Tight labor market helps Michigan’s ex-prisoners find jobs
by Irena Li (Bridge Michigan) Ronnie Waters spent over four decades behind bars after being sentenced to life without parole at age 17 for murder. Waters said that when he was released in August 2020, it was like entering a new world, including learning how to use a cell phone. Still, within a month of his release, […]
Michigan bald eagles soar back from near-extinction
by Ashley Zhou (Bridge Michigan) Bald eagles are hard to miss with their dark brown bodies, contrasting white heads and tails, bright yellow beak and 8-foot wingspan. And it helps that their numbers are growing in Michigan — which professional photographer Stacy Williams has witnessed firsthand. Thirteen years ago, Williams spotted one consistent pair of bald […]
Help wanted: Report ranks Michigan health care jobs with the most need
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) There will always be sick people. Her mother’s six-word advice set then-high schooler Kelly Parish on her career trajectory. Now if only the rest of Michigan would listen, the 56-year-old mused. A radiologic technologist at Family Health Center in White Cloud in rural Michigan north of Grand Rapids, Parish finds […]
More than 100K Michiganders may lose Medicaid by end of month
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) More than 100,000 Michiganders may lose their health coverage after July 31 if they do not return re-enrollment paperwork by that time, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Monday. And that is just the first wave of residents who may lose coverage as recipients are once again required […]
Michigan probes Consumers Energy over broken meters, inflated bill claims
by Janelle D. James (Bridge Michigan) Michigan regulators are investigating Consumers Energy Co. for broken meters, potential over-billing and delayed services. The electric company has been under scrutiny for months because of power outages and rate increases. In February, more than 700,000 customers of Consumers and DTE Energy, a separate company, lost their power, some for more than […]
Michigan to launch major teacher recruitment and training effort in fall
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) Michigan is betting big on a new effort to help people become teachers by covering learning expenses and providing mentorship from experienced teachers. Talent Together, a state-funded group of 48 intermediate school districts, is working with nine university teacher preparation programs to train more people to become certified teachers in Michigan, […]
Trump endorsed by full Michigan GOP congressional delegation
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Michigan’s entire Republican congressional delegation is backing Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House, his presidential campaign announced Tuesday. U.S. Reps. Tim Walberg, Bill Huizenga, John Molenaar, Jack Bergman, Lisa McClain and John James will also serve on Trump’s “2024 Michigan federal leadership team,” according to the […]
Whitmer population council adds youth, lowers average age of members to 52
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new council tasked with growing the state’s population got a little younger and more bipartisan on Thursday as she announced new appointments for the group’s first major meeting. Whitmer added three state lawmakers as voting members on the Growing Michigan Together Council, including 23-year-old Democratic Rep. Alabas […]
Traffic, theft, drug crimes top Michigan automatic expungements
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) Traffic misdemeanors, theft charges and drug possession or use made up the vast majority of the nearly 1.2 million Michigan criminal convictions dropped from residents’ records in the first two weeks of automatic expungement, state police records show. The data, obtained by Bridge Michigan from the Michigan State Police through […]
How Michigan watches the Tigers, Red Wings and Pistons is likely to change
by Bill Shea (Bridge Michigan) The summer of 1984 was glorious for Detroit Tigers fans, with Sparky Anderson managing the likes of Alan Trammell, Lou Whitaker, Kirk Gibson, Jack Morris and Willie Hernández as they etched their way into baseball history. By that fall, the Tigers had won 104 games and eventually dispatched the San Diego […]
