival which is the current iteration of the Klan. We're not going to go into the later versions of the Klan because well…. Fuck 'em! We've already given them too much air time! But… This most definitely qualifies as a Christmas disaster.   Next up, we have a couple natural disasters.    First up, Cyclone Tracy. Cyclone Tracy has been described as the most significant tropical cyclone in Australia's history, and it changed how we viewed the threat of tropical cyclones to northern Australia.   Five days before Christmas 1974, satellite images showed a tropical depression in the Arafura Sea, 700 kilometers (or almost 435 miles for us Americans) northeast of Darwin.   The following day the Tropical Cyclone Warning Center in Darwin warned that a cyclone had formed and gave it the name Tracy. Cyclone Tracy was moving southwest at this stage, but as it passed the northwest of Bathurst Island on December 23, it slowed down and changed course.   That night, it rounded Cape Fourcroy and began moving southeast, with Darwin directly in its path.   The first warning that Darwin was under threat came at 12:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve when a top-priority flash cyclone warning was issued advising people that Cyclone Tracy was expected to make landfall early Christmas morning.   Despite 12 hours' warning of the cyclone's impending arrival, it fell mainly on deaf ears.   Residents were complacent after a near-miss from Cyclone Selma a few weeks before and distracted by the festive season.   Indeed in the preceding decade, the Bureau of Meteorology had identified 25 cyclones in Northern Territory waters, but few had caused much damage. Severe Tropical Cyclone Tracy was a small but intense system at landfall.   The radius of the galeforce winds extended only 50 kilometers from the eye of the cyclone, making it one of the most miniature tropical cyclones on record, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).   Records show that at least six tropical cyclones had severely impacted Darwin before Tracy.   The worst of these was in January 1897 when a "disastrous hurricane" nearly destroyed the settlement, and 28 people died.   However, unlike Tracy, it is thought this cyclone did not directly pass over Darwin.   And while Tracy was reported as a category four cyclone, some meteorologists today believe it may have been a category five shortly before it made landfall.   At midnight on Christmas Day, wind gusts greater than 100 kilometers or over 62 miles per hour began to be recorded.   The cyclone's center reached East Point at 3:15 a.m. and landed just north of Fannie Bay at 3:30 a.m.   Tracy was so strong it bent a railway signal tower in half.    The city was devastated by the cyclone. At least 90 percent of homes in Darwin were demolished or badly damaged. Forty-five vessels in the harbor were wrecked or damaged.   In addition to the 65 people who died, 145 were admitted to the hospital with serious injuries.   Vegetation was damaged up to 80 kilometers away from the coast, and Darwin felt eerily quiet due to the lack of insect and birdlife.   Within a week after the cyclone hit, more than 30,000 Darwin residents had been evacuated by air or road. That's more than two-thirds of the population at that time.   Cyclone Tracy remains one of Australia's most significant disasters.   As Murphy wrote 10 years after the cyclone: "The impact of Cyclone Tracy has reached far beyond the limits of Darwin itself. All along the tropical coasts of northern Australia and beyond a new cyclone awareness has emerged."   Merry fucking Christmas! Damn, that sucks. The information in this section came from an article on abc.net.au   Next up, we are going way back. The Christmas Flood of 1717 resulted from a northwesterly storm, which hit the coastal area of the Netherlands, Germany, and Scandinavia on Christmas night of 1717. During the night of Christmas, 1717, the coastal regions of the Netherlands, Germany, and Scandinavia were hit by a severe north-western storm. It is estimated that 14,000 people died. It was the worst flood for four centuries and the last significant flood to hit the north of the Netherlands.   In the countryside to the north of the Netherlands, the water level rose up to a few meters. The city of Groningen rose up to a few feet. In the province of Groningen, villages that were situated directly behind the dikes were nearly swept away. Action had to be taken against looters who robbed houses and farms under the fraudulent act of rescuing the flood victims. In total, the flood caused 2,276 casualties in Groningen. 1,455 homes were either destroyed or suffered extensive damage. Most livestock was lost.   The water also poured into Amsterdam and Haarlem and the areas around Dokkum and Stavoren. Over 150 people died in Friesland alone. In addition, large sections of Northern Holland were left underwater and the area around Zwolle and Kampen. In these areas, the flood only caused material damage. In Vlieland, however, the sea poured over the dunes, almost entirely sweeping away the already-damaged village of West-Vlieland.   We also found this report from a German website. It's been translated, so our apologies if it's wonky.    "According to tradition, several days before Christmas, it had blown strong and sustained from the southwest. Shortly after sunset on Christmas Eve, the wind suddenly turned from west to northwest and eased a little. The majority of the residents went to bed unconcerned, because currently was half moon and the next regular flood would not occur until 7 a.m. At the time when the tide was supposed to have been low for a long time, however, a drop in the water level could not be determined. Allegedly between 1 and 2 a.m. the storm began to revive violently accompanied by lightning and thunder. Between 3 and 4 o'clock in the morning the water reached the top of the dike. The current and waves caused the dike caps to break, so that the tide rolled over the dike into the flat land with a loud roar of thunder. Many only had time to save themselves in the dark on the floor under the roof. Most of the time there was not even time to take clothes, drinking water and some food with you. Numerous houses could not withstand the rising water and the current. In the higher and higher water and the increasing current, windows were Doors and entire walls dented. Allegedly the hurricane and the storm surge raged against the coast for three full days, so that it was not until December 28 that the water fell so far that one could come to the aid of one's neighbors with simply built "boats." In many places, the dykes had been razed to the ground, which meant that in lower-lying areas, every regular flood caused renewed flooding. At the places where the dykes were broken, deep valleys, some of which were large, formed. In many places where the dike is led around in a semi-arch, these walls, also known as pools or bracken, are still visible and testify to the force of the water. At that time, many people are said to have believed that the march was forever lost. In the low-lying areas, the water was later covered with ice floes, sometimes held up for months. Up until the summer months, bodies were said to have been found repeatedly during the clean-up work on the alluvial piles of straw and in the trenches. Many people who survived the flood later fell victim to so-called marching fever. New storm surges in the following years ruined the efforts for the first time to get the dike back into a defensible condition, and many houses, which were initially only damaged, have now been completely destroyed. Numerous small owners left the country so that the Hanover government even issued a ban on emigration."   Looks like the Netherlands got a proper Christmas fucking as well! Some towns were so severely destroyed that nothing was left, and they simply ceased to exist. Damn.    Cyclones and floods… What else does mother nature have for us? Well, how's about an earthquake! On Friday, December 26, 2003, at 5:26 a.m., Bam city in Southeastern Iran was jolted by an earthquake registering a 6.5 magnitude on the Richter scale. This was the result of the strike-slip motion of the Bam fault, which runs through this area. The earthquake's epicenter was determined to be approximately six miles southwest of the city. Three more significant aftershocks and many smaller aftershocks were also recorded, the last of which occurred over a month after the main earthquake. To date, official death tolls have 26,271 fatalities, 9000 injured, and 525 still missing. The city of Bam is one of Iran's most ancient cities, dating back to 224A.D. Latest reports and damage estimates are approaching the area of $1.9 billion. A United Nations report estimated that about 90% of the city's buildings were 60%-100% damaged, while the remaining buildings were between 30%-60% damaged. The crazy part about the whole thing… The quake only lasted for about 8 seconds.   Now I know what you're thinking… That's not Christmas… Well, there spanky, the night of the 25th, Christmas, people started to feel minor tremors that would preface the quake, so fuck you, it counts.   We have one more natural disaster for you guys, and this one most of you guys probably remember. And this one was another that started last Christmas night and rolled into the 26th, also known as boxing day. So we're talking about the Boxing Day Tsunami and the Indian ocean earthquake in 2004.    A 9.1-magnitude earthquake—one of the largest ever recorded—ripped through an undersea fault in the Indian Ocean, propelling a massive column of water toward unsuspecting shores. The Boxing Day tsunami would be the deadliest in recorded history, taking a staggering 230,000 lives in a matter of hours.   The city of Banda Aceh on the northern tip of Sumatra was closest to the powerful earthquake's epicenter, and the first waves arrived in just 20 minutes. It's nearly impossible to imagine the 100-foot roiling mountain of water that engulfed the coastal city of 320,000, instantly killing more than 100,000 men, women, and children. Buildings folded like houses of cards, trees, and cars were swept up in the oil-black rapids, and virtually no one caught in the deluge survived.   Thailand was next. With waves traveling 500 mph across the Indian Ocean, the tsunami hit the coastal provinces of Phang Nga and Phuket an hour and a half later. Despite the time-lapse, locals and tourists were utterly unaware of the imminent destruction. Curious beachgoers even wandered out among the oddly receding waves, only to be chased down by a churning wall of water. The death toll in Thailand was nearly 5,400, including 2,000 foreign tourists.   An hour later, on the opposite side of the Indian Ocean, the waves struck the southeastern coast of India near the city of Chennai, pushing debris-choked water kilometers inland and killing more than 10,000 people, primarily women and children, since many of the men were out fishing. But some of the worst devastations were reserved for the island nation of Sri Lanka, where more than 30,000 people were swept away by the waves and hundreds of thousands left homeless.   As proof of the record-breaking strength of the tsunami, the last victims of the Boxing Day disaster perished nearly eight hours later when swelling seas and rogue waves caught swimmers by surprise in South Africa, 5,000 miles from the quake's epicenter.   Vasily Titov is a tsunami researcher and forecaster with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center for Tsunami Research. He credits the unsparing destructiveness of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on the raw power of the earthquake that spawned it. The quake originated in a so-called megathrust fault, where heavy oceanic plates subduct beneath lighter continental plates.    "They are the largest faults in the world and they're all underwater," says Titov.   The 2004 quake ruptured a 900-mile stretch along the Indian and Australian plates 31 miles below the ocean floor. Rather than delivering one violent jolt, the earthquake lasted an unrelenting 10 minutes, releasing as much pent-up power as several thousand atomic bombs.   In the process, massive segments of the ocean floor were forced an estimated 30 or 40 meters (up to 130 feet) upward. The effect was like dropping the world's most giant pebble in the Indian Ocean with ripples the size of mountains extending out in all directions.   Titov emphasizes that tsunamis look nothing like the giant surfing break-style waves that many imagine.   "It's a wave, but from the observer's standpoint, you wouldn't recognize it as a wave," Titov says. "It's more like the ocean turns into a white water river and floods everything in its path."   Once caught in the raging waters, the debris will finish the job if the currents don't pull you under.   "In earthquakes, a certain number of people die but many more are injured. It's completely reversed with tsunamis," says Titov. "Almost no injuries, because it's such a difficult disaster to survive."   Holy fuck… That's insane!   Well, there are some crazy natural disasters gifted to us by mother nature. So now let's take a look at some man-made disasters… And there are some bad ones.    First up is the 1953 train wreck on Christmas Eve in New Zealand. So this is actually a mix of mother nature fucking people and a man-made structure failing. This event is also referred to as the Tangiwai disaster. The weather on Christmas Eve was fine, and with little recent rain, no one suspected flooding in the Whangaehu River. The river appeared normal when a goods train crossed the bridge around 7 p.m. What transformed the situation was the sudden release of approximately 2 million cubic meters of water from the crater lake of nearby Mt Ruapehu. A 6-meter-high wave containing water, ice, mud, and rocks surged, tsunami-like, down the Whangaehu River. Sometime between 10.10 and 10.15 p.m., this lahar struck the concrete pylons of the Tangiwai railway bridge.   Traveling at approximately 65 km per hour, locomotive Ka 949 and its train of nine carriages and two vans reached the severely weakened bridge at 10.21 p.m. As the bridge buckled beneath its weight, the engine plunged into the river, taking all five second-class carriages with it. The torrent force destroyed four of these carriages – those inside had little chance of survival.   The leading first-class carriage, Car Z, teetered on the edge of the ruined bridge for a few minutes before breaking free from the remaining three carriages and toppling into the river. It rolled downstream before coming to rest on a bank as the water level fell. Remarkably, 21 of the 22 passengers in this carriage survived. Evidence suggested that the locomotive driver, Charles Parker, had applied the emergency brakes some 200 m from the bridge, which prevented the last three carriages from ending up in the river and saved many lives. Even still, 151 of the 285 passengers and crew died that night in the crash.   This information was taken from nzhistory.gov.    Next up is the Italian Hall disaster.    Before it was called Calumet, the area was known as Red Jacket. And for many, it seemed to be ground zero for the sprawling copper mining operations that absorbed wave after wave of immigrants into the Upper Peninsula.   Red Jacket itself was a company town for the Calumet and Hecla Mining Company, a large firm that in the 1870s was known as the world's largest copper producer. For a time, C&H had the world's deepest copper mines.   But the company wasn't immune from the organized labor push that swept across the Keweenaw Peninsula and other parts of the U.P. in 1913. Miners in Montana and Colorado had unionized, and in July of that year, the Western Federation of Miners called a strike against all Copper Country mines. According to a mining journal published that year, they were pushing for a $3 daily wage, 8-hour days, safer working conditions, and representation.   "The strike took place in a very complicated time in American history," said Jo Holt, a historian with the National Park Service's Keweenaw National Historical Park. "We had all these different things coming together. An increasingly industrialized country was grappling with worker's rights, gender issues, and immigration. We were moving from a gilded age into a progressive era, and recognizing the voice of labor.   "We see this event happen in the midst of that struggle."   "The reason it resonates today is we are still having these conversations. How do we create a just economy that functions for everybody? ... We are still, almost hundred and 10 years later, in the midst of these conversations."   