A look at East Side Drive yesterday afternoon north of Hannigan Road (photo by Greg Doig)
First some news…
A blizzard dropped two feet of snow across Northern Michigan, with the heaviest snowfall north of M-32. Wind gusts reached 54 mph, causing significant snow drifts and comparisons to the 1978 blizzard.
Governor Whitmer declared a state of emergency for seven northern Michigan counties after a blizzard dropped 2-4 feet of snow and caused widespread damage. The declaration allows the state to respond faster and provides financial assistance for emergency response and infrastructure repair.
Roscommon, Delta, Alcona, Alpena, Missaukee, Ogemaw, and Wexford counties are the currently listed counties.
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
Wednesday
1:00pm BI Senior Advisory Committee BINGO at the BIC Center
5:00pm Time for Art at the BIC Center
Mosaic Tiles with Cindy Ricksgers
Paints, combined with recycled materials (and some elbow grease!) will
generate surprisingly beautiful results.
7:00pm Dark Sky Event: Venus & Young Moon
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 Natalia. 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: Brian Cole, Tyler Bousquet, Shyeanne Woodring and Hannah Middleton 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 1852 Henry Wells and William G. Fargo founded Wells Fargo to capitalize on the demand for cross-country shipping during the California Gold Rush. The company provided freight transportation, banking services, and loans to support California’s economy.
Our Merriam Webster Word of the is Jejune Jejune is a formal word that means “uninteresting” or “boring.” It is also used as a synonym of juvenile to describe things (such as behaviors, attitudes, etc.) that are immature, childish, or simplistic.
// The movie adaptation employed surreal visual effects to tell the story, making the plot, jejune in the novel, archetypal rather than artless.
Now, to wrap up for this Beaver Island Wednesday…
Here’s a thought for the day, “The best way out is always through.” – Robert Frost
On a lighter note… I once attended a safety meeting at work, They asked me, “what steps would you take in the event of a fire?” Really big ones was my reply, but that was the wrong answer.
That’s the W-V-B-I Community Calendar Report for this Beaver Island Wednesday, March 18th, 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 0.
Today
Snow showers likely, mainly between 2pm and 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Breezy, with a south wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
Tonight
A 30 percent chance of snow showers before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a steady temperature around 31. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
Thursday
Partly sunny, with a high near 36. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night
A 50 percent chance of snow showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph after midnight.
Friday
A chance of rain and snow showers before 11am, then a chance of rain showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 36. South wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Friday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 31.
Saturday
Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36.
Saturday Night
A chance of rain and snow showers between 8pm and 2am, then a chance of snow showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26.
Sunday
Partly sunny, with a high near 31.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 16.
Monday
Sunny, with a high near 28.
Monday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 21.
Tuesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 35.
Air Quality Index at 6:00 this morning was 3.
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: