Detroit, MI

On The Dot: Warming Michigan winters and snowmobile tourism

Published

1 year ago

December 3, 2023

On The Dot: Warming Michigan winters and snowmobile tourism

(CBS DETROIT) – “The last three winters at least have been really brutal,” says Jason Galanter, who owns the Frederic Inn.

“It’s warmer days throughout the dead of winter that can ruin the conditions for snowmobilers,” added Scott Meterko, owner of Bright Powersports in Lincoln Park.

Galanter and Meterko are two different sides of the same snowy coin.

Both love to snowmobile and have all their lives, but both also own businesses that are seeing a trend in the wrong direction regarding snowmobiling in the northern mitten.

CBS Detroit

“I remember riding down here. In the lower peninsula, the snow was gnarly. We got 36 inches in two days. But then within five days, we had grass again, like it literally was 55 and rainy,” says Galanter. “So, like, that’s what we’re having. This is huge for ups and downs of temperature, in which we’re getting the snow and losing the snow. So it’s really a bummer.”

Galanter’s Frederic Inn is a well-known stop for anyone riding the trails between Grayling and Gaylord. He’s grown up there and says he can see the difference year to year with how even a slightly milder winter can drastically affect businesses that rely on snowy tourism.

“Snowfall and temperature literally define how our business is during the winter,” he says.

The northern part of the mitten – the northwest snow belts – is a well-known area to visit for those in southern parts of the state if they don’t want to make a day-long trip to the Upper Peninsula. But it all depends on the snow.

“If not, you’re going up the U.P., which is what I have to do, which is like it’s a bummer for us locals, too,” Galanter said. “It’s like I grew up my whole life riding out of the house, riding anywhere I needed. It’s a lot cheaper than loading up the truck, loading up the trailer, adding another two hours from here to Paradise or Munising or even farther up at the top of Copper Harbor.”

And it isn’t just a trip farther north.

While researching this story, CBS News Detroit Ahmad Bajjey called seven different power sports dealers, for example, Rosenau in Dearborn. They directed Bajjey to Meterko, who is the only one still selling snowmobiles.

Meterko says he is seeing a change in the time of year for snowmobiling both as a business owner and a rider.

“So it’s the last decade or so, it’s been a little bit more of a struggle with the weather because what we start to see is we start to see a lot of this mid-winter warm up where, you know, in January and February you get these, you know, upper forties and fifties every day. So, you know, one of those days can entirely wipe out a week or two worth of snow in bass and, you know, setting the trails up,” says Meterko.

He says that while the sport still exists, there’s a worrying change happening that was slow at first and has picked up steam as the winters have warmed up north.

“The demographic itself has changed dramatically,” Meterko said.

He says the demographic of those buying snowmobiles has shifted from those in their 30s to those well into their 50s. He says those riders have the free time or funds to take the long trips farther north where a good snow base exists in the winter.

Yamaha is also seeing this change. The company announced that model year 2025 will be its last in the snowmobiling business internationally.

“There’s no doubt that the winters have gotten warmer over the last several decades. Not a surprise to anybody who’s lived up here for any length of time,” says Jim Keysor, Meteorologist In Charge at Gaylord’s National Weather Service office.

He says that the milder setups cause a lack of required snowpack for snowmobiles later into the winter than we saw 20 years ago.

“And what we’re seeing sort of more of a backloaded winter, I guess, is how I describe it. You know, January, February, March, are better,” says Keysor. “November, December, not as good. So certainly, an economic impact on that side.”

That doesn’t mean there isn’t any snow or even that snowfall is below average.

“Maybe surprising to people, we receive almost the same amount of snow that we’ve received really, looking back the last 50 or 75 years, the amount of snow has not really changed all that much,” says Keysor. “It may feel like it’s changed. What has changed, though, is that we’re melting more in between the snow events. We’re seeing more thaws and more rain events in between. And it feels like we’re sort of on this the seesaw.”

The heavy hits of snowfall are a documented sign of warming conditions. It may also be easier to melt because the physical make-up of the snow is more of that wet and heavy type of snowfall. Difficult to move, but faster to melt. This is something actively being researched.

“It’s interesting you mentioned that we’re actually partnering with the University of Michigan right now on a snow study on exactly that topic. And they’ve got some equipment here in our office, which we’re looking at sort of the density of snow that’s falling, and that’s only a couple of years old,” Keysor said.

Keysor says a big focus is on warmer winters, allowing lake-effect snow to continue to ramp up.

