One little girl’s death and Michigan’s falling childhood vaccination rates
By Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) Francesca McNally’s family will gather Thursday evening on what would have been her 10th birthday. They will do as they do every year: share in a birthday cake decorated with butterflies — a sweet-treat celebration the little girl didn’t live to see. Francesca — who was baptized even as she […]
Stressed-out Michigan restaurant workers find mental health help on menu
By Ted Roelofs (Bridge Michigan) As the COVID-19 pandemic chipped away at the bottom line of his northwest Grand Rapids restaurant business, co-owner Chris Andrus figured there were other costs. He feared it was exacting a rising toll on the mental health of his workers, who’ve been stressed out by layoffs, abuse from irate customers, […]
Who are the Republicans running against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer?
By Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Magazine) LANSING – Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has built a big campaign warchest as she seeks re-election this fall, but there is no shortage of Republicans vying to run against her and tap into voter frustration over early COVID restrictions, school policies and more. As of mid-February, 13 Republicans had filed paperwork […]
Oxford High students push gun reforms in Michigan: ‘Things need to change’
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Kylie Myrand describes it as the scariest three minutes of her life. The 16-year-old Oxford High School student was locked in a classroom and waiting for her brother, a freshman, to text her back while a shooter opened fire in the school’s hallways. When her brother finally responded three minutes later […]
Gretchen Whitmer drops mask suggestion, Michigan getting ‘back to normal’
by Mike Wilkinson, Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration on Wednesday dropped its recommendation that everyone wear masks in many indoor settings, including in schools, citing big drops in new COVID-19 infections. The state released updated COVID-19 mask guidelines as case counts and COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to plummet, with the state’s hospitals on Wednesday treating fewer […]
Michigan high school seniors crave normality after COVID
By Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) For Ben Schollett, the signature COVID moment of his high school experience involved a tape measure. One day last school year, the principal at Traverse City West Senior High School walked into one of Ben’s classes with the measuring tape and a seating chart, carefully measuring out 6-feet from where […]
One Michigan mom rejoices, another worries as school mask mandates lift
By Robin Erb, Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) Nicole Kessler will admit it: She’s anxious. Uncertain, really, as the clock ticks towards a mask-free school for her 10-year-old son, Elijah — an outgoing kid who loves Minecraft, is learning the alto saxophone and favors the backstroke on the local swim team. Will he be safe without […]
DNR announces fishing regulations for Michigan’s 2022 season
by Zahra Ahmad (Bridge Michigan) LANSING—Expanded underwater spearfishing, catch limits and size restrictions are among Michigan’s new fishing laws. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources this week announced most of the changes will go into effect April 1. Fishing licenses go on sale online March 1 and are valid for a year. Here is a direct […]
Four ways Great Lakes winters are changing as scientists search for clues
By Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) The Great Lakes’ warming winters are well-known through Michigan, in part because declining ice cover is visible from the surface. But scientists know precious little about how those changes affect life beneath the surface, where changing levels of ice cover and water temperature play a key role in the life cycles of […]
Oakland, Washtenaw, Wayne signal lift of COVID school mask mandates
By Robin Erb, Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Oakland and Wayne counties announced Friday that students will no longer be under a county-wide school mask mandate as of March 1, marking the end of county-level mask orders in K-12 schools. “We’re at the personal responsibility point of the pandemic,” said Oakland County spokesperson Bill Mullan. Washtenaw […]
