Mike Gruits grew up in Bloomfield Hills, MI, and spent his childhood summers visiting Mackinac Island and the Upper Peninsula.
After graduating high school, Mike spent five years in the United States Marine Corps, then joined the Pennsylvania State Police, where he enjoyed five years as a trooper assigned to Troop J - Avondale and Troop M - Bethlehem.
In 2019, Mike and his wife, Jena, decided that they wanted to try and make the Upper Peninsula their home. Mike was hired as a seasonal police officer with the Mackinac Island Police Department in April of 2021, and was hired as a full-time officer with the department five months later.
Jena and their four children moved to Mackinac Island in September of that year, and are thrilled to live in a community as family-oriented as Mackinac Island.