“The lake effect machine actually goes in a very robust fashion. So, a little bit warmer weather, a little warmer winter, does not shut off necessarily. So that is probably one reason why the Great Lakes is one of the only places in the entire country that has actually seen increases or at least steady to an increase in the amount of winter snowfall in almost anywhere in the lower 48,” Keysor said.

Saying the words “climate change” or talking about how there are signs of things changing brings a robust debate. On that part, Keysor gives a little background specifically for northern Michigan.

“This is not this is not a linear thing. And the climate always changes. So let’s just put a fact on the table. … Can we all agree that if I look through history, climate changes, it does,” says Keysor. “And we know that from ice cores samples. We know that from tree rings, we know that from a lot of different things. We know that. That is weather, and it’s why I got into weather, because it’s changing and volatile and extreme. That’s weather. Do I think humans influence it? In all likelihood, to some degree, yes. The bottom line is warmer winter weather is displaying a track record.”

This impacts snowmobile conditions in the northern mitten, leading many who used to frequent Grayling, Gaylord, Frederic, and Kalkaska to head north of the bridge seeking the perfect powder.

“For the better part of a couple of decades, you could count on December through March being your riding season. We’ve essentially lost December. If we lose another month, then that could be an issue,” says Meterko.

“If we have great snow, we are busy. I mean, we’re as busy as the 4th of July weekend. If we don’t get access, you’re going to keep going up north until you find it.”

While Yamaha is the first to get out of snowmobile sales, it’s important to note they were the lowest provider of recognized snowmobile sales. The next on the list is Arctic Cat, which both Galanter and Meterko believe only has a few years left unless it can keep up with the offerings provided by companies like Ski-Doo and Polaris.

Ahmad Bajjey

Ahmad Bajjey is a CBS Detroit meteorologist. Coming to CBS Detroit is a return home after growing up in Dearborn where his family still lives. He has spent the past 9 1/2 years in Flint as a meteorologist and most recently as chief meteorologist for WEYI and WSMH.

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Detroit, MI

Man wins Detroit Lions playoff tickets following bakery raffle:

Published

50 minutes ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Man wins Detroit Lions playoff tickets following bakery raffle:

(CBS DETROIT) – It’s a sweet way to celebrate your birthday: Free tickets to see the Detroit Lions.

“When they sent me a text message, this is a scam. I was like, ‘Don’t pick it up.’ Then they were like ‘If you don’t, we will go to the next person.’ I was like hold on,” Niko Monjarez said.

It’s a notification that almost seemed too good to be true. Niko just celebrated his birthday, and luckily, his aunt knew about Home Bakery’s raffle and was looking to score. The bakery recently went viral after creating a cake imitating the headstand celebration done by Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

The cake is pretty popular in the Rochester community. After St.Brown visited the business, he offered up two tickets for Saturday’s game.

“I thought I’d just get the receipt and stick it in his card, I probably won’t win. The love gift is, I spent two hours in the cold waiting just for him,” Monjarez’s aunt, Cyndi Wehrli, told CBS News Detroit.

The St. Brown cake is pretty popular in the Rochester community. After St.Brown visited the business, he offered up two tickets for Saturday’s playoff game.

Customers had to buy something from the bakery to participate. That decision alone was a game-changer.

“Normally, in January, I’m laying off, I’m cutting hours, some up to 25%. I don’t have to do that. Some of my people will look for a second job; they don’t have to do that,” said bakery owner Heather Tocco.

Tocco and her team decided on the headstand cake weeks ago. It took around 200 hours to complete and stands just over 6 feet tall.

“We actually took the image of him on his head and expanded it to the height that we wanted,” she said.

Wehrli says she is in disbelief that her nephew won. As a lifelong Lions fan, she’s proud to witness the team’s progress.

“I think it’s so amazing that St. Brown did what he did and used a local entity,” she said.

Monjarez isn’t surprised his aunt had the winning receipt. He says she does a lot of good in the world. With the win, he now gets the chance to surprise another family member.

“My dad’s been a lifetime Lions fan. This is historic, and to be able to go see that is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Monjarez said.

The cake display will stay up until the Super Bowl, while the Home Bakery team is planning to replace it with a Vince Lombardi display.

Terell Bailey

Originally from Chesapeake, Virginia, Terell has had a passion for broadcast journalism since childhood. Growing up, throughout his schooling he was known for doing the “morning announcements.” Fitting he became a TV journalist, right?

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Detroit, MI

Detroit woman's healthcare training program reaches 1-year milestone

Published

9 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Detroit woman's healthcare training program reaches 1-year milestone

Detroit businesswoman reaches milestone with healthcare training company

Annette Anderson is an example of determination and success – with Friday marking one day since she started 1st Step Healthcare Training.

