Northern Michigan University graduate assistant Benjamin Fidler won first place in the most recent international 3-Day Novel Contest. Elijah Sparkman, an MFA graduate of NMU, also participated and advanced to the final selection. Instead of relaxing during Labor Day weekend 2021, both wrote tirelessly to create a novel or novella in 72 hours, competing against other writers worldwide. The judges take nearly a year to read hundreds of submissions and recently released the results. 

The Finnish folk group Kardemimmit will perform at Northern Michigan University on Saturday, Sept. 17, as part of the Beaumier Heritage Concert Series. The performance is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will take place at Reynolds Recital Hall. Tickets cost $10 for the general public and $5 for NMU students and those under 18.

NMU alumnus Cory Gylock has been promoted to vice president and general manager of Nexstar Media's digital operations of WLAX-TV (FOX) and WEUX-TV (FOX) in La Crosse/Eau Claire, Wis., and their related digital and social media channels. The 2012 marketing graduate previously served as general sales manager for the stations.

Debra Greenacre, a 2003 NMU elementary education alumna and executive director of the Manistee Public Library, demonstrates the importance of following your dreams, no matter how long it takes for them to come into clear focus. Greenacre was featured in the Huron Daily Tribune as a part of a series on women in leadership positions.

Northern Michigan University alumna Karen Saari was commissioned to co-write a musical titled Ten Days in a Madhouse, about journalist Nellie Bly's experience infiltrating a notorious insane asylum to report on the abhorrent conditions. The show had its world premiere Aug. 19-27 through Music Theatre of Madison in Wisconsin. The Upper Peninsula native said it was research for an NMU class assignment that sparked her lifelong fascination with Bly.