Facing teacher shortage, Michigan may ease path for out-of-state educators
by Tracie Mauriello (Bridge Michigan) Experienced educators from other states could soon teach in Michigan without having to pass the state certification exam. Under proposed reciprocity legislation, people with three years classroom experience elsewhere would no longer have to take the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification in order to start teaching in the state. And […]
Allergies are bad this year in Michigan. Climate change is making them worse
by Zahra Ahmad (Bridge Michigan) Spring is nearly over, but there’s still plenty of life left in allergy season in Michigan. Blame climate change, experts say. Warmer temperatures are prompting trees and plants to produce more pollen — sticky particles that make eyes itch and noses run — sooner and longer. “More people are complaining […]
Q&A: Michigan Teacher of the Year advocates for mental health, retention resources
Nanette Hanson had returned home from a day of teaching May 24 when she first heard the news of the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen children and two teachers had died. As an elementary teacher herself, leading a first-grade class in Lemmer Elementary in Escanaba, in the Upper Peninsula, reports of another school shooting left […]
Ford’s $2B investment in Michigan ‘solidifies’ state’s auto production
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) MACKINAC ISLAND — Michigan scored a win last week in its drive to preserve automotive production here amid massive changes coming to the industry from the shift to electric vehicles. Ford Motor Co. rolled out its plans to add 3,260 jobs in the state as part of a $2 billion investment […]
Republicans: More guns — not more laws — will keep Michigan schools safe
by Jonathan Oosting and Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) MACKINAC ISLAND — Michigan can improve school safety without gun regulations, Republican gubernatorial candidates argued Thursday, proposing a series of alternatives during a debate. “We don’t have a gun problem; we have a mental health crisis,” Mattawan chiropractor Garrett Soldano said on outdoor stage at the […]
Bipartisan support grows to add millions to Michigan’s $1B tax incentive fund
by Jonathan Oosting, Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) MACKINAC ISLAND — The state continues to celebrate its so-called “transformative” job growth, but the gains also are depleting Michigan’s new $1 billion business attraction fund. Now both Democrats and Republicans say they expect to approve an addition to the SOAR Fund in the coming year’s budget. Bipartisan support is not […]
Nuclear power is having a moment in Michigan after Palisades
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) For years, owners of the Palisades Power Plant have publicly planned to close the nuclear reactor this spring, eliminating 600 jobs and enough emissions-free electricity to power 800,000 homes. Yet aside from the occasional public comment or letter to public officials from pro-nuclear advocates like Mike Schneider, there was little […]
Rent or buy? No easy answers amid high Michigan home prices
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) A $200 monthly rental increase started Tracy Dewease thinking about leaving the townhouse southeast of Grand Rapids where she and her son had been happy for a decade. But what got her moving was the additional $300 per month scheduled to start the following year when she would have had […]
The bird flu: Clean your bird feeder right now
by Genevieve Fox (Great Lakes Echo/Bridge Michigan) If you have backyard birds in your yard, take down your bird feeder, said Louise Sagaert, director of Wildside Rehabilitation Center, a nonprofit organization in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. Federal officials early this year detected highly contagious influenza in wild birds in over 30 U.S. states, the biggest avian […]
Board denies Craig, Johnson, others spots on Michigan ballot. Lawsuits next.
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Republican gubernatorial hopefuls James Craig, Perry Johnson and three others were denied a spot on the August primary ballot Thursday in a series of deadlocked, party-line, votes by the Board of State Canvassers. The split decisions followed allegations that a ring of fraudulent circulators submitted a combined 68,000 forged […]
