November 5, 2024

Yesterday evening, The Presidential Prayer Team (independent 501(c)(3) entity) issued a “Prayer Alert” regarding the Texas elementary school shooting at Uvalde:

“As the Lord leads, pray with us …

For first responders and hospital officials as they treat and care for the shooting victims.
For God’s comfort for the loved ones of those who perished in the elementary school shooting.
For the president and his administration to seek God’s heart as they work to prevent violence.

Resurrection Sunday— In anticipation of this day, Reverend Brett Younger of Plymouth Church in Brooklyn New York recently wrote, "... people in the United States will wish Easter felt like it did three years ago. They will put on new shoes and wonder if .... On Easter Sunday, people in…

– April 17, 2022
via Center for Faith and Culture (January 10, 2022)— "How Christians Can Prepare for the US Supreme Court's Monumental Abortion Ruling," by Jessica Prol Smith, fifteen-year public policy write-in Cumberland, Maryland: "Know your audience and seek to win hearts, not just minds .... Christians believe that every image-bearer — born…

– June 26, 2022
via Lifeway Research (September 1, 2021)— "Most Americans Know and Trust Their Neighbors," by Aaron Earls: Despite quarantines and social distancing keeping people in their homes during the pandemic, Americans still say they know their neighbors. Almost 7 in 10 U.S. adults (68%) say they trust the people who live in…

– January 17, 2022
via Lifeway Research (April 5, 2021)— "Americans Most Want to Avoid Fear and Anxiety, Gain Freedom and Safety," by Aaron Earls: After what was a scary year for many, more Americans say they want to avoid fear. According to a study from Lifeway Research, when asked which feeling they seek to…

– January 2, 2022
re United States Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization— On May 3, 2022, Heather Riggleman addressed the question "What Does the Bible Say about Abortion?" on Christianity website. "Every year, over three million women ... in the US will face an unplanned pregnancy and of those pregnancies,…

– June 24, 2022
President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 this morning — via The White House, Statement from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. As always and particularly in the face of this affliction, we pray for The President of the United States, his loved ones, and those in whose care he has been…

– July 21, 2022
via Lifeway Research (April 6, 2021)— "Americans' Views of Life's Meaning and Purpose Are Changing," by Aaron Earls: As Americans attempt to move past the life-altering effects of 2020, their perspective is shifting on some of the most significant questions facing humanity. [Compared] to a decade ago, U.S. adults today are…

– January 9, 2022
via Samaritan's Purse (March 28, 2022)— "Franklin Graham Meets with Samaritan's Purse Team in Ukraine": Work continues as fighting rages in eastern Europe. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, traveled to Ukraine this past weekend to meet with our teams who have been at work there since the early stages…

– April 3, 2022
via Lifeway Research (February 22, 2022)— "Most Open to Spiritual Conversations, Few Christians Speaking," by Aaron Earls: Americans are curious about the religious devotion of others and are willing to discuss the topic, but most say they rarely have conversations about faith with their Christian friends .... Half of Americans (51%)…

– March 20, 2022

Rentschler Farm barn after March snowfall

Morning Is Best Time to Photograph the Rentchler Farm Barn in March

March 2, 2018

Historic Rentschler Farm Museum is a popular attraction for the sampling it provides of rural life in Michigan during The Great Depression. Easily visible from Michigan Avenue, its impressive red barn structure makes a great focus for photographs — even for those of us who don’t specialize in the subject category. [1] The best start for ideal daylight photography is typically between sunrise and mid-morning, any time of year. As lighting moves into the lunch hour ....

Have you ever stopped to think about how “tomorrow” is going to get here, what it will look like, who’s driving it?

January 7, 2019

From the Editor— This past Saturday, I was up at the high school with our Singularity Team, waiting for the latest FIRST Robotics Competition big reveal. A couple dozen students with a handful of adult mentors in one room: Do they hold the keys to our collective future? [1,2,3,4] In the late 1990s when my partner and I were working with a business collective in Pittsburgh, along with Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University, on the ....

I’ve found it best to cover “news” as a journalist who seasons his craft with a healthy dollop of “historian” mindset

February 3, 2020

From the Editor— In his marvelous book James Bond: The Man and His World, Henry Chancellor referenced an often cited story of 007 creator Ian Fleming as young reporter with Reuters on assignment to cover the Metropolitan-Vickers trial in the Soviet Union. [1-4] “As the events unfolded,” Mr Chancellor wrote, “Fleming took great pleasure in competing with other journalists to get his copy home first Though he was certainly the most inexperienced among them, he ....

Saline Boy Scouts Are on Mackinac Island Today Serving in Governor’s Honor Troop

June 27, 2011

Two days ago, several Boy Scouts from Saline Troop 446 attached to a blended Unit in Port Huron headed to Mackinaw City and marched off for weeklong service on Mackinac Island. [1] They’ll be there all this week as part of the “Governor’s Honor Guard,” which was started in 1929. The Mackinac Island Insider Tips website nicely summarizes this tour of duty. [2,3] These dedicated troops serve as guides at Fort Mackinac and State Park ....

Some twenty months and a pandemic later, the Pure Michigan Conference on Tourism returned as a more measured 2021 event

November 5, 2021

Pure Michigan Governor’s Conference on Tourism returned to its annual in-person rotation among venues this week — which in 2021 meant the City of Detroit and our own Motor City Casino Hotel. [1-4] As a reflection of official state position on visitor attraction, organizer requirements regarding COVID-19 protocols were noteworthy. Proof of vaccination or “negative COVID test 72 hours before the conference” was required for attendance. Additionally, masks were “required, regardless of vaccination status in all indoor ....