News Photo by Jonny Zawacki
Alpena’s Everett Zann (87) walks off the field after the Wildcats’ heartbreaking 30-27 Big North Conference loss to Gaylord on Friday at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Judge Roy Hayes, seen via videoconference, listens to arguments during a hearing on Friday preparing for an upcoming jury trial in Alpena.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Alpena Marketplace co-owner Griffin James, left, and Alpena Downtown Development Authority Executive Director Anne Gentry look at some Alpena-themed apparel at the small business on Wednesday. James and Gentry are two of many young people opening businesses or becoming involved in local government in Northeast Michigan.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley
Working for Justice-Alpena organizer Eric Peterson talks about a silent march happening Sunday, starting at Duck Park and ending at the Alpena Bandshell at Bay View Park.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley
Working for Justice-Alpena organizer Eric Peterson holds a sign reading “Will Work for Justice” while wearing a mask bearing the phrase “Human is Human.” Peterson is organizing an equality walk and event Sunday starting at Duck Park and ending at the Alpena Bandshell at Bay View Park.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley
Paul and Kris Conger own The Black Sheep, celebrating its 10th anniversary today with Oktoberfest, starting at 3 p.m. with live music, drink and food specials, and giveaways.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley
Paul and Kris Conger own The Black Sheep, celebrating its 10th anniversary today with Oktoberfest, starting at 3 p.m. with live music, drink and food specials, and giveaways.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley
On Friday, The Black Sheep owner Kris Conger pours a glass of wine for the lady and a beer for the gentleman, a recently engaged pair visiting from Milan. Alyssa Harden and Kevin Maury said they heard from friends that The Black Sheep was a great place to stop in on their visit to Alpena.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Potatoes tumble dry on soft foam rollers under the supervision of owner Edwin Styma at Styma Potato Farms in Posen.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Edwin Styma watches as potatoes leave the giant, spinning tube in which they’ve just gotten a wash and ride an escalator to a drying rack.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
As farm owner Edwin Styma walks by, bags wait to be loaded with potatoes that will someday be somebody’s dinner.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
In the shipping center of Styma Potato Farms, workers prepare boxes to be loaded and sent to the southeastern U.S.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
A mountain of potatoes rests under the arched roof of a storage facility. The blue tubes allow for temperature regulation both above and below the potatoes.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Workers scan for unwanted rocks or plant parts as potatoes are transported into a storage facility.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Potatoes travel in style down a conveyor belt, headed to a storage facility where they may spend up to a year in cool darkness.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Freshly dug potatoes are dumped onto a conveyor belt as a truck unloads at Styma Potato Farms. If all goes well, a full truck can be unloaded in only about five minutes.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Losing only one or two of its passengers along the way, a loaded potato truck heads to a storage facility.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
A steady stream of taters rolls off of a harvester into a truck.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Seagulls circle as a winrower upturns the soil in search of potatoes.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Potatoes patiently wait in line to be scooped up by a harvester at Styma Potato Farms in Posen.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
A harvester looms above potato plants ready for harvest.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Farmers need to know how to fix everything. Workers at Styma Potato Farms in Posen lie beneath stopped farm equipment to make a fix at the beginning of the fall harvest.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
A rock, sucked from among harvested potatoes by a giant vacuum, rides on the rotating belt of a harvester at Styma Potato Farms.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
A worker at Styma Potato Farms in Posen strides across rows of potato plants to fix a stalled machine.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Reflected in the green-tinted window of a harvester, a truck driver carefully steers alongside, catching potatoes freshly pulled from the ground.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Styma Potato Farms co-owner Randy Styma keeps an eye on a digital screen while navigating rows of harvest-ready potatoes near Posen.

Courtesy Photo
Pictured from left to right are FFNM Legacy Foundation President Michael Mahler, and Alpena ESD Representative Sergeant JP Ritter.

Posen quarterback Travis Sharpe

News Photo by James Andersen
Alpena’s Sam Cook, left, races for the ball while being pursued by Gaylord’s Charlie Holscher during the first half of a boys soccer game at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium on Thursday.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson
Alpena resident Jim Merritt on Thursday watches the Alpena, a cement carrier, from the breakwall at the city marina.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley
Now-former Thunder Bay Theatre artistic director Lucas Moquin is staying in Alpena, despite being let go from TBT for financial reasons.

News Photo by Darby Hinkley
The debris left on the site of the fire that totally destroyed the John A. Lau Saloon and Restaurant, seen here on Thursday, needs to be removed before next-door neighbor Thunder Bay Theatre can get an estimate on the damage to the firewall between the buildings.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Defendant Trenton Todd-Allen Agar, left, and defense attorney Devin Pommerenke listen in the 88th District Court on Thursday.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Alpena Police Officer Mark Bluck examines a bike after it collided with a car on Chisholm Street at about 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. No child was involved in the wreck.

News Photo by Jonny Zawacki
Alpena’s Tiffany Tessmer (5) tips a ball past Gaylord’s Morgan Monchilov (9) during the second set of a Big North Conference volleyball match on Wednesday at Alpena High School.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Defense attorney Mike Lamble, who represents many people convicted of misdemeanors that may be eligible for expungement, works with client paperwork in his office on Wednesday.

News Photo by Crystal Nelson
Lisa Blumenthal, administrative assistant with Alpena Community College’s Strengthening Institutions Program and Workforce Development, on Wednesday looks at a daily prompt from the 21-day Equity Challenge in her office.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Alpena Clerk/Treasurer Anna Soik shows off the 26th Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awards the city has earned.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Alpena Clerk/Treasurer Anna Soik shows off the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awards the city has earned over the years. On Wednesday, the city won its 26th award.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Laura Stibitz, principal of Alternative Choices for Educational Success Academy in Alpena, shows a classroom where a new juvenile diversion program will help keep young people out of residential placement.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Hunter Ron Lauria, of Alpena, and visitor Alan Roeder from downstate browse the ammunition selection at Bob’s Gun Shop in Alpena.

Courtesy Photos
Above is Bang Sugar Bang in summer 2019. From left to right are Matt Southwell, Cooper Gillespie, and Chris Black.

News Photo by Julie Riddle
Store owner Andrew Henning sits with store cat Levi at Great North Pet Supply, a business facing court charges for clipping dog toenails, possibly violating an executive order.

News Photo by Steve Schulwitz
Robert Barta, left, and Kaley Genther brave the rain on Monday to fish off the 9th Avenue bridge. Temperatures have been mild of late, but a significant cold spell will begin later this week and last for about the next week or more.