Michigan baby formula maker plans for profits after rival’s factory shutdown
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) A west Michigan company is running its U.S. infant formula production around the clock in response to a national crisis caused by a rival’s factory shutdown and recall. Perrigo Co., based in Allegan, is among three U.S. formula manufacturers rushing to fill store shelves. In Perrigo’s case, that means store brands […]
More Michigan third-graders could be held back under read-or-flunk law
by Tracie Mauriello (Bridge Michigan) Parents of nearly 5,700 Michigan students are getting unwelcome news: Their third-graders could be held back from moving to the fourth grade because of low reading scores. The number of struggling young readers is up 60 percent from total last year as being eligible to be retained, though that increase […]
Michigan senators seek summer pause on gas taxes. Whitmer ‘encouraged’
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Michigan senators reached a bipartisan agreement to press pause on gas taxes Thursday, citing sky-high prices at the pump in recent weeks. A set of bills that collectively would temporarily suspend both the 27-cents-per-gallon gas tax and the 6 percent sales and use taxes on gas purchase for the […]
Michigan farmers pinched by rising fertilizer prices. Consumers may be next.
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Between last fall’s harvest and this spring’s planting season, Matt Schwab’s corn crop got a whole lot more expensive to grow. Prices for the commercial fertilizers Schwab and other Michigan farmers apply to their crops have doubled in the past year as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war, shifting trade […]
Michigan home prices are still skyrocketing. That may soon change.
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Adam Paarlberg knows that when one of his fellow 400 agents at Greenridge Realty in west Michigan lists a home for under $400,000 it may get 30 offers. Some reach 50 offers. That’s just the way real estate operates in Michigan since prices took double-digit leaps starting in 2020 and a few […]
Michigan baby formula factory, Abbott, reaches deal with FDA to reopen
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) The Michigan infant formula factory that was shut down amid a federal investigation into whether contaminated formula made several babies very ill said Monday it could resume production by the end of May. Abbott Nutrition announced in a news release that it has reached an agreement with the U.S. Food & Drug […]
Michigan teen looks to college, but after pandemic she questions her drive
by Ron French (Bridge Michigan) GRAND RAPIDS—The walls are painted green and blue in the room where Jackie Calderon spent about 22 hours a day during the first year of the pandemic. There is a wallpaper strip of the letters of the alphabet along the ceiling. The curtains are emblazoned with a happy zoo full […]
Michigan Republicans OK $2.7B tax cut. Whitmer wants a $500 rebate.
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Tensions flared in the Michigan Capitol Thursday as Republicans and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer pushed competing tax cut plans to give back some of the state’s growing budget surplus. All sides stressed the need to help Michiganders whose spending power has been curbed by inflation, but their negotiating […]
Michigan election law: Everyone wants change, common ground is the hard part
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) Since the 2020 election, local and state officials have put forth a slew of proposals for overhauling how Michigan’s votes are processed, tallied and kept secure. But with another statewide election this fall, little has changed as deep ideological differences make even widely bipartisan proposals a tough sell in Michigan’s […]
Michigan’s teacher shortage: What’s causing it, how serious is it, and what can be done?
by Tracie Mauriello and Lori Higgins, Chalkbeat Detroit At a state school board meeting earlier this year, a Muskegon teacher told a story that underscored why education leaders, lawmakers, and the governor are pushing hard to address Michigan’s teacher shortage problem. Danielle Groendyk, an English language arts teacher at Oakridge High School who is […]
