🏗️ Wolverine Tower is gone. Here’s what’s replacing it.

Morning, Ann Arbor! Remember Wolverine Tower? The Regents just approved what’s going up in its place at State and Eisenhower: a big new sports-medicine building that puts exam rooms, surgery, and rehab in one spot. Elsewhere this week, the state gave TheRide $6.6M to study rapid buses on Washtenaw, and Michigan finally got its first conference win, which took benching Bryce Underwood to pull off.

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🏗️ A Sports Medicine Hub Is Rising Where Wolverine Tower Stood

The Regents approved a three-level, 100,000-square-foot sports medicine building at State and Eisenhower, on the ground where Wolverine Tower used to be. It puts 34 exam rooms, a surgery center, imaging, physical therapy and indoor and outdoor training under one roof, so an athlete gets diagnosed, operated on and rehabbed by one team. It is funded by a gift from Nathan Forbes, class of 1985, and his wife Catherine, and opens fall 2028. U-M Health

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🏈 Michigan Beats Penn State After a QB Switch
The quarterback change paid off. Trailing at halftime, Michigan benched Bryce Underwood (43 yards, two picks) for freshman Tommy Carr, sparking a 21-18 win over Penn State and the Wolverines’ first conference win. Carr’s legs opened up a run game that racked up 200-plus yards, while safeties Rod Moore and Chris Bracy each picked off passes to seal it. Michigan improves to 4-2. Maize n Brew

SPONSORED BY: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MUSEUM OF ART

💻️ UMMA: What if you could take museum art home?

That’s the idea behind Art at Home: U-M’s Art Lending Collection, now on view at UMMA. The exhibition features 150 original works selected for a one-of-a-kind lending library that let’s U-M students live with museum-quality art in their residence hall rooms. Everyone is invited to explore the collection and imagine which piece they would choose for their own walls. While you’re at the Museum, don’t miss UMMA’s other new exhibitions by artists Holly Bass and Rick Lowe, and their stunning new marble floor renovation! Admission is always free. UMMA

🚌 TheRide Gets $6.6M to Study Rapid Buses on Washtenaw

The state handed TheRide $6.6 million to study a Bus Rapid Transit line along Washtenaw, Huron and Jackson, the busiest transit corridor in the county. BRT means dedicated lanes and fewer stops, so buses move more like trains. TheRide

❤️ Porter's Place Opens at Dunbar Tower

The West Side threw an open house Sunday for Porter's Place, a cultural gathering space inside the Dunbar Tower affordable housing complex, with self-guided tours and local historians on hand. "Our neighborhood was one filled with love and laughter and hope," said Rev. Christina Dennis of the building's Community Leadership Council. WEMU

SPONSORED BY: UNIVERSITY MUSICAL SOCIETY

🎭 A World Premiere Ballet Hits the Power Center Friday

UMS commissioned Bobbi Jene Smith, Or Schraiber and New York City Ballet principal Sara Mearns to build a dance work from scratch. The Rose Sonata premieres at the Power Center Friday and Saturday (October 23 and 24) at 7:30 pm: six dancers, two pianists, and the pianists are on stage as part of the piece rather than down in a pit. It is the first of three commissions for the 150th season, and Friday's show ends with a Q&A. UMS

🥪 Zingerman's 2027 Food Tours Add Japan and Türkiye

Fourteen trips next year, with Türkiye and Japan joining the lineup for the first time and Denmark back on a rewritten itinerary. Oaxaca, Tuscany, Ireland, Piedmont, Korea, Sicily and Hungary fill out the rest. Spring Japan and Sicily are already sold out, so move if one of those was the plan. Zingerman's Food Tours 

🎃 Free Comics and Candy at Vault of Midnight on Halloween

Twenty years running: walk into Vault of Midnight on Oct. 31 between 11 and 5 and you get up to five free comics, no purchase, plus two pieces of candy. This year's stack is all spooky, about half all-ages and half rated teen. There's a costume contest through the store's Instagram, and it's first come first served, so go closer to 11 than to 5. Vault of Midnight

🏛️ What Proposal E Would Actually Do

Ann Arbor votes on Proposal E Nov. 3, a citizen-led charter amendment that would create a municipal electric utility run by a nine-member board, five elected in 2028 and four appointed. Council voted 10-1 on Oct. 5 to oppose it and told the city attorney to challenge its legality, saying the effort could top $1 billion; Ann Arbor for Public Power calls that figure "completely false" and notes the proposal does not itself authorize buying DTE's assets. Taking over the grid would need a separate vote and a 60% majority. Planet Detroit

🛍️ L.L.Bean Just Opened at Briarwood
The outdoor-apparel giant held its grand opening Friday at Briarwood Mall, its second Michigan store, and 250-plus people lined up to get in. It’s the latest in a wave of mall additions, joining Dick’s Sporting Goods and the new Harlan apartments, with Warby Parker and Sephora still under construction.

On the Market ($550K or Less)

1334 White St — $449,900 3 bed | 2 bath | 1,520 sqft - A 1915 brick-and-wood home near U-M’s athletic campus with original wood floors, ornate hardware, a brick fireplace and sunroom, ready for renovation with plenty of historic character to preserve.

605 W Washington St — $545,000 3 bed | 2 bath | 1,172 sqft - A 1908 downtown home with historic charm. This is all about location and with some TLC, it could be a really amazing home.

1005 W Liberty St — $550,000 2 bed | 1 bath | 1,114 sqft - A 1914 Old West Side home with original hardwood floors, an updated kitchen with butcher block counters and beadboard ceiling, plus a covered front porch and fenced backyard.

Adoptable Humane Society Pets

Camilla — 6 years | 80 lbs Spayed Female | Pit Bull Terrier. A sweet girl looking for her forever family who’d like to meet any potential dog siblings first. Meet Camilla 

Cheddar Alarm — 6 months | 3 lbs Spayed Female | Domestic Shorthair. A curious orange-and-white kitten eager to explore the world and learn new things. Meet Cheddar Alarm

Cookie — 12 years 1 month | 14 lbs Spayed Female | Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. A sweet senior looking for a quiet, low-key home where she can enjoy her golden years. Meet Cookie

That's all for now! Have a great week in Tree Town!

— Ryan, James, and the Michigander Team

P.S. - Sad news: our Instagram got hacked and taken down for security reasons. We’re working to get it back, but Instagram’s policies are strict, so it may be a minute. Hackers: 1, Michigander: 0

P.P.S. - The downtown library is running a spirit-free cocktail class with Max Schikora Tuesday at 6, so you can learn to build a drink worth holding without committing to the hangover. Details

P.P.P.S. - Indiana comes to the Big House Saturday and it’s parents weekend. This is one of the busiest weekends downtown all year long. Plan accordingly. MGoBlue 

P.P.P.P.S. - The library’s Not-So-Scary Haunted House runs Sunday afternoon with a sensory-friendly hour at 10:30 first. Details

P.P.P.P.P.S. - The Rebel Eves play Kerrytown Concert House Thursday at 7:30, which at that size means you are maybe 20 feet from the band no matter where you sit. Event details

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