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 […]
Gerrymandering never died in Michigan. It still haunts county boards, foes say
by Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) In 2018, Michigan voters overwhelmingly voted to create an independent citizens’ commission to draw state legislative maps, wresting control of the process from politicians. In November, those redrawn maps helped Democrats win both the state House and Senate, a feat they hadn’t accomplished since the mid-1980s despite sometimes winning more […]
Michigan gun reform: Democrats may pursue red-flag laws. What research says
by Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Michigan Democrats may push for “red flag” gun laws when they take control of the state Legislature in January. Democrats, who will lead all branches of government for the first time in decades, have said gun reform is a priority, especially in the wake of last year’s shooting […]
U-M hospital system to acquire Sparrow Health in latest Michigan merger
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) Lansing-based Sparrow Health System is to be absorbed into Michigan Medicine by next summer — a move that hospital leaders say will expand access to specialty medicine in mid-Michigan and put Sparrow on better financial footing, the health systems announced Friday. The deal is “expected to be completed in the first […]
Senate may vote on long-awaited recycling reform. Which one is unclear.
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) After years of bipartisan work on a bill package that would reform Michigan’s solid waste laws to boost recycling and composting, lawmakers are gearing up for a potential Senate vote on the bills Wednesday. A tentative Senate agenda for Wednesday specifies intent to see the bills through “all the way […]
How should Michigan fund school transportation? A new report offers a blueprint.
by Koby Levin, Chalkbeat Detroit (for Bridge Michigan) Rudyard Area Schools, a district in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, has just one school building to serve its entire K-12 enrollment of 627 students. And that building is about a 23-mile bus ride away from Trout Lake, a town of 330 people on the other side of the […]
Michigan hunters say 252,000 deer killed in firearms season with new rules
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) It’s been a storybook hunting season for Jennifer Parent, who bagged two big bucks this fall on her 13-acre property in Howell. With each clean shot, Parent took a day or two to celebrate her success, then opened an app on her phone to report its rack size, location and […]
