New PFAS guidelines spark more ‘do not eat’ warnings for Michigan fish
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Michigan health officials have dramatically reduced the amount of PFAS-tainted fish they consider safe to eat, tripling the number of waterbodies where anglers are warned against eating their catch. Ninety-eight water bodies are now subject to “do not eat” advisories because fish are contaminated with the so-called “forever chemicals,” up […]
Michigan’s bottle return rates keep falling. Is it time for change?
by Emilio Perez Ibarguen (Bridge Michigan) Michigan beer and pop buyers increasingly aren’t bothering to return their bottles and cans to get their deposit back, and in the process left more than $116 million dollars on the table last year. Records released this month indicate that 70.4% of 10-cent deposits put down at grocery store checkout […]
As Michigan scores fall, state superintendent blames local control ‘run amok’
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) As Michigan students continue to struggle with early literacy, State Superintendent Michael Rice was in the hot seat in Lansing on Tuesday and blamed “local control” for lower scores. Michigan third and fourth grade reading scores continue to be lower than before the pandemic. Just 39.6% of third grade readers are […]
Michigan wants to grow its population, but more adults say no thanks to kids
by Astrid Code (Bridge Michigan) Like many women growing up in Allendale, Kim Bode was raised with a set life plan: go to college, find a husband and have kids. The west Michigan native recalls feeling like her sole purpose in life was to become a mother. “That’s just what everybody did, you know? You […]
Michigan school districts are shrinking. None want to consolidate. Why not?
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) Back in 2022, lawmakers allocated $5 million for school districts to explore consolidation. No one took the lawmakers up on it in the first year. But the following year, 16 districts got money to study consolidation. Still, no local district has actually consolidated. K-12 enrollment in public schools is declining amid […]
Gretchen Whitmer urged bipartisan cooperation. Michigan lawmakers quickly clashed
by Jordyn Hermani (Bridge Michigan) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer made a plea for political civility on Thursday in a roughly 20-minute keynote speech at the Mackinac Policy Conference, pointing to President Donald Trump’s recent commitment to Selfridge Air National Guard Base as an example of bipartisan cooperation. “We cannot give in to the instant gratification that comes […]
Will the DNR budge on baiting to get higher license fees? Some think so
by Ellie Katz, IPR (Bridge Michigan) This time of year, Jim Sweeney’s food plot in Leelanau County doesn’t look like much. It’s a small field with some sparse grasses and a deer blind off to the side. But, come fall, it’s “like a lush lawn,” Sweeney said. Sweeney mostly plants clover, beets and turnips these […]
Survey: Health care costs stymying small business growth in Michigan
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Rising health care costs could stall job growth in Michigan, as 76% of small business owners say they can’t afford to expand their workforce and insure employees. The poll released last week from the Small Business Association of Michigan also found that 83% of respondents said escalating health costs prevent other […]
HIV prevention treatment rising among young adults, U-M study finds
by Eli Newman (Bridge Michigan) As the US Supreme Court weighs a decision that could upend how insurers cover preventive-care treatments, researchers at the University of Michigan have found a dramatic rise in young adults taking one of the world’s leading HIV prevention medications. A study published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine this month found […]
Trump to Michigan: Comply with immigration, DEI orders or lose road funding
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) President Donald Trump’s administration is threatening to withhold transportation funding allocated for Michigan and other states if they fail to assist with immigration deportation efforts or comply with orders to disband diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Experts say widespread infrastructure cuts in Michigan are unlikely. But the threat should be […]
