After giving his acceptance speech. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., waves to the crowd as he exits the podium at Invesco Field in Denver during the final day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
(AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez - Rocky Mountain News)

By JOHN K. HARTMAN
Sun Special Correspondent

DENVER-- The first bus to Invesco Field at Mile High, the scene of Barack Obama's acceptance speech, was full and crowded. At 1:30 we left the holels in Broomfield. We arrived 45 minutes later at the stadium parking to summer heat and long lines. It took an hour to get through security and nearly two hours start to finish to find a seat 10 rows in front of the giant scoreboard in the south end zone of the football stadium.
The crowd was building and I wondered if Obama could fill the 76,000 seat stadium. It turned out yes and no. Because thousands were seated on the field, the crowd was estimated at 85,000, but there were several thousand seats empty in the stands. None around me.

Obama and his family celebrate on stage after Obama delivered his speech.
(AP Photo/The Rocky Mountain News, Darin McGregor)

The names of Denver Bronco greats are posted around the stadium. It reminded me of taking my father, the late Harvey H. Hartman, a big Bronco fan and a longtime Colorado resident, to the last game in the old Mile High Stadium. It was nearly a decade ago. As my father taught me to treat all persons equally and to be rid of all manner of prejudices, I felt he would be proud that this event featuring the first black major party presidential nominee was being held in Denver and that I was in attendance.

***

Obama continued to cater to the young by inviting folks to text message their names and states and had a competition to see which state had the most hits. It also gathered a list of supporters and attendees for future campaign purposes.

***

Obama's catch phrase "yes, we can," seemed to be an evolved version of Black civil right leader Jesse Jackson's "I am somebody."

Unidentified people watch as Obama delivers his speech.
(AP Photo/The Rocky Mountain News, Barry Guiterrez)

Sheryl Crow got the crowd rocking singing about change, winding roads and sunny days. Many folks sang along.

***

www.BarackObama.com was plastered throughout the stadium. I guess if one is planning to run for president some day, it would be wise to reserve one's name as a domain name.

Obama, Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and their families celebrate onstage after Obama's acceptance speech.
(AP Photo/Preston Gannaway/Rocky Mountain News)

I tuned to NPR for a while. One radio reporter found it interesting that attendees were eating stadium food like nachos and hot dogs. Another commented on the beautiful sunset on the perfectly clear day in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains. An third praised the Democrats for magnificent stagecraft, a la a football bowl game. A black woman told a reporter the Obama would be a good role model for black children. I think that is why Oprah Winfrey risked her fame endorsing Obama. She believed it would be good for the black community from a sociological perspective.

Colorado Delegate Vivian Stovall of Denver reacts as Obama speaks on the final night of the Democratic National Convention.
(AP Photo/Cyrus McCrimmon - The Denver Post)

In front of me, a young black man gets his picture taken holding a U.S. flag and a "Change" sign. The pride that blacks feel in Obama was palpable. In the basement press area after the event, a young black male photographer threw off his veil of objectivity and walked out of the building holding a change sign aloft. It was a magical day for black Americans, and for all Americans who believe that folks should be judged by their character and accomplishments, not by the color of their skin.

***

Somewhere, up there, Harvey H. Hartman is smiling.

(John C. Hartman is a Central Michigan University journalism professor who is blogging about the Democratic National Convention for the Morning Sun.)
(Editor's note: Hartman sent this early Friday, but technical difficulties prevented us from posting it until Sunday. Jack made his deadline.)

By JOHN K. HARTMAN
Sun Special Correspondent

DENVER - I was able to link up through the online Blackboard system with 29 of my students in journalism issues class, that I ordinarily would have been teaching in person on Wednesday nights at CMU. We text-chatted about the media coverage of the convention. I reminded them of their assignments for next Wednesday night. One of them figured out how to use the audio feature and started talking to the class. I asked him to stop. The college students are just so far ahead of me from a technological perspective. (But I like to believe I can still out-think them!)

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., left, speaks with Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., as he holds his grandson Hunter at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Wednesday. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

On the bus after the convention session Wednesday night, the driver asked me if it was really true that Barack Obama came out on the stage to join Joe Biden after the latter’s speech. Some passengers were doubting the driver. I said it was true. A few minutes later I called up the picture of Obama and Biden together via cnn.com on my Blackberry. The bus driver passed it around to the doubters with enthusiasm. I guess I am closer to state of the art technology ability on that front.

***

Delegates carry placards and pole signs onto the bus and keep them as souvenirs. A fresh set is issued the next night.

***

I boarded a cab to take me back to the Pepsi Center from a restaurant in downtown Denver, but the driver could only get three blocks before he encountered barricades. Cost me $5. Should have walked.

***

Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s husband, Dan Mulhern, was master of ceremonies for the Thursday morning Michigan delegation breakfast. He said the Democrats must have “message discipline” in order to win in November. Speakers included Gov. Phil Bredensen of Tennessee, Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, U.S. Rep John Dingell and his wife, Debbie Dingell.
The congressmen told the crowd not to send him to Washington by himself and added, “Things that bring us together are far more than things that divide us.”
Mrs. Dingell echoed Mulhern, “We must stop letting other people (Republicans) define us (Democrats).”

***

Granholm headlined Thursday’s press briefing. She said President Bush would not help manufacturing and would not enforce trade agreements (that have hurt Michigan) and that John McCain would be “more of the same.”

***

State chairman Mark Brewer answered a question directed at Granholm about the effect of the controversy over the possible removal of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
He said the matter, which Granholm could resolve by removing the mayor as early as next week, would not be a factor. Other political observers are no so confident because if substantial numbers of Detroit’s largely black population become unhappy and stay home Nov. 4, it would affect Obama’s chances of carrying Michigan.

***

Six of my students emailed questions for Granholm. I gave them to her aide and asked for responses. Tiffany Brown, her communications assistant, promised answers.

