Duck and goose populations booming in Michigan. Other birds? Not so much.
by Zahra Ahmad (Bridge Michigan) Michigan’s duck and geese populations are soaring as receding water levels created the perfect wetland breeding conditions last year, even as most bird species struggle. Waterfowl are breeding in record numbers: a recent state study found duck populations are up 191 percent and Canada goose populations are up 21 percent […]
Ann Arbor pours money into green affordable housing. Will others follow?
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Five years ago, developers and government officials in Ann Arbor launched a project to bring eco-friendly construction to the masses. It was a novel concept and very on brand for the progressive, affluent college town. The idea was to have local government subsidize some up-front costs of green housing and reserve […]
COVID may be here to stay. So much of Michigan is weighing risks, moving on
By Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) COVID-19 is still raging across much of Michigan, with some of the highest rates of new infections ever recorded and many hospitals nearing patient peaks. Outside those hospitals, though, much of Michigan has weighed the risks and concluded it’s safe to resume pre-pandemic activities. Highway traffic is up, while crowds […]
Activists push Michigan for bolder, faster climate efforts
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) As Michigan regulators consider how to transition the state away from fossil fuels by 2050, activists want them to focus more heavily on housing, transportation and rooftop solar. During the first of two scheduled listening sessions as state regulators circulate the draft climate plan published this month, activists on Wednesday lauded the […]
Updating Michigan energy rules on new homes faces pushback from builders
by Ted Roelofs, Michigan Environment Watch (Bridge Michigan) Updating Michigan standards last addressed in 2015, state officials are to consider a new, more energy-efficient home construction code this year ─ likely sparking a battle between home builders and environmentalists who back stronger energy mandates. “These provisions are critical,” said Charlotte Jameson, chief policy officer of […]
Whitmer: Cut taxes, boost schools. Michigan GOP agrees, but devil’s in details
By Yue Stella Yu, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Could there be common ground after all between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Republicans who control the Legislature? On Wednesday, the Democratic governor used the last State of the State address of her first term to propose tax cuts, investments in mental health initiatives and the biggest […]
Michigan community colleges vie for 4-year nursing programs amid shortages
by Isabel Lohman (Bridge Michigan) A demand for more Michigan nurses during the pandemic is once again pitting the state’s community colleges against its four-year universities. Michigan community colleges currently provide only two-year associate nursing degrees. They want to expand to offer four-year bachelor degree programs, a move fiercely opposed by the state’s four-year universities. […]
How many COVID cases are in Michigan schools? State has no idea anymore
by Ron French, Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) The onslaught of the omicron variant of COVID-19 is crumbling Michigan’s system for reporting outbreaks in schools, making it difficult for parents to know how widespread the virus is in classrooms. Some districts have told parents to work under the assumption that there could be COVID present in all […]
Omicron requires a better mask. How to choose one that’s best for you.
by Robin Erb (Bridge Michigan) With the spread of the omicron variant, federal health officials are urging people to wear higher-quality masks — the most effective being N95s, if you can tolerate them, while details are forthcoming on a federal program to make masks available to more Americans. On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and […]
Northern Michigan studio belonging to iconic artist listed for sale
By Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Before Gwen Frostic created a printing business that sent her stationery all over the world, she bought hundreds of acres in northwest Michigan’s Benzie County where she could observe and sketch nature. The late artist moved there in the early 1960s, designing a grassy-roofed studio between Frankfort and Benzonia that became a […]
