Loneliness on rise, as pandemic fades, U-M study finds. Programs offer help
by Kenzie Terpstra, Capital News Service (Bridge Michigan) LANSING – People across the nation grew familiar with social isolation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, but social disconnection had been building since before the pandemic, according to a recent advisory. In Michigan, efforts to combat social disconnection are underway. The advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek […]
New Michigan laws ban domestic abusers from owning guns for eight years
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) People with domestic violence convictions of any kind won’t be allowed access to guns for eight years under legislation signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Monday. The legislation, Senate Bills 471 and 528 and House Bill 4945, suspends access to guns for those convicted of a misdemeanor involving domestic violence. Those subject to the ban would be […]
U-M’s mastodon man calls it a career after decades of solving Ice Age mysteries
by Aaron Martin & Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) ANN ARBOR — Dan Fisher came to the University of Michigan to study fossilized horseshoe crabs. When he retires at the end of 2023, Fisher will leave U-M as one of the world’s foremost experts in mammoths and mastodons, the elephant-like giants of the Ice Age. His retirement marks the […]
Is Michigan ripe for a women-majority Legislature? Advocates eye one in ‘24
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) Tracy-Ann Jennings never imagined herself managing political campaigns, let alone running her own. But after a friend expressed interest in running for mayor, the Benton Harbor resident — a consultant and mom of four with a background in municipal government and economic development — wondered what it would take to […]
Michigan sees another year of double-digit growth for outdoor industry
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s outdoor recreation sector continued on a trajectory of rapid growth last year, prompting calls for greater investment in the land, water and infrastructure that underpins the industry. New statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show the sector grew by 11.8% in 2022, the second straight year of double-digit […]
In antler-obsessed Michigan, the state begs hunters to shoot more does
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) As whitetail deer populations overwhelm some communities in lower Michigan, natural resources managers have tried a number of strategies to reduce herds. They allow hunters to kill more deer each year. They’ve experimented with lower-cost licenses in parts of the state, and relaxed regulations to promote more harvests. The outcome? […]
Indiana is beating Michigan by attracting people, not just companies
by Ron French (Bridge Michigan) In the 1980s, even the locals around Indianapolis referred to their town as India-no-place — a city that had no real identity, in the middle of a state known for the inferiority-tinged jingle, “There’s more than corn in Indiana!” Today, there’s still a lot of corn, but there are also […]
AFSCME puts Michigan’s Council 25 in receivership, dismaying local officials
by Sarah Rahal, The Detroit News & Christine Ferretti (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s largest government employee union has been placed in receivership by its international union amid an over 50 percent membership plunge in the past decade, what some local union officials are calling a “takeover” that is creating uncertainty and confusion. In documents obtained by The Detroit News […]
Michigan has just half the child psychiatrists it needs amid health crisis
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s mental health system is hobbled by a shortage of workers, but perhaps none will be more difficult to fill than those at the very top of the skill chart: child psychiatrists. The apex providers in the mental health system after training for 13 years or more, they theoretically take […]
Judge: Donald Trump can appear on Michigan ballot despite ‘insurrection’ challenge
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Donald Trump can appear on Michigan’s 2024 presidential primary ballot and the state cannot stop him, a judge ruled Tuesday, rejecting a pair of lawsuits that had sought to bar the former president for “insurrection.” Michigan Court of Claims Judge Robert Redford offered Trump much of the relief […]
