Michigan bottle returns fall after COVID, prompting get-tough push on grocers
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — As fewer Michigan residents opt in to the state’s bottle deposit program, lawmakers are proposing a possible solution: outlawing store restrictions on returning bottles and cans. Michigan is tied with Oregon for the highest bottle deposit in the country, charging 10 cent deposits per eligible bottle and can […]
Michigan school safety bills stalled: ‘It’s inexcusable,’ Oxford dad says
by Jordyn Hermani and Isobel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Legislation to improve school safety introduced after the mass shooting at Oxford High School has languished for nearly two years, and some say politics is overshadowing policy. Ask Democrats involved in the effort, and they’ll say the safety protocol bills need fine-tuning. Ask Republicans, and they […]
Northern Michigan, after years of struggle, is gaining residents again
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) The population of rural and northern Michigan counties are slowly rising, even as residents continue to leave metro Detroit, according to U.S. census estimates released this week. The data shows Michigan added nearly 4,000 residents in 2023, but the exodus from Wayne County continued: It lost 7,773 residents last year […]
Michigan has 9 months to figure out new energy law. Some say time is wasting
by Kelly House, Bridge Michigan A new law takes effect in less than nine months giving Michigan power to approve or deny large wind and solar projects, and state regulators face the hefty task of figuring out how to enforce it. During the first in a series of meetings Thursday to gather feedback, experts, advocates […]
Diet drugs are bigger than ever, and in Michigan, Medicaid picks up the tab
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) That big bag of Lay’s potato chips — her “addiction,” Sharon Bracey says, chuckling — just didn’t have the same pull as it once had, even though they remain an occasional delight. “But when you look at food, you want it but you don’t want as much. I just don’t […]
Michigan high schoolers may be next to profit from name, image, likeness deals
by Jordyn Hermani (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — A Michigan proposal to allow high school athletes to profit from their name, image or likeness is facing scrutiny in the state Senate amid concerns that parents or other adults could abuse the process. The House-approved legislation would allow high school student athletes with parental consent to earn unlimited compensation […]
Michigan makes paid surrogate pregnancies a crime. That could change
by Jordyn Hermani (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — For more than three decades, Michigan has made it a crime for prospective parents to hire paid surrogates, but that may soon change under a major proposal making its way through the state Senate. A series of bills already approved by the House would amend Michigan law to establish the […]
Time for toll roads in Michigan? Lawmakers revive debate
by Lauren Gibbons, Bridge Michigan As the projected price for fixing Michigan’s crumbling roads and bridges grows, lawmakers are reviving debates over charging drivers by the mile or adding tolls to some of the state’s busiest highways. A state House budget committee over the past two weeks has invited testimony from advocates of alternative road […]
Spring has already sprung for mosquitoes in Michigan
by Janelle D James, Bridge Michigan Although spring isn’t official for another two weeks, record-high temperatures in February have prompted mosquitoes to emerge early. The warm weather has made for great days to go outside and play or sit around a fire, but it also makes people more susceptible to bites from the nuisance insects. Mosquitoes […]
Climate change is erasing Michigan winters, taking our heritage with them
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Most snowmobile trails aren’t groomed until there’s at least 8 inches of snow on the ground. It’s 6 inches for a cross-country ski trail. Walking on a frozen lake requires 4 inches of clear ice. And it’s hard to control a dogsled when daily thaws turn the trail into a sheet […]
