Michigan farmers facing ‘uncertain future’ amid funding freezes, tariff tensions
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) Fourth-generation farm owner Jim May doesn’t need a casino. In his chosen profession, he says, “I gamble every day.” As planting season approaches, the Sparta farmer is dealing with the usual concerns of weather, crop health, soil quality and profit margins. But life is even less predictable this year as […]
Old buildings, new ideas: Michiganders fight housing shortage with innovation
by Jordyn Hermani (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — When the Capital Area Housing Partnership acquired the long-defunct Walter French Junior High School just outside of downtown Lansing in 2017, few believed in the vision. But today, there’s new life within the three-story building — 76 units’ worth — as officials recently christened the apartment complex The Residences […]
DOGE lays out $394M in Michigan health cuts. But what does it mean?
by Kelly House, Robin Erb, and Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) A federal website this week laid out about $394 million in cuts to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, leaving local health leaders and providers on edge. As the week closed, state and federal officials had offered little to no guidance to local […]
Third time’s the charm for Oxford-inspired school safety bills?
by Jordyn Hermani (Bridge Michigan) When a shooting at Oxford High School claimed the lives of four students in 2021, Michigan lawmakers vowed action on a handful of bills they said would increase and streamline school safety efforts statewide. More than three years later, those same bills are back again before legislators in the hope […]
Michigan community colleges want to lure male students. Bass fishing anyone?
by Camila Bello Castro, Capital News Service (Bridge Michigan) LANSING – Community colleges are marketing to and recruiting young male students through athletic programs as state officials call it “a real problem” that women in Michigan have higher levels of education than men. Despite efforts in recent years to increase tuition-free access to higher education, […]
US, Canada long managed Great Lakes together; that era could be ending
by Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco, WBEZ & Izzy Ross, IPR (Bridge Michigan) This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist, Interlochen Public Radio in Northern Michigan, and WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan region. Great Lakes Day is an annual summit where politicians and officials of all stripes gather in Washington, D.C., to demonstrate their commitment […]
Is Michigan’s Trump-fighting attorney general politicizing the office or saving Michiganders?
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) Six years into her tenure as Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel has found herself back where she started — at the center of a flurry of lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s executive actions and policy priorities. Nessel ran and won in 2018 on a progressive policy slate and quickly developed […]
Six ways Michigan’s Dana Nessel is challenging Donald Trump’s agenda
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) In the two months since Republican President Donald Trump started his second term, Democratic Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed or joined six multistate lawsuits against his administration. The challenges take aim at Trump’s stated goal to reduce government costs and several have resulted in court-ordered pauses or reversals […]
Amid China fears, GOP seeks to bar some nonresidents from buying Michigan land
by Simon D. Schuster (Bridge Michigan) Some Michigan Republicans want to block residents of “countries of concern” from buying property in broad swaths of the state to prevent “foreign adversaries” from infiltrating the United States. The package of bills would target people and entities from China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria and Venezuela. Any […]
Michigan sheriffs: We’re too overwhelmed to help ICE round up immigrants
by Victor Wooddell, Capital News Service (Bridge Michigan) LANSING – For many sheriff’s departments in Michigan, enforcing federal civil immigration laws is beyond their legal authority, though they remain willing to assist federal agencies in many cases, officials say. According to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) website, while arrests nationally were down in 2024, […]
