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Smoke from wild fires in Canada has once again pushed air quality into the red zone for the much of the U-P and, overnight, Beaver Island and now much of the northern L-P. W-V-B-I’s new air quality sensor shows a reading of 183 as of this morning, which is well into the so-called red zone and means that members of the public can suffer adverse effects. Purple Air map showing air sensor readings on Wednesday morning. Image captured from purple air.com
Graph showing spike in air quality issues overnight. Graph of data from WVBI/BIC Center Air quality sensor at the WVBI transmitte site Meantime, M-Live forecasters say the humidy that’s been gripping the state will slip away today, so when you step outside you might smell smoke, but it shouldn’t be as sticky as it has been the last several days. IPR News reports the man accused of stabbing 11 people at a Traverse City Walmart has long battled severe mental illness. The attacker’ family says they pleaded with officials for decades to get him institutionalized. His brother called the attack preventable, saying Bradford Gille [gill] fell through every crack in Michigan’s broken mental health system. Advocates and lawmakers say the state’s lack of psychiatric beds and long-term care is fueling crises like this. While July brought record ER traffic and that headline-making stabbing, Munson Medical Center also hit a major milestone: its first-ever single-anesthetic lung cancer surgery. Surgeons performed a biopsy and removed the tumor in one procedure while the patient was under, thanks to the hospital’s new Ion robotic system. Leaders at the hospital say it’s a game-changer for faster, less invasive cancer care. If you suffered losses in Northern Michigan’s March ice storm, time is running out to apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration. Loans are available for homeowners, renters, businesses, and nonprofits to cover storm damage not covered by insurance. Homeowners and renters can borrow up to $500,000 for real estate damage and $100,000 for personal property. Businesses and nonprofits can get up to $2 million, including working capital loans for lost income or spoiled inventory. Apply online at lending dot sba dot gov or call 800-659-2955. The dealine is August 8th. |
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Now, here’s a look at events happening on your Emerald Isle… First your meeting planner. A-A meets Saturday at 6:00 at the Christian Church and next week Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday same time and place. And that’s it on the meeting front through the end of next week. On the fun front today… Wednesday, Summer Yoga is on at the BIC Center at 9:30 with a restorative session. At the library, there’s Kids Storytime, Crafts and Art for three years and up at 10:00 and then for 10 years and up at 11:00. At the BIC Center, there’s Bingo at 1:00 in the Hangout. At 3:00 C-O-A has Fun & Gamers out at Peaine Township Hall. Also at 3:00, at Whiskey Point Brewery, Baroque on Beaver presents the St. James Jazz Ensemble. The show is sold out. At 7:00, there’s BINGO at the Gregg Fellowship Center. Doors open at 6:15 for fellowship. At 7:30, down at C-M-U it is Baroque’s Chamber Music Waterside. Tickets are at tickets dot bic center dot org. Thursday at 9:00, there’s Pickleball on the Peaine Township Courts. At 10:00 a trifecta of activities: Tai Chi in the Hangout at the BIC Center, C-O-A Cardio Drumming out at the Peaine Township Hall and Women’s Bible Study at the Christian Church. At 11:00, the COA has a Crafter’s Social at the Peaine Township Hall. At 7:30 the Baroque on Beaver Festival Orchestra is on stage at the BIC Center featuring pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko in a performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 and Bach’s Orchestral Suite No.1. Tickets are at tickets dot bic center dot org. And it’s Burger and a Beer Night at the Shamrock. Highlights for the rest of the week include… Friday, kicks with Senior + Vets Coffee + Donuts is on at the BIC Center from 8:30 to 11:30. At 9:00, there’s Chair Strength Training in the Hangout at the BIC Center and Pickleball on the Peaine Township Courts. Summer Yoga is at 9:30 with a basic flow session in the theater at the BIC Center. C-O-A has a Walkersize session at 10:30, a walk from Heritage Park to the St. James Campground and back. Friday afternoon there’s a new Baroque on Beaver event. It’s Brass on the Bay at 4:00 at the Donegal Bay Pavillion. Patriotic and popular favorites played by the Festival Orchestra’s brass section in the dunes overlooking Lake Michigan. [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, there’s Pickleball outdoors at 9:00. The Artisan’s Market is on out by the lighthouse at Whiskey Point. That starts at 10:00. Baroque wraps up the Festival with their Season Finale at the BIC Center. It’s the Festival Orchestra playing pieces by Astor Piazzolla and Beethoven’s Symphony Number 4. The evening will feature this year’s Young Soloist Competition winner Violet Weizer playing cello and will be directed by Nathan Bieber, the Festival’s new associate conductor. Showtime is 7:30. Tickets are at tickets dot bic center dot org. [On the radio, tune in for Country Classics at 5:00 Saturday evening with host Sheri Timsak. At 7:00, Jackson Smith and Steve Girbach are in with Songs from the Trail. 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, there are services at the Episcopal Mission at 9:00 and the Christian Church at 10:00, and Mass at Holy Cross at 12:15. Looking ahead to highlights for next week… Monday Summer Yoga is at the BIC Center at 9:30 in the Theater with a Basic Flow session followed by a Therapeutic Chair session at 11:00. At 10:00, Nancy Peterson will be at the library leading a session on beading. C-O-A has Cardio Drumming at 10:00 and a Crafter’s Social at 11:00, both out at Peaine Township Hall. Monday evening is all you can eat pizza night at the Beachcomber. Tuesday, there’s Chair Strength Training at the BIC Center at 9:00. Pickleball is outside on the township courts at 9:00. Babes and Toddlers mix it up at the library at 10:00. At 10:30, there’s C-O-A Walkersize with a walk from Heritage Park out to the St. James Campground and back. At 1:00, drop by the BIC Center Hangout to play Mah Jongg [mah jawng]. Tuesday evening at 7:00 , meet Islands of Deception author Chris Thelen at the library. |
