To the Munising Beacon Editor, In the December 1, 2023 edition of the Munising Beacon, you ran an opinion piece about short-term housing. It has at least three problems. Firstly, the writer doesn’t identify her/ himself. Secondly, fewer short-term rentals and less tourism is positive for places like Alger County because of, for example, more affordable housing and food, less environmental and health degradation, and a calmer, safer, and more stable community. Otherwise, you must endure thousands of beer cans in your yards and a crowded, trampled, and costly national lakeshore. Thirdly, the writer doesn’t say how to create a more beneficial balance between short-term rentals and a stable community.

I was forced out of the county when thousands more tourists suddenly flooded in and when greed and need forced housing prices to run wildly upward.

Randy Nichols Former Munising Resident Editor’s Note: The opinion piece was written by Jarrett Skorup of the Mackinac Center for Policy. He was credited as the author in the Dec. 1 edition.