As the strike wore into fall and the holiday season, a women's auxiliary group to the WFM organized a Christmas Eve party for the miners' families at the Italian Benevolent Society building, better known as the Italian Hall.   It was a big, boisterous affair, researchers have said. The multi-story hall was packed, with more than 600 people inside at one point. Children were watching a play and receiving gifts. Organizers later said the crowd was so large that it was hard to track who was coming in the door.   When the false cry of "Fire!" went up, pandemonium reached the sole stairway leading down to the street.   "What happened is when people panicked, they tried to get out through the stairwell," Holt said. "Someone tripped or people started to fall, and that's what created the bottleneck. It was just people falling on top of each other."   The aftermath was horrifying. As the dead were pulled from the pile in the stairwell, the bodies were carried to the town hall, which turned into a makeshift morgue. Some families lost more than one child. Other children were orphaned when their parents died.   One black and white photo in the Michigan Technological University Archives shows rows of what looks like sleeping children lying side-by-side. Their eyes are closed. Their faces were unmarred. The caption reads: "Christmas Eve in the Morgue."   After the dead were buried, some families moved away. Others stayed and kept supporting the strike, which ended the following spring.   Rumors emerged later that the Italian Hall's doors were designed to open inward, preventing the panicked crowd from pushing them outward to the street. Those were debunked, along with the suggestion in Woody Guthrie's "1913 Massacre" song that mining company thugs were holding the doors shut from the outside that night.   Damn… Mostly kids. On Christmas. That's a tough one.   Here's another touchy one. A race riot erupted in Mayfield, Kentucky, just before Christmas 1896. Although slavery in the U.S. ended after the Civil War, the Reconstruction period and beyond was a dangerous time to be black. Things were awful for non-whites in the former Confederacy, amongst which Kentucky was especially bad for racial violence. In December 1896, white vigilantes lynched two black men within 24 hours of each other between the 21st and 22nd, one for a minor disagreement with a white man and the other, Jim Stone, for alleged rape. A note attached to Stone's swinging corpse warned black residents to get out of town.   In response to this unambiguous threat, the local African-American population armed themselves. Rumors spread amongst the town's white people that 250 men were marching on the city, and a state of emergency was called. The whites mobilized, black stores were vandalized, and fighting broke out between the two sides on December 23. In the event, three people were killed, including Will Suet, a black teenager who had just got off the train to spend Christmas with his family. It was all over on Christmas Eve, and a few days later, an uneasy truce between the races was called.   Ugh! Y'all know what time it is? That's right, it's time for some quick hitters.   Many of us enjoy the Christmas period by going to the theatre or watching a movie. In December 1903, Chicago residents were eager to do just that at the brand-new Iroquois Theatre, which had been officially opened only in October that year. 1700 people in all crammed themselves in to see the zany, family-friendly musical comedy, Mr. Bluebeard. But just as the wait was over and the show started, a single spark from a stage light lit the surrounding drapery. The show's star, Eddie Foy, tried to keep things together as Iroquois employees struggled to put the curtains out in vain.   However, even the spectacle of a Windy City-native in drag couldn't stop the terrified crowd stampeding for the few exits. These, preposterously, were concealed by curtains and utterly inadequate in number. When the actors opened their own exit door to escape, a gust of wind sent a fireball through the crowded theatre, meaning that hundreds died before the fire service was even called. 585 people died, either suffocated, burned alive, or crushed. The scene was described in a 1904 account as "worse than that pictured in the mind of Dante in his vision of the inferno". Next up, the politics behind this ghastly event are pretty complicated – one Mexican lecturer described the massacre as "the most complicated case in Mexico" – but here's an inadequate summary. The small and impoverished village of Acteal, Mexico, was home to Las Abejas (the bees'), a religious collective that sympathized with a rebel group opposing the Mexican government. Thus, on December 22, 1997, members of the then-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party crept down the steep hill slopes above the village. They chose their moment to attack carefully as people gathered at a prayer meeting when they finally slunk into Acteal.   Over the next few hours, assassins armed with guns executed 45 innocent people in cold blood. Amongst the dead were 21 women, some of whom were pregnant, and 15 children. Worst of all, investigations into this cowardly act seem to implicate the government itself. Soldiers garrisoned nearby did not intervene, despite being within earshot of the gunfire and horrified screams. In addition, there was evidence of the crime scene being tampered with by local police and government officials. Though some people have been convicted, there are suspicions that they were framed and that the real culprits remain at large.   -Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring… except the Soviet Union. The Marxist-Leninist Khalq and Parcham parties had ousted the Afghan president in April 1978. Still, communism was so unpopular in Afghanistan that the mujahideen succeeded in toppling them just over a year later. So Khalq and Parcham turned to the Soviet Union for help, and on Christmas Eve that year, they obliged by sending 30,000 troops across the border into Afghanistan by the cover of darkness. Bloody fighting ensued, and soon the Soviet Union had control of the major cities.   The Soviets stayed for nine years, at which time the mujahideen, backed by foreign support and weapons, waged a brutal guerrilla campaign against the invaders. In turn, captured mujahideen were executed, and entire villages and agricultural areas were razed to the ground. When the Soviets finally withdrew in February 1989, over 1 million civilians and almost 125,000 soldiers from both sides were killed. From the turmoil after the Afghan-Soviet War emerged, the Taliban, installed by neighboring Pakistan, and with them Osama bin Laden. This indeed was a black Christmas for the world.   -How about another race riot… No? Well, here you go anyway. Although, this one may be more fucked up. The Agana Race Riot saw black and white US Marines fight it out from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day, 1944. Guam was host to both black and white US Marines in 1944. But instead of fighting the enemy, the white troops elected to turn on the all-black Marine 25th Depot Company. First, the white Marines would stop their fellow soldiers from entering Agana, pelt them with rocks, and shout racist obscenities at them. Then, on Christmas Eve 1944, 9 members of the 25th on official leave were seen talking to local women, and white Marines opened fire on them. Then, on Christmas Day, 2 black soldiers were shot dead by drunken white Marines in separate incidents.   Guam's white Marines were decidedly short on festive cheer and goodwill to all men. Not content with these murders, a white mob attacked an African-American depot on Boxing Day, and a white soldier sustained an injury when the 25th returned fire. Sick of their treatment by their fellow soldiers, 40 black Marines gave chase to the retreating mob in a jeep, but further violence was prevented by a roadblock. Can you guess what happened next? Yep, the black soldiers were charged with unlawful assembly, rioting, and attempted murder, while the white soldiers were left to nurse their aching heads.   One more major one for you guys, and then we'll leave on a kind of happier note. This one's kind of rough. Be warned.    In late December 2008 and into January 2009, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) brutally killed more than 865 civilians and abducted at least 160 children in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). LRA combatants hacked their victims to death with machetes or axes or crushed their skulls with clubs and heavy sticks. In some of the places where they attacked, few were left alive.   The worst attacks happened 48 hours over Christmas in locations some 160 miles apart in the Daruma, Duru, and Faradje areas of the Haut-Uele district of northern Congo. The LRA waited until the time of Christmas festivities on December 24 and 25 to carry out their devastating attacks, apparently choosing a moment when they would find the maximum number of people altogether. The killings occurred in the Congo and parts of southern Sudan, where similar weapons and tactics were used.   The Christmas massacres in Congo are part of a longstanding practice of horrific atrocities and abuse by the LRA. Before shifting its operations to the Congo in 2006, the LRA was based in Uganda and southern Sudan, where LRA combatants also killed, raped, and abducted thousands of civilians. When the LRA moved to Congo, its combatants initially refrained from targeting Congolese people. Still, in September 2008, the LRA began its first wave of attacks, apparently to punish local communities who had helped LRA defectors to escape. The first wave of attacks in September, together with the Christmas massacres, has led to the deaths of over 1,033 civilians and the abduction of at least 476 children.   LRA killings have not stopped since the Christmas massacres. Human Rights Watch receives regular reports of murders and abductions by the LRA, keeping civilians living in terror. According to the United Nations, over 140,000 people have fled their homes since late December 2008 to seek safety elsewhere. New attacks and the flight of civilians are reported weekly. People are frightened to gather together in some areas, believing that the LRA may choose these moments to strike, as they did with such devastating efficiency over Christmas.   Even by LRA standards, the Christmas massacres in the Congo were ruthless. LRA combatants struck quickly and quietly, surrounding their victims as they ate their Christmas meal in Batande village or gathered for a Christmas day concert in Faradje. In Mabando village, the LRA sought to maximize the death toll by luring their victims to a central place, playing the radio, and forcing their victims to sing songs and call for others to come to join the party. In most attacks, they tied up their victims, stripped them of their clothes, raped the women and girls, and then killed their victims by crushing their skulls. In two cases, the attackers tried to kill three-year-old toddlers by twisting off their heads. The few villagers who survived often did so because their assailants thought they were dead.   Yeah...so there's that. We could go much deeper into this incident, but we think you get the point.    We'll leave you with a story that is pretty bizarre when you stop and think about it. But we'll leave you with this story of an unlikely Christmas get-together. This is the story of the Christmas truce.    British machine gunner Bruce Bairnsfather, later a prominent cartoonist, wrote about it in his memoirs. Like most of his fellow infantrymen of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, he was spending the holiday eve shivering in the muck, trying to keep warm. He had spent a good part of the past few months fighting the Germans. And now, in a part of Belgium called Bois de Ploegsteert, he was crouched in a trench that stretched just three feet deep by three feet wide, his days and nights marked by an endless cycle of sleeplessness and fear, stale biscuits and cigarettes too wet to light.   "Here I was, in this horrible clay cavity," Bairnsfather wrote, "…miles and miles from home. Cold, wet through and covered with mud." There didn't "seem the slightest chance of leaving—except in an ambulance."   At about 10 p.m., Bairnsfather noticed a noise. "I listened," he recalled. "Away across the field, among the dark shadows beyond, I could hear the murmur of voices." He turned to a fellow soldier in his trench and said, "Do you hear the Boches [Germans] kicking up that racket over there?"   Yes," came the reply. "They've been at it some time!"   The Germans were singing carols, as it was Christmas Eve. In the darkness, some of the British soldiers began to sing back. "Suddenly," Bairnsfather recalled, "we heard a confused shouting from the other side. We all stopped to listen. The shout came again." The voice was from an enemy soldier, speaking in English with a strong German accent. He was saying, "Come over here."   One of the British sergeants answered: "You come half-way. I come half-way."   In the years to come, what happened next would stun the world and make history. Enemy soldiers began to climb nervously out of their trenches and meet in the barbed-wire-filled "No Man's Land" that separated the armies. Typically, the British and Germans communicated across No Man's Land with streaking bullets, with only occasional gentlemanly allowances to collect the dead unmolested. But now, there were handshakes and words of kindness. The soldiers traded songs, tobacco, and wine, joining in a spontaneous holiday party in the cold night. Bairnsfather could not believe his eyes. "Here they were—the actual, practical soldiers of the German army. There was not an atom of hate on either side."   And it wasn't confined to that one battlefield. Starting on Christmas Eve, small pockets of French, German, Belgian, and British troops held impromptu cease-fires across the Western Front, with reports of some on the Eastern Front as well. Some accounts suggest a few of these unofficial truces remained in effect for days.   Descriptions of the Christmas Truce appear in numerous diaries and letters of the time. One British soldier, a rifleman, named J. Reading, wrote a letter home to his wife describing his holiday experience in 1914: "My company happened to be in the firing line on Christmas eve, and it was my turn…to go into a ruined house and remain there until 6:30 on Christmas morning. During the early part of the morning the Germans started singing and shouting, all in good English. They shouted out: 'Are you the Rifle Brigade; have you a spare bottle; if so we will come halfway and you come the other half.'"   "Later on in the day they came towards us," Reading described. "And our chaps went out to meet them…I shook hands with some of them, and they gave us cigarettes and cigars. We did not fire that day, and everything was so quiet it seemed like a dream."   Another British soldier, named John Ferguson, recalled it this way: "Here we were laughing and chatting to men whom only a few hours before we were trying to kill!"   Other diaries and letters describe German soldiers using candles to light Christmas trees around their trenches. One German infantryman described how a British soldier set up a makeshift barbershop, charging Germans a few cigarettes each for a haircut. Other accounts describe vivid scenes of men helping enemy soldiers collect their dead, of which there was plenty.   One British fighter named Ernie Williams later described in an interview his recollection of some makeshift soccer play on what turned out to be an icy pitch: "The ball appeared from somewhere, I don't know where... They made up some goals and one fellow went in goal and then it was just a general kick-about. I should think there were about a couple of hundred taking part."   German Lieutenant Kurt Zehmisch of the 134 Saxons Infantry, a schoolteacher who spoke both English and German, described a pick-up soccer game in his diary, which was discovered in an attic near Leipzig in 1999, written in an archaic German form of shorthand. "Eventually the English brought a soccer ball from their trenches, and pretty soon, a lively game ensued," he wrote. "How marvelously wonderful, yet how strange it was. The English officers felt the same way about it. Thus Christmas, the celebration of Love, managed to bring mortal enemies together as friends for a time."   So much more can be said about this event, but that seems like an excellent place to leave off this Christmas episode! And yes, when you really do stop and think about it… That's a pretty crazy yet fantastic thing.   Greatest disaster movies of all time   https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/the-greatest-disaster-movies-of-all-time