FOX 2 – Annette Anderson was full of gratitude at Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony for 1st Step Healthcare Training.

“Today is my one-year anniversary and I’m here one year later,” she said.

The backstory:

Anderson’s brainchild is a boot camp for nursing assistants, offering training and getting them ready to enter the workforce.

“I felt like healthcare needed a change, and I wanted to make that change,” she said. “I wanted to get people in the field that were very empathetic and compassionate. And I also wanted to be an entrepreneur and own my own business, to change the lives of my family – to let them know, if she can do it, I can do it.”

For Anderson, it is a passion project.

“You never know when the time you might need someone to take care of you, you need people that are very passionate to take care of you,” she said. “I know that I would trust my students taking care of me because I trained them to that standard.”

Anderson got $20,000 from Motor City Match as seed money. A business like this needs classroom equipment, furnishing, marketing, and so much more.

Already more than 70 students have graduated from the program.

“Learning from someone who cares about healthcare and takes it as serious as everybody should take it,” said Rebecca Platt, a participant. “It’s good to know that there are people out there who still care and they want to retrain people to do the same thing for people who need it.”

“These are high-paying, well-regarded jobs for people to take care of their families and their communities,” said Kevin Johnson, Detroit Economic Growth Corporation.

According to projections from a report by Mercer on the future of the U.S. healthcare industry, Michigan is expected to face a projected shortage of 2,520 Certified Nursing Assistants by the year 2028.

Learn more about 1st Step Healthcare Training on its website, HERE.

The Source: Information for this report comes from Detroit’s Motor City Match program, the City of Detroit and Annette Anderson.

Small BusinessDetroitGood News Only

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Detroit, MI

Why company says parking spots were listed for $999 ahead of Detroit Lions game

Published

17 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Why company says parking spots were listed for 9 ahead of Detroit Lions game

DETROIT – A parking company says that parking rates at three lots near Ford Field in Downtown Detroit were mistakenly listed for $999 due to a tech issue.

On Jan. 16, 2025, the city of Detroit filed a complaint against Park-Rite, Inc., a company that operates 12 parking lots in Detroit, after rates at three lots near Ford Field were listed online for $999 ahead of the Detroit Lions game. Parking rates are regulated by the city, and rates at those particular lots are capped at $150.

As of Friday morning, the city had closed the three parking lots and posted orders to suspend operation at the sites. The lots were re-opened later Friday morning.

Here’s what was explained in court:

What Park Rite says happened

Oral arguments were heard during a status conference held before Judge David J. Allen on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025.

Attorney Michael Vogt spoke on behalf of Park Rite. He said that Park Rite uses Spot Hero, a digital parking marketplace, to market, advertise rates, and sell reservations online. He said the $999 price was mistakenly published to Spot Hero due to a tech issue and has since been corrected.

He said that the e-commerce manager for Park Rite, Miguel Nouhan, put the $999 number in the system as an “inventory control measure” within their online dashboard to let him know when there are overlapping events scheduled in Detroit. A change occurred in Spot Hero that caused the $999 rate in the internal dashboard to mistakenly be published on the public website without his knowledge.

“Spot Hero changed the way their logic works very recently and didn’t notify me to explain how it works so, basically, they’re telling me that even though on my side it says in caps ‘EVENT SOLD OUT INVENTORY 0′, if I put 999 in there, it’s going to automatically pull that number in when there’s an overlapping event,” Nouhan said. “For example, if there’s an event at the Music Hall and at Ford Field, it’s gonna take the highest of the two rates whether there’s inventory available or not.”

Nouhan said under oath that the $999 rate published on Spot Hero was not published intentionally. He said when he notice the issue he contacted his representative with Spot Hero and they corrected the issue.

Was anyone charged $999?

According to Vogt and Nouhan, no, nobody was charged $999.

Nouhan said a customer was “never ever” charged $999 for a parking space at one of those three lots. He said that if someone had booked at the $999 price, he would have noticed the next morning and “would immediately refund it.”

What happens next?

Judge David J. Allen said the court was satisfied that the $999 rate hadn’t been charged and that the company acknowledged it was a mistake and corrected the issue. He ordered that the lots be re-opened.

A special conference has been scheduled for 10 a.m. on Jan. 22, 2025. At this conference, they will decide if the case will be dismissed.

—> Previous report: 3 parking lots accused of charging up to $1,000 for Detroit Lions playoff parking