Michigan Energy Fair set for June in Novi
TRAVERSE CITY -- The annual Michigan Energy Fair sponsored by the Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association will be held at the Rock Financial Showplace in Novi from June 25 to 27.
It will be the event's fifth year; last year was held at the Manistee County Fairgrounds in Onekama. Visit www.glrea.org for more information.
NMC building seminar is slated
TRAVERSE CITY -- A one-week intensive course at the local community college is designed for builders, home inspectors, real estate professionals and others.
Northwestern Michigan College will offer a class to teach the "house-as-a-system" approach to building. The seminar will be April 5-9 from 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. each day.
The course offers optional Building Performance Institute certification, both written and field tests. Topics to be covered include BPI standards, energy consumption and analysis, blower door technology, heat-loss calculations, air sealing, insulation and building fundamentals.
The course costs $699 and includes materials. Optional BPI certification testing costs $495.
Call NMC Extended Education at 995-1700 for more information or visit www.nmc.edu/energy.
Golden Fowler celebrates 50 years
TRAVERSE CITY -- Golden Fowler Home Furnishings will celebrate 50 years of business at its location at 1137 S. Garfield Ave. in April.
The furniture store was opened April 1, 1960, by founders "Nat" Golden and Austin Fowler offering home furnishings and accessories.
The business was sold in 1987 to longtime employees Ron LaForest and John Breithaupt, who transformed the business with a more contemporary and innovative showroom including the Rowe Showplace where customers could view a fabric application projected on a full-size sofa.
The store was purchased in July 2008 by 18-year employee and Traverse City native Mike Mahn, while LaForest and Breithaupt continue to serve in an advisory capacity. The store currently employs 16 workers and features a 27,000-square-foot showroom.
"I'm extremely proud to lead this company across the half-century threshold," Mahn said. "This store's longevity is proof that a sound business model and reputation for community involvement and bend-over-backwards customer service really pay off."
Commercial shipping starts early in Minn.
DULUTH, Minn.-- The commercial shipping season is getting under way early in the Twin Ports.
The Duluth Seaway Port Authority said the season would commence just after midnight Saturday when the James R. Barker was to depart from Superior, Wis., with about 65,000 tons of coal for power plants in Michigan.
The Soo Locks open at 7 a.m. today. The Army Corps of Engineers moved up the date by four days because of favorable ice conditions and demand on the lower Great Lakes for iron ore and coal. At least six vessels should be waiting in the St. Mary's River for the locks to let them into Lake Superior.
The port authority expects the Twin Ports' first inbound lake vessel to arrive Monday or Tuesday.
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