A shortage of cement, a key binding component used in the production of concrete, is causing a major delay in construction projects throughout Michigan and the Great Lakes Region.

The cement industry is blaming the lack of cement on last year’s harsh winter, saying that shipping towards the end of the winter season was delayed because of the lingering effects of the polar vortex. Over the winter, the Great Lakes froze over almost completely, which in turn meant that shipping companies had to wait longer in order to be able to complete shipments across the lakes. An oil boom in North Dakota also tied up shipping methods, adding to the delay of springtime cement shipping.

“As the polar vortex continued, cement storage facilities remained full. When the weather warmed, construction picked up as did the demand for cement. However, transportation bottlenecks resulted in cement sufficient to meet pent-up customer demand was not able to make it to the Great Lakes region in what was an usually heightened and compressed seasonal demand period,” noted Michigan cement producer Lafarge North America, according to the Detroit Free Press.

As a result, even projects that are usually quick and simple to complete are being put off much longer than is typical for this time of year. Homeowners looking to have their driveways redone with concrete, for instance, could be put on a waiting list for over a month.

Some blame the state for the delays, arguing that the Michigan Department of Transportation is claiming priority for its road construction projects, although authorities from the Michigan Concrete Association say that the reconstruction of I-96 was scheduled long before the cement shortage became a problem.

As if the delay were not bad enough, there is also a rush to get construction projects done before the winter season arrives. With weather forecasts predicting another cold, snowy winter, it is unlikely that many projects will be completed over the course of the season.

So what is the solution? Most big construction projects will have to wait their turn, but for homeowners who had hoped to have a cement driveway poured before winter, they may consider choosing a different material for their driveways. Gravel, for example, is another popular choice for driveways and can even last a lifetime.

Without the White Horse Inn, there’d be no Metamora. If the inn wasn’t there to share its historic horse-country ambiance, people would have virtually no reason to visit the southeast Michigan village.

However, thanks to one couple and the generosity of several professionals, the once-defunct inn is making a comeback.

In late 2012, the previous owners of the town’s only real attraction closed it down without warning, because they couldn’t afford the necessary repairs. Maintenance, renovations, and improvements are heavy investments, after all. In fact, the national average cost to build a deck in the U.S. is upwards of $9,500. Seeing as how the White Horse Inn was over 160 years old, it’d naturally cost much, much more to restore the crumbling inn to the kind of place that’d once again bring visitors from all over the area. A few million more, actually.

“It was … like the town lost its life,” remembers Zorka Pondell, an area business owner. “The energy was gone.”

However, a silly thing like expenses wasn’t going to stop Linda Egeland and Victor Dzenowagis, the veteran Oakland County restaurant owners determined to save the historic landmark that had once been Michigan’s oldest continuously operating restaurant. The couple set out to give back to their hometown of 26 years by restoring and renovating the mid 19th century building, and found themselves neck deep in an effort that eventually blossomed into a project adopted by architects, stonemasons, craftsmen, farmers, businesses, and even a French artist. All of whom offered their services, skills, and resource free of charge, or “way, way below” their usual rates.

“There’s no way we could afford to pay these people what they usually charge,” said Egeland. “They’re doing it as a labor of love.”

Even so, Egeland and Dzenowagis have already invested about $3 million on the project, which they expected to only run about $1.5 million. Most of the funds have come from their own personal assets.

“I envisioned a nice, basic place where I could hang some of my horse pictures on the wall … because that’s what we could afford,” said Egeland. “But then these people from the community all started coming in and saying, ‘We want to be part of it.’ … It sort of got a life of its own and developed into something much better than just Vic and I could have imagined or built on our own.”

Now, the restaurant is less than a month away from opening, and the town could not be more excited. With Egeland and Dzenowagis behind the new place, Pondell thinks that “this is the beginning of a wonderful reawakening of the village of Metamora.”

A cycling program in Detroit is getting international attention after it was featured in an Apple iPad commercial a few months ago.

Slow Roll is a free community bike ride program that takes place on the streets of Detroit every Monday night. The goal? To bring people together and create a more immersive relationship with the city. Thousands of riders explore various neighborhoods in groups, getting to know Detroit and each other.

Riders gather at a predetermined location in Downtown Detroit every week and pedal toward the less-developed areas of the city. Usually there’s a notable destination, like the Packard Plant or Fort Wayne. Volunteers keep the riders packed together and following the right path, and community members sit out on porches to watch riders go by.

The ride was already wildly popular in Detroit, but the iPad commercial featuring co-founder Jason Hall has brought it to a whole new level. Over a hundred cities have sent in requests to start their own rides.

“It’s surreal,” Hall told his local CBS affiliate. “Since the Apple commercial we’ve been highlighted in a hundred cities, four cities in Sweden, we’re in Buffalo, we just launched in Chicago, we are doing Houston and Dallas, Texas next.”

The attention didn’t stop there. “I met two guys from China today, who said they saw the commercial in China,” Hall added. “Two guys from Buddy’s Pizza recognized me and they were in town from Seattle.” Cities in the U.K. and Iraq have also started Slow Roll programs.

“Last year I was still struggling – working side jobs, bar-tend where ever I could,” Hall said. “This is the first year where we’ve been able … to devote all our time to it.”

The rides have also benefited the communities they cover. Research shows that 52% of all girls and 66% of all boys play organized sports, meaning that the other half of the youth population may be lacking in exercise. Plenty of adults don’t get the physical activity they need, either. The Slow Roll creates a combination of laid-back exercise and fun that appeals to people of all ages and from all walks of life.