‘Hands-free’ distracted driving law takes effect June 30 in Michigan
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) PLYMOUTH — Starting this summer, Michigan drivers will have to put down their phones while behind the wheel or risk a ticket. On Wednesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation making Michigan the 26th state to enact a “hands-free” distracted driving law, which bars motorists from driving while holding cell phones […]
Michigan population woes persist: Thousands leave for Sun Belt, census shows
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s population struggles continued after the pandemic eased, as nearly 15,000 people moved to other states from 2020 to 2021, new Census Bureau data shows. Even so, that was an improvement from the estimated net loss of 20,357 residents to other states from 2018 to 2019. The new numbers released Thursday […]
Michigan GOP plans shakeup of presidential primary, shift power to caucuses
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) Michigan Republican Party officials want to award most of the state’s presidential nominating delegates to the winner of 13 separate district caucuses, a move that would minimize the importance of the public primary four days earlier. The Michigan GOP’s state central committee was set to vote Saturday on the plan […]
How a tiny U.P. school became a national model for Native American education
by Ron French (Bridge Michigan) WATERSMEET—Three out of four students enrolled at the Watersmeet Township School are Native American, but there were days in the very recent past when you wouldn’t know it. Sixty percent of children from the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians tribe were deemed chronically absent during the 2021-22 school […]
Green burials, ash jewelry are a thing now in Michigan. Can state law adjust?
By Riley Hodder (Bridge Michigan) Desiree Garagiola’s mother-in-law, Janet “JJ” Humble, always used to joke that when she died, she wanted her ashes dumped over the fence on their property into Don Epley Park in Hartland, the Livingston County community where they shared a home. Humble loved the community, Garagiola said, and wanted to stay […]
Device dating to 234 B.C. may allow Michigan native fish to bypass dams
by Elaine Mallon, Great Lakes Echo (Bridge Michigan) In the course of 11 days, a device dating back to 234 B.C. successfully captured 704 fish and lifted them into a collection basket as part of a project to determine if the method could be used in the future to move fish across dams without injury, […]
Michigan college enrollment decline among worst in the nation
by Isabel Lohman & Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s colleges and universities suffered enrollment drops four times steeper than the nation as a whole this year, according to new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. And the decline was not a one-year aberration. Since 2019, the year before COVID-19 hit the U.S., only Alaska and Mississippi […]
Inside the Michigan lab where scientists raise killer bugs to save trees
by Ashley Zhou (Bridge Michigan) The squat, green-roofed office building just off the highway in Brighton doesn’t look like much, tucked away in an industrial park next to a dehumidifier company and machine shops. But inside, scientists are hunched over lab tables, studying buzzing wasps that could be saviors for North America’s disappearing ash trees. Staff […]
Whitmer taps GOP businessman to tackle Michigan population crisis
by Jonathan Oosting & Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) A Republican businessman and a Democratic education leader will lead Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new group focused on developing strategies to reverse decades of Michigan’s stagnant population growth. Whitmer formally announced the effort Thursday at the Mackinac Policy Conference, naming John Rakolta and Shirley Stancato as co-chairs of […]
Michigan Democrats: We will deliver transparency reform. GOP dubious
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) Michigan Democrats say they’re planning long-promised ethics and transparency reforms as lawmakers face a year-end deadline to finalize new personal financial disclosure rules for themselves. And a leading Republican legislator is calling for reforms to a budget earmark process that both parties have used to fund pet projects, including a $25 […]
