How Michigan schools are teaching the Israel-Hamas war (Very delicately)
by Isabel Lohman & Micah Walker (Bridge Michigan) ANN ARBOR—Daniel Crowley, a middle school teacher in Ann Arbor, had been teaching about refugees this fall when the Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel catapulted the region into chaos. In the days and weeks afterward — as the bloody attack in Israel gave way to devastating death […]
Who is Pete Hoekstra? Meet the Trump ambassador in fight for Michigan GOP
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) Pete Hoekstra stood in front of one half of a divided Michigan Republican Party on Saturday and declared the “days of division are over.” A faction of state committee members had just elected him as the new Michigan GOP chair even as Kristina Karamo continued to claim that title. The bitter […]
Detroit’s ‘ghost’ streams can be a threat in the present
by Jena Brooker (Bridge Michigan) Setting out by foot or by bike, Joanne Coutts has mapped more than 200 miles of buried creeks and wetlands across Detroit’s landscape over the last year-and-a-half. Her work is part of a growing interest in buried and forgotten historical waterways to better inform water and flood management in the […]
State board OKs petition to repeal Michigan renewable energy siting law
by Kelly House, Bridge Michigan LANSING—The Michigan Board of State Canvassers on Friday approved summary language for a proposed ballot initiative that aims to repeal a law that allows the state to override local rejections of large wind and solar projects. The bipartisan board’s 4-0 vote clears the way for the group Citizens for Local Choice to […]
Michigan school closings: how superintendents make decisions on snow days
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) Cold temperatures and the potential for snow mean early mornings for Michigan school superintendents. It was about 4:20am on Friday, January 12, when Matt Stuard, superintendent at Fowlerville Community Schools, made the call to cancel school last Friday. “I have to make sure that my phone is not muted and […]
Lawsuit could complicate drone laws for Michigan hunters and anglers
by Ben Eiler, Great Lakes Echo (Bridge Michigan) The founder of a company that uses drones to recover deer carcasses that hunters cannot find says that Michigan’s prohibition of the practice violates his First Amendment rights. The suit questions one of the core principles of hunting and fishing in the United States, some experts say. It […]
Donald Trump dominates in Iowa. What it means for Michigan primary, caucus
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Former President Donald Trump cruised to victory in the Iowa caucuses on Tuesday night, reaffirming his front-runner status for the Republican nomination less than two months before the Michigan GOP’s first-ever hybrid primary and caucus convention. Ron DeSantis, who last year secured several Michigan endorsements in his bid for the […]
Study finds ‘Informal quota’ fuels racial disparity of Michigan State Police stops
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Minority motorists are disproportionately stopped by Michigan State Police in part because of an “informal quota system” that allows troopers to decide where to patrol, an independent study has found. The report, which followed a 2022 study that revealed troopers were more likely to pull over Black and Hispanic motorists, […]
Auto experts: Competition, politics, fading subsidies could affect Michigan EV sales
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Global competition, uncertainty about policy changes in an election year and the fading impact from federal subsidies all loom as emerging issues for the U.S. electric vehicle (EV) industry. Those were among the messages Wednesday as dozens of automotive experts filled a conference room near downtown Detroit on Wednesday for the […]
Supreme Court dispute could have big impact on Michigan environment
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) It began with a debate about how to dispose of the copious manure generated by Michigan’s largest livestock operations, which raise chickens, pigs and cows by the hundreds and thousands. But the legal fight has since reached Michigan’s highest court, with potentially far-reaching implications for the state’s ability to limit […]
