Cadillac

The hospital in Manistee will close their maternity unit on May 31. In a statement, the CEO of Munson Healthcare Manistee Hospital James Barker says providing maternity services is a challenge for rural hospitals.

Counterfeit money is circulating in northern Michigan, from Emmet and Charlevoix counties to Traverse City and Cadillac. Most of the bills are $100s, have Chinese writing on them and feel more like paper than money.

Captain Jim Bussell with the Traverse City Police Department says counterfeit money has shown up in northern Michigan before but the distribution has changed recently.

In Tuesday's election, voters passed two school bonds in northwest Lower Michigan, while two narrowly lost. 

It worked out for Cadillac Area Public Schools this time. Its bond proposal failed last year, but yesterday a new proposal – for slightly less money – passed with 56 percent of the vote. Now $65.5 million will go towards things like a new early childhood center, renovating buildings and equipment. 

School districts across Michigan are asking voters for more money for building renovations and equipment. More than 20 bond proposals are on ballots Tuesday, May 8. A number of those districts are trying again after bond proposals failed in previous elections.

Efforts to expand a homeless shelter in Cadillac have been put on hold after public opposition. New Hope Shelter has five locations in the Cadillac area, including shelters for men, women and families.

The organization was planning to move its men’s shelter to a larger building near the downtown to meet growing demand for beds, but opponents had a number of complaints. Among them, opponents said the location would negatively affect Cadillac’s downtown revitalization efforts and was not in line with Cadillac's master plan.

Right now, if a children get sick in the Cadillac region, they can be hospitalized as an inpatient at Munson Healthcare Cadillac Hospital. Beginning in May, those kids will be sent to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City or Helen DeVos Children's Hospital in Grand Rapids.

A free bike rental program in Cadillac was expanded this summer. Today the city is loaning out 30 bicycles at two locations. The original location remains at Mitchell State Park. The city has added a second rental location across Lake Cadillac at the downtown After 26 Café.

Mayor Carla Filkins says the program, called Bike Cadillac, is designed to encourage more visitors and residents to use the area’s bike trails.

A French firm now owns Four Winns and other boat brands based in Cadillac. The Beneteau Group, which touts itself as the world's number one yacht builder, is the new employer of 500 people who build the fiberglas boats on Cadillac's north side.

Employees at Rec Boat Holdings learned the news Tuesday. While the town is keeping its fingers crossed that the plant will stay put, company officials say there are reasons to be optimistic.

Munson Healthcare is ready to acquire two more hospitals. The Traverse City-based system has signed a letter of intent to purchase Mercy Hospital Grayling and Mercy Hospital Cadillac.

The hospitals are now owned by CHE Trinity Health, a Catholic system with hospitals in 20 states and many in southern Michigan. Both have had a shared management arrangement with Munson for more than a decade.

Ed Ness, president and CEO of Munson Healthcare, says the move makes sense since the nearest Trinity Hospitals are in Muskegon and Grand Rapids.

The people who skate and play hockey at the Wexford Civic Center are now managing it.

Known as the Wex, the county-owned facility was in danger of closing before a citizens' group offered to run it.

Wexford County commissioners voted Wednesday to let volunteers oversee, market and raise funds for the ice rink and auditorium.

Mike Figliomeni, spokesman for the group known as Boon Sports Management, thinks people will notice a positive change.

In Cadillac one of the city’s most historic buildings is in the process of being reborn. But the market is tough these days for new office space, even for what might be the most ornate office building up north.

Monument to Cadillac’s golden age

It’s hard to imagine a more historic building in the region. The Cobbs and Mitchell building stretches back to the lumber era when Cadillac was an economic powerhouse. Cliff Sjogren, past president of the Wexford County Historical Society, says it had the strongest economy in Michigan.

The Four Winns boat plant in Cadillac hoped for steady growth when it struggled out of bankruptcy two years ago. Yet, after an initial surge, employment has hit a plateau. Even with auto companies having bounced back from near death to record profits, the boat business is slow to pick up.