Author Susanna Ausema talks with the U.P. Notable Books Book Club about her award winning picture book "I Spy...Isle Royale" SUSAN AUSEMA spent her childhood summers on Isle Royale. Her father was a park ranger and her mother was a park volunteer for many years. After moving away in her teens, she returned to work at Isle Royale as a seasonal ranger during her college years. There she met her husband, Mike, also a ranger, in 1998. After serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala, Susanna earned a Master's Degree in Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Steven's Point, then worked as a permanent park ranger focusing on educational outreach at Curecanti National Recreation Area, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and Redwood National Park. When her son, Jasper, was born, Susanna became a stay-at-home mom. When he was two years old, the family moved back to Isle Royale and Jasper began to explore the park as if it were his big backyard. Jasper loves books and Susanna loves to write, so she felt inspired to write a story for him about Isle Royale. After the text was complete, she looked around her pool of talented friends for someone who could illustrate it. None had the time to take on the (pro-bono) project, so Susanna picked up a paintbrush and started experimenting with watercolors. Jasper has helped her judge which styles and techniques are most interesting to a young audience, and together, they've created this book. Susanna's husband is the park's East District Ranger, so they spend their summer days exploring and adventuring on Isle Royale and reveling in the autumn colors and abundant snow in the Keweenaw Peninsula during the rest of the year. Susanna resumed her work on behalf of national parks in 2015 as the membership outreach manager for the nonprofit Isle Royale and Keweenaw Parks Association. All proceeds from the sale of this book support these parks.