***

A former student of mine at CMU from a decade ago, Jason Ellenburg, is making it very big in politics. He is managing the re-election campaign of Sen. Carl Levin. We got reacquainted Thursday morning.

***

The driver, a middle-aged African-American man, who shuttles me between the Omni, where I am staying, and the Renaissance, where the Michigan delegation meetings are held, told me he grew up in the “projects” eight blocks from Invesco Field at Mile High, the scene of Thursday night’s acceptance speech by Obama. He said he was hoping to attend the historic speech of the first African-American ever to be nominated to run for president by a major party. You could tell he was proud.

(John C. Hartman is a Central Michigan University journalism professor who is blogging about the Democratic National Convention for the Morning Sun.)

By JOHN K. HARTMAN
Sun Special Correspondent
DENVER -- I failed again Tuesday in my quest to obtain a floor pass so that I could interview delegates and dignitaries firsthand and describe the atmosphere.
I finally found an out-of-the way press office filled with desks and reporters that had a line for temporary floor passes.
Even though Hillary Clinton's speech was about to begin, I got in line and took my chances. When I got to the head of the line, the person in charge told me that I was in the wrong line and give me directions to a locale elsewhere in the Pepsi Center that I had been to four times before, finding no line.
I will keep asking, but the folks stationed throughout the building who are supposed to know the answer to questions, usually don't. They need a toll-free number for us to call.

***

After the latest rebuff I headed upstairs to Section 372, where my credentials say I am supposed to sit. Bad news. All the seating areas were full and closed. Big turnout for the Hillary Clinton speech.
I exited the building and walked halfway around the Pepsi Center to the familiar white tent known as Pavilion No. 2, where reporters have open work space.
I joined a small crowd gathered around TV monitors in a hospitality area sponsored by Captain Morgan, the rum. It offered free food and drinks.
Many in the crowd were reporters shut out of hall seating like I was. The feed from CSPAN on one TV was slightly out of sync with the feed from CNN so Clinton's speech had an echo. Eerie, to say the least.

***

Across the way was the LexisNexis booth, where free water was given out earlier. To buttress the research data provider's reputation, a big screen offered LexisNexis Dashboard, a listing of "share of voice, share of coverage" of key political figures: the Obamas, the Clintons, John McCain, and Joe Biden. Barack, Michelle and Hillary had up arrows, Bill was about even and John and Joe were in decline. Another screen showed the top issues as energy and health care.

***

Former Michigan Gov. James Blanchard, a Hillary Clinton campaign co-chair turned enthusiastic Obama supporter, kicked off the Michigan delegates' breakfast Wednesday morning. He said the bad things that have happened to the United States under the Bush Administration could have been avoided if Democrats had pulled together and elected Al Gore in 2000. He urged Clinton supporters to join him in the Obama camp, hinting that their failure to do so could lead to more bad times.
Later in an interview, Blanchard told me that he is discouraged by the skyrocketing cost of higher education (CMU's tuition has more than doubled in six years) in Michigan. He said he was proud of his administration's efforts to keep tuition low and hold down increases.

***

Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon told the delegates that Hillary Clinton's campaign for president showed that the "door is open to every woman" to aspire to the highest office. He said Democrats must come together around Obama because of "our shared sense of values."

***

AFL-CIO executive Richard Trumka told the delegates that race is being used to divide Democrats. "We must educate voters as to who Obama is and who McCain isn't."

***

Another prominent Democrat who originally supported another candidate for president but is now on the Obama bandwagon spoke at the press briefing after the breakfast. Former U.S. Rep. David Bonoir was John Edwards’ co-chair until Edwards quit the race. Now he serves as a "whip" for Obama in Michigan. He said Obama is right on the environment, energy, jobs and "the need for the U.S. to open dialogue with other nations."

***

One of my CMU students wanted to know how social web sites such as Facebook and MySpace have affected the presidential race.
Bonoir said those two sites, along with YouTube, will play big parts in Obama's victory.
"If there is a drop-off in the vote of traditional older Democratic voters, the young will make it up," he suggested.
Elizabeth Kerr, the young press spokeswoman for the Michigan Democratic Party, said, "The Internet is how young people talk to each other about why they should vote for Obama, and other like groups are doing the same talking to one another (about the presidential race), too."

(John C. Hartman is a Central Michigan University journalism professor who is blogging about the Democratic National Convention for the Morning Sun.)

Delegates hold up signs in support of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

By JOHN K. HARTMAN
Sun Special Correspondent
DENVER – The convention is still buzzing about the Clintons withholding just enough support to cost Barack Obama the presidency.
I have some questions for Bill Clinton that I will never get to ask unless I run into him in the cavernous halways of the Pepsi Center.
Question No. 1: People gave you the benefit of the doubt when you ran for president. Why won't you do same for Obama?
No. 2: How long did it take you to "get over" your loss for re-election as governor of Arkansas way back when?
No. 3: Would you feel better if you could blame Hillary's loss to Obama on a "right-wing conspiracy?"
No. 4: Do you think Hillary would have gotten as far as she has if her last name were not Clinton and you were not a former president?
No. 5: Do you think the media and sexism (such as prejudice in favor of women) ever helped Hillary?
I guess I'll go roam the hallways at the Pepsi Center for a while.

***

There are facilities for the working press in Pavilion No. 2 outside the Pepsi Center. It is a big white tent cordoned off inside by dark curtains. The cloth is in constant motion from the fans blowing the cool air around. Denver pushed 90 again today so it took a lot of fans to keep it comfortable.
The floor is plywood and crunches a bit if you hit it wrong. Big news organizations like Business Week and USA Today are housed in the tent, one of at least 5 surrounding the venue.

***

Sen. Barack Obama was in Kansas City, not St. Louis, when he talked to the Democratic convention. But when his daughter asked him where he was, he knew.

