After 10 years of steady growth, Michigan’s economy faces headwinds
by Lindsay VanHulle, Mike Wilkinson (Bridge) A decade since 2009 — the end of the worst recession in generations — Michigan’s economy has grown at a tortoise pace: Slow and steady. Today, unemployment is low. Most of the jobs lost in Michigan during the 2000s have been regained. And consumers are still generally optimistic, though they’re concerned about […]
3 ways Michigan elections remain vulnerable — and what the state can do about it
by Riley Beggin (Bridge) LANSING—Around 50 elections officials and analysts met at an outpost of the Lansing City Clerk’s office in June, eagerly awaiting the day’s activity: Piloting a relatively new method for ensuring accurate election results. The volunteers — from as near as Delta Township and as far as California — were there to […]
Lyme disease is spreading across Michigan. But why?
by Jim Malewitz (Bridge) Lyme disease diagnoses have surged nationwide in recent years, and Michigan is no exception. In 2018, the state documented 262 cases of the disease whose symptoms include fever, chills, headaches, fatigue, and muscle and joint aches. That was down slightly from the 291 diagnosis in 2017, but far higher than in […]
A woman, a tick, and the fight in Michigan over Lyme disease
by Magdalena Mihaylova, Robin Erb (Bridge) LANSING—No one can tell Breanna Ramos her symptoms aren’t real ‒ from the crushing exhaustion, to the pain that at times has sent her to the floor. But in a Lansing hearing room recently, the 26-year-old Clarklake woman and others laid bare what they said were the misdiagnoses, misfired treatments, confusion, […]
Pressure builds on Michigan Republicans to share their road funding plan
By Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is upping pressure on Republican lawmakers over road funding, criticizing them for approving a summer recess without first finishing next year’s budget, including a plan to raise billions to fix Michigan’s battered roads. The first-term Democratic governor told reporters Tuesday she has not had any substantive talks with […]
Michigan congresswoman pushes national plan to fix recycling woes
By Jim Malewitz (Bridge) A Michigan congresswoman is pushing the federal government to develop a strategy to bolster local recycling programs nationwide — including some in Michigan reeling from a global plunge in prices for recycled paper, plastics and other materials. U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Rochester Hills, co-sponsored an amendment to a larger package of […]
What the U.S. Supreme Court gerrymandering ruling means for Michigan
By Riley Beggin, Lindsay VanHulle (Bridge) Michigan’s attempt to throw out Republican-drawn legislative and congressional district maps is essentially dead, redistricting experts said, following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Thursday that said federal courts should play no role in deciding partisan gerrymandering cases. That power, the court wrote in a 5-4 majority opinion penned by Chief Justice […]
Stress builds as Michigan farmers are ‘hit from all directions’
By Mike Wilkinson (Bridge) For farmers nowadays, the clues are subtle but unmistakable. “You can hear it in their voice,” said Sarah Zastrow, a Saginaw County exercise physiologist whose husband and father are farmers. “There’s a little more wobble in their walk, a shake in their hands.” Amid the third-wettest year in history, Michigan farmers […]
Michigan desperate for Pre-K educators. And pays them poverty wages.
By Koby Levin (Bridge) Cindy Lester calmly sat down on the child-sized couch with the 4-year-old who had been careening around her classroom all morning. He’d just flipped an empty soup bowl onto his head. “You have a lot going on inside you today,” she said. “What’s going on? Are you tired?” To a lot […]
Michigan is No. 1 (at getting old). That’s not good news.
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge) Michigan’s battle of the birthdays continues, as more than one-quarter of the state’s counties have a median age that’s eligible for AARP membership. U.S. Census data released Thursday show that 21 of Michigan’s 83 counties have a median age of 50 years old or older, the highest in the nation.Next closet […]
