COVID-19 in 2022: Deaths fall, but Michigan had 5th most in US
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) COVID-19 battered Michigan again in 2022, but vaccines and new treatments softened the blow of the pandemic in its third year. More than 8,900 died from the virus in Michigan this year, down from 15,000 in 2021 and 13,000 in 2020. Still, Michigan’s mortality rate from COVID-19 is the nation’s […]
Palisades nuclear plant owners will try again to reopen Michigan plant
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) After the federal government denied its request for money to reopen the Palisades nuclear power plant on Lake Michigan the facility’s owner said it will try again. Holtec International announced Monday that it will reapply for a grant from the Department of Energy’s $6 billion Civil Nuclear Credit Program. The […]
Census: Michigan’s population falls a hair in 2022
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s population fell slightly in 2022, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates released Thursday. Michigan’s population was estimated at 10,034,113 as of July 1, down 3,400 from 2021’s estimate and 43,200 from the 2020 population of 10,077,325. As a percentage, Michigan’s loss was the 17th most in the nation. New […]
Democratic control of Michigan puts climate change action on 2023 agenda
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer considered top priorities for her second term in Lansing, she landed on a big one for the environment: Codify the goals laid out in her administration’s climate action plan into Michigan law. Released in April, the 58-page plan serves as the state’s blueprint to achieve carbon neutrality by […]
Michigan hopes to revive bipartisan bills to help students with dyslexia
by Tracie Mauriello, Chalkbeat Detroit & Koby Levin, Chalkbeat (Bridge Michigan) Letters seem to move around on the page for Evan Kaganov, but thanks to assistive technology and extra support at school and at home, he now reads well enough to manage all A’s and B’s in eighth grade at Bach Elementary School in Ann Arbor. Among […]
Michigan tribes, state reach tentative deal on Great Lakes fishing access
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Four Michigan Native American Tribes reached a tentative deal with the federal and state governments to split up the next 24 years-worth of fishing access in Michigan’s Great Lakes waters. The proposed deal maintains broad tenets of an old agreement that has been in place since 2000, while giving tribal […]
Whitmer’s school parent council: Public service, public relations, or both?
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) To understand Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Parents Council on schools, you have to go back to July, in the heat of an election campaign. Tudor Dixon had emerged as the establishment choice in the Republican primary race for governor, having the support of Michigan’s powerful DeVos family, while also gaining favor from former […]
As flu slams Michigan, COVID-19 hospitalizations rise as well
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Michigan hospitals are getting slammed with flu patients for the first time in years, just as COVID-19 cases are rising again. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 hit 1,300 on Wednesday statewide, the most since late February and marking the third straight week of increases. At the same time, the number of emergency […]
Foster children to Michigan: Remove barriers, help us graduate school on time
by Tracie Mauriello, Chalkbeat Detroit (for Bridge Michigan) Christian Randle expected to spend his senior year in a dual enrollment program that allows Michigan students to receive college credit while still in high school. Instead, the Farmington 17-year-old is working toward just a high school equivalency certificate. He told the State Board of Education on […]
Michigan GOP’s reign in Legislature ends with a whimper: No spending deal
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — An abbreviated lame-duck session ended with little action late Wednesday, as a potential spending deal between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Legislature collapsed. House Republicans blamed the Democratic governor, claiming Whitmer “reneged” a deal that would have put $200 million into a business incentive program she requested […]
