Community Calendar Report for Thursday, October 15th, 2026

The Beaver Island Boat Company says they are adding a fifteen-percent fuel surcharge starting next Monday through the end of the season. It covers all passenger, vehicle and freight fares—including reservations already booked. The company says fuel costs have climbed beyond what it can absorb. Nationally, diesel prices are up about seventy percent since the Iran war began, averaging more than six dollars a gallon.

#Economy #Transportation

Rising fuel costs have prompted fare surcharges for the ferry. Photo illustration by WVBI through ChatGPT

Michigan’s major-party candidates for governor debate again tonight in Detroit. Democrat Jocelyn Benson and Republican John James face off from eight to nine as they campaign to succeed Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Watch it here on the island at Click on Detroit dot com. There’s a link in today’s script online.

https://www.clickondetroit.com/live/

#Election2026

In other election related news, national, state and Ingham County Republicans are suing the Lansing Election Commission, alleging it appointed nearly twice as many Democratic poll workers as Republicans. State law requires officials to strive for an even balance between the major parties. Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum says the suit came before the appointment deadline and says staffing can be complicated by applicants who fail to show up or complete requirements.

#Election2026

Michigan’s D-N-R is using D-N-A testing to find out whether fish stocking is working. Bridge Michigan reports biologists match fish caught in lakes with the parents used in hatcheries. An Upper Peninsula pilot found strong stocking results in one lake but little success in two others. The D-N-R plans five hundred walleye samples statewide to help decide where future stocking dollars should go.

#Environment

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office says a Traverse City has a felony charge for allegedly threatening to kill Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg. Fifty-seven-year-old Edward Manseau faces up to twenty years in prison if convicted.

#Crime

The Michigan lottery has a big winner down in T-C. A man there has won a six-point-seven-nine-million-dollar jackpot with a ticket bought in Kingsley. The anonymous winner elected a lump sum payout of about four-point-seven million, with plans to buy a house, invest and travel.

#Fundraising

A powerful fall storm brings rain pretty much state-wide today, followed by strong winds Friday. The National Weather Service expects a half-inch to an inch of rain, with more possible in northwest Lower Michigan. Friday’s gusts could reach forty miles an hour on land, with dangerous conditions on the Great Lakes. The forecast calls for six footers between here and Charlevoix on Friday with 35 knot winds. Temps around the state will have highs fall just in the forties and fifties, with frost and freezing temperatures possible Saturday morning—that after temps in the mid-80s downstate earlier this week.

#Weather

Finally, with the big bag day fast approaching, here’s some information for your Halloween plans:  The C-O-A has a lunch planned for the 23rd (that’s next Friday) at Peaine Township Hall starting at 11:30. R-S-V-P at 21-24 or by email to B-I Meals at Charlevoix County dot org.  The library has a party planned from 3:00 to 5:00 p-m on Halloween with spooky snack, fun games and prizes. All are welcome. And, TUNES plans a Halloween open house with a look inside its studio, cider and sweet treats. Trick-or-treaters can pick up treat bags from 4:30 to 7:30. Everyone is welcome. The studio is next to the hardware.

mailto:bimeals@charlevoixcounty.org

#IslandEvents

The TUNES studio will have treats, but no tricks, on Halloween night. Drop by from 4:30 to 7:30. Graphic from TUNES

Now here’s a look at upcoming events on your Emerald Isle…

First, your meeting planner for the coming week…

Today
The District Library Board and the Telecommunications Advisory Committee both meet at 4:30. The Library Board meets at the library, and the Telecommunications Committee at the BIC Center. A-A meets tonight, Saturday and next Tuesday at 6:00 at the Christian Church.

Next Tuesday
The Waste Management Committee meets at 1:30 at Peaine Township Hall. The Beaver Island Association Board meets at 4:00 at the BIC Center, and the Peaine Township Board meets at 5:30 at the township hall.

Next Wednesday
The Beaver Island Airport Commission meets at noon at the Township Airport.

That’s your meeting lineup. Locations and more details are in the calendar entries online.

