Spaghetti Dinner Benefit for Lil’ Ned to help offset Medical Expenses

Everett Nettleton (5 1/2 mos.), son of Chris Nettleton and Kora Mills, had open heart surgery on February 3rd. To help provide assistance for medical expenses the Moose Lodge is hosting a Benefit Dinner on Thursday February 18 from 5-7 PM.

Tickets will be sold at the door ~ Adults $6, Children $3

**Takeout will be available**

For more information contact Dan or Robin McCollum at 387-1825 or visit http://babynettleton.blogspot.com

Donations may be made in Everett’s name at Citizen’s Bank

~Leif

Please join the Hiawatha National Forest, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, and Hiawatha Interpretive Association as they host the Greater Munising Bay Partnership for Commerce Development February Business-After-Hours networking social event on Monday, February 8th. This months event will be held at the Inter-agency Visitor Center located at 400 E. Munising Avenue (junction H-58 and M-28).

Please make plans to attend this event for the video premier of the new visitor video “Welcome to HiawathaLand”. The video will be shown at both 5:oo and 5:30 PM.  This video is a beautiful and professional depiction of the area in which we live.

Refreshments will be provided.

I’ll be there and I hope to see you there also.

~ Leif

Today is Groundhog Day and we are all anticipating whether or not Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow. It seems that here, in the Greater Munising Bay area, the common opinion leans toward wanting the additional 6-weeks of winter so that we can prolong the winter sporting season and welcome even more snowmobilers and silent winter sport enthusiasts to the area. Our area depends so heavily upon the visitors to the area that more snow and cold weather is welcome around here…at least for a few more weeks. We’ll know know the results at 8 AM today when Phil emerges from his borough. Updates as they become available.

Yeah, six more weeks of winter. Let it snow.

Anyway, kids love this day. I’ll always remember it as a fun day for elementary school children with lots of Groundhog Day related events and crafts planned. Here are a few links for more information on the holiday.

For more on the history of Groundhog Day click here or here.

~ Leif

For just about 2-years now I have been an active member on the Board of Directors for the Greater Munising Bay Partnership for Commerce Development. The Partnership is the result of the combining of the former Munising Area Partnership for Development and the Alger Chamber of Commerce. The combining came about through the  realization that the two organizations could be stronger and more of a member and community asset if they were to combine their efforts.

The first priority of the newly formed group (combined in late 2009)  was to secure a new, high-visibility location on M-28. Previous surveys of Alger Chamber members indicated this was of utmost concern to them. It is my pleasure to unofficially announce that we will be holding our bi-weekly Board meeting for the first time in our new location The Fuzzy Boyak Welcome Center this morning at 8:00 AM. The new center is located just across from Subway and adjacent to Skip’s Auto and NAPA – right down near the marina.

We are eager to open the doors to both local residents and visitors. We anticipate becoming the local hub for information related to local businesses, organizations, training and events. This is just the first of many positive initiatives you can anticipate seeing from the Greater Munising Bay Partnership for Commerce Development. For more information on the Greater Munising Bay Partnership please contact them at 387-2138 or visit their website at www.algercounty.org.

~ Leif

Well, last night was the ever popular and always exciting Presidential State of the Union Address. As I was popping the popcorn and making final preparations for my annual State of the Union Party I began wondering “Am I the only one that cares anymore?”

Now I don’t say this to be cynical but I must admit that I have become both jaded and extremely tired of the endless rhetoric of politics. I don’t care if it’s the Republicans or Democrats…to me it doesn’t matter anymore. In my opinion (and mine only – I want to be clear that I don’t represent any views of this or any other GLR stations), what we need is a return to a political system that puts the “People” of the Union first. I would like to challenge all elected officials to stop the constant 24/7/365 campaigning. This is not what politics is about. I’m sorry that somewhere along the way this became the party mandate.

Alright, so now I’ve opened the floodgates. Hopefully I’ve gotten your attention. Now…I want your opinions. Send me your comments and let me know your thoughts on the subject. I’d love to know just how many other Americans feel the same way…or not.

By the way – at the last minute the only person (my daughter) that had RSVP’d to attend canceled on me. Oh well, is American Idol still on?

James is in the studio and has advised me to stop before I need to contact an attorney. Thanks for the advice James.

~Leif

One thing is for sure…the ice on Munising Bay is getting thicker each day as the temperature remains this cold. We started things off this morning with a temp of 9 degrees and as we went through the morning show the temperature kept falling.

I don’t know if it’s because of the theme I decided to adopt this morning or not but with each song related to either warmth or summer the temperature reacted the opposite of what I had hoped. We listened to a little Donna Summer  – Hot Stuff and even a little classic Janis Joplin – Summertime. Regardless, I’m continuing with the theme. At least the coffee at the studio located in the Navigator Restaurant is hot and steamy. Stay warm today. The temperature is currently 7 degrees.

~ Leif

Recently, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Char Carberry. Char is the Executive Director for the ‘Greater Munising Bay Partnership for Commerce Development’ and also the ‘Munising Downtown Development Authority’.

She and I had the opportunity to speak about the results that were recently presented regarding the Small Town Design Initiative. The ‘Initiative’ lead by Dr. Warren Rauhe is a student project of Michigan State University.

You may access Char’s interview on the Small Town Design Initiative by clicking on “Interviews”  above in the header on wqxo.com. Select the Small Town Design Initiative interview dated January 21, 2010 and click play to listen to the audio through your computer speakers or headphones. Save a step by CLICKING HERE.

~Leif

Today on the morning show I decided to ask a question so that I could determine how many of our listeners can make the jump between the radio, WQXO.com, and the WQXO facebook page. We seem to have a lot of activity on the WQXO.com website and also a lot of friends following us on our facebook page.

I would like to know…

“How fast does Heinz Catsup leave the bottle?”

For those that need all the facts…Let’s consider this to be normal, factory ready consistency of the product with no watering down of the product.

Please go to WQXO.com to find the post or if you prefer go directly to the WQXO facebook page and give me your answer. Please add your answer as a comment/reply to the post so that all answers are in the same area.

Thanks and have a great thick, rich and hearty tomatoey, ketchupy Monday.

~Leif

What a great way to slide into the weekend. This morning we enjoyed listening to some great oldies including a little James Brown. James was often referred to by numerous titles, including Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite, The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, The King of Funk, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please Please Her, I Feel Good, and foremost The Godfather of Soul. In the song “Sweet Soul Music” by Arthur Conley, he is described as the King of Soul. James was 73 when he passed away on December 25, 2006.

~ Leif

Took a good look at the morning music log this morning. Can anyone tell me why the first three artists ‘every morning @ 6 AM’ are (in order) Elvis, The Beach Boys, and Jerry Lee Lewis. I’ll do what I can to change that up a bit.

Regardless, just wanted to say thanks for listening. I am hearing from more and more people everyday that tell me they are listening and enjoying  the return of Munising’s Local Community Radio. If you have something you’d like to talk about or tell the community give us a call at the studio…387-1400.

~Leif