Community Calendar Report for Thursday, March 19th, 2026.
The Vincent Massey locking through the Poe lock yesterday. Photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Detroit District
First some news…
Ron Marsh reports that all County Roads were cleared of snow from what he has dubbed the Great Blizzard of ’26 as of 10 Tuesday evening. He says next winter will be the great winter where the temperature never falls below freezing and the sun was out every day of ’27. Or that’s what he hopes. Thanks to Ron and the crew for getting the roads clear at an amazingly quick pace.
Northern Michigan could soon see a major boost in ice storm recovery funding. Governor Gretchen Whitmer says President Donald Trump has agreed to provide additional federal aid following the devastating March 2025 ice storm. The announcement comes after months of denied requests, including funding for utility repairs known as “Category F.” While details and dollar amounts haven’t been finalized, the new funding is expected to help cover costs for damaged power infrastructure—expenses that have already led to higher rates for some customers. Officials say the move could ease long-term financial pressure on utility providers and ratepayers across northern Michigan.
Icebreaking operations are underway on Lake Superior to ensure safe passage for freighters when the Soo Locks reopen for the 2026 shipping season. The larger Poe Lock will open on March 25, with a livestream of the first ship’s arrival.
Team 6098 BIROBOT’s first competition event for 2026 is at Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan. The team will arrive on March 26th, compete on March 27th and 28th, and return on March 29th. You can find out more about FIRST and BICS’s FRC Team #6098 bIrobot at birobot.org. You can keep up with our progress at events and find links to watch them live on TheBlueAlliance.com
Ticket sales for the 2026 Warblers on the Water events, May 22-25, will begin this week in March. The festival will feature new field trips to celebrate Great Lakes Islands biodiversity.
The America 250 Writing Challenge invites you to share your thoughts on America 250! They’ll pick some of the best submissions and put them together in a book. Check out the library for more information.
Meeting Planner
6:00pm Beaver Island AA Meeting also on Thursday and Saturday at the BI Christian Church
Thursday
2:00pm Beaver Island Emergency Services Authority at Peaine Township Hall
4:30pm Beaver Island District Library Board Meeting at the Library
4:30pm Beaver Island Telecommunications Advisory Committee Meeting at the BIC Center
Thursday
10:00am Pickleball at the BIC Center
10:00am Women’s Bible Study at the BI CHristian Church
10:30am Senior Tai Chi at the BIC Center
5:00pm Burger & a Beer at the Shamrock
5:00pm Pickleball at BIC Center
7:00pm Euchre Night at WPBC
[Thursday evening on the radio, drop in for W-V-B-I’s newest music show. It’s The Underground with Leila Freijy. It’s the underground sound of grunge and more from the 80s and 90s with special features every week. Tune in at 7:00 for two hours Underground.]
Friday
9:00am Senior + Vets Coffee & Donuts at the BIC Center
10:00am Pickleball at BIC Center
10:30am Chair Strength Training at the BIC Center
7:00pm Dark Sky Event: Venus Evening Planet All Month
[On the radio, Kick off your weekend with our fantastic Friday lineup! After the 6:00pm news, enjoy “That Thing with Rich Appel” featuring top forty hits from the 70s. At 9:00pm, tune into “The Titus Jennings Experience” offering music from all genres, followed by “The Midnight Special” with Marilyn Rea Beyer at 11:00pm for music, farce comedy, and late-night escape.]
Saturday
1:00pm Fiero Code Club at the Library
3:00pm The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants at the BIC Center. Desperate to be a big guy, SpongeBob sets out to prove his bravery to Mr. Krabs by following the Flying Dutchman, a mysterious swashbuckling ghost pirate, to the deepest depths of the deep sea.
5:00pm Prime Rib Night at the Shamrock
6:00pm Hamnet at the BIC Center PG-13 After losing their son Hamnet to plague, Agnes and William Shakespeare grapple with grief in 16th-century England. A healer, Agnes must find strength to care for her surviving children while processing her devastating loss.
7:00pm Dark Sky Event: Venus Evening Planet All Month
[On the radio, tune in for Country Classics at 5:00 Saturday evening with host Sheri Timsak. At 7:00, take a trip back to the best of the 80s and 90s with the Mix Tape show (that’s a 120-minute TDK cassette tape for those in the know) hosted by WVBI’s Adam Pettigrew. Mark Beltaire takes over at 9:00 with Rockin’ the Boat and continues at 10:00 with the Blues Cruise. Cousin Dan wraps up the evening with the Too Good Radio Show starting at 11:00.]
Sunday
10:00am Beaver Island Christian Church Worship
12:15pm Sunday Mass at the Holy Cross Church
Today’s BIC Center Name of the Day is Raymond. If that’s your name, come on it to the BIC Center to pick out a free drink of your choice.
On our Birthday List today: Hilary Palmer, Colleen Martin and Elsie Burton and if we missed you on the list Happy Birthday to you too from everyone at the BIC Center and WVBI. [Some may no longer be with us, but we still honor and remember each person named]
TRAFFIC: No delays inbound or outbound to the airports. The Island Beltway is running smoothly and there are no bridge delays. But, hey, let’s be careful out there, especially in the school zone.
On this date in 2003 the United States and coalition forces-initiated war on Iraq, claiming Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. The first targets were hit with Tomahawk cruise missiles after the U.S.-imposed deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq passed.
Our Merriam Webster Word of the is nadir Nadir refers to the lowest or worst point of something. When used in astronomy, nadir describes the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the zenith and vertically downward from the observer.
// Only once the novel’s protagonist reaches her nadir does she arouse the reader’s empathy, and we root for her to climb back to respectability.
Now, to wrap up for this Beaver Island Thursday…
Here’s a thought for the day, every season of the year has its high points and low points
On a lighter note… A Higgs boson walked into a Catholic church and said…
“whoa, whoa, whoa, you can’t have mass without me”
That’s the W-V-B-I Community Calendar Report for this Beaver Island Thursday, March 19th, 2026. I’m Greg reporting from W-V-B-I’s Langford Family Studios wishing you a great day and asking: why not go ahead and make it the best day ever? And thanks for listening.
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[Current Condition Report, then…]
Air Quality Index at 5:00 this morning was 69.
Today
Partly sunny, with a high near 34. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tonight
Snow showers after 11pm, mixing with rain after 5am. Low around 27. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Friday
Showers likely, mainly before 8am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 37. West wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 29. West wind around 10 mph.
Saturday
A slight chance of snow showers after 2pm, mixing with rain after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. Southwest wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Saturday Night
A chance of rain and snow showers between 8pm and 11pm, then a chance of snow showers after 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Sunday
A 30 percent chance of snow showers before 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Breezy.
Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 17.
Monday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 29.
Monday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20.
Tuesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 35. Breezy.
Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 20.
Wednesday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 33.
Air Quality Index at 6:00 this morning was 69.
Photos from webcams at wvbi.net and mackinacbridge.org
Coming up in our Community Calendar Report…
…all of that along with a run-down of local events, birthdays and more after global and national news from F-S-N. [Time check.]
Today’s featured image: