Michigan public school enrollment stabilizing after pandemic exodus
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s public school enrollment fell slightly last year, but data suggests the migration to private schools and homeschooling during the pandemic has stabilized. State data released Friday show that total public school enrollment dropped 6,200 to 1.44 million, down 0.4%. That’s far less than the 62,000-student drop two years ago […]
Michigan still lags in electric vehicle charging stations
by Janelle D. James (Bridge Michigan) Drivers are still taking a hit at the pumps as gas prices haven’t returned to what they were pre-pandemic, but those who drive hybrid or electric vehicles have an even harder time simply trying to find a place to “fuel” their cars. That is according to a new report. […]
Wake up call: Pediatric group issues guidance against childhood obesity
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge Michigan) Obesity is rising among Michigan’s children and a leading U.S. pediatricians’ group is laying out new interventions that could be targeted to hundreds of thousands of obese children in Michigan whose future health is at risk. Changing guidance on childhood obesity for the first time in 15 years, the American […]
Blue-collar suicides focus of state prevention effort
by Jack Timothy Harrison, Capital News Service (Bridge Michigan) LANSING– Mental health problems, especially suicides, are significantly higher among blue-collar workers compared with other occupations, according to the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity. Sean Egan, the department’s deputy director for labor, said at least eight of the 10 occupations where the suicide rate is […]
Michigan loses 14K people a year to other states. It could be worse (and has)
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Michigan has lost the equivalent of a standing-room only crowd at the Detroit Tigers’ Comerica Park, 43,200 people, to other states since 2020, recent Census data shows. Believe it or not, that’s relatively good news. The rate of migration to other states appears to be slowing, down to about 14,000 […]
Michigan Democrats seek to codify LGBTQ civil-rights protections
by Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Katie Kilpatrick says she remembers perking up her ears when she was getting ready for her daughter’s fifth-grade camp. “I am transgender,” Kilpatrick’s daughter had just told a male classmate. “I feel like a girl on the inside, but I have parts like a boy on the […]
Michigan plastics company forced to probe PFAS contamination, cover costs
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Michigan has reached a settlement with a multinational plastics manufacturer over PFAS contamination at a Brighton factory, marking the first of Attorney General Dana Nessel’s PFAS lawsuits to reach a conclusion. Nessel announced the settlement Monday with plastics manufacturer Asahi Kasei Plastics North America, Inc. over contamination at its former […]
Michigan businesses with hourly workers fret over continued pay hikes
By Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Teenagers not yet old enough to drive now earn $14 per hour in many of the nine mid-Michigan McDonald’s restaurants owned by Shawn Saputo. That 40% pay jump from roughly $10 per hour three years ago is a sign of inflation and a dearth of available workers in the quick-service […]
Deaths prompt transparency push for Michigan’s Children’s Protective Services
by Jenelle D. James (Bridge Michigan) The deaths of three children within days of each other have increased calls to expand access to Children’s Protective Services records in Michigan, but the effort faces plenty of hurdles. Sen. Jim Runestad R-White Lake, this week introduced a bill that would allow the media and legislators access to the records, […]
Robust jobs market in January suggests economy not ‘cooling’ as predicted
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) News that a half million new jobs were added to the U.S. economy in January jolted economists on Friday, leading experts to wonder what is next for the nation’s monetary policy as inflation remains high. The robust number of new jobs — 517,000, or nearly three times what had been predicted — […]
