Most weeks on Total Michigan, Cliff DuVernois sits down with dreamers and doers who are making our state brighter.

This week, the spotlight turns inward.

In this deeply personal year-in-review episode, Cliff reflects on 2025—a year defined by creative growth, unexpected limitations, and the heavy, sacred work of caregiving. As his mother’s dementia progressed, the life he had carefully built was slowly reshaped by responsibility, sacrifice, and hard decisions no one prepares you for.

What emerged from that pressure wasn’t the end of Total Michigan, but a clearer purpose, stronger storytelling, and a deeper understanding of what it means to slow down, let go, and trust God with what you cannot control.

This is a story about love, loss, resilience, and learning when to stop being the caregiver—and start being the son.

In this episode of Total Michigan, we sit down with Pete Sanford, the owner of Steele Street Brewing in Ionia, to explore how an unexpected career change, a run-down building, and a simple desire to create a welcoming space turned into one of the community’s most beloved gathering places. Pete shares the heart, grit, and vision behind building a true hometown pub—where tables get pushed together, conversations flow effortlessly, and belonging is poured one pint at a time.

• How Pete transformed a neglected building into a community hub
• The challenges and surprises of starting and running a small-town brewery
• Why Steele Street Brewing has become Ionia’s unofficial living room

Links:

Steele Street Brewing

300 S Steele Street

Ionia, MI, 48846

Website: https://www.steelestreetbrewing.com/

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Can business truly be a force for good? In this episode, Cliff DuVernois talks with Gene Pickelman, co-founder of Tri-Star Trust Bank, about Conscious Capitalism — a people-first approach that builds leaders, supports families, and strengthens entire communities. Gene shares how choosing people over profit transformed Tri-Star’s culture and sparked a movement across the Great Lakes Bay Region, proving that purpose-driven business can create impact far beyond the workplace. A powerful conversation about heart, grit, and what leadership can look like when people and profit work together.

Links:

Conscious Capitalism: https://www.consciouscapitalism.org/

Tri-Star Trust: https://www.tristartrust.com/

Subscribe to our Email Newsletter: https://totalmichigan.com/join/

Find us on Facebook: https://facebook.com/totalmichigan

Watch on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@totalmichigan