I got together with former CM Life editor and CMU journalism grad of three years ago, Chad Livengood. He is the political writer for the Springfield, Mo., News-Leader.
He reported that Barack Obama misstated being in St. Louis Monday night instead of the correct city, Kansas City. Livengood posted it on his blog for the newspaper and it was picked up by the very popular conservative news blog, The Drudge Report. That led to thousands of hits on Livengood's blog. News travels at lightning speed in the digital era.
There are still reporters' notebooks in evidence but Blackberrys and digital audio and video recorders are more plentiful. When I started in the newspaper business 40 years ago we used manual typewriters.
LIVENGOOD

***

A Denver newspaper reported that actor and heartthrob George Clooney is skipping the convention in favor of a film festival in Venice. I guess he can't compete with Obama's so-called celebrity.

(John C. Hartman is a Central Michigan University journalism professor who is blogging about the Democratic National Convention for the Morning Sun.)

By JOHN K. HARTMAN
Sun Special Correspondent
Getting in and out of the Pepsi Center might well be called the dance of the diesels as hundreds of buses come and go, letting delegates and other participants off in the afternoon, then picking them up after the festivities.

***

The Al Jazeera cable-satellite news channel, displaying a bright, colorful sign and an Arab point-of-view, has a prime location between CSPAN and ABC News at the convention. This is interesting because few cable and satellite systems carry its telecasts in the United States for fear of being accused of being unpatriotic.

***

My press "Hall pass" gets me in the nosebleed section at the Pepsi Center so that I can see the side and back of speakers' heads from afar.
But I can see the teleprompter that the speakers read off of. It includes a reverse time clock that blinks red if they exceed their allotted time.

***

The tip-off that Sen. Ted Kennedy was in the house Monday came from running into several Kennedy relatives in the press hallway. Spotted were Joseph Kennedy III, William Kennedy Smith and Maria Shriver, among others.

***

While Kennedy's courageous speech while under cancer treatment is to be admired and his efforts to unify the convention around Barack Obama appreciated by Democratic partisans, one cannot forget that in 1980 he ran unsuccessfully for the nomination against incumbent President Jimmy Carter and offered only an "arm's length" embrace of Carter, who subsequently lost, not unlike the shyness that former President Bill Clinton continues to exhibit regarding Obama, who appears to have defeated Hillary Clinton for the nomination.

***

The warning clock was turned off when Kennedy spoke.

***

At Tuesday morning's breakfast of the Michigan delegates, Gov. Jennifer Granholm referred to GOP standard-bearer John McCain as the "outsorcerer," a play on words to suggest McCain is too cozy with firms that send U.S. jobs overseas.

***

Granholm referred to the "5 W's" that will help lead Michigan's economic comeback: "Wind, Water, Workforce, Wood and Waste (converging the latter to energy)."

***

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer got the delegates really fired up with his folk hero approach, colorful language and Western attire of blue blazer, blue jeans and bolo tie.

***

I got to ask another of my journalism students' questions at the press briefing after the delegates' breakfast. A student from Rochester wanted to know how Democrats were going to get Obama and the Clintons to bury the hatchet.
State Sen. Gilda Jacobs of Huntington Woods said that a unity meeting had been held Monday between the competing factions that went well.
"Women will progress only under Obama," she added.
"Don't believe the hype,” added Edna Bell, a delegate from Detroit. “Women not just in the United States but around she world need Obama."
Nan Welke, a delegate from Westland, said, "Women cannot afford more years of Bush and McCain."
(John K. Hartman is a Central Michigan University journalism professor, offering his take on the Democratic National Convention in Denver.)

By John K. Hartman
Morning Sun Special Correspondent

DENVER -- I arrived in Sunday afternoon intending to get to the root of
the Democratic National Convention. I did not expect to be dealing with
another root, but after having a sore tooth for 48 hours, my dentist
informed me by phone Saturday morning that the root in one of my lower
molars was going bad. There was no time to begin work on it, so he
prescribed a powerful antibiotic and some pain pills. He will get to the
diseased root and remove it the day after Labor Day.
I am here to provide some "nuggets" (apologies to the NBA team
headquartered here and to gold miners everythere) of information and
commentary to readers of the print and online Morning Sun. My reporting
will be supplementing the coverage provided by the Associated Press, not
replacing it. I will emphasize the local angles of interest to folks in
the Sun's coverage area.
***
I am a professor of journalism at Central Michigan University, trying to
practice what I preach. I will be holding my classes online Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday ... if the wireless laptop computer I borrowed is
up to the challenge. I have asked my students to give me questions they
would like asked of convention delegates and dignitaries. They get bonus
points if it works out.
One student wants me to ask Gov. Jennifer Granholm her stance on an
alleged proposal by the Bush Administration to declare the use of birth
control pills as abortion. Another wants to know from Sen. Barack Obama
what Sen. Hillary Clinton will have to say in her speech Wednesday night
to win her supporters over to his bid for the presidency. A third
student wants to know when the American public is going to become more
important than foreign countries. And a fourth wants U.S. Rep. John
Conyers to tell him how to advance the Democratic Party's fortunes in
Detroit.
Sun readers are invited to email me their questions at
hartm1jk@cmich.edu
***
Visitors arriving at Denver International Airport such as I were whisked
into motorized carts for their trip from the landing gate to the baggage
area by friendly folks wearing carnation lapel pins. They took our names
and promised good seats on our return flights.
At the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver, security around the
headquarters Denver Sheraton Hotel was tight with dozens of police clad
in black riot gear in sight.
The Michigan delegation is staying 20 minutes away from the Pepsi Center
in the Renaissance and Omni hotels in Broomfield. I will attend their
breakfast meetings Monday through Thursday.
Job No. 1 will be helping the presumed nominee for president, Sen.
Obama, win Michigan. A Detroit Free Press poll Sunday gave Obama a
7-point lead over presumed Republican nominee Sen. John McCain, but
two-thirds of the voters said they were "not sure" about Obama.
Jobs No. 1, 2 and 3 for Obama are winning over Sen. Clinton's diehard
supporters, helping unsure folks to feel comfortable with him, and
overcoming the reluctance of some voters to support an African-American
for president.
I will keep you posted. Let me hear from you.
***
By way of disclosure, my wife Kay and I were delegates from Ohio to the
2004 Democratic National Convention, pledged to Sen. John Edwards. He
won't be speaking at the 2008 convention after his recent personal
scandal. I wish his wife Elizabeth Edwards would be here and speaking.
Now there is someone to admire.

