Monday, April 20, 2026

1-Forbes Names Greatest Self-Made Americans - This year, along with its annual World’s Billionaires List, “Forbes” has come out with a list of the 250 Greatest Self-Made Americans…The billionaires list is the  richest people in the world, Self-Made are those who’ve shown “grit, hustle and resilience” during their careers. Oprah Winfrey is named as America’s greatest self-made individual…She falls into the “started with nothing” category: Born to a teen mom & grew up on a rural farm with no indoor plumbing…Dolly Parton is #7, Bill Clinton #8 & VP J.D. Vance is #10

2-Blue Angels return to Traverse City’s 2027 Cherry Festival - The U.S. Navy Blue Angels will return to Traverse City’s Cherry Festival in 2027…The show will be July 3-4, 2027…The National Cherry Festival is back on the schedule after missing the jet team this past summer...The Blue Angels have been copming to TC dating back to 1988…Next Summer the Air Combat Command F-16 Viper Demo Team will be performing on July 4 and 5, with the Blue Angels returning the following year

3-Human Trials Underway In Japan For Drug That Could Let Adults Regrow Teeth - For the first time in history, humans are being tested with a drug designed to regrow lost teeth…Researchers are aiming for commercial availability by 2030, starting with children born missing teeth before expanding to adults as a potential alternative to dentures and implants.  Source: TechFixated

4-Claude Lemmer chosen as Grand Marshal of Shepherd Maple Syrup Festival - Shepherd’s Maple Syrup Festival is this weekend, April 23-26th & Shepherd's former band director Claude Lemmer is the Grand Marshall of the Festival this year…Lemmer will lead the 68th Grand Festival Parade at 2:30pm on Sunday…Lemmer was the band director from 1961 to 1998 at Shepherd HS…Lemmer is a past parade marshal of the Shepherd homecoming parade, Mt. Pleasant’s Summerfest Parade, Lions Club citizen of the year & is in the Shepherd High School Athletic Hall of Fame.

5-State Police Offer Advice On Basement Flooding Precautions - Due to flooding, basements all over the state are under water – The State Police say residents should not enter flooded basements if water covers electrical outlets, cords are submerged, or if there are signs of electrical activity such as sparks, buzzing, snapping, or popping. The collapse of flooded basements is possible when water is rapidly pumped from basements…There is a recommended rate to pump, Google it for the formula

6-Wendy’s closes US restaurants and focuses on value to turn around falling sales - Wendy’s has  closing several hundred U.S. restaurants and is increasing its focus on value…Sales for Wendy’s fell 10% at the end of last year with almost 375 locations being shuttered by this June…

7-Gatorade, inventor of the sports drink, is getting a rebrand targeting non-athletes - Sixty years after it invented sports drinks, Gatorade is making a surprising pivot: It’s no longer focusing primarily on athletes…Gatorade is now targeting non-athletes with new packaging highlighting the specific ways Gatorade’s various drinks and powders work and the research behind them…In today’s market, 60% of consumers who buy sports drinks aren’t athletes, but want electrolytes for hydration and carbohydrates for energy…150 new brands of so-called sports drinks have entered the market in the last few years & Gatorade hasn’t upped it’’s marketing game until now

Friday, April 17, 2026

1-Clare County emergency declared as flooding closes 11 roads - Clare County has declared a local state of emergency as floodwaters continue to rise…As of Wednesday, the county had 11 county roads closed due to washout culvert damage” & with flooding along the Muskegon River Basin, Great Lakes Energy began shutting off power to the affected areas along the Border with Osceola & Mecosta County.

2-Finding Love After 40 Is On The Rise, Says New eHarmony Report – E-harmony is still out there & they’re still making matches – E-harmony numbers show most singles over 40 aren’t discouraged with dating, but are pretty optimistic about it and genuinely open to finding love. 

         -56% said that turning 40 finally gave them more time to focus on themselves

         -60% of daters between 40 and 49 say they're emotionally ready for a new long-term relationship

         -Just 19% of the 40+ crowd are on dating apps

3-More Americans Are Getting Their Coffee at Home - Americans are increasingly getting their caffeine fix not at the coffee house, but at the house….The National Coffee Association says 85% of coffee drinkers get it at home now, the highest share since 2012 and a shift away from the pre-pandemic tilt toward cafés…Working from home, price & better gadgets on kitchen counters are fueling the switch back to coffee made at home…Outside the home, drive-thru’s now beat out walk-in shops & Americans are averaging 2.8 cups a day

