Michigan lawmakers use word games to skirt law, spend billions on pet projects
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) When Michigan lawmakers approved a $50.7 billion budget bill in 2021, then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth made sure it included money for his hometown, the tiny village of Farwell. Deep in the spending package was a $3.5 million grant “to support a fishing pond that is over 25 acres and located in […]
New COVID variant confirmed in Michigan. What to know about BA.2.86
by Robin Erb & Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) One of fewer than a dozen cases of a potentially worrisome new COVID variant has been detected in Michigan following the discovery of cases in Denmark, Israel and the United Kingdom. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday it was tracking the variant, BA.2.86, after the […]
Michigan Democrats eye stricter gun restrictions for domestic abusers
by Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — A week before her death, Amber Jo Thomas sensed it coming. On July 27, the 40-year-old Adrian resident filed a restraining order against her ex-boyfriend, Barry Garza, who she said abused and stalked her during and after a nine-year relationship. “He has physically harmed me so many […]
Michigan gas rises 15 cents to $3.91 a gallon, new high for the year
by Janelle D. James (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s gas prices have surpassed the record set for highest prices all year in just one week, rising to an average of $3.91 per gallon for regular gas from $3.76 last week. Average prices per gallon have risen 37 cents in the last month, according to AAA. The state’s average […]
The future of student loan forgiveness: What to know in Michigan
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) When Mikal Doke learned earlier this summer that about $22,000 of her student loans were forgiven through the federal Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program, she took to Facebook. “The PSLF paperwork FINALLY got processed on four of my fed loans!” wrote Doke, 39, a teacher in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Doke’s loans […]
Michigan kindergarten vaccination rate plunges
by Robin Erb & Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) The number of Michigan kindergartners attending school where vaccination rates were less than 90 percent has more than doubled between 2015 and 2022, state records show. That means roughly 37,000 of the state’s 112,300 kindergartners last year were in buildings with vaccination rates less than the threshold generally […]
The life of Peanut: Inside the story of the world’s oldest living chicken
by Jack Armstrong, Great Lakes Echo (Bridge Michigan) In the spring of 2002, Marsi Darwin noticed one of her hen’s eggs hadn’t hatched and had gone cold. As the caretaker of the farm, she knew rotten eggs would attract unwanted animals. So she carried it to the pond to throw it away where it would […]
Nearly 23K Michiganders have lost Medicaid, another 123,000 remain at risk
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) As the state of Michigan continues to trim back its Medicaid numbers, 123,744 people stand to lose coverage by the end of the month if they don’t respond to the state’s request for paperwork. Those are the latest numbers from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which is […]
Michigan eyes miles-traveled charge for roads as EVs cut into fuel tax
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Michigan officials are exploring whether to replace gas taxes with “usage charges” as the auto industry’s shift to electric vehicles is expected to cut into tax revenues for road repairs. With fuel taxes projected to decline by hundreds of millions of dollars in coming years, the $82 billion budget Gov. […]
Michigan ‘river walker’ program warns anglers on eating contaminated fish
by Ashley Zhou (Bridge Michigan) DETROIT—Sporting a bright yellow “Eat Safe Fish” t-shirt and lanyard, Jim Bridgforth carries an armful of pamphlets as he walks the Detroit River at Mariner Park. Anglers sit in camping chairs equipped with bait of all colors and sizes, wearing bucket hats and dipping into their lunch boxes as they […]
