Up North Progressive
Politics and commentary for Northern MichiganMaxed-Out GOP Donor GEO Group Demands Tax Break from Poorest County in Michigan
Sunday , 6, October 2024 GEO Group, Punk Prison Leave a comment
Last month, GEO Group contested a property tax assessment with the Michigan Tax Tribunal, demanding that the value of their sole Michigan prison be significantly reduced. The assessed property is the shuttered North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin, Michigan.
The facility was built 26 years ago with the approval of the Lake County Board of County Commissioners. GEO Group, then called Wackenhut, promised to be good neighbors to the community, providing jobs and additional revenue to local community institutions. The 571-bed facility opened to receive juvenile offenders, but without support from the state, it eventually closed.
The prison attempted to re-open three more times, accepting contracts with prisoners shipped in from California and Vermont and with generous donations to Donald Trump in 2017, federal detainees who were arrested for criminal activity. Every activation was temporary, and the prison closed again and again. Fortunately, this had little impact on unemployment, as GEO Group, after expanding the prison to 1800 beds in 2011, transferred GEO Group employees from other facilities for jobs that paid living wages.
Is the private for-profit prison suffering a financial hardship requiring a significant tax break? Let’s take a look:
GEO Group’s 2023 annual revenue was $2.42 billion, with a net value of $1.68 billion, a net increase of 81.29 percent as of September 20, 2024. The company pays no dividends to stockholders and no longer holds REIT status as of 2021. Despite this, GEO Group’s 100 private facilities with 81,000 beds employ 18,000 people and still make a profit.
In February, GEO Group maxed out political campaign contributions totaling $1.8 million for 2024. The billion-dollar corporation nearly exclusively donated money to Republicans, and most of its contributions went to Donald Trump’s political PACs.
In 2023, GEO Group spent $1.25 million in lobbying funds to support congressional bills for the Department of Homeland Security and securing the border. As of June 2024, GEO Group lobbyists contributed $690,000 for similar legislation.
Compare this to demanding a massive tax break from one of the poorest counties in Michigan, where a shuttered 1800-bed facility stands empty after four failed activations. GEO Group promised North Lake Correctional Facility would employ hundreds of local job seekers. The prison promised to be a good neighbor. How can this multi-billion dollar private corrections corporation be a good neighbor while eliminating the funds that keep the county financially afloat? It’s not the county’s fault that GEO Group’s business plan for a giant maximum security prison in Northern Michigan failed to make a profit. GEO Group must remember their good neighbor promise and pay their fair share. They can afford it.
Meet the Candidates: Floyd Brown for Lake County Probate Judge
Friday , 20, September 2024 Candidates, Election 2024 Leave a comment
Lake County’s primary election on August 6, 2024, eliminated a long list of candidates for Lake County Probate Judge. Of the two remaining candidates, one of them is a Lake County resident with real community roots and an impressive career history. That candidate is Floyd Brown.
Floyd Brown graduated from Baldwin High School in 1984. He attended community college in Kalamazoo for one year before enlisting with the United States Air Force. He served his country for 23 years, earning numerous service medals and commendations. He deployed to bases state-side and overseas. He is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm.
While in military service, Brown continued his education. He earned associate’s degrees in liberal arts and paralegal studies, a bachelor’s degree in business management, and a Juris Doctorate from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego, California.
Floyd Brown is licensed to practice law in Michigan and California, representing clients in Lake, Kent, Mecosta, and Isabella Counties. Brown’s legal career includes both private practice and public service. He worked for Klinedinst, Fliehman, and McKillop in San Diego, California. His work included real estate, employment and labor, and discrimination litigation. His public work consists of working for the Social Security Administration as an Attorney Advisor and his appointment to the Michigan Military Appeals Tribunal by Governor Gretchen Whitmer in 2023.
Floyd Brown is endorsed by the Honorable Mark S. Wickens (Retired). For more information about Floyd Brown, please visit his website.