It was a real call - a suspicious package turned up at the Alltel store in the Stadium Mall in Mt. Pleasant Saturday afternoon. Store employees called police - and Mt. Pleasant police called in the bomb squad.
The area in front of a half-dozen stores, including the Kopy Korner, the Book Mark, Charter Communications and the Alltel store, was cordoned off. The stores were evacuated.

Experts from the bomb squad brought in a portable, hand-held X-ray machine to look at the suspicious package - which turned out to be harmless. The screen on the laptap computer showed a bunch of random electronic parts - nothing that would blow up.
Case closed.

I've been spending too much time on the road recently, but it's certain that mid-Michigan drivers are paying more for gasoline than many drivers elsewhere. Last Sunday, I spotted this price - granted, it was at a Murphy Oil station, with a reputation of undercutting everyone else - in Houghton Lake.



Then last night, I filled up at this station at the corner of Middlebelt Road and Ann Arbor Trail in Westland.

Meanwhile, stations in Mt. Pleasant and Clare are charging $3.88 - even as we have a report from Monroe that the price there has fallen to $3.45.

These two men were caught on camera at Tillman's Hardware in Beal City, and are suspects in the theft of four chain saws worth about $3,400.

This man also is a suspect in the theft.

Sheriff’s deputies have released surveillance images of three men who made off with four chain saws worth $3,400 in June from a Beal City hardware store.
Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski said the department had just received images of the three men.
In a statement, the sheriff said the three white men, all believed to be in their early 20s, took the machines from Tillman’s Hardware on North Winn Road in Beal City. The suspects left the scene in a green, older-style Chevrolet, possibly a Lumina, that smoked badly.
The department is asking people who might have information to contact the sheriff’s department at 989-772-5911.

Speedway is at it again.
Earlier today, Springfield, Ohio-based Speedway made another regional price move, posting a price of $3.95 a gallon at stations from Eastpointe to East Lansing, Kalamazoo to Kentwood, Milford to Mt. Pleasant.
There’s every indication that locally owned retailers will follow along.
How can this be, given the fact that the price of crude oil is dropping? As of today, the price is about $116 per barrel.
Let’s take a look at what happened.
Last summer, we screamed bloody murder when the price of a gallon of self-serve unleaded moved past $3, but we didn’t cut back on gasoline consumption. The price of crude oil last summer was in the $60 range.
This spring, the price of crude oil spiked up to around $140. That’s a 133 percent increase in the raw material for gasoline.
The price of gasoline, on the other hand, increased “only” 33 percent, from $3 to $4
What happened?•
• We made a lot of noise
• We cut back on gasoline consumption a little. In other words, we showed the oil companies the price point at which price begins to cut into demand.
• Oil companies made record profits.
What didn’t happen?
• Fuel riots
• A windfall profits tax
• Any serious effort to expand mass transit
• Grass-roots demands that the country move away from gasoline as a motor fuel.
• The economy went into an official, nationwide recession.
Now, if the retail price of gasoline had increased as much as the cost of crude, we would have been paying $7 a gallon at the pump. How many of those things would have happened? All of those things, frankly, would have been bad for the oil companies, so they ate the extra crude cost, saw their refining margins drop, but found the price point at which they can extract the maximum number of dollars from consumers without cutting too badly into demand.
It’s a good bet we’ll see retail gasoline prices between, oh, $3.70 and $4.10 the rest of the year, no matter what happens to the price of crude oil. They got us where they want us.

Unusually cool, dry air is spreading across the eastern half of the country this weekend, and forecasters with Accuweather, the weather service that brings you the print Morning Sun's weather page, will make it feel more like September than early August.
Lows dropping to the low 50s will be the norm overnight.
"It's going to be even colder tonight around the lower Great Lakes," said Accuweather Expert Senior Meteorologist John Kocet. "Lows in the rural areas of western New York and Pennsylvania could dip into the 40s."
Kocet adds that conditions forecast for this weekend from the Great Lakes to the Deep South can be described simply as splendid. Cool, dry Canadian air will spread behind a cold front that will plunge almost to the Gulf Coast.
In mid-Michigan, the passage of that front is expected to tough off some isolated thundershowers and scattered showers before dry weather returns Saturday night and Sunday, say National Weather Service forecasters.
The absence of humidity will be a welcome relief across the Southeast, where steamy conditions are the rule in mid-summer. Daytime heating will result in near normal temperatures; however, the dry air will make it feel much more comfortable.
The big difference will be felt at night, when it is going to feel more like September.

The Isabella County Sheriff’s office released a sketch of the man who is wanted for robbing a rural Isabella County store Wednesday night.
A forensic artist from the Michigan State Police Crime Lab in Lansing met with the store clerk Thursday afternoon to do a sketch of the suspect.
According to Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduszewski, the man who robbed Koppela’s Korner store at 8990 E. Pere Marquette Road in Wise Township is still on the loose, but deputies now believe the black car he was driving to be an Infinity which is a division of Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
The suspect, described as a white man in his 20s, approximately 6 feet tall with a thin build, and wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and sunglasses, was carrying what appeared to be a handgun when he entered the store Wednesday night around 7 p.m. and demanded money.
After getting an undisclosed amount of cash from the store, the man got into his car and drove off, heading toward Clare, the sheriff said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the sheriff’s department at 989-772-0911.

- Reporting by Lisa Satayut and Susan Field

News item across my desk:
The city of Denver has banned the carrying of urine and feces.There's a political convention coming to town.