Thimbleberry jam. Copper mines. An average snowfall of 220 inches. This week Charles and Sonja talk about one of their favorite places: the Keweenaw Peninsula in the UP of Michigan. They discuss some of their favorite memories, what it means to live and work there as a Zillenial, and what they see for the future of the community. Citation: This podcast uses these pieces of music from Incompetech: Wholesome by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/5050-wholesome License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

This solo episode features ‘no beginners allowed' Mount Bohemia, Michigan, on the Keweenaw Peninsula, a remote finger of land that extends 80 miles into Lake Superior. Get your preseason stoke via Bohemia TV, hear why COVID may be the best thing to happen to the ski industry (not my words!), and hear how Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody unknowingly speaks to skiers and riders. Nine trivia questions about Mount Bohemia will surely make you want to buy a $99 season pass or day lift ticket (just not on Saturdays). Indeed, Mount Bohemia has extreme backcountry, a haunted valley, and middle earth, sans snowmaking and grooming.

As I sit in the North Country, the land known as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, steps from the beautiful shores of the inland ocean known as Lake Superior next to the Keweenaw Peninsula, I keep seeing signs and reminders about the concept of True North.  When I lead endeavors in culture change, project management or process improvement in corporate I always tell the sponsor, the leader of the project, that we need a True North. I emphasize that if she or he does not know clearly where they want the team to end up then, well, we are not going to get that team anywhere. It doesn't matter how much I try to get them to go somewhere, or how good of a project manager I might be - if the leader doesn't know where we are going, then the team will not be effective in accomplishing anything.  You need to know where you are going to get anywhere.  Project management principle #1. Just as thought precedes action - Hermetic principle #1.  It is shocking though, how frequently this concept is ignored in corporate america, (this is one of the reasons I don't believe in a lot of conspiracy theories, as its really really hard to get a group of people to accomplish something simple together in plain sight, let alone complicated and hidden) and this is also one of the reasons I work as a consultant now instead of an employee, because I can demand that the project I am on have a purpose. And as a consultant I am not saddled with bad management & leadership and then blamed for the failure of the project that the bad manager refused to lead.   True North is also a navigating principle. On the compass the arrow always points to True North, this is magnetic north where the north pole is on planet earth.  Birds intuitively know true north, fish know, the flows and tides and animals know it and follow it intuitively. Even Satellites/GPS/and flight systems are tuned to it (and updated regularly to stay that way) to True North.  Small aside, the magnetic north actually shifts.  The North Pole moves so GPS and computer navigational systems need to be adjusted to align with it regularly.   But what is true north for the individual? In some ways it is not much different than a direction for  an endeavor i.e a goal, a purpose, a reason to be doing the work, or a navigational principle. If you have a True North in your life you will know where you are going and why.  And this is why it is necessary to have (and work on finding) your true north to be an abundant person.  It is part of Know Thyself - True North for the individual is your inner sense, your true calling, it is what you want to accomplish in your life.  It is your life purpose, which keeps you on track on your path of progression that is tre for you and your contract that brought you to this planet, at this particular point in the history of this group of humans.  Having a true north will keep you from languishing from wandering about your life like a window shopper.  It will keep you from being blown around like an autumn leaf in the wind.  Now, you might be saying “easy for you to say Angel. You already know your life purpose. Telling me to go find mine is not that simple or easy.”  And I acknowledge this. It is in fact NOT a simple endeavor that can be done quickly and easily accomplished.  The process and path of finding one's purpose involves personal introspection, honesty with oneself, hard work, responsibility, authenticity and integrity - and it is a long sometimes arduous and definitely uncomfortable process (one that I am definitely still engaging with on a daily).  But it is a path that once you are on, the path of know thyself, that supports and rewards you and gives you your True North. Because stepping onto that road less traveled is in fact the road to your purpose, and thus becomes your true North. And then by having a purpose and a path to walk on and the discipline to keep moving forward on said path you will know yourself more and more and begin to feel confident in your faith and intuition that you are going the right direction thus reinforcing that you do know where you are going and then your desire to keep going will increase.  Meanwhile, as a side effect of all this you will be taking personal responsibility, becoming the agent of your life, choosing actively to live each moment and those who do this manifest what they desire in life including abundance because you will be living the abundance mindset in your life on this path.  Author Bill George, writer of Discover your True North (a book filled with many quotable quotes, and some practical guidance) states “Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.” He's a wise man, as your inner voice, your knowledge of yourself and choosing to go in the direction of your purpose is the single most important investment you can make in a joyful abundant life.  Mere opinion is the root of all evil and keeps so many stuck in a mediocrity snow globe shaking, jostling and settling again and again - while going nowhere.  If you know yourself and have a true north- a purpose you will always accomplish more and rise to a point of leadership and succeed in what you set your mind to. It is another hermetic principle actually - All is Mind, the universe is mental or the principle of mentalism.  Thought precedes all action - so you must be very clear on where you are going, what is your purpose, what is your desire, what do you want in life and then your thoughts will align on this - and you will take  action that then aligns with those thoughts. As a wise friend of mine just posted on his Facebook feed recently “Most people spend more time thinking about what they are going to do on their weekend then the direction of their life.” He's right, and those thinking about their weekends don't have a True North (or if they do it's simply “have fun on my weekend.”) Nor are they likely feeling fueled by accomplishing their purpose in life.  They may be wandering, wondering why their bank account is so empty or why they are always chasing their proverbial tail and not getting anywhere. Worried about their dead end job and money and just wanting escape. Because they are not thinking about their life.  They do not know where they are going. They are just floating aimlessly, lost without a purpose, and have no idea even how to find it.  So as a law of abundance the process of seeking one's True North is the answer because its the journey not the destination that will be your abundant joyful life. But if you are on the path to know thyself you are walking toward your true north and will not go astray.  Lao Tzu states “a journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”  For me this single step was meditation, it still is true today, if I don't meditate regularly I start to get lost, I lose clarity and start to manifest things I don't really want.  I get stuck in my head versus managing my mind - which meditation gives me the power to do.  Another tool is Life Activation and energetic work.  The Life Activation session is a literal game changer using an over 3000 year old protocol and the power of ancient lineage to turn on the light in your internal house. It is an ignition switch for the engine of your true purpose.  And the great thing about it is that it is alchemy - it works on anyone and everyone and you just have to show up to the session.  The rest of your life after the activation is about seeing the results and using the spark it gives you to start living your life awake. Awake to the fact that there is something more than this physical flesh and mundane mediocrity of existence - and as you desire to know more you will step on to the path of know thyself- perhaps finding it easier to meditate or wanting to learn more tools like astral travel, sanctuary meditation, sacred geometry and daily rituals to strengthen your spirit and will, and maybe even you will want to receive the power of initiation and step onto the path as an adept in the lineage of King Salomon where Life Activation comes from or desire to learn how to do the life activation yourself for others because it helped you so much.  Or not.  Maybe the life activation just helps you find some peace and direction - it will give you a compass so you can find your True North if you look.   Want to talk more about life activation or book a session, or find a practitioner in your area?  Reach out.  I can help with that!  Until next time my friends remember - you must know where you are going to get anywhere, and the path of know yourself is a sure way to find your True North and your road to an abundant and joyful life. 

