Boyne City: Small-town growth with character

There’s a lot going on in Boyne City. The city’s population surged by more than 6 percent in the last decade, new businesses are open, a factory is under construction and the list of community events never ends. Some say Boyne City is the “jewel of Charlevoix County,” but it’s irrefutable that the town bucked economic trends in recent years and found its niche as a popular place to visit, live or retire. Boyne City’s population increased by 6.6 percent since the 2000 turn-of-the-century census and now stands at 3,735 residents, more than 14 percent of the county’s total population. That bucked trends across the county and region, where population loss dominated. “I think we’re beating most of the trends out there,” said Michael Cain, city manager. Cain attributes the city’s success to community planning efforts. Boyne City keeps an active and award-winning Main Street program to benefit its downtown region, high-speed broadband Internet cables will soon run through town and persistent infrastructure upgrades all combine to poise Boyne City for continued growth, Cain said. “We’re trying to make sure we have a year-round economy that has year-round success,” he said. Full story from Petoskey News-Review.