Holiday Best of the Net 12/16-12/22

A Flight To The North Pole Brings Joy

Forty children and their parents received an early Christmas gift this year by taking a "flight" to the North Pole. The children, all patients at Detroit area hospitals, boarded a Delta Boeing 757 which taxied around runways before "landing" at the airport's Westin Hotel. The Detroit News reports that the hotel was decorated to look like the North Pole and that each child met Santa. The children received gift bags and of course were able to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas.

Several businesses and individuals contributed time and money to make it possible for the children and their parents to have a day of happiness and wonder without worrying about the next surgery or chemotherapy treatment.

Michigan Among the Best Places To Ski

The Huffington Post includes two Michigan skiing destinations in its list of best places to ski east of the Rocky Mountains. The article acknowledges that the best skiing in this country occurs out west, but it praises the U.P.'s Mount Bohemia, even calling it one of the top ten undiscovered ski locations in the world.

Boyne Mountain and Boyne Highlands also make the list. The Huffington Post highlights Boyne's kid-friendly activities as well as the ease of taking a day trip from the slopes to Traverse City.

If You Build It, They Will Come

Iowa has its field of dreams, but Michigan now has its own rink of dreams. If you love hockey and want to see the game played outdoors, as it originally was played, you should consider a visit to Hillsdale, Michigan. SB Nation uncovered a homemade hockey rink, including boards from Michigan State University's old rink, in this small Michigan town.

The owners built the rink in their backyard themselves and allow visitors to play on the ice. If you do plan a trip to the rink, please read the SB Nation article for the best way to be respectful of the owners during your visit.

Seven Reasons To Move To Detroit

Hello Innovation's blog features a great article about a former Detroiter who moved back to the city. Although the author, Ashley Venturini, loved living in California, she lists seven reasons why moving to Detroit was a good decision. All seven reasons are true, but especially numbers one, two and four.

2014 Michigan Startup Events

If you are an entrepreneur looking to start a business in Michigan, there are many opportunities to gain support and ideas to help you build your dream. Michipreneur lists ten events in 2014 throughout the state for the startup-minded here. The events include prize competitions, idea sharing and networking opportunities.

Lansing Helps Bullied Kids

The Lansing State Journal reports that the Michigan legislature recently passed a bill that will create a tip line for children to report bullying and threats of violence within their schools. The program, called OK 2 Say, includes a $4.5 million appropriation and will allow students to call, text or email tips. The tips will be forwarded directly to local police and school districts and hopefully will deter violent acts within Michigan schools.

Big News From GM

Michigan's rebounding economy received good news from General Motors according to MLive. GM is investing nearly $1.3 billion in Michigan, Indiana and Ohio manufacturing facilities, with assembly plant upgrades in Detroit, Flint, Hamtramck and Romulus. GM will invest more than half of the $1.3 billion in the Michigan plants with nearly $600 million going to the Flint plant alone.

Best of the Net 12/9-12/15

Grand Rapids Is Not Lonely At The Top

Michigan has always styled itself as a tourist destination with its abundance of outdoor activities, but its cities are now being recognized as vacation hot spots. Travel website Lonely Planet recently named Grand Rapids its number one travel destination in the U.S. for 2014. 

Lonely Planet extols Grand Rapids for its craft brewing scene, Meijer Gardens, the Grand Rapids Art Museum and the ArtPrize art competition. The travel website also mentions the city's proximity to Lake Michigan's Gold Coast and notes that this shoreline may rival Hawaii's and Southern California's coasts.

Detroit Gets Love From Out-Of-Towners

Grand Rapids is not the only Michigan city receiving praise from travel experts. Fodor's placed Detroit on its Go List for 2014. Fodor's applauds Detroit's newer cultural and design-savvy businesses, emerging culinary scene and old standards like the Detroit Institute of Arts and Eastern Market.

The Chicago Tribune praises Detroit and its suburbs for its many breweries. Writer Kevin Revolinski features many of the microbreweries in Metro Detroit and concludes that the "craft beer scene alone is reason enough to visit Detroit."

Great Idea Gives Books To Michigan Kids

The Petoskey News features the Great Start Collaborative, a nonprofit that helps get used books into the hands of Northern Michigan children. The article shows how a few people with good intentions and a great idea can make a difference. The program started with a total of 500 books and now gives 1,000 books per month to children.