Howdy all, Happy to share Episode 7 from the lovely Keweenaw Peninsula in the UP (Michigan). I share a few personal stories from our time working remote here to encourage you to be kind as often as you are able to. Some topics that I go over include... Practicing kindness even when people aren't kind to you finding and following your joy spreading seeds of love and kindness everyday you can and are able to doing good things without any expectations holding space for your emotions to just be observing your thoughts asking for help when you need it not waiting for a special day/time/event to tell someone you love them Thank you all so much for listening and please share wildly, you the best! *The second story starts at 11:59, and has suggestions of suicide. I was told this story from a first hand account of the rescuer. We do not know the truth of the individual, just that he was on Lake Superior for days alone. Please send loving energy to this soul. His story serves as a backdrop for talking about mental illness, depression and suicidal thoughts. If you are struggling, need love, help, kindness, please find the resources that are available to you. Know you are love and are loved. Resources: Meditation for self love The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz Don Miguel Ruiz on Youtube

This weekend the Upper Peninsula's food scene will be highlighted during an episode of Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted on National Geographic TV. The episode will feature a bunch of scenes in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, and as you'll find out in this episode of the PHF Podcast, that's because Chef James Rigato made it so. "I was adamant that the Keweenaw be a focal point of that episode," the former Top Chef competitor said. That's exactly what happened as Chef Ramsay got to experience quite a bit of the Keweenaw during his visit here. Chef Rigato gives a great behind-the-scenes preview of what people can expect in the episode, talks about why he fell in love with, and eventually bought a house in, Keweenaw County, and talks about food culture in the Copper Country.

Join us as our guide Tess leads us through the uppermost part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, exploring endless outdoor activities, historical sites, mind-blowing geology and more - this is an adventure we all need to make a reality. Sponsored by ObozFootwear.com - see my partner page with them directly at TravelingJackie.com/oboz /  Sign up for group trip information and Patagonia Q&A details FOLLOW ALONG! Tess's custom-pinned Google Map - Keweenaw Adventures Guide to Finding Yooperlites Mentioned: The Vault, Cliff Drive climbing, Keweena Adventure Company, Keweena Mountain Lodge More at https://travelingjackie.com/podcast

March 15, 2021 Trail EAffect Show Page ABOUT THE EPISODE Topics Covered in this Episode: The Sam Raymond Backstory Why Sam moved to Copper Harbor How Sam acquired the Keweenaw Adventure Company The Early Years of Mountain Biking in Copper Harbor The formation of the Copper Harbor Trails Club Bringing paid trail building staff on board Bringing the Copper Harbor Trails Club forward by hiring an Executive Director Bell Built Grant to Build the Overflow Trail Keweenaw Point Trail Project Expansion of Green (easy rating) Trails in Copper Harbor The Potential of the entire Keweenaw Peninsula KORC – Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition Other forms of Outdoor Recreation in Copper Harbor Keweenaw Adventure Company is For Sale! RELATED SHOW NOTES Copper Harbor Trails Club: https://copperharbortrails.org/ Keweenaw Adventure Company: https://www.keweenawadventure.com/ Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition: https://www.keweenawoutdoorrecreation.org/ Sign Up to Expand Public Access in the Keweenaw Peninsula: https://www.keweenawoutdoorrecreation.org/keweenaw-tip-recreation-area If You would like to enquire about purchasing the Keweenaw Adventure Company please contact Sam at: keweenawadventurecompany@gmail.com Support for Trail EAffect Comes from Smith’s Bike Shop in La Crosse, WI: https://smithsbikes.com/ This show has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services, for more information go to: Evolution Trail Services: www.evotrails.com Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com  If you have any questions about Mountain Bike Radio in general, please contact Ben at Ben@Mountainbikeradio.com   -------- ABOUT TRAIL EAFFECT Trails build community and Communities build trails. What came first you may ask… Host Josh Blum digs into the stories of how trails effect and affect the people and places we call home and those we might like to call home. -------- ABOUT THE HOST Josh Blum is a father, husband, and doer of stuff - paired with Advocate, Builder of Trails and Community. Originally from La Crosse WI, Josh has been enjoying the outdoors, trails, and mountain bikes since a young age. Always curious and learning about better ways to improve trail users’ experiences. Josh is employed by WisDOT, and is the owner / operator of Evolution Trail Services.

“The future doesn't have to be about more stuff,” says Gina Nicholas. “It can be about sharing experiences with others.” When the World Trade Center twin towers came down in a terrorist attack, Gina saw it as a sign that she should leave her corporate career to return home to the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan, surrounded by the cold waters of Lake Superior, and focus on preserving the natural lands she loved for future generations. Through this work, she met Helen Taylor, the Michigan director of the global Nature Conservancy, and their friendship grew out of conservation collaborations and a passion for preserving the natural world. In the latest episode of the Make Meaning Podcast, Helen and Gina speak with host Lynne Golodner about finding shared values between industry and conservation, trading an extraction mentality for an evolution of awareness, and realizing that the common enemy is actually fragmentation and development, not nature vs. the corporate world.  

Our first episode (woohoo!) of the Keweenaw Logbook podcast focuses on how finding your spot in the community can help you thrive. The TenHarmsels have traveled and farmed far and wide. After finding their way all around the world proud they now call the Keweenaw Peninsula home. Ashley takes us through how they landed in Calumet and what life looks like for them as they have created their own small local farm. We talk sourdough and supporting your neighbors. Lend an ear to this episode and learn more about North Harvest CSA.

a car carrier crashes ashore on the remote point of Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan. Several captains and a full crew must wade through snow drifts before being rescued by Life Savers.

This podcast is a part of our Giving Tuesday series and today we talked with Iola Brubaker from the Keweenaw Family Resource Center. Their mission is to support, enrich, and strengthen family life in the Keweenaw Peninsula by providing a variety of programs that focus on families with children from birth through four years of age. Their vision is for all families with young children in the Copper Country to participate in healthy child development activities in nurturing environments that encourage parents and caregivers to play an active role in their child's life. Donations are being accepted through December 1st. Visit phfgive.org/givingtuesday to donate.

