OCTOBER 1, 2025 Vol. 22, No. 22
Every safari supports conservation, local communities and sustainable tourism. tanya@wakatitravel.com (810) 814-6185
www.wakatitravel.com @wakati.travel
WB hosts first round of public budget meetings
0204-2540
BEEKEEPING BEGINS WITH LEARNING 8A Explore Feature Series
The folLowing is part of C & G Newspapers’ feature series about Northern Michigan destinations to explore Photo by Michael Murphy IV Photography
BY GENA JOHNSON gjohnson@candgnews.com
See BUDGET on page 7A
Up North Wine BY GREG TASKER
M Photo by Brandon Schadler
ABOVE: Pond Hill Farm’s market features canned ciders, wine, jarred goods and more. TOP: The husband-and-wife team of Derrick Vogel and Izabela Babinska run Folklor Wine & Cider, located south of Charlevoix.
ichigan’s growing wine scene is home to wineries of all different sizes and designs. There’s a Tuscan-style villa perched on a hill on Old Mission Peninsula. A Kentucky-style plantation on the Leelanau Peninsula. Modern industrial-like structures here and there. And, of course, revamped houses and restored barns (even a chicken coop). But an Airstream trailer may be a first in Michigan. Outside Charlevoix, a restored 1973 Airstream serves as the summer tasting room for Blu Dot Farm and Vineyard. You can walk up to a window — the Airstream has been customized — and order a sampling of up to 10 wines or a glass of your choice. Grab a chair under an umbrella-topped table, while you sip a glass of Party Girl Sparkling and enjoy views of ripening grapes and a former horse farm next door. Blu Dot Farm and Vineyard is among the wineries belonging to the Petoskey Wine Region, home to about a dozen small, family-owned wineries See WINE on page 14A
0313-2540
WEST BLOOMFIELD — Capital projects for the West Bloomfield Police Department were reviewed Sept. 4 at the township’s first budget meeting for the 2026 fiscal year. Funds for roads, senior projects and a host of other township services were also considered. Allison Broihier, West Bloomfield’s budget and pension manager, led the first of three public budget meetings. She reviewed 11 funds, including the current fund balances and the revenues for 2025 and anticipated revenues for 2026. In addition, she enumerated debt services —the amount paid out, and the projected fund balance at the end 2026. West Bloomfield’s fiscal year corresponds with the calendar year beginning Jan. 1, 2026. The board had the opportunity at the meeting to question department heads and make suggestions or changes. They will have two more occasions to do so before the final budget is presented to them for approval. The public was also given an opportunity to comment at the meeting, and will be able to weigh in during future meetings, as well. Broihier likened the fund balance to a savings account. It is the money currently available.