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 […]
In first debate, Michigan GOP governor hopefuls embrace abortion ban, Trump
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) HOWELL — Michigan Republican gubernatorial hopefuls found common ground in their first debate on Thursday, vowing to support a potential abortion ban, push school choice and investigate Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for COVID-19 nursing home deaths. Several candidates also questioned vaccine efficacy, and some argued that former President Donald Trump […]
Michigan baby formula factory focus of FDA probe after infant illnesses
by Paula Gardner, Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) A southwest Michigan factory just a few miles from the Indiana border is at the center of an infant formula recall that’s helped fuel shortages across the U.S. and raised concerns about federal oversight of contamination in food production. Abbott Nutrition, a division of Abbott Laboratories that employs an […]
Complaint: Michigan group fighting voter ID ‘secretly’ bought out circulators
by Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — A Michigan group opposing voter ID requirements paid a firm not to gather signatures for its opponents and failed to properly disclose the payments, according to a complaint obtained by Bridge Michigan. Protect MI Vote — a group fighting Republican-led ballot measure Secure MI Vote — hired […]
Michigan National Guard wants to double Camp Grayling training land
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) The Michigan National Guard wants to more than double the footprint of its Camp Grayling military training complex in Crawford, Kalkaska, and Otsego counties in northern Michigan. Under the plan, the Guard is seeking permission to use surrounding state-owned property to bolster capacity for modern training that requires vast swaths […]
Some MI water systems are overbuilt, underfunded. Are mergers the answer?
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) PORT HURON—A behemoth along the St. Clair River, the Port Huron water filtration plant is capable of purifying 30 million gallons a day — enough to serve the entire population of St. Clair County, and then some. But for lack of demand, it operates at about a quarter of its […]
How Michigan state parks will spend a $250 million COVID windfall
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Jim Sjoberg is so fond of P.J. Hoffmaster State Park, he asked his wife, Kelsey, to marry him among the park’s towering Lake Michigan dunes. But there’s one thing he doesn’t love about this popular forested park just south of Muskegon. “If anyone’s got a car that’s worth keeping around […]