Numerous comments here kept asking the question - where are the Gratiot County results?
That's a question that deserves an answer.
But first, some background.
I covered my first election 35 years ago, in 1973. It was a city election in Mt. Pleasant, and I tagged along with another student journalist from WMHW-FM, the student-run radio station at Central Michigan University.
All that we needed was a pencil, pad, calculator, tape recorder and a pair of alligator clips to tie into a telephone. Over the next 17 years, I covered a lot of elections and did a lot of broadcast reporting from the field.
Those numbers had to be right, the journalism had to be good and the technical aspects had to come together. There were enough breakdowns in sending stuff from the field - not just election coverage, but sports events, other news events and commercial remote broadcasts - that I learned to give great respect to Murphy's Law.
The law says, "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong." To deal with that, a field producer has to know, or figure out, what can go wrong, plan as much as possible to prevent that, and have backup plans in case things really do go sour.
When I moved into print 18 years ago, it still was pencil-pad-calculator time, and the job actually became a little easier. A print journalist has the luxury of waiting until all the numbers are in.
Sure, there's a scramble to get the paper out if the last numbers are late. That's happened, but people expect complete numbers and perspective in their morning papers.
Now, it's the age of the Internet, where readers expect not only the complete numbers in the morning, but partial numbers in the meantime. We expect to deliver that, but we have to learn how.
Our first experience was in May, when we covered the library millage in the Chippewa River Library District. That was a fairly simply election: One major question, 12 precincts, yes or no.
To get the numbers up, we had to establish a high-speed Internet connection from the Isabella County Building. The county won't permit outsiders to access its network for security reasons, so we had to set up our own.
With Murphy's Law looming in the background, we made it work. We updated The Sun Insider seven times and got things wrapped up by 9:45 p.m.
But I saw potential problems. In a larger election, it would be easy to get the numbers confused, and when precincts start rolling in at a fast pace, it would be easy to get behind. And we needed a desk.
This time, we got more ambitious. Tuesday's primary in Isabella County involved 26 contested races with 57 different choices. There were lots of opportunities for error.
It was a good test.
We assigned reporter Lisa Satayut, community volunteer Andrew Ranzenberger (yes, he's my son; he worked cheap and has a good technical background) and me to the county building. I played the role of producer/technical geek/blogger/analyst, while the Lisa and Andrew collected the numbers and entered them into an online spreadsheet.
I think it's important to have two people checking the numbers. There were 585 different numbers that had to be entered, precinct by precinct, contested race by contested race. All had to be right.
There was enough vague Internet fuzziness to worry me. Sometimes numbers were entered and took way too long to show up. Lisa and Andrew caught each others' fat-finger errors, and sometimes, I noted out-of-place or missing numbers. It's called quality control.
By the time it went out to the public, we were pretty confident in them,
There were changes we made on the fly. I didn't like the way the percentage of precincts reporting showed up at first, so I changed it. I had planned to present the numbers in tables, but the HTML coding turned out to be impractical in the field. That needs to be fixed.
But overall, the project worked. I learned what I needed to learn, so I can teach it to other people. I made changes, discovered glitches, found fixes on the fly or made plans to find them between now and November.
Was this at a stage where I could have coordinated two remote sites 30 miles apart? No way. I would have been setting ourselves up to fail.
I didn't know, going in, what questions needed to be asked, let alone the answers. I do now.
Come November, we hope to be ready to provide real-time updates from both Ithaca and Mt. Pleasant, with a well-trained staff to do it.
That's what you want - and we hope to deliver it right.
Thanks for being part of our great experiment.
-- Mark R

The Brett Favre-Green Bay Packers soap opera has dominated the sports world.

With the latest developments pointing to Favre finally parting ways with the Packers, most Green Bay fans have expressed disappointment with the Packers organization.

CMU quarterback Brian Brunner is not one of those fans.

"I know Brett Favre must understand it is an election year because he sure has done a lot of flip-flopping," Brunner said. "I grew up a Packers fan and always liked Brett Favre, but when he announced his retirement, I thought it was the right decision. Through this whole saga, he has expressed that he wants to comeback, but then the Packers management visited him and he wasn't sure about coming back. Favre has really been inconsistent in his views and put the Packers in a bad situation."

Brunner, who originally hails from Hubertus, Wis., knows that he is in the minority when it comes to his feelings on Favre.

"Being the Wisconsinite that I am and the cheese-head that I am, I know there are plenty of Packers fans that aren't level-headed about the situation and think everyone is out to get ol' Brett Favre. But Favre put the Packers in a tough spot and the management has handled it very well. I think it is about time for Brett to ride off into the sunset on his tractor."

Brunner also voiced his support for Aaron Rodgers and hopes to see Favre on the opposing sideline when Green Bay hosts Minnesota during the opening week of the NFL regular season.

"I have been on the Aaron Rodgers bandwagon for a year or two now and I wouldn't mind seeing Brett in purple and see Green Bay take it to the Vikings and see the new lion teach the old lion a thing or two."

Dan LeFevour, who is a Chicago Bears fan, has been very happy to see the Packers'-Favre situation get out of control, as he feels it will damage the Green Bay season.

Brunner couldn't disagree more.

"Dan can come talk to me when Chicago has sorted out their quarterback situation," Brunner joked. "They can choose between below average and strictly awful. So, I think the Packers are going to be alright."