On the fun front today…

This morning, Pickleball starts at 10:00 at Peaine Township Park. Women’s Bible Study also meets at 10:00 at the Christian Church. Chair Yoga is at 11:00 in the BIC Center auditorium. This evening, it’s Burger and a Beer Night at the Shamrock starting at 5:00, and Euchre at Whiskey Point Brewing Company. Cards hit the table at 7:00. No partner is needed.

Friday
Senior and Veterans Coffee and Donuts runs from 8:30 to 10:30 in the BIC Center lobby. Pickleball starts at 10:00 at Peaine Township Park, followed by Chair Strength Training at 10:30 in the BIC Center Hangout. After school, Board Game Fridays brings game fun to the library from 3:30 to 5:00.

[On the radio, Friday’s lineup kicks off after the 6:00 news with “That Thing with Rich Appel,” featuring top forty hits from the 70s. At 9:00, “The Titus Jennings Experience” offers music from all genres, followed by “The Midnight Special” with Marilyn Rea Beyer at 11:00.]

Looking ahead to highlights for the rest of the week…

Saturday
The B-I-C-S volleyball squad heads off for Northern Lights League tournament play. Pickleball starts at 10:00 at Peaine Township Park. There are Halloween themed movies at the BIC Center. It’s a Practical Magic double feature with Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman. The original screens at 3:00, followed by Practical Magic Two at 6:00. Both are rated PG-13. And it’s Prime Rib Night at the Shamrock starting at 5:00.

[On the radio, Country Classics starts at 5:00 Saturday evening with host Sheri Timsak. At 7:00, WVBI’s Adam Pettigrew takes you back to the best of the 80s and 90s with the Mix Tape show. 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
The Episcopal Mission has services at 9:00 and the Christian Church at 10:00. Mass is at Holy Cross at 12:15.

Looking into highlights for next week…

Monday
Senior Tai Chi starts at 10:30 in the BIC Center Hangout.

Tuesday
Babies and Toddlers Mix-Up at the library and pickleball at Peaine Township Park both start at 10:00. Chair Strength Training follows at 10:30 in the BIC Center Hangout. Tuesday evening, Let’s Get Quizzical trivia returns to the BIC Center at 6:00.

Wednesday
American Mah Jongg starts at 10:00 in the BIC Center Hangout. All skill levels are welcome; bring your 2026 Mah Jongg card if you have one. Afternoon Bingo follows at 1:00. At 3:00, the library’s BOBI Book Club discusses “The Copper Stone” by Julia Mary Gibson. Then at 5:00, it’s Time for Art with Cindy Ricksgers at the BIC Center. No experience is necessary.

Those are the highlights. Find a full listing of events at calendar dot W-V-B-I dot net.

Today’s BIC Center Name of the Day is Belle.  If that’s your name, come on down to the BIC Center today to pick out a free drink of your choice.

On our Birthday List: On our list today are Emmalee Antkoviak, Raleigh Brandt, Dr. Jeff Powers and David Breden.  Happy Birthday to Raleigh, Emmalee, David and Jeff, and, if we missed you on the list, Happy Birthday to you too from everyone at the BIC Center and WVBI.

TRAFFIC: No delays inbound or outbound to the airports. The Island Beltway is running smoothly. There are no bridge delays. But it is busy in town when the ferry arrives and there are folks soon be out leaf peeping. So, let’s be careful out there.

On this date in 1997, the Cassini spacecraft blasts off from Cape Canaveral, beginning a nearly seven-year journey to Saturn. The international mission brings the ringed planet and its moons into stunning focus. Its companion probe, Huygens [HOY-gunz], lands on Titan, while Cassini explores Saturn’s rings and icy moons before ending its mission with a plunge into the planet’s atmosphere in 2017.

