A question for my Torch friends please. Still sorting through rumors but rumor has it, wind turbine parts have been spotted on the Badger. Another rumor, soon to be clarified is construction is actually underway somewhere in Mason County. I have been assigned a photo journalistic task and wonder if anyone has seen anything? Thanks in advance.

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Well.. I did ask for mason Co residents polled but again odd, I can not find the results to the polls I saw either. THank you for the responce and sorry my coment was somewhat short.

LOL

Not to get off the beaten path too far, but I have a new revelation about the Badger employees. A friend and business associate has to go to Wis. for some legal paperwork on a divorce, and will return to spend about 10 days in Lud. to fish and vacation. He was hoping to get a 3 day round-trip special deal with his truck and friend. NO DEALS!!! FULL PRICE ONLY! WHY? Unless you are terminal/going to Mayo Clinic, they have no hardship specials offered. Trouble started when he called last week and got 3 different quotes on 3 different calls for reservations people. When I called I also got 2 different quotes, then got passed to a VP only to be asked why I was trying to get over on him. That struck me odd and annoying, as I was only trying to get some firm quote with a hardship discount, maybe 10-20%. When I mentioned to him I could get free passage from family members in the old days for such passage w/o any trouble, he went on to say that's why they went bankrupt, and they don't intend to go bankrupt now. Well..............having said that I certainly will NOT be handing out Badger brochures and bragging up their service anymore as I have over many past decades. To be that insulting and inefficient in quoting, well, they can have their big prices, and greedy way of doing business to boot.
The fares are posted on the website, why would divorce paperwork be considered a hardship?? I agree with analogy of why they went bankrupt, the delivery could have been better though.
I guess it is not completely correct to say that "site leveling" is in process, it's more the preliminary preparations. The location of the "tower" is about 1/2 mile south of Hawley on Morton. I'm not sure if it is a test tower because it has been there for a long time. It seems to be some sort of communications tower.

Who ever heard of somebody seriously expecting to receive a hardship discount due to a divorce?  Does anybody really believe a charterboat captain would consider a hardship discunt of 20% for divorce?  For every person who has a complaint against the Badger for irresponsible personal reasons there are a few hundred others who will continue to share stories about the terrific transportation and exciting experience it provides. The Badger is great for all regions in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Well EyE, methinks you must know best what hardships are?> or do ya? Certainly a terminal illness is a very strenuous serious hardship. Some people that divorce, whether amicably or not, also are in hardship, depending mostly on who came out with the most assets at the end of course, and that usually is the woman, not the man in Michigan. Thew mental stress also figures heavily for most. This little port of Ludington saw upwards of nine, (9) carferries sailing year-around for about 75 years, not this little 4-1/2 month service we see now. It also employed about 600 people, not 60 as in the present. It's a big stretch of any imagination to say that a few friends and family crossing free put them in bankruptcy thru the decades. Either way, I tried to help a friend, and found the effort was more insulting and snoddy than it should have been. Perhaps that's how EyE runs their business and life, sorry, I don't, and that's just being me, not irresponsible.   

The carferrys were not in bankruptcy through the decades.  That old carferry fleet of days goneby was prosperous.  But that was a long time ago and it is a whole new ballgame now in an entirely different type of transportation options and business climate.  The current carferry is not going to go bankrupt anytime soon.  Betcha.

It is a known fact that divorce is the end result of nearly 50% of all marriages. Rarely will both divorcees agree that their combined assets were distributed fairly, and often each ex will accuse the other of getting more than fair share.  This is one reason why more people sign pre-nuptials before they get married.

LOL, did you seriously expect to obtain hardship discount on carferry for your friend to sign legal paperwork in Wis and then return to Ludington for a 10 day fishing vacation? It is commendable of you to try and help your friend but getting mad when the discount is not available is irresponsible.   If you were a real friend you could reach out and help your manfriend pay for his trip out of your own generosity.  Or could you?

Another black EyE on Ludington missed the point again. First of all, I don't get mad, I get even....lol. Actually, disappointment and disgust with the affair from the way he and I were both treated is more accurate. The friend was, like all of us these days, looking for a deal if one was available, he's never sailed the Badger before this. Secondly, he's not broke, nor do I need to lend any financial assistance. The major point missed here is the quality and accuracy of the fare quotes and the missing courtesy that should accompany all customer relations. The statements made by a man in a high post of Vice President of this operation were uncalled for, and plainly lacking merit and diplomacy. That's how the down-stater ran his other business here too, and finally sold out when he was no longer in a monopoly type position, too many competitors beating his price and being friendly and courteous at the same time. How that man got as far as he did surprises me to this day, but, that's just part of small towns in W. Michigan, something many will never understand in their miserable lifetime.

On the website, the prices are provided in detail.  It is weird that he had gotten quoted three different prices, and for you two different prices, Aquaman.  From my dealings with them, they will not vary too much from their good value promotions like the mini-cruise.  Perhaps, they should, but they should at least be consistent and friendly.

This is something of a stressful time for those who work at the carferries, not knowing what their status will be after next year.  Traditionally, they have done well in customer service, but I wouldn't be surprised if there are more problems like this in these transitional times. 

Here is one of the main points in the quote that don't make sense: you can do a 72 hour/3 day round-trip turnaround with a substantial discount for any amount of people. The catch is if you bring a vehicle with you, then the discount does not apply. WHY? If the company is making an extra $59 each way for a pickup truck why not add another discount for the vehicle? They simply don't and won't, and to me that's just saying, hey, Manitowoc probably wants the customers to stay there and spend all their time and money there, unless you want to rent a car. So, maybe it's the politics of the port of Manitowoc connection that trumps the special rate. But, having said that and accepting that, why be so insulting and annoying about the matter when you need and want to promote the carferry? And for that to come from on high, an executive VP, that got to me. This is NOT the way Bob Manglitz, the owner, would have handled this, and maybe he needs to know, the tail doesn't wag the dog there yet.............or at least it shouldn't.

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