On November 5, 2024, Lake County can elect a Lake County resident for Probate Judge. Vote for Floyd Brown for Lake County Probate Judge.
Frisky Friske Update: Nazi Legacy OUT – DeVos Stooge Running for Jodi Decker’s Seat
Wednesday , 7, August 2024 Candidates, Election 2024, Enbridge Line 5, Meet the Candidates 2024 Leave a comment
The dust settled over Michigan after the primary election on August 6, 2024, and there were happy surprises. In State House District 107, Neil Friske (R-Watch me chase a stripper while armed and receive no charges!) lost his primary race to represent the Northern Lower Peninsula and Eastern Upper Peninsula district for another term.
In a statement, Friske stated:
In Lansing, where conformity often overshadows conviction, I’ve made it my mission to stand firm on principles that matter—principles that I feel are essential to conservatives … It is evident that God has a different plan for my life. Therefore, I look forward with anticipation to following His leading down whatever path he puts before me.
Now that Friske has to figure out how to play the most dangerous game at home in Northern Michigan, who gets to take his place on the November ballot?
This guy: 
Support for Parker Fairbairn of Harbor Springs includes Farm Bureau, Right to Life, Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Great Lakes Education Project, and Michigan Freedom Fund. He attends the DeVos School of Management to accompany his BBA in Automotive Marketing from Northwood University. Score another win for Dick and Betsy DeVos. 
Jodi Decker is the Democratic Party candidate for the 107th State House District. Jodi lives in Sault Ste Marie with her family. Her background is in juvenile justice and working with at-risk youth. She is a strong advocate for women’s reproductive health, shutting down Enbridge Line 5, and for young people. Rather than voting for a candidate who works for the DeVos family, vote for the candidate who will work for the people of the 107th State House. Vote for Jodi Decker on November 5, 2024.
Crib Fit For a Judge UPDATE: It’s Legal But is it Honest?
Tuesday , 30, July 2024 Candidates, Community, Election 2024 Leave a comment
There have been new developments in the case of the Lake County probate judge who lives in a 600-square-foot three-season hunting cabin in the woods. David Glancy claims his main homestead is 10211 East 16th Street in Lake County. But does he live there?
Until recently, according to one source, the answer was no. Glancy and his family have a much larger, more excellent home in Traverse City. Why live in a tiny cabin with a toilet next to the water heater? Previous owners of that “residence” got water from the neighbors if they stayed in their cabin during winter due to uninsulated pipes.
Once alerted there was a discrepancy, Pinora Township, where this cabin is located in Lake County, looked into the matter because it appeared that David Glancy had two homesteads in different counties with the primary residence exemption. This is illegal in Michigan. Most homes in Lake County are second properties, so you cannot apply for the tax exemption. The local school district is out of formula because of the number of vacation homes in the county. This means the school district no longer receives the foundation allowance funding from the state due to declining enrollment. This is happening to more school districts in Northern Michigan.
After Board of Review meetings and phone calls between township assessors, it was discovered missing paperwork made it appear that David Glancy and his family enjoyed the homestead tax exemption on two properties.
UNTIL
In an email dated May 28, 2024, Glancy attached the paperwork to rescind his name from the PRE for the property in Long Lake Township, Grand Traverse County. He had no idea how it didn’t arrive with the rest of the paperwork. Someone lost it at the real estate office or went to the wrong township, but here it is, a year and a half late.
The interesting thing about this form is that the Glancys signed it the day after the home sale for the Lake County cabin was final, January 19, 2023, but Long Lake Township didn’t receive the form until May 28, 2024.
Long Lake Township filed the rescinding form with the rest of the tax records, noting the late filing. Pinora Township received this paperwork in July 2024 and restored the PRE for 10211 East 16th Street. Both townships consider the matter settled. All the Glancys have to do is file separate tax returns, and they can claim both properties as primary homesteads.
All legal, but … is it honest? And does Glancy really live there?
