Spark Connections for Your Summer Interns

Every summer, Traverse City hosts talented college students who intern at local businesses, take seasonal jobs, and consider whether the Traverse City region might become their future home.

On Wednesday, June 3, from 5:30–7:30 p.m., the Traverse Area Human Resources Association (TAHRA) and Michigan’s Creative Coast are partnering to host a free networking event at the Hagerty Garage, designed to help these young professionals connect with our community and imagine their next chapter here.

The evening will include local stories from people who chose to build their lives and careers in northern Michigan, good music, catering by Las Lagunas, and Hagerty Garage’s incredible lineup of classic cars. If you have interns this summer, send them to this event as part of their program and help them plant the seeds for their lives and careers up north!

→ Investor news! TBA Credit Union (TBACU) has awarded four Invested In Scholarships to local students who demonstrate a strong commitment to volunteerism and continued learning.

→ Come out and celebrate the achievements of Traverse Connect’s member businesses with ribbon cuttings this month: Ride Leelanau Ebikes. Meet new businesses in town and celebrate with special deals, refreshments, networking, and more! 

→ Designed to help you build for growth, 20Fathoms’s Startup to Scaleup is especially valuable for founders, small business owners, and operators who are ready to move from scrappy startup mode into a more structured, scalable business.

→ A draft of the city’s 5-Year Parks & Recreation Master Plan Update is now available for public review and comment for the next 30 days, beginning May 1.

→ East Bay Township is pursuing partnership opportunities for its tax increment financing (TIF) plan, intended to revitalize the US-31 corridor. 

→ Rare Bird Brewpub is pushing toward a late June reopening after a fire forced the popular downtown restaurant to close.

→ Nine area credit unions have joined together to offer micro-grants to members impacted by the spring 2026 flooding.

→ Tom’s Food Markets is planning a significant redevelopment of its Fourteenth Street property, aiming to create a “market village” with four new tenants.

→ Drones are now the third most used technology by real estate agents, and local businesses are working with NMC’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Program to recruit drone pilots.

→ The Leland Chamber of Commerce may revert to a more business-focused organization while a new nonprofit assumes responsibility for beautification projects and more.

The Botanic Garden at Historic Barns Park held a ribbon cutting Monday for the redevelopment of Barn 206. The event capped off years of work on the community-supported project and marked the opening of a new space for events and community gatherings. Congratulations on this milestone!