Kalkaska

Why Kalkaska

Kalkaska Township skews younger than much of the rest of Northwest Michigan, with nearly 30% of the 4,799 residents under the age of 25 and another 25% of the population in the prime working, 25-44 year old range—a sign of a robust workforce and family-based community. Kalkaska Public Schools, which includes Crawford School, Kalkaska Alternative Program, Birch Street Elementary School, Cherry Street Intermediate School, Kalkaska Middle School, and Kalkaska High School, have an 82.7% graduation rate. The Traverse Bay Area Career-Tech Center serves juniors and seniors in the Kalkaska Public School system. The center offers training in 23 career fields utilizing the latest technology and state-of-the-art equipment. *Evaluating Redevelopment Ready Community status.

Kalkaska is home to a robust selection of housing options with 2,637 housing units. Seasonal housing comprises only 13.4% of housing units in the community, compared to 36% for the county at large. The Kalkaska region has a diversity of housing units, with 10% built before 1940 and 36% built in the past 40 years. Kalkaska’s median home value, $97400, and median monthly rent, $646, both fall below the county as a whole. A stable population with a 68% home ownership rate means a solid, affordable housing stock that matches housing demand.

Active freight lines running through town mean ample opportunity for shipping bulk commodity goods, and Kalkaska is in pursuit of developing intermodal transport stations to make these lines more responsive to modern industrial needs. Busy M-72 which runs through the township is a 30 minute connection to I-75 and straight shot to Detroit, while another major highway, US-131, brings drivers from Kalkaska to Chicago in a matter of hours.

Kalkaska is applying its strengths in transport and logistics to grow the emerging and expanding regional cannabis industry. With a testing center and licensed transport facility, many growers from around the region ship cannabis product to Kalkaska for distribution across the state.

Over 15% of the county is employed in the Healthcare and Social Services industry, and the Kalkaska Memorial Health Center alone employs over 600 people. Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation, along with Construction, and Manufacturing, make up 34% of all jobs in the County. The public schools and local government administration are also major employers. Of the 2,399 workers living in the Kalkaska Township community, 61% work locally in Kalkaska County.

Featured Employer

American Waste is a locally owned company headquartered in Kalkaska spanning back over 40 years, the company. With a company mission, “People working together, building relationships that are unrivaled through collaboration, innovation and dedication,” American Waste and its affiliate Northern A-1 Environmental Services are committed to community and sustainability in Northern Michigan. 400 plus employees enjoy a wide range of benefits and a safe, innovative working environment. 

Year-Round Recreation

With 50% of Kalkaska County covered in state and federal forest land, Kalkaska offers unique opportunities for year round recreation. Kalkaska is a winter sporting enthusiast’s paradise, averaging 120 inches in annual snowfall! A destination for fishing, camping, skiing, and more, Kalkaska has been designated as a “Trail Town.” The North Country Scenic Trail, enjoyed by hikers, equestrians, mountain bikers, ORV, and snowmobilers, runs right through Kalkaska on its way back into the Pere Marquette State Forest. The Bell's Beer Iceman Cometh Challenge is the longest point to point race in North America. The 29-mile race from Kalkaska to Traverse City has been held 29 years in a row every fall. 

Visitors are quick to notice the Trout Fountain in downtown Kalkaska, which at nearly 20 feet tall commemorates the official state fish, the brook trout. The National Trout Festival has been running for over 80 years and brings thousands of visitors to Kalkaska every spring. The Kalkaska Historical Museum is another local gem, featuring relics of the area’s past history in logging, agriculture, and manufacturing, nestled in the Train Depot building in the historical downtown district, which dates back to the early 1900s.

The Kalkaska County Library in the Township serves as a community resource, and the Kaliseum Recreation Center provides ample opportunity for community sports and fitness programs.

 

• Warren Call, President | CEO—(231) 995-7108

Kalkaska County is part of the growing Grand Traverse region, located in the lower Peninsula of Michigan and surrounded by rail, highway, airport and trails. Its county seat, the village of Kalkaska, is not too far from Northern Michigan’s beautiful forests and fields and boasts unique regional assets and employers, including a hospital, high-quality schools and historic downtown.