Brad Barnett, Executive Director of the Keweenaw Convention and Visitor's Bureau, joined us on this week's Travel Michigan Update See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the RV Podcast we talk about working remotely from an RV from a remote and beautiful area far away from the crowds. That’s where we are this week, camping in Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula. Now as RV travel writers and reporters, we’re always working remotely from an RV. But with the pandemic, we’re noticing a lot more people also doing their remote work in remote locations, too. In our interview of the week coming up in a few minutes, we’ll talk to a local tourist official in the UP who is running a national advertising campaign urging remote workers to come do that remote work in one of the most remote and beautiful areas of the UP. You may get some great ideas from this interview about how you can also be working remotely from an RV instead of staying close to home. Also, this week, travel tips, your RV Lifestyle Questions, and a great off the beaten path report from the Patti and Tom Burkett. You can listen to the podcast in the player below. And scroll down this page for shownotes with links and resources about all the things we talk about. Show Notes for Episode #314 of The RV Podcast: WHAT MIKE AND JENNIFER ARE UP TO THIS WEEK We love working remotely from an RV when we can do so in beautiful spots like this In the Upper Peninsula We’re having an awesome time in the Upper Peninsula. And yes, as we prepare this podcast, we are indeed following our own advice and working remotely from an RV. This report is coming to you from Copper Harbor, MI on the Keweenaw Peninsula, which juts out like a thumb into Lake Superior at the northwestern end of the Upper Peninsula. We’ve been on the road a week so far, boondocking some nights in really wild country, other nights staying in state parks.  We’re slowly making our way from one end of the UP to the other. We couldn’t have timed it any better. The weather is cool and crisp. And the fall color is spectacular. Peak color up here is right now. See why we like working remotely from an RV? This is the Rapid River in the Central UP. I don’t think we’ve ever seen the fall foliage so brilliant. Naturally, we’ll have a video about it on our YouTube RV Lifestyle channel. And stay tuned for the News of the Week segment a little further down because we’ll have a resource that we’ll share that will let you know when peak fall color will happen in your area. If folks are coming up here, we should remind them that, except for the lone interstate in the UP – I-75 – the speed limit on all two-lane roads in the Upper Peninsula is 55. And it IS enforced. We should also note that it is much more crowded up here this fall than we’ve seen on previous fall trips. One reason, of course, is because of what we’ll learn in our interview segment coming up about working remotely from an RV. Also, we need to report that many of the U.S. Forest Service campgrounds will be shutting down across the UP starting next week. Most of the state parks will be open a bit later but there’s no doubt, the season is coming to an end. That’s been brought home this week by a cold snap. Last week we had temperatures up here in the mid-seventies. This week, daytime highs are in the 50’s and the nighttime temperatures are expected to drop near freezing. We find it very pleasant. And Bo is thrilled. We’ve been taking two or three hikes every day and enjoying every minute or it. We mention on the RV Podcast about the winter season and snow up here. Below is a sign on the Keweenaw Peninsula showing how much snow falls annually. The record is nearly 32 feet. Last year was about 27 feet. This is the snow pole on the Keweenaw Peninsula showing how much snow falls each winter. The record was 32 feet. Last year it was about 27 feet.   This part of the RV Podcast is brought to you by Camping World – America’s #1 RV Dealer Listeners of the Podcast can get 10% off all purchases over $99. Just go to RVLifestyle.com/campingworld and you will see all the Camping word RV gear ...

September 17, 2020 Trail EAffect Show Page ABOUT THE EPISODE Welcome to “Episode 2” of the new show, Trail Eaffect. Josh headed up to Copper Harbor, Michigan to check out the unique scene in the tiny town at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. In this episode he gets to chat with Chris Guibert, Photographer, CHTC Board Member, Trail Guide, and Resident of the Keweenaw. Topics Covered in this show: The Chris Guibert Back Story Early Years of being a Mountain Bike Guide in AZ Guiding the first bike packing tour on the Continental Divide Mountain Bike Route Transition into becoming a photographer Moving to different mountain communities out west / transition to the Midwest First Trip to the Keweenaw Peninsula The Move to the Keweenaw / Copper Harbor Area Becoming Involved with the Copper Harbor Trails Club Art Bike / Keweenaw Point Trail Ale What the trails mean to the community of Copper Harbor Working at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge / Revamping Outdoor Recreation at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Keweenaw Point Trail Project -------- RELATED SHOW NOTES Copper Harbor Trails Club: https://copperharbortrails.org/ Pure Michigan Feature on Aaron Rogers: https://youtu.be/eGNCaVh1yz0 Rock Solid Trail Contractors LLC: https://www.rocksolidtrails.com/ Trails End Campground: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Campground/Trails-End-Campground-Copper-Harbor-296743534114995/ East Bluff Bike Park: https://www.trailforks.com/region/east-bluff-bike-park-31521/ Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition: https://www.keweenawoutdoorrecreation.org/ Evolution Trail Services: www.evotrails.comContact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com Contact Ben at Ben@Mountainbikeradio.com -------- ABOUT TRAIL EAFFECT Trails build community and Communities build trails. What came first you may ask… Host Josh Blum digs into the stories of how trails effect and affect the people and places we call home and those we might like to call home. -------- ABOUT THE HOST Josh Blum is a father, husband, and doer of stuff - paired with Advocate, Builder of Trails and Community. Originally from La Crosse WI, Josh has been enjoying the outdoors, trails, and mountain bikes since a young age. Always curious and learning about better ways to improve trail users’ experiences. Josh is employed by WisDOT, and is the owner / operator of Evolution Trail Services.

On this edition of A Day in the Life, Sean goes to the Keweenaw Peninsula.

September 14, 2020 Trail EAffect Show Page ABOUT THE EPISODE Welcome to "Episode 1" of the new show, Trail Eaffect. Josh headed up to Copper Harbor, Michigan to check out the unique scene in the tiny town at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. In this episode he gets to chat with Aaron Rogers, the owner of Rock-Solid Trail Contractors.  Topics Covered in this show: The Aaron Rogers Back Story Aaron’s Move to Copper Harbor How Trails have saved the community Keweenaw Point Trail Phases 1, 1.5, 2 and beyond Transition to Professional Trail Builder / Business Owner Rock Solid Trail Contractors Trails End Campground East Bluff Gravity Project / Bike Park Reinvestment into the community KORC – Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition -------- RELATED SHOW NOTES Copper Harbor Trails Club: https://copperharbortrails.org/ Pure Michigan Feature on Aaron Rogers: https://youtu.be/eGNCaVh1yz0 Rock Solid Trail Contractors LLC: https://www.rocksolidtrails.com/ Trails End Campground: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Campground/Trails-End-Campground-Copper-Harbor-296743534114995/ East Bluff Bike Park: https://www.trailforks.com/region/east-bluff-bike-park-31521/ Keweenaw Outdoor Recreation Coalition: https://www.keweenawoutdoorrecreation.org/ Evolution Trail Services: www.evotrails.comContact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com Contact Ben at Ben@Mountainbikeradio.com -------- ABOUT TRAIL EAFFECT Trails build community and Communities build trails. What came first you may ask… Host Josh Blum digs into the stories of how trails effect and affect the people and places we call home and those we might like to call home. -------- ABOUT THE HOST Josh Blum is a father, husband, and doer of stuff - paired with Advocate, Builder of Trails and Community. Originally from La Crosse WI, Josh has been enjoying the outdoors, trails, and mountain bikes since a young age. Always curious and learning about better ways to improve trail users’ experiences. Josh is employed by WisDOT, and is the owner / operator of Evolution Trail Services.

The medical community is consistently doing its best to serve those suffering from addiction. In this episode, we'll talk to Dr. Adam Frimodig from UP Health System about current medical practices in helping those suffering from addiction. Highlights from Episode 7 Dr. Adam Frimodig, UP Health System “(With alcohol, we need to ween them down appropriately using medication. We give them medications to substitute the alcohol and they can withdraw safely in 3-5 days.” “Opioid use - the symptoms are more serious. .. We treat through those symptoms so it's a little easier to get through.” “Help people get through that time in their lives.” “Relapse is part of this disease. Every time I see somebody I hope and plan that they will never use again, but by the pure number games a lot of people are.” Looking Ahead Thank you to Dr. Frimodig for sharing your insight and being an advocate for those suffering from addiction. While medical treatments aim to help, it's important to understand the truly devastating effects addiction can have. In episode 8 we'll dive into those effects with three care providers in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. How to Get Help If you or someone you know is suffering from addiction, know that there are resources available in our community. Dial Help is a great place to start as they have a crisis line available 24 hours a day, seven days a week based here in the Copper Country. You can call 906-482-HELP, text 906-35NEEDS or chat live at dialhelp.org. More About PHF's Addiction Series Visit phfgive.org/addiction to see a list of all episodes, find resources on addiction in our community and to subscribe to receive an email when the next episode drops. Be sure to subscribe to the Portage Health Foundation's YouTube channel to never miss a video episode or find PHF Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts to catch the audio version of this podcast.

