Hugs, cookies, freebies and love planned to welcome MSU students back to campus
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Hundreds of volunteers will converge on Michigan State University on Sunday, filling the path between the Spartan statue and The Rock with signs and freebies to shower students returning to campus with love. In an effort to ease the transition after Monday’s mass shooting, tables at the event known as Spartan Sunday will […]
For Ann Arbor water managers, ongoing battle to keep toxic chemicals at bay
ANN ARBOR – Brian Steglitz and his staff had only recently gotten a handle on the last surprise contaminant to threaten Ann Arbor’s drinking water system when the call came in about another. A plume of industrial wastewater, thought to be tainted with toxic hexavalent chromium, had entered the Huron River last August after spilling […]
Flying object over Lake Huron shot down. What we know and what we don’t?
by Janelle D. James (Bridge Michigan) While some Michiganders may have been doing some last-minute grocery shopping and preparing for Super Bowl parties on Sunday, the U.S. was tracking down an object flying over the Great Lakes state. A U.S. F-16 fighter jet shot down another unidentified object, this time flying over Lake Huron, according […]
Kristina Karamo to lead Michigan GOP, topping Trump favorite
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Election denier Kristina Karamo will lead the Michigan GOP for the next two years after delegates on Saturday elected her state party chair in a contentious convention vote. Karamo’s victory signals the completion of a years-long grassroots takeover of the Michigan GOP, which is now dominated by a […]
Federal COVID relief aid to schools will dry up soon. Are districts ready?
by Koby Levin and Ethan Bakuli, Chalkbeat Detroit (for Bridge Michigan) For the past couple of years, the Detroit Public Schools Community District has been able to tap its share of federal COVID relief aid to fund after-school enrichment programs that help students recover from learning lost during the pandemic. But those funds will soon […]
What winter? Michigan farmers, anglers hit hard by warm temperatures
by Janelle D. James (Bridge Michigan) While you might be putting your heavy coat in the back of your closet this week, Michigan’s mild winter has industries that rely on the cold scrambling to adjust to warmer temperatures. Temperatures in southeast Michigan are expected to hit the mid-50s on Thursday, compared to an average high […]
Turns out, young voters didn’t sway ‘22 election in Michigan, records show
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Data released Tuesday showed that turnout among young voters in Michigan’s 2022 election was well below contests in 2020 and 2018, contradicting widely repeated claims that they helped swing the election. Overall, total turnout in November was the highest for a midterm election in state history — and everyone from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell cited […]
Michigan public school enrollment stabilizing after pandemic exodus
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s public school enrollment fell slightly last year, but data suggests the migration to private schools and homeschooling during the pandemic has stabilized. State data released Friday show that total public school enrollment dropped 6,200 to 1.44 million, down 0.4%. That’s far less than the 62,000-student drop two years ago […]
Michigan still lags in electric vehicle charging stations
by Janelle D. James (Bridge Michigan) Drivers are still taking a hit at the pumps as gas prices haven’t returned to what they were pre-pandemic, but those who drive hybrid or electric vehicles have an even harder time simply trying to find a place to “fuel” their cars. That is according to a new report. […]
Wake up call: Pediatric group issues guidance against childhood obesity
by Ted Roelofs (Bridge Michigan) Obesity is rising among Michigan’s children and a leading U.S. pediatricians’ group is laying out new interventions that could be targeted to hundreds of thousands of obese children in Michigan whose future health is at risk. Changing guidance on childhood obesity for the first time in 15 years, the American […]