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NAME OF DAY: The BIC Center Name of the Day is Nancy. If that’s your name, come on into the BIC Center today to pick out a free drink of your choice. BIRTHDAYS: Suzy Belfy Breden and Mark Belfy are on our list today. Happy Birthday to Suzy and Mark and, if we missed you on the list, Happy Birthday to you too from everyone at WVBI and your Beaver Island Community Center! |
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TRAFFIC: No delays inbound or outbound to the airports. The island beltway is running smoothly with no bridge delays. But it is very busy in town when the ferry arrives, and the warm weather means lots of folks at the public beach plus hikers and bikers everywhere. Plus, baby turtles are busy crossing. So, let’s be careful out there. |
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On this date in 1975, former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa leaves home for an afternoon meeting with a reputed Detroit Mafia crime boss and a New Jersey Teamsters boss. He waits at the meeting place in a restaurant parking lot in Bloomfield Township where he is seen by passersby and makes some phone calls from a payphone. But he never comes home and is never seen again, and on December 9, 1982, he is declared legally dead by an Oakland County probate judge.
Photo of Jimmy Hoffa about a week before he disappeared. Image from PBS show History Detectives |
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Our Merriam Webster Word of the Day is doppelgänger (noun) [DAH-pul-gang-er], which is someone who looks very much like another person. In literary use, doppelgänger refers to a ghost that closely resembles a living person. According to German folklore, all living creatures have an identical, but invisible, spirit double. These second selves are distinct from ghosts, which appear only after death, and are sometimes described as the spiritual opposite or negative of their living counterparts. English speakers borrowed both the concept of the doppelgänger and the German word for it (from doppel-, meaning “double,” and -gänger, meaning “goer”) in the mid-1800s, but today the English word typically refers simply to a living person who closely resembles another living person. |
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Now, to wrap up for this Beaver Island Wednesday… |
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Here’s a thought for the day disappeared Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa: “The strong survive and the weak disappear.” |
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On a lighter note… Why did the Mafia hire a magician? They heard he was an expert in making people disappear. |
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That’s the W-V-B-I Community Calendar Report for this Beaver Island Wednesday, July 30th, 2025. I’m Kevin Boyle reporting from W-V-B-I’s Langford Family Studios, wishing you a great day and asking you: why not go ahead and make it the best day ever? And thanks for listening. |
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Today Areas of smoke before 3pm, then areas of smoke after 4pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 75/75. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Tonight Partly cloudy, with a low around 61. North wind around 15 mph. Thursday Sunny, with a high near 75/77. Northeast wind 5 to 15 mph. Thursday Night Clear, with a low around 59. North wind 10 to 15 mph. Friday Sunny, with a high near 76/81. North wind 5 to 10 mph. Friday Night Clear, with a low around 63. Saturday Sunny, with a high near 77/82. Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 65. Sunday Sunny, with a high near 78/83. Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. Monday Mostly sunny, with a high near 77/82. Monday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 78/83. |
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Fire Danger Level on the Island set at High. |
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Out on the Big Drink… |
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Today N wind around 10 kt. Areas of smoke. Waves 1 ft or less. Thursday ENE wind around 10 kt becoming NNE in the afternoon. Sunny. Waves 1 ft or less. Friday NNE wind 5 to 10 kt becoming WNW in the afternoon. Sunny. Waves 1 ft or less. |
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Water Temperature: It’s 70 in Little Traverse Bay. The North Lake Michigan buoy southwest of Gull is reporting 70 with one to two foot seas.
Mid Lake Michigan photo at time shown. Provided by NWS |
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Photos from webcams at wvbi.net and mackinacbridge.org |
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🚨Canadian wildfire smoke has pushed air quality into the red zone across much of Northern Michigan — including Beaver Island. Our new air quality sensor shows conditions that could affect everyone’s health. Also today: 🩸 New details on the Walmart stabbing suspect point to decades of untreated mental illness and what some call failures in Michigan’s mental health system. 🏥 Munson Medical hits a milestone in lung cancer care with a groundbreaking single-anesthetic surgery. 💨 Relief from the humidity is on the way, even if the smoke lingers. 🧾 And a reminder: If you had storm damage from March’s ice storm, the deadline to apply now for low-interest SBA disaster loans is fast approaching. |
