Powered, heavier-than-air flight has been heralded as the achievement of the Wright brothers. After years of study, research, sweat, and hard work, they documented their powered flight at Kitty Hawk North Carolina on December 17, 1903. "So what, everyone knows that!" is the common response to such a statement but it is just as likely that they were not the first to do so. It is documented that the first manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight was accomplished here in Michigan by Augustus Moore Herring more than four years before the famous Wright brothers.
Mr. Herring worked closely with a man who was an associate and promoter of the Wright brothers, Octave Alexandre Chanute. Chanute, assisted by Herring, produced and flew in several glider designs . . .

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  19th-century reports of mystery airship sightings may indicate U.S. cooperation in secret military test flights of powered rigid balloon designs. An airship arms race had developed between Germany and France long before WWI. Considering French aviation technology, the political tension between Germany and France, France's alliances with Britain, Canada, and the U.S.A., a theory regarding the mystery airship sightings can be formed. This theory is as follows . . .

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  There's no denying Michigan's wildlife is making a comeback after a century and a half of hunting and habitat destruction. Big game animals like moose & elk have been reintroduced and have herds established in both peninsulas. The white-tailed deer herd is considered to be larger now than before Michigan became a state. Although some sensitive game species are gone or have a tenuous hold, the wild turkey has been reintroduced and is doing quite well. Many small game species have maintained or increased their numbers.
Of course, people nowadays have a better appreciation for land management than during our State's early years which has helped the comeback of our forests and . . .

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