Sara Swanson

Child COVID vaccines are available in Michigan. Now comes the hard part.

by Robin Erb, Ron French (Bridge Michigan) GRAND RAPIDS—The decision to vaccinate 7-year-old Brittish Conaway against COVID pivoted on Dr. Jenny Bush’s choice of words. “When she gets sick,” the doctor explained to the girl’s mom, “her sugar levels plummet. And that’s where things like metabolic strokes happen.” Brittish has complex health problems stemming from a […]

 Sara Swanson

Climate change grips trout streams across the nation: How anglers are responding

by Laura Gersony, Circle of Blue (for Bridge Michigan) The air is rich with the scent of wild river as David McCool sets his boat in the Au Sable River in northern Michigan. The early morning silence is broken only by an occasional bird call and the soft susurrations of the crystal clear water. It’s […]

 Sara Swanson

Michigan to offer nonbinary designation for driver licenses this week

by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Michigan residents will soon be able to select a gender-neutral designation on their driver license or state ID cards: an X. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office will begin offering the nonbinary gender designation beginning Nov. 10, providing a new option for residents who do not identify as […]

 Sara Swanson

Halloween in the Village of Manchester 2021 (photos)

 Sara Swanson

Why are so many Michigan water systems finding lead? They’re looking harder

by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Benton Harbor is likely just the beginning. Since the southwest Michigan community’s prolonged lead-in-water crisis began making national headlines this fall, residents of Hamtramck, Wayne and Manchester have all learned that their water, too, exceeded government lead standards, sparking renewed cries for faster action to eliminate the toxic metal from […]

 Sara Swanson

Michigan House votes to bar Airbnb bans

By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) Michigan municipalities would be unable to ban Airbnb and other short-term rentals under legislation approved early Wednesday in the Republican-led state House. House Speaker Jason Wentworth, R-Farwell, kept lawmakers in session until 2 am as he and other GOP leaders wrangled votes for the long-debated legislation pushed by the Michigan […]

 Sara Swanson

Michigan’s embattled unemployment agency gets third director in 11 months

By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last Monday appointed a new director for Michigan’s embattled unemployment insurance agency, replacing an interim leader who Republican legislators had urged the first-term Democrat to remove. It’s the second new job in less than a month for Julia Dale, the new UIA director. Whitmer had on Sept. […]

 Sara Swanson

WAVE shuttle bus service expanded to 5 days per week & door-to-door!

On August 3, 2020, Western-Washtenaw Area Value Express (WAVE) launched a free shuttle bus service on Tuesdays and Thursdays between Manchester and Chelsea, sponsored by St. Joseph Mercy Chelsea. This month they expanded the free shuttle bus service to five days a week and door-to-door service! Effective October 1, 2021, WAVE is now operating a […]

 Sara Swanson

Obituary: Michael Vernon Nickerson

Michael Vernon Nickerson, age 72, passed away at his home in Manchester on October 31, 2021. He was born September 17, 1949 to William V. and Catherine H.( Lustila) Nickerson in Newberry, MI. He married Terry Gail Hough on May 24, 1969 at Emanuel United Church of Christ in Manchester. Mike was a member of […]

 Sara Swanson

Obituary: Rev. William G. Hainstock

The Rev. William G. Hainstock, age 80, of Saline, MI passed away peacefully on Thursday, October 28, 2021. He was born in Ann Arbor, MI, the son of Ernest L. and Phyllis M. (Bush) Hainstock. On September 5, 1964 William married Ruth E. Schiel, and she survives. Other survivors include their daughters Robin (Alan) West, […]