Welcome back to the Portage Health Foundation's Addiction Series. In the first episode we heard about how addiction is a serious issue in our community. In this episode we're going to hear from Nikki Collins on what it was like to be addicted. We will then meet Mark Maggio, the executive director of Phoenix House, which provides residential services for males here in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, while also providing outpatient services to people throughout the Western U.P. We'll finish today with UP Health System physician Dr. Adam Frimodig who dives into the science of addiction. Dr. Frimodig explains why and how addiction is a disease, and why we need to start treating it as such. Highlights from Episode 2 Nikki Collins, a former addict and current business owner “Addiction is like dancing with the devil.” “Addiction is when you no longer have any control.” Mark Maggio, Executive Director of Phoenix House “No one that I know that is an alcoholic or a drug addict set out to become an alcoholic or a drug addict. It's something that happened along the way, and once you're caught in it, it's a horrible place to be. It's a very difficult illness to get out of. Especially on your own.” Dr. Adam Frimodig, UP Health System “Brains actually function differently” “We know the brain has a big part of this, so even when people want to stop they may not be able to stop at that point.” “It's not always safe to just stop by yourself.” “It's not because they're bad people … it's because their mind and their body is saying you need this to survive. When that switch is on, it's a losing battle. Almost no one can fight that.” “Addiction is like dancing with the devil,” is a line we hope you remember the next time you think about someone with addiction. It's a dangerous disease that can be fatal. Thank you to Nikki for sharing her personal experience, and to Mark and Dr. Frimodig for sharing their expertise. Looking Ahead In the next episode we'll dive into the stigma of addiction, and why we as a community need to move past that. More About PHF's Addiction Series Visit phfgive.org/addiction to see a list of all episodes, find resources on addiction in our community and to subscribe to receive an email when the next episode drops. Be sure to subscribe the Portage Health Foundation's YouTube channel to never miss a video episode or find PHF Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts to catch the audio version of this podcast.

Meet Joe Brogan and Jim Gabe, the two candidates for Baraga County Sheriff running in the Republican primary August 4th. Because there is no announced Democrat, the primary winner will likely become the new sheriff. Copper Country Today is broadcast locally on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula each Sunday morning at 7:00 on WOLV 97.7 FM, 8:00 on WCCY 1400 AM and 99.3 FM, and 9:00 on WHKB 102.3 FM. The program is sponsored by the Portage Health Foundation.

Addiction is something we don't often talk about, but as we're about to find out, the issue is a very real one in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. Over the next 13 episodes of Portage Health Foundation's Addiction Series, we'll talk about what addiction is, how it happens, the many effects it has on the person, their friends and family, and the community as a whole. We'll also talk about what's being done to address it, offer solutions for those who are struggling or know someone who is, and we'll help you better understand what you can do to help. In this first episode, we'll hear from the Portage Health Foundation's Executive Director Kevin Store, and the chairperson for the Foundation Bernadette Yeoman-Ouellette. We'll also hear from Rebecca Crane, executive director at Dial Help on how this problem has evolved in the last decade. Highlights from Episode 1 Rebecca Crane, Dial Help “In 2017 we had over 1,500 calls related to substance abuse or alcohol.” Suicide calls to Dial Help in 2017 made up 13 percent of their calls after being only 2 percent in prior years. “The problems are only getting deeper.” “The community has to come together. Everybody needs to have of a role together otherwise it will only escalate.” Kevin Store, PHF Executive Director “The financial implications that addiction has on our community is actually quite overwhelming.” “We have a real issue. Virtually all aspects of our community are affected. This is our problem.” Bernadette Yeoman-Ouellette, PHF Board Chair “Addiction kills more people than auto accidents and gun homicides combined in this country. Being in a rural community, we're not immune to the problem, we have higher rates of addiction per capita than metro areas.” “We can't hide from this issue anymore. We have to confront it. We have to work together as a community to address it. Until we do that, it's only going to continue to expand in our community and take much more of a toll on our community.” Thank you to Kevin, Bernadette and Rebecca for sharing your experiences with this serious issue. We hope you found the first of 13 episodes in the Portage Health Foundation's Addiction Series to be enlightening. Looking Ahead - In the next episode we'll meet a former addict and talk with two service providers in our area about how addiction is a disease that affects the brain of those suffering from it. More About PHF's Addiction Series - Visit phfgive.org/addiction to see a list of all episodes, find resources on addiction in our community and to subscribe to receive an email when the next episode drops. Be sure to subscribe the Portage Health Foundation's YouTube channel to never miss a video episode or find PHF Podcast wherever you listen to podcasts to catch the audio version of this podcast.

A sunny Friday morning in Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula brought Michael H. Babcock over to the K-Bear 102.3 FM studio to preview The Addiction Series, which launches this weekend. Babcock spoke with morning show host Todd Van Dyke about what made the series special, what people can look forward to in hearing it and a myriad of other topics. The first of 13 episodes of The Addiction Series will hit this feed Sunday. You can learn more about the series and find links to where you can watch it by visiting phfgive.org/addiction.

On this week's Copper Country Today, Todd VanDyke talks with Lawrence Dale, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the 110th Michigan State House seat, about his views. Portage Health Foundation Executive Director Kevin Store discusses what his organization is doing to assist the Copper Country in dealing with effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Copper Country Today airs Sunday mornings at 7:00 on radio station WOLV-FM, 8:00 on WCCY, and 9:00 on WHKB-FM, on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula. The program is sponsored by the Portage Health Foundation.

Standing at Grand Traverse Harbor on the Keweenaw Peninsula, a look right reveals picturesque yellow-sand beaches and unassuming seasonal homes. A look left includes nothing but a black shoreline on this part of the peninsula, which juts into Lake Superior in Upper Michigan. Jay Parent scooped up a handful of the pebbly black sand, which stretches out of sight on the shoreline. “It was this high stamp sand right here all the way across the harbor,” Parent says, gesturing more than head-high. Parent is a supervisor for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). He’s standing on an unending beach of “stamp sands,” the waste rock leftover from the historic “stamping” process to extract copper from ore. For decades in the 19 th and 20 th centuries, the Keweenaw Peninsula was home to more than 100 copper mines, and some of their copper ore went to two stamp mills, the Mohawk and Wolverine mills, in the community of Gay. Operating until 1932, the mills generated

Standing at Grand Traverse Harbor on the Keweenaw Peninsula, a look right reveals picturesque yellow-sand beaches and unassuming seasonal homes. A look left includes nothing but a black shoreline on this part of the peninsula, which juts into Lake Superior in Upper Michigan. Jay Parent scooped up a handful of the pebbly black sand, which stretches out of sight on the shoreline. “It was this high stamp sand right here all the way across the harbor,” Parent says, gesturing more than head-high. Parent is a supervisor for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). He's standing on an unending beach of “stamp sands,” the waste rock leftover from the historic “stamping” process to extract copper from ore. For decades in the 19 th and 20 th centuries, the Keweenaw Peninsula was home to more than 100 copper mines, and some of their copper ore went to two stamp mills, the Mohawk and Wolverine mills, in the community of Gay. Operating until 1932, the mills generated

Dr. Michelle Seguin is a board-certified Family Medicine physician, community health advocate, educator, and Functional Medicine practitioner. She believes in a lifestyle-driven approach to health that focuses on supporting the individual, family, and community. Dr. Michelle attended medical school at Michigan State College of Human Medicine in the Rural Physician Program and completed residency at the Marquette Family Medicine Residency Program. She has spent the last 5 years practicing rural family medicine in Upper Michigan and recently transitioned into a new role as a community health director for a local community health foundation.  Her passion is to connect food systems and health systems through innovative initiatives such as produce prescription programs.   Additionally, she is opening a consultative lifestyle and functional medicine practice in her community.  By combining the latest functional medicine principles with conventional medical training, she aims to assist patients in identifying key imbalances and root causes of disease and dysfunction. Her goal is to accompany each patient on their individual journey to co-create a plan for health, wellness, and healing.  As an Upper Michigan native, she embraces the health benefits of seasonal living in the beautiful Keweenaw Peninsula.  From the shores of Lake Superior to the surrounding boreal forests, this community is rich in natural beauty and strong in “Sisu”.  As an avid gardener, nature lover, and home cook, she’s discovered a “Soil to Soul” approach to living that she embraces and openly shares with her patients and community.  The health benefits of eating seasonally, hikes in the woods, and reflective moments by the Lake cannot be understated.  Through reconnecting with nature, we reconnect with ourselves and health abounds.  “Food is Medicine” is a term which was originally coined by Hippocrates, also known as the father of Western medicine. He taught that to prevent and treat diseases, one should start by eating a nutrient-dense diet.  If food has the power to prevent much of the chronic illness we experience today, then why aren’t we using it as medicine? When you choose to put the right foods in your body, they truly do act like medicine once consumed having an effect on inflammation levels, blood sugar, energy, hormones, brain and heart health. There are as many research articles supporting the consumption of dairy products as there are against consuming them. The same can be said for consuming meat, grains etc. One aspect of consumption that can't be argued, however, is that we'd all benefit from consuming more raw, colorful foods in the form of vegetables. Dr. Deanna Minich is the genius behind the Rainbow Diet, a colorful, intelligent and intuitive system for putting together your eating and living in a holistic way that brings you vitality, energy, and peace of mind. In this episode, not only will Dr. Michelle explain what the Rainbow Diet is, she'll provide insight into the miraculous science behind the colors of each food and the tremendous, beneficial effects they have on dis-ease within the body.  The Rainbow Diet by Dr. Deanna Minich: https://www.deannaminich.com/the-rainbow-diet/ We'll also talk about Dr. Michelle's Food Prescription pilot program along with why she chose doTERRA essential oils, our of hundreds of companies out there, as one of the many tools she'll be launching in her consultative-style practice opening in 2020. 