Shortly after the dust settled over the taxes, there was a day when power tools and sounds of construction could be heard from 10211 East 16th Street. Fresh tire tracks in the driveway appear more frequently. It’s possible more effort is being made to make the tiny cabin in the woods look lived in.
Crib Fit For a Judge: The Curious Case of Judge Glancy’s Lake County Home
Friday , 5, July 2024 Candidates, Election 2024 2 Comments
Occasionally, the Up North Progressive receives a tip from a reader about strange things happening with political candidates. This time, the tip is about a candidate for probate judge in Lake County and the case of his home address.
David M. Glancy is the current Probate Court Judge of Lake County. He was appointed to the position by Governor Gretchen Whitmer on April 26, 2023, after the retirement of Judge Mark Wickens. In 2024, he’s running for a full term as Lake County Judge.
On January 19, 2023, David Glancy purchased a property in eastern Lake County. The address for this property is 10211 East 16th Street. According to the realtor.com website, this is Judge Glancy’s new home: 
The property is described as a one-bedroom, one-bath, 600-square-foot cabin on 2.5 acres. That’s not much living space for a judge. This could be a weekend cabin to get away from it all. So many houses in Lake County are vacation homes; the only school district in Lake County is an out-of-formula district.
However, evidence suggests Judge David Glancy is also registered to vote at 10211 East 16th Street, which would make this cabin in the woods his primary residence: 
So, does a county probate judge live in this three-season cabin full-time?
You can’t help but notice Judge Glancy in the image above wearing a wedding band. This 2014 Ludington Daily News article interviewed Glancy when he was a candidate living in Amber Township with his wife and two children and running for office—this time, for 51st Circuit Court Judge. He also coached the swimming team for Ludington Community Schools.
You may be thinking, “Has the reader who gave Up North Progressive the tip about Judge Glancy ever met him or his family? Sadly, the answer is no. In fact, since the autumn of 2022, when the cabin was put on the market, it’s been highly tranquil. No one visits this property, even on weekends. 
This is a remarkably undisturbed driveway, disturbing for a judge who lives and votes from this address.
Stay tuned. There could be more.
Frisky Friske Update: Multiple Felonies Edition
Friday , 21, June 2024 Election 2024, Gun Reform, MAGA, MIGOP Leave a commentNeil Friske faces multiple felony charges, including sexual assault, assault of a sexual nature, and a felony weapons charge. 
The Ingham County Prosecutor told the police to keep investigating. Friske was released from county lockup today.
In other news, the Supreme Court again upheld its ruling that red flag laws do not violate the Second Amendment.
BREAKING NEWS: @MIGOP State House Rep Neil Friske Arrested!
Thursday , 20, June 2024 Election 2024, Gun Reform, MAGA, MIGOP, Religious Fundamentalism 1 CommentUPDATE! STATE REP NEIL FRISKE MET THE ADULT DANCER AT DEJA VU.
State news reporting today that Republican State House Rep Neil Friske of the 107th has been sitting in a Lansing, MI, jail since early Thursday morning. Major news outlets so far say the reason is undisclosed at this time.
State Rep. Neil Friske, R-Charlevoix, was arrested around 2:45 a.m. on the 2000 block of Windbreak Lane in Lansing and remained in custody Thursday, Lansing Police Public Information Director Jordan Gulkins confirmed to the Free Press. Gulkins said potential charges for Friske remain under review, and declined to reveal the nature of Friske’s arrest. Should any charge be filed, Gulkins said an arraignment would take place Friday or Saturday.
According to MIRS:
Ah, so he’s acting like a typical conservative Republican.
If chasing an adult dancer through the streets of Lansing while packing heat is true, according to MIRS, Neil Friske might be in some serious trouble. We will have to wait and see.
If you don’t know who the Friske family is, they are a northern Michigan fruit farmer producing apples and other produce on land purchased by Richard Friske Senior shortly after arriving in the United States after World War II.