Michigan Artists Give Back

The Detroit Free Press reports that several Michigan musicians have recorded a Christmas album to help abused, abandon and neglected Michigan children. The album, "A Michigan Christmas of Hope," benefits Holy Cross Children's Services and features music by artists such as Jeff Daniels and the Silver Bullet Band. To purchase the CD, a minimum donation of $10 can be made here.

Lawrence Tech Building In Detroit

Crain's Detroit Business reports that Lawrence Technological University is breaking ground on a new design center in Midtown. The new building at Woodward Avenue and Willis Street will house three Lawrence Tech College of Architecture and Design programs as well as programs that are centered on community-based projects for Detroit.

The building also will house Ann Arbor-based Quinn Evans Architects, Inc., Invest Detroit and possibly a restaurant.

Grand Rapids Is Planting Trees

Grand Rapids is becoming greener according to Mlive. The city is working towards a goal of having a tree canopy over 40 percent of its land. The city recently received a significant financial contribution to help realize this goal. The Grand Rapids Community Foundation has donated $189,200 to the Friends of Grand Rapids Parks to help promote tree planting on private property.

Young Detroiter Inspires

In July, Governor Rick Snyder named Travis McClendon Michigan's Youth Volunteer of the Year. Detroit 2020 now has named McClendon its Person of the week. The Detroit Loyola High School student was born without forearms, yet he is living his young life by caring for those less fortunate than him.

He has performed hundreds of hours of community service during the past year through a variety of organizations. To read the Detroit 2020 article and to see a brief video about McClendon, click here.

Muskegon Hotels Expect A Strong 2014

2013 was a flat year for Muskegon area hotels, but they are expecting a boom for fiscal year 2014. According to the Grand Rapids Business Journal, Muskegon hotel owners expect increased occupancy rates due to several events that are expected to draw more visitors to the area this year.

Among the events mentioned in the article are the Bassmaster fishing tournament, the Bike Time motorcycle convention and the Michigan State Open Championships for bowling.

'Tis the Season to Visit Detroit

Michigan Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument

Much of the good press about Detroit focuses on the redevelopment of Midtown and Downtown. During my trip to Detroit in October, we mostly spent time in the city before dark, except for one night in Corktown. I wanted to see more of Detroit at night during my visit in late November, so my wife and I planned to dine in Midtown before heading Downtown to see Campus Martius in its holiday glory.

We decided to have dinner at the Majestic Cafe after reading several good reviews online. The restaurant is part of a larger entertainment complex on Woodward Avenue just south of the Detroit Institute of Arts near the Detroit Medical Center. The other businesses within the complex are two music venues, the Magic Stick and Majestic Theatre, the Garden Bowl, Sgt. Pepperoni's Pizzeria and the Alley Deck, a rooftop deck that is open during the warmer months.

For a Friday night at 7:00, it was kind of quiet in this section of Midtown. I was hoping to see more people roaming the streets, but it was the day after Thanksgiving and two nights after the biggest bar night of the year, plus it was cold outside. One benefit of a slow night was that we found a metered spot right outside of the restaurant.

The Majestic Cafe

The comfortable interior of the Majestic Cafe includes brick-lined walls and hardwood floors. A bar sits at one end of the restaurant with a small stage for live music at the other end. The menu includes a wide variety of items, including traditional Southern dishes, Mexican dishes, sandwiches and pizzas. Like many Detroit restaurants, the Majestic Cafe features a decent selection of Michigan beers.

I ordered a Round Barn Oronoko Cocoa Stout. I had never tried any beers from Baroda, Michigan's Round Barn Brewery before. The Cocoa Stout is a good beer, but as a huge fan of stouts, I found it to be a little sweet for my taste. Perhaps it would have gone better with dessert.

Best of the Net 11/25-12/8

Hope For Young Detroit Engineers

Focus: Hope is a nonprofit that has battled "hunger, economic disparity, inadequate education, and racial divisiveness" in Detroit since 1968. One of their many education programs is the Center for Advanced Technologies (CAT). CAT allows students to earn a salary while obtaining an engineering degree tuition-free from Lawrence Technological University, Wayne State University, University of Detroit Mercy or the University of Michigan.