4-America’s Most Popular Last Names Haven’t Changed Much In 230 Years - The U.S. Census Bureau just released the 2020 Names Data & Smith, Johnson, and Williams are the top 3 last names in the Country,  just like they were 230 years ago when the first census was taken.  Males first names are Michael, John & James 1-2-3 & for women Mary, Maria & Jennifer 1-2-3…Harley, Emerson, and Quinn are the top 3 gender neutral names

5-Jury Finds That Live Nation Illegally Monopolized Ticket Market: A federal jury says Live Nation and its subsidiary Ticketmaster illegally monopolized the concert ticketing market, using their dominant position to squeeze out rivals and overcharge consumers…The jury determined Ticketmaster overcharged customers by $1.72 per ticket, and a judge will decide what the company owes, including potential damages on top of that amount. The lawsuit was brought by more than 30 states…

6-97% of Michigan teachers are considered ‘effective.’ How do they rate at your school? - Teachers across Michigan’s K-12 schools are almost universally considered effective in annual evaluations reported to the state…The Michigan Department of Education teacher effectiveness ratings show nearly 350 school districts and public academies achieved 100% effectiveness ratings for teachers in their district & 500 schools and districts had a rate between 90% and 99%...

-The Mt Pleasant Teacher rating was 98.87% effective

-Chippewa Hills & Shepherd got 100%

-Clare - 99.05%

-Meridian - 100%

-Vestaburg - 100%

https://www.mlive.com/education/2025/12/97-of-michigan-teachers-are-considered-effective-how-do-they-rate-at-your-school.html

7-Smart phone, bad grades? - If you are like most Americans, you’ll spend several hours today looking at your cellphone screen — and CMU research says there’s a good chance it isn’t making you any smarter…The new numbers show excessive use of smartphones may actually decrease academic performance…The number show the higher the addictive phone use, the lower the grades…

Thursday April 16, 2026

Wisconsin Senator Proposes Free Streaming Of Sports Games - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin from Wisconsin is tired of paying for sports & just introduced a new bill to stop professional sports leagues from blacking out games for fans & end the web of streaming services & costs for fans…The bill would ensure  local sports fans can watch their favorite sports team in one single location, for free…The "For the Fans Act"…The bill applies to professional baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer leagues…Unfortunately it's just a bill & would have a long uphill battle to become a law

Breaking: Suspect banned from campus after social media investigation - Central Michigan University announced the suspect posting comments with threats on the University's social media is now banned from campus and will be arrested if they return…The investigation is still ongoing and will be referred to the Isabella County Prosecutor's Office…The comments were posted on Sunday, this past weekend & the University also stated "We learned a great deal from this incident, and we are revising our communications protocols so we can respond more effectively in the future"

Android Class-Action Settlement With Google: Android phone?  Google may owe you some money under a class-action settlement…The lawsuit alleged Android devices sent user data to Google without permission, using up cellular data consumers had paid for - Google denied wrongdoing but agreed to settle for $135 million…Anyone who used an Android device to connect to the internet over a cellular network from November 12, 2017, to the present is potentially eligible…You should receive a notice by mail or email…Don’t plan your retirement around the settlement though, roughly 100 million people qualify for a payment, so you’ll maybe get a couple dollars at most

9 Michigan parks, campgrounds under construction in summer 2026 - Doing a little camping planning for the summer?...9 Michigan state parks are undergoing major renovations with some closed altogether & others closing some areas of their parks for part of the summer…

Holly Recreation Area – The public beach, swim area and boating access site will be closed through October

         Mears State Park - The modern campground is closed through May 20

Muskegon State Park has some areas closed until late spring or early summer

         Petoskey State Park - The entire park except the shoreline is closed through at least May 15

Pontiac Lake Recreation Area modern campground is closed until September 1

         Otsego Lake State Park - The modern campground is closed through June

Tahquamenon Falls State Park – Some areas of the boardwalk are closed

         Traverse City State Park is closed until April 2027

Van Buren State Park is closed until late spring

Pet Debt Crisis is Reaching a Breaking Point in 2026 - For the average American household, maintaining a single cat or dog now costs just over $4,000 a year…That covers kibble, grooming, and routine wellness…Over a 12-year lifespan, the baseline cost of ownership now clears $50,000…So, a puppy brought home today represents a future down payment on a home & that’s if there are no swallowed socks, oncology referrals or other issues…The primary driver of care costs are Vet bills, which have outpaced inflation

Lyme Vaccine Shows Promise, but 'Tricky' Path Lies Ahead – A vaccine against Lyme disease just cleared a hurdle…Two drug makers say their experimental shot cut Lyme infections by 73% in their latest trials, strong enough that they plan to seek approval...A 1998 vaccine was about 76% effective but was withdrawn four years later amid safety concerns and weak demand…Demand is now growing again with about 476,000 people contracting Lyme Disease in the US each year - https://www.newser.com