Footage of April 3, 1956 tornado destruction in Hudsonville, Michigan

April 3, 1956 tornadoes swept through west Michigan taking 17 lives and injuring 340. The 400 yard wide and 48 mile long path of destruction tore through west Michigan from Vriesland to Trufant. The National Weather Service rated the tornado an F5 - the highest rating for tornadoes. F5 Definition: Via National Weather Service Winds of 261-318 miles per hour. Incredible damage. Strong frame houses leveled off foundations and swept away; automobile-sized missiles fly through the air in excess of 100 meters (109 yds); trees debarked; incredible phenomena will occur.

Other tornadoes swept through west Michigan that early April day. Towns like Saugatuck, Holland, Bangor, and Alto were also struck by various tornadoes in the late afternoon and evening hours.

If the above player does not appear you can watch the video here.

Also, there is 8mm footage of the tornado as it ripped through Grand Rapids. You can view the footage here.

Detroit Tigers Opening Day is a Michigan Holiday in my book

Bad news is breathing down our necks here in Michigan on a daily basis. Company's are leaving or laying off. A huge state budget crisis has severe cuts or a tax increase looming. But today, April 2, 2007, is a holiday of sorts. At least for fans of the Detroit Tigers. The 2006 Tigers gave us quite a ride last year and were a bright spot in a state showing its rust.

So here is to a fun Summer of 2007 with the Detroit Tigers. Sure they have already lost Kenny Rogers until the second half of the season. Yeah, the only team in the last three decades to get back to the World Series and win the year after they lost a World Series was the 1989 Oakland A's (the 1988 A's were beat by the L.A. Dodgers - remember former Tiger Kirk Gibson's walk-off home run to take the first game?).

First pitch is at 1:05 p.m. against the Toronto Blue Jays.

For a special treat, take a listen to Hall of Fame broadcaster (and at least a Tigers legend) Ernie Harwell in this excellent montage video. You'll hear his famous speach, "Baseball Is", The Voice of the Turtle, and some of his signature calls (Looonngg Gone!).

If the player does not work you can view the video here.

Each spring Ernie Harwell would recite Song of Solomon 2:11-12 to welcome the new season. Here is "The Voice of the Turtle."

For, lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone; The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing of birds is come, And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

Let's Go Tigers!!!

Some April Fools to watch out for in Michigan this weekend

On a lighter note and since it is Friday I put together a list of some "April Fools" you might need to be aware of here in Michigan. Don't get taken in by them now, you hear?

• Jennifer Granholm personally solves the state budget crisis by selling the U.P. to Canada.
• State highway workers eliminate all of our potholes by filling them in with the millions of "old blue" license plates that have been retired.
• Dick DeVos sells off his Alticor stock to invest in a new bio-fuel car manufacturer that plans to build cars that are fueled by politicians. Apparently the cars will run on hot air and empty promises. I'm not sure how many miles to the gallon they'll get but this fuel supply should never run out (unfortunately).
• The University of Michigan has decided to change its nickname from Wolverines to the Sharks. It is an homage to Greg Norman (nicknamed the Shark) and the fact that like Greg Norman, they seem to choke in big games. Plus, there is no scientific proof that wolverines ever existed in this state so why keep living the lie, right?
• As part of the celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Mackinac Bridge, Jennifer Granholm has proposed an entry fee for the 2007 Labor Day Bridge Walk. Our governor thought it would only be fitting for the fee to be $1 for each year that the bridge has been open for a nice round figure of $50.
• It appears that the proposed amusement park in Grayling will indeed receive state funding. The backers of the amusement park have agreed to help the state save money on its prison system by creating "Prison Break Adventure" and staffing the park with current prison inmates. A source from Lansing calls it "a win-win situation."
• For every home run that new Tiger player Gary Sheffield hits this year at Comerica Park, Tigers owner and Little Caesars boss, Mike Ilitch will give a Hot-N-Ready pizza to each fan in attendance.
• Speaking of Comerica - rumors abound that Comerica bank officials have had a change of heart about moving their headquarters to Texas. Governor Granholm and our state legislature worked a last minute deal with them to encourage Comerica to remain in Michigan. In addition to some extensive tax breaks thrown their way, they also get to run Chrysler.

Have a Great Weekend and watch out for any April Fools' Day pranks!

Enjoy this very well put together slide show of the U.P.

With crummy state news leading newspaper headlines across the state I thought I would just fore go commenting on the bad and show some of the good of our beautiful state. Michigan's Upper Peninsula is home to numerous breathtaking views and Doug Modlin put together some great pictures in a slide show and added some music for a wonderful presentation.

If the video player does not work you can view the video here.

Michigan predicting modest increase in tourism for 2007

Funny, but they gave the same estimate for growth last year. More money was spent on advertising Michigan as a tourism destination and guess what? The number of tourists in 2006 remained flat - it was pretty much the same as 2005. Since the results were so good last year (sarcasm here folks) Michigan is planning on spending more money this year on promoting our state as a travel destination. I am sure that the marketing budget for tourism is just a drop in the bucket that is our state budget deficit, but businesses do not keep throwing good money at poor (no increase in tourists) results.

Why should Michigan?

Read the article at The Detroit News.

Meet some of the 2007 Michigan Notable Books authors this spring

The 2007 Michigan Notable Books author tour runs April 5 through May 24. The tour encompasses just about every area of the state giving Michigan residents a chance to meet the authors of the 2007 Michigan Notable Books. 19 of the authors are participating in the tour this year for book signings and discussions. You can view the schedule and authors for April and May.

I just started reading Steven Lehto's book, "Death's Door: The Truth Behind Michigan's Largest Mass Murder" last night. His book is one of the 20 Michigan Notable Books for 2007. You can view the entire list here.