Michigan’s fight against Lake Erie pollution didn’t work. What happens next?
by Emilio Perez Ibarguen (Bridge Michigan) Michigan and its neighbors have missed a 2025 deadline to curb the farm pollution that feeds toxic algal blooms in western Lake Erie, despite 10 years of work and millions of dollars spent on the effort. Now, state officials in Michigan are revamping their strategy. But they’re not setting […]
A hard-fought milestone for Flint’s water, but uncertainty ahead
by Emilio Perez Ibarguen (bridge Michigan) FLINT — Eleven years after the disastrous water supply switch that contaminated Flint’s water with lead, activists, residents and lawyers gathered in a church gym to celebrate a big step in the city’s recovery. After years of delays and legal battles, the city has replaced the lead service lines of every […]
From taxes to Medicaid, what Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ would mean for Michigan
by Lauren Gibbons, (Bridge Magazine) In one fell swoop, the Republican-led US House of Representatives this week voted to extend tax cuts, create other tax breaks, scrap Biden-era clean energy credits and cut spending on public assistance programs like Medicaid and food stamps. The so-called “big, beautiful bill” is a top priority of President Donald […]
Michigan public health labs try to adjust after loss of federal funds
by Robin Erb The equipment inside a public health lab here sits shiny, new and eerily quiet. These rooms are dark. Three lab staff have been laid off. In Saginaw, the job posting for an epidemiologist at another public health lab has been yanked. In Newbury, in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the leaky lab roof won’t […]
What is ‘team teaching?’ Michigan schools shake up the ‘one-teacher’ model
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) In a hallway lined with backpacks, jackets and student art, second- and third-graders walk to their home classroom. The students are coming from small group lessons, where some of them have been with classmates a year older or younger than them. It’s part of the district’s experiment with “team teaching.” […]
Despite US research resistance, Great Lakes aims to be Silicon Valley for water
by Brett Walton, Circle of Blue (Bridge Michigan) MILWAUKEE – The confluence of the Milwaukee and Menominee rivers, in the downtown core of Wisconsin’s largest city, is a prime vantage to assess the collection of assets that define the past and future of Great Lakes water use, and the array of technology development encompassing the […]
Battle over Medicaid boils over in DC; what it means for Michigan
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) ANN ARBOR — Pressure continues to mount in Congress and from the White House to shave billions of dollars from Medicaid, leaving Michigan’s health care leaders to grapple with the “what ifs” in a battle that’s likely to continue. In a stunning setback Friday, House Republicans failed to push their […]
Keeping the $5.5 billion Michigan fishery afloat
by Lester Graham, Michigan Public (Bridge Michigan) The Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station is based in a building that was constructed in 1917, originally as a federal fish hatchery. It wasn’t the first on this site. An earlier hatchery was built in 1894. The U.S. government was trying to replenish the fish population. Lake […]
EPA weakens PFAS drinking water limits. What it means for Michigan
by Kelly House, (Bridge Michigan) The Trump administration has announced plans to rescind drinking-water limits on four PFAS “forever chemical” compounds while extending the compliance deadline for two others, in a move that outraged victims of Michigan’s widespread PFAS contamination. Nationwide regulations limiting allowable levels of PFOA and PFOS — two of the most common […]
As farmers wait on government ice storm relief, nonprofits take charge
by Emilio Perez Ibarguen (Bridge Michigan) After a once-in-a-lifetime ice storm tore through northern Michigan weeks ago, David Coveyou woke up to discover trees strewn across his 330-acre Petoskey vegetable farm and fencing ripped from the ground. Nearly two months later, he’s still working to rebuild while preparing for a busy planting season. “We’ve spent […]
