GLEN HAVEN, MI -- The sun was glimmering off the Sleeping Bear Bay and the leaves were tinged with yellows and reds on Thursday morning as the innkeepers at Sleeping Bear Inn cleared the breakfast plates. But something was off. Their national park neighborhood is eerily quiet in the wake of the government shutdown.

The 19th century inn sits in Glen Haven, home to the big red Cannery and the historic village’s blacksmith shop, general store and Maritime Museum.

Unlike its neighbors, the inn is leased from the National Park Service but operates independently as a business through the care of Maggie and Jeff Kato . They are among the unique third-party vendors who are part of the park experience but not part of the official park operations.

The federal government shutdown, which went int

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