Here are the totals of Tuesday's Isabella County contested elections:

Sheriff - GOP	Total	Percent
Kevin Dush	2,174	38%
√ Leo Mioduszewski - I	3,518	62%

Road Commission, 6 years, GOP	Total	Percent
√ Bob Curtiss - I	2,536	51%
William B. Ruddel	2,415	49%

Road Commission - 6 years - Dem	Total	Percent
William Scott Moss	564	36.67%
√ Margie Williams	974	63.33%

Road Commission - 2 years - GOP	Total	Percent
Joseph Sowmick	1925	40.24%
√ Terry Turnwald	2859	59.76%

(Winner faces Dem Rick Jakubiec)

Drain Commissioner - GOP	Total	Percent
√ Russ Alwood	1742	33.17%
Frank Engler	1353	25.77%
Roger Hauck	1171	22.30%
Bruce Starr	985	18.76%

County Proposal 1 - ICTC, 1 mill, 4 years	Total	Percent
√ Yes	5173	74.10%
No	1808	25.90%

County Proposal 2 - Fixed Millage	Total	Percent
√ Yes	4825	72.51%
No	1829	27.49%

Chippewa River Library 1.75 mills 10 years	Total	Percent
√ Yes	3776	79.75%
No	959	20.25%

Mt Pleasant - Define electors	Total	Percent
√ Yes	1734	83.81%
No	335	16.19%

Mt. Pleasant - Increase signatures	Total	Percent
√ Yes	1468	73.81%
No	521	26.19%

Sherman Twp Fire 1 mill 6 year renewal	Total	Percent
√ Yes	236	77.12%
No	70	22.88%

County Board - District 5 - GOP	Total	Percent
√ Charles Pepper	422	62.70%
Richard Swindlehurst	251	37.30%

County Board - District 5 - Dem	Total	Percent
√ James Moreno	256	56.02%
Ron Roby - I	201	43.98%

Chippewa Twp. Supervisor - DEM	Total	Percent
√ Robert P. Smith	62	61.39%
George Grim - I	39	38.61%

Chippewa Twp. Trustee (2) DEM	Total	Percent
Buhl Billsby	39	25.66%
√ Clair Lapham - I	45	29.61%
√ Michelle Quakenbush - I	68	44.74%

Coe Twp Clerk - GOP	Total	Percent
Beth Bryant	135	45.61%
√ Paul Hawkins	161	54.39%

Coldwater Twp. Supervisor GOP	Total	Percent
Andy Bellinger	28	32.94%
√ James Dague - I	57	67.06%

Deerfield Twp. Supervisor GOP	Total	Percent
Chris Courser	165	33.07%
√ Timothy Murphy - I	334	66.93%

Deerfield Twp Trustee GOP (2)	Total	Percent
David Garrett - I	216	30.95%
√ Alan Johns	223	31.95%
√ Randy Martin - I	259	37.11%

Denver Twp. Supervisor - DEM	Total	Percent
√ John J. Pedjac - I	61	59.22%
Dennis Grim	42	40.78%

Nottawa Twp. Clerk GOP	Total	Percent
Dave Brickner	133	48.01%
√ Judith Schumacher	144	51.99%

Union Twp. Supervisor GOP	Total	Percent
√ Richard Haynes	397	52.79%
James T. Collin - I	355	47.21%

Union Twp. Treasurer - GOP	Total	Percent
√ Pam Stovak	383	52.04%
Deborah Supka - I	353	47.96%

Wise Twp. Clerk GOP	Total	Percent
√ Doris Methner - I	86	65.65%
Kathy Ranck	45	34.35%

Wise Twp Treasurer DEM	Total	Percent
√ Lisa Card	30	66.67%
Tammy Hasenfratz	15	33.33%

Wise Twp Trustee (2) GOP	Total	Percent
√ Joseph Babosh - I	100	44.84%
√ Lee Ranck - I	80	35.87%
Gerald Stryeski	43	19.28%

Republican challengers Richard Haynes and Pam Stovak defeated a pair of long-time Union Township incumbents Tuesday.
Haynes defeated Supervisor James T. Collin, and will face a challenge from Democrat John Barker in November; Stovak beat long-time Treasurer Deborah Supka.

Sheriff - with 90 percent of the precincts reporting
Kevin Dush..................... 2000 39.05%
√ Leo Mioduszewski - I 3121 60.95%

Road Commission - 6 years - GOP - with 90 percent of the precincts reporting
Bob Curtiss .............2301 51.51%
William B. Ruddell 2166 48.49%

Road Commission - 6 years - Dem - with 90 percent of the precincts reporting
William Scott Moss 501 36.97%
Margie Williams ... 854 63.03%

Road Commission - 2 years - GOP - with 90 percent of the precincts reporting
Joseph Sowmick 1735 40.22%
Terry Turnwald 2579 59.78%

Drain Commissioner - GOP - with 90 percent of the precincts reporting
Russ Alwood 1557 33.06%
Frank Engler 1188 25.23%
Roger Hauck 1068 22.68%
Bruce Starr .. 896 19.03%
(Winner faces Dem Rick Jakubiec)

County Proposal 1 - ICTC, 1 mill, 4 years - with 86 percent of the precincts reporting
√ Yes 4391 74.17%
No .... 1529 25.83%

County Proposal 2 - Fixed Millage - with 86 percent of the precincts reporting
√ Yes 4100 72.57%
No ....1550 27.43%

Chippewa River Library 1.75 mills 10 years - with 90 percent of the precincts reporting
√ Yes 3092 80.67%
No ........ 741 19.33%

Mt Pleasant - Define electors - final
√ Yes 1734 83.81%
No ......... 335 16.19%

Mt. Pleasant - Increase signatures - final
√ Yes ... 1468 73.81%
No ......521 26.19%

Sherman Twp Fire 1 mill 6 year renewal - final
√ Yes 236 77.12%
No ..... 70 22.88%

County Board - District 5 - GOP - final
√ Charles Pepper ...... 422 62.70%
Richard Swindlehurst 251 37.30%

County Board - District 5 - Dem - final
√ James Moreno 256 56.02%
Ron Roby - I .......201 43.98%

Chippewa Twp. Supervisor - DEM - final
Robert P. Smith .....62 61.39%
√ George Grim - I 39 38.61%

Chippewa Twp. Trustee (2) DEM - final
Buhl Billsby ..........................39 25.66%
√ Clair Lapham - I ...............45 29.61%
√ Michelle Quakenbush - I 68 44.74%

