Spotty snow a mixed bag for businesses in Michigan

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) - Spotty snowfall in the Upper Midwest is making some business owners happy and hurting others.

Snow accumulation is below normal across the region for the second consecutive winter. It's picked up over the past week as temperatures have fallen dramatically. But some areas are having a feast and others a famine.

Sarah Long says bare ground caused her resort in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to lose nearly three weeks' worth of reservations. But heavy lake-effect snow in recent days has turned things around.

In much of Wisconsin and Minnesota, snowmobile rental companies and plow truck drivers are getting little demand. Chicago got its first inch-deep layer of snow Friday.

Some resorts have begun offering winter activities that don't require snow, such as wine tasting and ice fishing.