Some river outtakes...scroll down 2 blog entries to see lovely footage from the color trip, set to even more lovely music...


Staff writer Mark Ranzenberger tries out kayaking for the first time.


we saw so many many many turtles. what do turtles do in the winter?


Fun with depth of field...Jacob Wilkes and Mark Ranzenberger.


Hitchhiker. Lazy thing rode on the front of our canoe forever.

Central's homecoming game was great. It is always a nice problem to have as a photographer when you have too many good shots. Several shots are available for purchase on MyCapture.

Beautiful, peaceful, lovely Chippewa paddling...check out the changing colors set to the melodies of Bob Busch and Quinn Pelcher. Thanks to Jake from Buckley's for the boats and trip:)

On Friday football players from Central Michigan University visited the students of Renaissance Academy. It is the kind of story that is simple and light with the possibility of being a photo gold mine!

The only downfall of such an event, kids are trained to stare at a camera. The best pictures are the kind where everyone is doing what they would be if a photographer wasn't standing there. Here are 8 pictures from the day. They are also available for purchase through the Morning Sun website.
Photos for Purchase

It's a ...comet?

Some clever, observant folks at the MS office saw this falling from the sky to the west of the building Wednesday evening, just before sunset...

Anyone out there see a comet land in mid-michigan??

Today could be the warmest Sept. 24 in 87 years.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids are calling for a highs today in Mt. Pleasant of 88, 89 in Alma and 84 in Clare.
The record high temperature for Sept. 24 was set in 1920, when the temperature at Mt. Pleasant hit 86. If the forecasts come true, it will be a new record.
High pressure is moving east over north-central Ontario, and it's dragging warm, moist air from the south with it.
The heat won't last too long, however. A cold front is expected to move through tonight or tomorrow, bringing a good chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday night and Tuesday.
After the cooler air moves in, temperatures should return to near normal Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, with highs in the upper 60s and lows in the mid-40s.

Truckers from all over the state converged on Alma early Saturday morning -- in a fund-raiser for Special Olympics:



The World's Largest Truck Convoy this year aimed to attract more than 3,000 trucks to a variety of convoys scheduled across North America. In Michigan, convoys -- designed to raise money and attract attention to the athletic program for intellectually disabled people -- were scheduled in Grand Rapids, Lansing and mid-Michigan.
Trucks rolled up U.S. 127 from Blodgett Oil Co.'s Petticoat Junction restaurant to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe's Sagamok Shell.

An open letter to Mr. Lahde and the rest of the football pickers:

Go ahead. Laugh all you want. I DO have a firm grasp on the "basement."

It takes a lot of skill to consistently, week after week, year after year, pick the losers.

Oopsie, I thought that's what we're supposed to do. (giggle) I AM just a girl, I get sports all confused in my mind, what with all the makeup and boys in there...

Ok, I'll try to pick the winners from now on...

(Anyone out there wanna help a gal out? I'm dying this year, and so early...)

State police have identified the man shot and killed by Clare Police officers Tuesday night.
William C. Scozzari, a resident of the Lone Pine Motel on North McEwan Street, was pronounced dead at MidMichigan Medical Center-Clare after police attempted to question him in an investigation of shots being fired.

Scozzart came at the two officers with a knife and a hatchet, state police Lt. Christopher Stolicker said Wednesday.

Stolicker, commander of the Mt. Pleasant post, said an investigation into the shooting will likely take one to two weeks. Detective Sgt. Jerry Carter's report will be submitted to Clare County Prosecutor Norm Gage for review.

For many years, Pizza King enjoyed the enviable position of being the pizza seller closest to the Central Michigan University campus.
A devastating fire heavily damaged the long-time Mt. Pleasant business early Sunday morning. Besides Pizza King, the Hip-Hop Shop and The Store were damaged.
All these businesses near the corner of Mission and Preston occupy a special place in the Mission Strip business history.
The Store was the quintessential independent convenience store. If location is everything, The Store's location -- right next to campus on the busiest stretch of the busiest street in town -- was perfect.
It wasn't very big, and the place was packed with liquor, beer, cigarettes, munchies -- nothing out of the ordinary. But no CMU freshman could come to town, see the big white-and-red rotating sign that said "THE STORE," and not think that somehow, this said "college."
The Hip-Hop Shop had been through several incarnations. It was started by a pair of young entrepreneurs who had a desire to turn their love for rap culture into dollars.
And Pizza King. In the early 1970s, the only pizza delivery places in town were Pizza King and Pisanello's. Sunday nights, when the dorms didn't serve dinner, those two places pretty much fed the campus.
That's when Pizza King commissioned its radio jingle, the same one it's used ever since. Anyone who has listened to the radio in mid-Michigan knows it. People might not be able to recite the phone number, but they can sing it: "Call 7-7-2-9-4-3-5/The best pizza/at Pizza King."
Now just try to get that out of your head.

Shots from the Mid Michigan Civil War Muster on Saturday. Page Three on Sunday 16 had a nice three picture package, but there are more shots here. Visit the Photos of the Day section of Photos to Buy through The Morning Sun website to purchase any of them.

It was a neat event and I think more people need to know about it. There is still time, it is going on Sunday as well, so if you are reading this on Sunday...go now, these pictures will be here for awhile.

They ran in Black and White in the paper, which I think looks awesome, the ones here and for purchase are in color.

Sometimes the task of a newspaper photographer is to zip in, get a shot and zip out again. Often we are pressed for time, but sometimes there is time to play and get photos that you can put up on a blog...or even...for sale. Visit the Sports section of Photos to Buy through The Morning Sun website.
All the shots here are for sale there, so please make me look good and buy some of the shots. :D

Let's break it down by school.

Beal City



























Pine River






















Coleman



















Montabella