A seven-year journey to the ringed planet Saturn begins with the liftoff of a Titan IVB/Centaur carrying the Cassini orbiter and its attached Huygens probe. The orbiter was named for Giovanni Cassini, an Italian-French mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and engineer who discovered four satellites of Saturn and noted the division of its rings. Launch occurred at 4:43 a.m. EDT, Oct. 15, from Launch Complex 40 on Cape Canaveral Air Station. Photo provided by NASA

Our Merriam-Webster Word of the Day is outlandish [out-LAN-dish], an adjective describing something strikingly strange or unusual, or something that goes beyond reasonable limits. In Old English, it means coming from a foreign land. Over time, that meaning expands to include unfamiliar or bizarre things. For example: “His outlandish Halloween costume includes a flying saucer, three antennae and a working fog machine.”

Now, to wrap up for this Beaver Island Thursday…

Here’s a thought for the day from satirist Mark Russell: “The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage.”

And on a lighter note…
What happens when you eat too much pumpkin pie? You get au-tumn-y ache.

That’s the W-V-B-I Community Calendar Report for this Beaver Island Thursday, October 15th, 2026. I’m Kevin Boyle 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. 

###

WEATHER

[Current Condition Report, then…]

Today
Cloudy, with a 30 percent chance of showers, mainly after 5 p.m. High near 57. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph.
Tonight
Showers, with a low around 46 lakeside/38 inland. East wind around 10 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of rain 100 percent. A half to three-quarters of an inch of rain possible.
Friday
Showers likely, mainly before 9 a.m. Cloudy, gradually becoming mostly sunny. High near 52 lakeside/56 inland. Breezy, with north winds 15 to 25 mph, gusting to 35. Chance of rain 60 percent.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy, gradually becoming mostly clear. Low around 40 lakeside/34 inland. Breezy, with north winds 20 to 25 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 after midnight. Gusts to 35 mph.
Saturday
Sunny, with a high near 57. Breezy, with southwest winds 10 to 15 mph increasing to 15 to 20 in the afternoon. Gusts to 30 mph.
Saturday Night
Clear and breezy. Low around 49 lakeside/40 inland.
Sunday
Sunny and windy. High near 59.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear and breezy. Low around 49 lakeside/43 inland.
Monday
Mostly sunny. High near 60.
Monday Night
Mostly clear. Low around 47 lakeside/42 inland.
Tuesday
Sunny. High near 60.
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear. Low around 49 lakeside/44 inland.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny. High near 61.

Air Quality Index this morning was 0.

Fire Danger: Moderate

Out on the Big Drink…

Photo from the North Lake Michigan Buoy. Provided by the National Data Buoy Center

Today

SE wind 5 to 10 kt. Showers likely, mainly after 4pm. Waves 1 ft or less.

Friday – Gale Warning starting 11:00 a.m.

N wind 15 to 25 kt, with gusts as high as 35 kt. Showers likely, mainly before 1pm. Waves 2 ft building to 6 ft.

Friday Night – Gale Warning to 2:00 a.m.

N wind 20 to 25 kt decreasing to 10 to 15 kt after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 35 kt. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear. Waves 6 ft subsiding to 1 ft.

Saturday

WSW wind 10 to 15 kt increasing to 20 to 25 kt in the afternoon. Sunny. Waves 1 ft or less building to 5 ft.

Sunday

SW wind around 30 kt, with gusts as high as 40 kt. Sunny. Waves 9 to 10 ft.

Monday

WSW wind 10 to 15 kt. Mostly sunny. Waves 4 ft subsiding to 1 ft.

Water Temps: 60 at the mid-lake buoy southwest of Gull Island and Sleeping Bear. 56 in the Straits.

Photos from webcams at wvbi.net and mackinacbridge.org

Coming up in our Community Calendar Report…

Ferry fares rise Monday with a fuel surcharge. Michigan’s candidates for governor debate tonight, and a fall storm could make Friday rough on the lakes. Plus, fish ancestry testing and Halloween plans around the island.

Those stories along with more local and state news, a run down of local events, birthdays, this date in history and more are up after this global and national news…

 [Time check.]

Today’s featured image: Rising fuel costs are prompting a fifteen-percent surcharge on Beaver Island Boat Company fares beginning Monday. Photo by BIBCO