Coe Twp Clerk - GOP - final
Beth Bryant ... 135 45.61%
√ Paul Hawkins 161 54.39%

Coldwater Twp. Supervisor GOP - final
Andy Bellinger ...... 28 32.94%
√ James Dague - I 57 67.06%


Denver Twp. Supervisor - DEM - final
√ John J. Pedjac - I 61 59.22%
Dennis Grim .......... 42 40.78%

Nottawa Twp. Clerk GOP - final
Dave Brickner ............ 133 48.01%
√ Judith Schumacher 144 51.99%

Union Twp. Supervisor - GOP - FINAL
√ Richard Haynes 397 52.79%
James T. Collin - I 355 47.21%

Union Twp. Treasurer - GOP - FINAL
√ Pam Stovak ....... 383 52.04%
Deborah Supka - I 353 47.96%

Wise Twp. Clerk GOP - Final
√ Doris Methner - I .......... 86 65.65%
Kathy Ranck ...................... 45 34.35%

Wise Twp Treasurer DEM - Final
√ Lisa Card ........... 30 66.67%
Tammy Hasenfratz 15 33.33%

Wise Twp Trustee (2) GOP - Final
√Joseph Babosh - I 100 44.84%
√ Lee Ranck - I 80 35.87%
Gerald Stryeski 43 19.28%

Miodoszewski, Alwood continue to lead; long-time Chippewa Township Supervisor George Grim goes down to defeat; Schumacher wins in Nottawa.

Sheriff - with 55 percent of the precincts reporting
Kevin Dush ................. 1261 38.05%
Leo Mioduszewski - I 2053 61.95%

Road Commission - 6 years - GOP - with 55 percent of the precincts reporting
Bob Curtiss .............. 1526 52.60%
William B. Ruddell 1375 47.40%

Road Commission - 6 years - Dem - with 55 percent of the precincts reporting
William Scott Moss ...... 336 35.15%
Margie Williams ........ 620 64.85%

Road Commission - 2 years - GOP - with 55 percent of the precincts reporting
Joseph Sowmick 1189 43.05%
Terry Turnwald 1573 56.95%

Drain Commissioner - GOP - with 55 percent of the precincts reporting
Russ Alwood 999 33.02%
Frank Engler 800 26.45%
Roger Hauck 650 21.49%
Bruce Starr ...576 19.04%
(Winner faces Dem Rick Jakubiec)

County Proposal 1 - ICTC, 1 mill, 4 years - with 55 percent of the precincts reporting
√ Yes 3199 76.59%
No ...... 978 23.41%

County Proposal 2 - Fixed Millage - with 55 percent of the precincts reporting
√ Yes 2943 74.39%
No ... 1013 25.61%

Chippewa River Library 1.75 mills 10 years - with 60 percent of the precincts reporting
√ Yes 2363 82.48%
No ... 502 17.52%

Mt Pleasant - Define electors - final
√ Yes 1734 83.81%
No 335 16.19%

Mt. Pleasant - Increase signatures - final
√ Yes 1468 73.81%
No ... 521 26.19%

Sherman Twp Fire 1 mill 6 year renewal - final
√ Yes 236 77.12%
No ..... 70 22.88%

County Board - District 5 - GOP - final
√ Charles Pepper ...... 422 62.70%
Richard Swindlehurst 251 37.30%

County Board - District 5 - Dem - final
√ James Moreno 256 56.02%
Ron Roby - I ....... 201 43.98%

Chippewa Twp. Supervisor - DEM - final
√ Robert P. Smith 62 61.39%
George Grim - I 39 38.61%

Chippewa Twp. Trustee (2) DEM - final
Buhl Billsby .......... 39 25.66%
√ Clair Lapham - I . 45 29.61%
√ Michelle Quakenbush - I 68 44.74%

Coe Twp Clerk - GOP - with 50 percent of the precincts reporting
Beth Bryant 77 45.29%
Paul Hawkins 93 54.71%


Nottawa Twp. Clerk GOP - final
Dave Brickner ....... 133 48.01%
Judith Schumacher 144 51.99%

City numbers are now final; both city proposals passed overwhelmingly.
The Chippewa River District Library property tax proposal passed nearly 9 to 1.
Isabella County Commissioner Ron Roby has gone down to defeat; challenger James Moreno will face Republican Charles Pepper in November.
And Sherman Township voters approved a renewal of that township's property tax for fire protection.

Here are the latest returns:

Sheriff - with 41 percent of the precincts reporting:
Kevin Dush ................. 842 35.44%
Leo Mioduszewski - I 1534 64.56%

Road Commission - 6 years - GOP - with 41 percent of the precincts reporting:
Bob Curtiss .............. 1021 49.35%
William B. Ruddell 1048 50.65%

Road Commission - 6 years - Dem - with 38 percent of the precincts reporting:
William Scott Moss 257 33.12%
Margie Williams .... 519 66.88%

Road Commission - 2 years - GOP - with 41 percent of the precincts reporting:
Joseph Sowmick 910 48.53%
Terry Turnwald .. 965 51.47%

Drain Commissioner - GOP - with 41 percent of the precincts reporting:
Russ Alwood 803 38.20%
Frank Engler 531 28.86%
Roger Hauck 506 24.07%
Bruce Starr .. 262 12.46%
(Winner faces Dem Rick Jakubiec)

County Proposal 1 - ICTC, 1 mill, 4 years - with 38 percent of the precincts reporting:
√ Yes 2387 79.70%
No 608 20.30%

County Proposal 2 - Fixed Millage - with 38 percent of the precincts reporting:
√ Yes 2169 77.24%
No 639 22.76%

Chippewa River Library 1.75 mills 10 years - with 45 percent of the precincts reporting:
√ Yes 2123 84.28%
No 396 15.72%

Mt Pleasant - Define electors - with 100 percent of the precincts reporting:
√ Yes 1734 83.81%
No 335 16.19%

Mt. Pleasant - Increase signatures - with 100 percent of the precincts reporting:
√ Yes 1468 73.81%
No 521 26.19%