Download this episode on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Pocket Casts | Read the full overview at skiing.substack.com.What this is: This is the sixth in a series of short conversations exploring the fallout to the ski industry from the COVID-19-forced closure of nearly every ski area on the continent in March 2020. Click through to listen to the first five: author Chris Diamond, Boyne Resorts CEO Stephen Kircher, Magic Mountain President Geoff Hatheway, NSAA CEO Kelly Pawlak, Berkshire East/Catamount Owner & Goggles for Docs founder Jon Schaefer. Who: Jeff Thompson, partner and cofounder of Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis in Boyne City, MichiganWhy I interviewed him: Because as America has fractured along political fault lines over the past few decades, the bring-it-together ethos of the nation’s finest moments seemed ever more distant and improbable. It was with a sense of amazement bordering on disbelief that I would read about the titanic wartime effort of the 1940s, when American manufacturing channeled its full might and ingenuity into assembling one of the greatest war machines in history. In December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. By February 1942, automakers were retooling their factories for airplane, tank, and truck manufacturing. Factories of all kinds made similar pivots. This enormous and immediate output helped win World War II, and much of that effort took place in Michigan. When COVID-19 pounced out of the viral shadows this winter and began its inexorable creep across our globalized and interconnected world, the medical establishment everywhere was as short of medical supplies as the United States was of battle-ready Jeeps and bombers in 1941. Now, as then, small and large manufacturers of all sizes are applying their expertise in making things to the enormous and urgent project before them. American manufacturing in 2020 is not what it was in 1941, when the nation was one of the world’s great factory hubs. But the work ethic, the energy, the problem-solving intelligence, and the compulsion to meet a problem and punch it in the face remain. When the scope of the COVID-19 crisis began to settle over our nation, Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis, like small manufacturers across the country, shut their regular production lines and retooled for crisis. A custom ski shop, Shaggy’s is now cranking out 5,000 face masks per day for front-line medical workers, playing a small but vital role in this unfolding pandemic. That is a story I wanted to hear.What we talked about: Even as the world falls apart good things still happen, and one of those good things was Jeff having his first child just as the shutdown was taking hold across the country; what inspired Shaggy’s to shut down ski production and how they honed in on face shields as an area of need they could help fulfill; the trial-and-error process of going from prototype to production; making things is a deeply ingrained family habit (that stretches back more than a century), and the Thompsons have more than one small factory locked into this effort; the practical challenges of pivoting from boutique custom ski production to high-volume repetitive stamping out of a single identical item; how Shaggy’s modified their shop to switch from skis to face shields; how you move a 5,000-foot-long, 650-pound coil of plastic around a shop floor without a forklift; the challenges of sourcing materials on the fly that normally take weeks to acquire and that most suppliers don’t have in the necessary volume; the materials that go into the shields and the tools used to cut and assemble them; how they’re collaborating with other ski and snowboard companies to help ramp up the overall production effort; how many face shields they can turn out each day and how much extra labor it takes to do that; the simplicity of the whole operation compared to Shaggy’s typical process of banging out custom skis, and the psychological reset necessary for a group accustomed to that more creative process; how the team was inherently prepared to make this kind of switch; the setbacks the shop hit in ramping up production; how they continue to update the production line to streamline the production process; how 60-year-old riveters are proving to be essential tools to the assembly process; how Shaggy’s stands alone as a true independent ski company; how they allocate these invaluable resources in a time of overwhelming demand; where the shields end up and what they do with the excess shields each day; how a company spreads the word that it’s a suddenly medical manufacturer with masks on offer when it’s well-established as a niche ski outfit; how they honed in on the Costco-sized 150-pack as the optimal number of shields per shipped box; how operating as a direct-to-consumer brand positioned Shaggy’s to easily send these shields directly to hospitals; how long this change-over might last; how this effort honors the family legacy of making thingsMore about Shaggy’s: The company has one of the cooler stories behind its name that I’m aware of – from their website:In 1908, our great-grand-uncle Sulo "Shaggy" Lehto starting hand carving wooden skis for our family and neighbors in the village of Kearsarge, located in the heart of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula, best known as the Copper Country. Shaggy carved skis for his niece, our grandmother (John's mother), and she told stories of using them to travel around town in the deep snow and ski down the tailing piles from the copper mines. That pair of skis was handed down through the generations. In 2005, when the Thompson family started making skis, they knew they had to keep the family heritage alive and dedicated their ski building endeavor with the family name of Shaggy's Copper Country Skis.It is with great honor and a sense of pride that we use his name and hope that Shaggy is as proud of us as we are of him.A deeper look:Shaggy’s profiles from Unofficial Networks and Teton Gravity Research. More on the face shield effort from the local news station in Northern Michigan.Recorded on: April 7, 2020The Storm Skiing Podcast is on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Pocket Casts. The Storm Skiing Journal publishes podcasts and other editorial content throughout the ski season. To receive new posts as soon as they are published, sign up for The Storm Skiing Journal Newsletter at skiing.substack.com. Follow The Storm Skiing Journal on Facebook and Twitter.COVID-19 & Skiing Podcasts: Author and Industry Veteran Chris Diamond | Boyne Resorts CEO Stephen Kircher | Magic Mountain President Geoff Hatheway | NSAA CEO Kelly Pawlak| Berkshire East/Catamount Owner & Goggles for Docs founder Jon SchaeferThe Storm Skiing Podcasts: Killington & Pico GM Mike Solimano | Plattekill owners Danielle and Laszlo Vajtay | New England Lost Ski Areas Project Founder Jeremy Davis | Magic Mountain President Geoff Hatheway | Lift Blog Founder Peter Landsman | Boyne Resorts CEO Stephen Kircher | Burke Mountain GM Kevin Mack | Liftopia CEO Evan Reece | Berkshire East & Catamount Owner & GM Jon Schaefer| Vermont Ski + Ride and Vermont Sports Co-Publisher & Editor Lisa Lynn| Sugarbush President & COO Win Smith| Loon President & GM Jay Scambio| Sunday River President & GM Dana Bullen| Big Snow & Mountain Creek VP of Sales & Marketing Hugh Reynolds | Get on the email list at www.stormskiing.com

We’re talking whitetail hunting in the final hour with outdoor writer Richard P Smith. Richard has been bowhunting in the Keweenaw Peninsula in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Richard says he expects a good firearm season across the U.P. Wild game Chef Dave Minar wraps is all up with a very nice venison recipe.

Leading the Pride keeps it close to home this month with local alumna, Robin Meneguzzo, NP (‘11). Meneguzzo is a Hancock native who graduated from FinnU with a degree in nursing. She went on to pursue her Master’s degree online from the University of Cincinnati. She currently works as a nurse practitioner at Aspirus Keweenaw and is at the forefront of enhancing patient care for those in the Upper Peninsula with her focus on functional and holistic medicine. Listen as Meneguzzo talks about her experiences with a telemedicine startup in Minneapolis, the mindfulness-based National Institute of Health grant she’s working on with MTU Biology professor, John Durocher, to help those with pre-hypertension, and her goals and vision for making the Keweenaw Peninsula a leader in the paradigm shift occurring in medicine from treating one body system to treating the entire patient.

On this episode of Behind the Mitten, John and Amy record from The Ambassador, known for cool drink bowls and the famous Tostada Pizza. They talk to several guests about why you need to visit Houghton and the Keweenaw Peninsula. Learn more about the Keweenaw at https://www.keweenaw.info/