Up North Lowdown

Extended episode: Data centers, butterflies and the life of Holly T. Bird

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

The rules of clerking, explained

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

Could higher travel costs actually help Up North tourism?

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

More stories to tell

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

The most important election you've never heard of

It’s election season for races you’ve probably never heard about — but can impact your energy bill. Michigan’s rural energy cooperatives set rates, manage multi-million dollar budgets and decide reliability standards. They're board of directors are voted in by co-op members but annual elections for these positions have low voter turnouts — as low as 10% for some energy co-ops. This could be the year things start to change. IPR climate change reporter Vivian La takes us to the hidden world of energy co-op elections. Also, state legislatures forgive snow days and slash the essay portion of a state exam (11th graders across Michigan rejoice).