The Island Where Horsepower Still Rules

by Stephen Starr BBC    Home to the Motor City of Detroit, where companies like Ford, General Motors and Chrysler originated, the US state of Michigan is often called “The car capital of the world.” But off the state’s northern coast in Lake Huron is a serene, scenic island that has been luring travelers for …

Regional Speech Patterns Travel With You

by Kevin Burton    One fine morning in a restaurant we don’t often go to, in a small town where you better not speed or they’ll fine you for sure (Derby, Kansas), a waitress referred to my wife and I as “yins.”    That is a contraction of “you ones” and it’s a regionalism from …

Judge Sued For Handcuffing Sleepy Teen

from CBS News and AP reports    The family of a Michigan teen is filing a lawsuit against Detroit Judge Kenneth King after he ordered her to be handcuffed for falling asleep in his courtroom.      The lawsuit comes after 15-year-old Eva Goodman was handcuffed while she was on a field trip with a …

Shelter Dog Adopts Assisted Living Facility

by John Carlisle Detroit Free Press BELLAIRE, Mich. − He’d had enough of being at the animal shelter, so Scout the dog climbed over one tall fence and then another, crossed a busy highway in the darkness, entered the automatic doors of a nursing home down the road, walked unnoticed into the lobby, hopped onto …

Do You Still Write Personal Letters?

by Kevin Burton    Here’s a shoutout to Angie in Michigan, Linda in England and to hundreds of others who made this post possible.    It’s World Letter Writing Day according to the National Day Calendar. I am still a practitioner of the art. Back in the day, I was an extreme practitioner.    A …

Latter-Day David Saves Sister With Slingshot

by Kevin Burton     So now you know two stories involving a slingshot. And two extraordinary stories they are.    Thirteen-year-old Owen Burns heard his sister screaming earlier this month, then looked out a window to see someone trying to kidnap her.    Burns grabbed what he had at hand, what he was familiar with, …

A Little Good News To Warm Your Heart

by Kevin Burton    A Michigan seventh-grader steered his schoolmates and himself out of danger by taking the wheel of an out-of-control school bus.    The story of Dillon Reeves’ quick thinking is one of two stories we present today from the Good News Network. There is abundant gloom and doom coming from news outlets. …

Oh Baby! Life Begins At Costco

by Kevin Burton    Is there more to Costco than meets the eye?    From UPI March 30, came a story about a Michigan couple who didn’t quite make it to the hospital when their baby was due.    “Emergency responders in Michigan said an impatient baby refused to wait for the hospital and ended …

Are My Teams Facing SEC Beatdowns?

by Kevin Burton    My two favorite college football teams, Ohio State and Kansas State, have had very good seasons and are set up for prominent bowl games.    That’s the good news.    The bad news is they are both cruising for a bruising perhaps, facing SEC powers Georgia and Alabama respectively.    Best …

Saginaw USA, Why Not Exactly?

by Kevin Burton    I think I’ve found America kids! This after considerable searching. You’ll never guess where.    Listen to this:    “The Saginaw Valley Rail Trail is one of Saginaw County’s gems, stretching 11 miles from St. Charles to Saginaw. It incorporates a number of natural features including: seven bridges over various rivers …