Most of Front Street through downtown was blocked off all day Sunday for the filming of "A Year in Mooring." Spectators clutched coffee and lined the street as crew members, extras, security workers and others scurried around.

Doug Mummert and Connie Kleinhart are die-hard fans of the Pigeon River Country State Forest, a 118,000-acre woodland with extensive trails and abundant wildlife -- including the biggest elk herd in the eastern U.S. But they're opponents in a feud over horseback rider access that has spilled into the Legislature.

Before the feasting and football, kick off Thanksgiving festivities with some movement and fun. The Second Annual Traverse City Downtown Turkey Trot will be held at 9 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day.

Tenth-grade girls were given the opportunity to learn about careers that they may have never considered before when they attended GirlTECH last week.

A human voice at the end of the line can be a great comfort to callers in distress. Volunteers at Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency's Triage department have the first contact with community members calling in for assistance.

Pvt. Michael Ray Arlt II graduated from Army basic training; U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr. Heidi Ellis, a resident of Fife Lake, recently assisted in Operation Handclasp in the Sutubondo region of Indonesia.

Berlin is a defining part of my life, something I realized last week as I watched the jubilant celebration at Brandenburg Gate. This city has drawn me to it 10 times since childhood. Part of it is a family connection. In recent years, it is increasingly the city itself. I've come to love it for its spirit, diversity, courage and its willingness to be honest and make visible its past.

An international research project will focus on how weather changes impact northern Michigan's signature fruit.

America's small cities are losing some of their traditional appeal to upwardly mobile families seeking wholesome neighborhoods, a stable economy and affordable living.

General Motors Co. will begin paying back $6.7 billion in U.S. government loans by the end of 2009 and could pay off that full amount by 2011, four years ahead of schedule, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Federal officials are expected to visit a maximum security prison in rural northwestern Illinois on Monday, where they may house Guantanamo Bay detainees and other inmates.

To Brandon Stites; the recipients of the Grand Traverse Area Veterans Coalition honors; the local Veterans for Peace Chapter; raverse City author Doug Stanton; downtown Traverse City merchants; the organizers of the eighth annual GirlTECH; the supporters and donors of the Goodwill Inn's homeless shelter's food drive; and two local apple farmers.

All votes count

The honors keep coming in for Traverse City St. Francis. Fresh off a fifth-place finish in the Division 4 state finals, the Gladiators recently saw their No. 1 doubles team earn All-State honors. St. Francis seniors Sean Paquet and Newton Calcutt were named one of nine doubles teams to earn Division 4 All-State accolades.

Andy Huff scored 2:04 into overtime Saturday night to give the Traverse City North Stars a win over the Janesville Jets and a sweep of their weekend series.

Traverse City St. Francis will play Ravenna Saturday at Ferris State University.

St. Francis and Frankfort will see familiar foes next weekend in the state football semifianls.

TC's Harman nets 22 in CMU loss; Kingsley runners in Jr. Olympics; Track and field clinics slated; Zywicki, Ricord win Turkey Trot

Apolo Anton Ohno is certainly going to the Winter Olympics. He's eager for the rest of the skating team to start preparing. Ohno won the 1,000 meters at the short track speedskating World Cup in Marquette.

Chefs Eric Patterson and Jennifer Blakeslee are known as much for their philosophy of cooking in the context of life and living as for the dishes they serve up at their Cooks' House restaurant. So it's not surprising that their first cookbook is a product of Spirituality and Health Magazine, published by friend Victoria Sutherland.

I spend a good portion of the holiday season (and ready or not, we're in it now!) trying to avoid crowds. Although it seems a contradiction, I eagerly anticipate Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and everything in between for most of the year. Just not the crowds.

Madelyn Frick, of Traverse City, likes to use fresh Michigan apples in this salad. She said her husband lost 40 pounds eating only soups and salads. This is one of his favorites.

Did you get your deer? Now what? The Record-Eagle is looking for some time-tested venison recipes.

Carole Eberly, author of "A Taste of Michigan: Tales and Recipes," will be at the Betsie Valley District Library Thursday.

On Friday evening and Saturday we took advantage of the warm weather by raking up a lot of leaves in our yard. We have around 14 big trees in our front yard so the falling leaves add up fast.

These simple but well-seasoned lamb chops are a weeknight kitchen dream. They are packed with flavor thanks to a quick toasting of cumin seeds and peppercorns used for the rub.

Grand Traverse Distillery wins two golds and a silver; Boyne City has indoors farmers market; Wendy's will donate to Goodwill Wednesday.

Chinese takeout is always a treat, but it can be hard to sort out whether it's a healthy one. Of course, with egg rolls, spareribs and fried rice, there's not much guessing. But when it comes to the vegetable stir-fries and noodle dishes, the answer isn't as obvious as we'd like.

With pots boiling, ovens baking and skillets sizzling, Thanksgiving can be a hazardous day in the kitchen. So much so, in fact, that the National Fire Protection Association says that with so many more people cooking on Thanksgiving than on a typical day, Americans are twice as likely to have a home fire on the holiday than any other day of the year.