Management consulting firm Principia LLC's blog recently highlighted the CAT program's partnership with the University of Michigan College of Engineering. Since 2007, two Detroit students have obtained Nuclear Engineering Bachelors degrees and another obtained a Bachelors in Material Science while four students are continuing their engineering studies.

U.P. Love

Author and Michigan native Jim Harrison wrote what amounts to a love letter to the Upper Peninsula for The New York Times. The piece includes a stunning slideshow of photos, Harrison's favorite locations in the U.P. and some of his favorite childhood vacation memories. Reading Harrison's review of the U.P. makes me want to load up the car and make a trek over the Mackinac Bridge.

Kids Learn About Entrepreneurship

Michigan's support for entrepreneurs and startups is not limited to adults. Michigan's Kidpreneur offers classes, workshops and events to children aged 9 to 13 about entrepreneurship and technology. Michipreneur reports that Kidpreneur recently finished its first pilot program in Northville and Novi with 10 children finishing the nine-week program and another 40 children completing workshops.

Starting in January, the program will expand to Downtown Detroit with a possible expansion to Ann Arbor in the future.

The Real Slim Shady Stands Up

Wolverine Human Services is a Michigan-based charity that provides support to abused, neglected and delinquent children. Michigan's own Eminem agreed to match up to $100,000 for donations made to the charity on Tuesday, December 3, according to MLive. Wolverine Human Services supports youth and families throughout 38 Michigan counties with substance abuse, residential treatment and independent living programs.

Ultimately, the donations did not reach the charity's goal of $100,000, but it did raise $72,174 that Eminem's Marshall Mathers Foundation will match.

W.A.R. Against Human Trafficking

The Rapidian reports that Wyoming-based charity Women at Risk International (W.A.R. Int'l) assists in the fight against human trafficking in all 50 states and more than 30 countries. One of the ways W.A.R. raises money is through its two boutiques in Rockford and Wyoming, Michigan. The boutiques sell items made by women who have been assisted by W.A.R. The items include ornaments, jewelry, purses, books and fair-trade coffee and the proceeds go back to the organization's efforts to prevent trafficking and to the women who create the products.

All For Detroit

Detroit nonprofit All Four One strives to create more college opportunities for Detroit students. Detroit Unspun featured the nonprofit's work in Detroit and its recent roundtable discussion for 50 high school students. Wayne State University hosted the discussion about college opportunities and preparedness for college life. The article also focuses on All Four One founder and Detroit native, Ishmail Terry, and his initial struggles in college and how he eventually found success.

A Superior Youth Program

Michigan State University Extension educator Joan Vinette developed the Life of Lake Superior Youth Program 13 years ago to give Upper Peninsula children in Alger County a sense of appreciation for the largest great lake. Michigan Nightlight reports that the program gives children aged 9 to 14, and their parents and grandparents, the "opportunity to explore their community and appreciate local arts, natural resources, history, culture, recreation, and careers relevant to those who live in proximity to the lake's shoreline."

The program does not charge fees for children to attend, and it runs for four days each July with an average of 75 children participating. The program also teaches children and families to live healthier lives by providing nutritional meals as well as an introduction to the many outdoor activities available in the U.P.

Wayne State Grad Starts From Scratch

Michigan is full of entrepreneurial-minded individuals who are working to get their businesses off the ground. Crain’s Detroit Business highlights one entrepreneur, Rakesh Katragadda, who started his business with a credit card and the help of government and nonprofit economic development funds. Katragadda’s company, Ann Arbor-based AMF-Nano Corp., makes wireless environmental sensors to “monitor water and air quality, temperature, humidity, soil quality and other conditions.”

This inspirational story shows how a good idea, some risks and support from various sources can lead to a successful business.  Katragadda, a Wayne State alum, projects revenue of $500,000 to $1 million next year and up to $12 million in three to four years.

Michigan State Smells Roses

Michigan State University's football team clinched its first Rose Bowl in 26 years with a huge upset of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten Championship game this past weekend. Do not tell the Spartans it was an upset though. They played old school line-‘em-up-and-knock-‘em-down football on Saturday night with dominating performances by their offensive line and defense. With their 34-24 victory over the Buckeyes, the Spartans finished a season in which they beat every Big 10 opponent by 10 points or more.

