Michigan’s new anti-poverty effort: $7,500 for Flint moms, no strings attached
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week signed a budget giving $16.5 million to a program that attempts to fight poverty with cash payments to expectant and new mothers in the city of Flint. The program touted as the first-of-its-kind in the nation, Rx Kids is a $55 million experiment to test whether […]
What to know about Michigan’s universal free school meals program
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) Lori Adkins is hearing that school districts in Oakland County are expecting to significantly increase how many school meals they serve a day. Why? The child nutrition consultant for Oakland Schools says the state’s new plan to provide free school meals for all public school students will reduce childhood hunger, […]
Trump indictment: How Michigan, Detroit factor into charges over 2020 election
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Former President Donald Trump is facing new criminal charges related to his failed efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss. And Michigan, which he lost by 154,188 votes, features prominently in the indictment. Here’s what you need to know. The charges A federal grand jury on Tuesday charged Trump with […]
Michigan libraries recruiting citizen army to aid book ban wars
by Ron French (Bridge Michigan) Michigan libraries are fighting back against growing calls to ban books by recruiting patrons to spot and spread the word about culture war battles in their communities. On Tuesday, the Michigan Library Association launched a six-month campaign to encourage residents to join Mi Right to Read, a website that offers […]
Michigan tribes race to save their language from extinction
by Ron French (Bridge Michigan) BRIMLEY — There’s a word in the Anishinaabemowin language that doesn’t have an equivalent in English, a word that hints at the heartache and hope of Michigan’s Native Americans. Aanikoobijigan refers to a person’s great-grandparent, their great-grandchild, and the bloodline linking them. Roughly, it’s pronounced on-i-KOO-bi-chi-gin, one word binding seven generations. […]
Judge to decide if teen Oxford shooter can be sentenced to life without parole
by Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Ethan Crumbley mutilated birds, fantasized about torturing and killing children and researched methods and penalties for doing it before opening fire at the Oxford High School, killing four students and injuring seven others, according to testimony Thursday during an Oakland County Circuit Court hearing. The hearing is […]
Gov. Whitmer signs law allowing Michigan to pass stricter environmental rules
by Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) Michigan will now be able to set harsher environmental regulations than the federal standard, after Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation expanding the state’s regulatory power Thursday. The new law reverses a 2018 state law — also known as the “no stricter than federal” policy — that limited state authority, […]
Old Detroit train site on track for national Underground Railroad network
by Micah Walker (Bridge Michigan) In downtown Detroit, 501 Third Avenue is known today as Steve Yzerman Drive and houses a Detroit People Mover station. But in the 1800s, the site played an important part in Detroit’s history as a major railway also serving as a stop on the Underground Railroad for slaves seeking freedom […]
Michigan’s police officer shortage becoming dire: ‘Where did everyone go?’
by Ron French (Bridge Michigan) In 1992, early in his law enforcement career, Larry Weeks applied for one of 16 openings in the Grand Rapids Police Department. There were 250 applicants. Three decades later, Weeks is the police chief in mid-Michigan’s Eaton Rapids, and can’t find people who want to be police officers. He had […]
Gov. Whitmer signs law to make Michigan 22nd state to ban conversion therapy
by Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Michigan is now the 22nd state to ban mental health professionals from performing conversion therapy on minors — a practice aimed to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the legislation into law Wednesday. “Today, we are banning the horrific practice of […]