Sherman Twp Fire 1 mill 6 year renewal - with 100 percent of the precincts reporting:
√ Yes 236 77.12%
No 70 22.88%

County Board - District 5 - GOP - with 100 percent of the precincts reporting:
√ Charles Pepper ...... 422 62.70%
Richard Swindlehurst 251 37.30%

County Board - District 5 - Dem - with 100 percent of the precincts reporting:
√ James Moreno 256 56.02%
Ron Roby - I ..... 201 43.98%

Chippewa Twp. Supervisor - DEM - with 50 percent of the precincts reporting:
Robert P. Smith ... 24 63.16%
George Grim - I .....14 36.84%

Chippewa Twp. Trustee (2) DEM - with 50 percent of the precincts reporting:
Buhl Billsby 9 31.59%
Clair Lapham - I 19 34.55%
Michelle Quakenbush 27 49.09%

Sheriff - 24 percent of precincts reporting
Kevin Dush ............................ 392 30.96%
Leo Mioduszewski - I..............874 69.04%

Road Commission - 6 years - GOP - 24 percent of precincts reporting
Bob Curtiss ................ 515 45.90%
William B. Ruddell .... 607 54.10%

Road Commission - 6 years - Dem - 24 percent of precincts reporting
William Scott Moss 158 32.78%
Margie Williams 324 67.22%

Road Commission - 2 years - GOP - 24 percent of precincts reporting
Joseph Sowmick 483 45.87%
Terry Turnwald 570 54.13%

Drain Commissioner - GOP - 24 percent of precincts reporting
Russ Alwood 423 37.73%
Frank Engler 263 27.00%
Roger Hauck 288 25.69%
Bruce Starr 147 13.11%
(Winner faces Dem Rick Jakubiec)

County Proposal 1 - ICTC, 1 mill, 4 years - 24 percent of precincts reporting
√ Yes 1424 80.32%
No 349 19.68%

County Proposal 2 - Fixed Millage - 24 percent of precincts reporting
√ Yes 1287 77.02%
No 384 22.98%

Chippewa River Library 1.75 mills 10 years - 30 percent of precincts reporting
√ Yes 1293 84.29%
No 241 15.71%

Mt Pleasant - Define electors - 57 percent of precincts reporting
√ Yes 1047 84.57%
No 191 15.43%

Mt. Pleasant - Increase signatures - 57 percent of precincts reporting
√ Yes 882 73.93%
No 311 26.07%


County Board - District 5 - GOP - 75 percent of precincts reporting
√ Charles Pepper 297 61.49%
Richard Swindlehurst 186 38.51%

County Board - District 5 - Dem - - 75 percent of precincts reporting
√ James Moreno 200 56.18%
Ron Roby - I 156 43.82%

Chippewa Twp. Supervisor - DEM - 50 percent of precincts reporting
Robert P. Smith 24 63.16%
George Grim - I 14 36.84%

Chippewa Twp. Trustee (2) DEM - 50 percent of precincts reporting
Buhl Billsby 9 31.59%
Clair Lapham - I 19 34.55%
Michelle Quakenbush 27 49.09%

The first out-county precinct is in: Fremont Township.
The Chippewa River District Library renewal is passing handily - a remarkable 9 to 1 vote.

Here are the results until now:



Sheriff % precincts Total Percent
Kevin Dush 7% 112 35.00%
Leo Mioduszewski - I 7% 208 65.00%

Road Commission - 6 years - GOP
Bob Curtiss 10% 241 47.16%
William B. Ruddell 10% 270 52.84%

Road Commission - 6 years - Dem
William Scott Moss 10% 72 30.25%
Margie Williams 10% 166 69.75%

Road Commission - 2 years - GOP
Joseph Sowmick 10% 189 42.86%
Terry Turnwald 10% 252 57.14%

Drain Commissioner - GOP
Russ Allwood 10% 184 39.57%
Frank Engler 10% 108 26.47%
Roger Hauck 10% 116 24.95%
Bruce Starr 10% 57 12.26%
(Winner faces Dem Rick Jakubiec)

County Proposal 1 - ICTC, 1 mill, 4 years
Yes 10% 647 83.06%
No 10% 132 16.94%

County Proposal 2 - Fixed Millage
Yes 10% 576 79.12%
No 10% 152 20.88%

Chippewa River Library 1.75 mills 10 years
Yes 14% 618 87.78%
No 14% 86 12.22%

Mt Pleasant - Define electors
Yes 29% 496 85.66%
No 29% 83 14.34%

Mt. Pleasant - Increase signatures
Yes 29% 413 74.55%
No 29% 141 25.45%


County Board - District 5 - GOP
Charles Pepper 50% 175 60.98%
Richard Swindlehurst 50% 112 39.02%

County Board - District 5 - Dem
James Moreno 50% 137 58.05%
Ron Roby - I 50% 99 41.95%

The first precinct has reported, and Isabella County Sheriff Leo Mioduczewski has taken a commanding early lead - 147-45.

The polls are closed, and all that remains is the counting.
The staff of the Isabella County Clerk's office is ready, and a small audience has gathered in the commissioners room of the Isabella County Building.
And the punch is cold. It's green this election.
Now all that's necessary is the first cartridge of election returns to come in the door.
Stay tuned.

It's about an hour until the polls close across mid-Michigan, and TheMorningSun.com is preparing for what he hope will be another round of live election coverage.
In May, we took the first shot at blogging and posting election returns live from the Isabella County Building. It wasn't a massive election - but an important one.
The feedback we got indicated that people found themselves glued to the Sun Insider as we updated regularly. We hope to do the same thing tonight on several races.
Turnout today has been reported as "steady."
Weekend editor Mindy Norton reports that as she was voting today, another voter began calling out, "If I want the library to stay open, do I vote yes or no? Yes or no?"
She was clearly confused.
The answer she was looking for, was yes, by the way.