This Michigan fan has been impressed by their defense all year and would love to see how they would measure up against Florida State or Auburn. Instead, they will play a Stanford team in the Rose Bowl that also likes to play power football. 

Congratulations to Coach Dantonio and his Spartans on an almost perfect season. Good luck in the Rose Bowl!

Parade Day in Grosse Pointe

Detroit Fire Department Clown Truck

When most people think of Thanksgiving in Detroit, they probably think of the Detroit Thanksgiving Day Parade (the second oldest in the country), the Detroit Lions Thanksgiving game, or even the Turkey Trot downtown. However, there are multiple smaller parades and events throughout the Detroit area and Michigan each Thanksgiving weekend for people who cannot make it into Detroit on Thursday morning.

I would have liked to attend Detroit’s parade this year, but I had traveled into town on Wednesday and did not feel like dragging my two young daughters out of bed and into the city to deal with the large crowds on Thursday morning. Instead, my wife and I accepted an invitation to the Grosse Pointe Santa Claus Parade from friends who moved to Grosse Pointe Park last year.

The Grosse Pointe parade is held the day after Thanksgiving on Kercheval Avenue. This was my first time seeing the Santa Claus Parade. Although it may not have giant balloons or nearly as many floats as Detroit’s parade, it was really easy to find a spot along the parade route about 15 minutes before it started.

Front row seats for Grosse Pointe's parade

The Grosse Pointe parade was entertaining though, especially for my five year old daughter. She loved being right next to the parade route. The parade featured several of the Detroit parade's attractions with the Detroit Fire Department’s Clowns, the Detroit Mounted Police and a few of the Big Heads (paper mache heads), including famous Michiganders Tom Selleck, Bo Schembechler and Bob Seger. The parade also included several Detroit area high school marching bands, the Detroit Boat Club's rowers, a few floats, bagpipers and, of course, Santa. 

The parade was a success with our five year old, and she left with a smile on her face after the parade was over. After briefly warming up at our friend’s house, we drove down Kercheval to Red Crown, a restaurant housed in a converted gas station. The main dining area is in the old garage bay, which includes actual garage doors.

The restaurant’s menu focuses on comfort food with a lot of barbecue and Southern food. Red Crown’s drink menu includes handcrafted cocktails, a decent wine list that includes a few Michigan wines and a beer list full of Michigan craft beers.

My beer connoisseur friend recommended a few Michigan beers on the menu, and I chose one of his recommendations, the Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA, to drink. This was the first time I tried a beer from Marshall-based Dark Horse Brewing. It was refreshing and did not have the bitter aftertaste that some IPAs leave in my mouth. Overall, the Crooked Tree IPA is a great beer, and I would definitely order it again.

For lunch I ordered the Poor #3, a pulled pork sandwich. Living in Virginia, I have a lot of decent Southern cooking and barbecue options, plus I have tried and absolutelylove Slows Barbecue in Detroit. I had reservations about ordering a pulled pork sandwich in Grosse Pointe, which is not exactly known as a barbecue mecca.

Red Crown convinced this skeptic that Grosse Pointe can make a good pulled pork sandwich. My biggest gripe with pulled pork is that it often is too dried out, almost requiring me to drench it in barbecue sauce to make it edible. The Poor #3’s pork was juicy and flavorful with an applewood smoked taste complimented by salsa verde that gave the sandwich a little bit of a kick. 

Our party included three girls aged 3, 5 and 6. My daughter, the five-year old, ordered the kids mac and cheese and loved it. At the end of the meal, the waitress “accidentally” asked in a loud enough voice for the girls to hear whether anyone wanted dessert. Instead of risking a mutiny, we ordered one piece of chocolate cake for the girls to share.

The waitress brought out a gigantic slice of triple layer chocolate mousse bumpy cake. All four adults took one or two small bites and remarked on how rich and delicious the cake was. We then went back to our conversation. After a few minutes, I exclaimed, "Oh my God!" when I glanced towards the girls and saw THIS!

And POOF! It was gone!

I believe the three girls must have set some kind of speed record for consuming a chocolate cake of that size. Apparently, the cake was a hit with the kids.

I would highly recommend Red Crown if you are looking for good comfort food and a neighborhood restaurant feel. Everyone at my table walked away happy, and the girls walked away hopped up on sugar.