Labor day weekend is always busy for the U.S. Coast Guard in Traverse City. This year it’s even busier, as a troop heads South.

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Andrew Sheffer is days away from his first day of high school and he’s excited and nervous. Like Andrew, hundreds of ninth-graders will enter Traverse City’s West and Central high schools Tuesday for the first day of classes. It is the first time freshmen will attend the high schools since at least the 1950s.

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Staff members this week are preparing to welcome students back to Traverse City’s two main high schools, both of which expect to see student populations swell by at least 300.

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Another summer has passed in a blur — and not because of all the activity I crammed into it. No, I sat this summer out, sidelined by one thing or another, as the boat sat dry on its trailer, the bicycles and kayaks hung dusty from their hooks in the garage. It began with unexpected surgery.

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Mavis Miller recently cleaned her house and when she came upon her fireplace mantle, she found herself awash in memories.

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Hunters, game ranch operators, farmers who raise and sell bait — all are reeling amid the discovery of a deadly deer disease in whitetail-rich Michigan.

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It’s the scenario Michigan wildlife and agriculture officials feared for years — an occurrence of a deadly, highly contagious disease that may threaten the state’s wild deer herd. Now the scramble begins to locate the source of chronic wasting disease here and prevent it from reaching outbreak proportions.

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Gov. Jennifer Granholm grabbed center stage at the Democratic National Convention by touting Michigan as a jobs creation leader powered by an emphasis on alternative energy development. Meanwhile, a small group scrambled to secure private financing to manufacture a job-generating, cutting-edge wind turbine in Manistee, a whirlwind effort forced upon them because a state agency quashed their request for a $2 million start-up loan.

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The state’s 21st Century Jobs Fund funnels tens of millions of public dollars to private companies, universities and research groups for high-tech initiatives to help diversify Michigan’s economy. But some in northern Michigan question whether the program tilts too heavily in favor of southeast Michigan companies and research facilities.

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A half-dozen bus stops in Grand Traverse and Leelanau counties now are fitted with shelters after months of delays.

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