Soaring signature costs may bar some candidates from making Michigan ballot
By Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) LANSING—Michigan candidates have until Tuesday to submit enough signatures to appear on the ballot. Many haven’t. It’s not because they are unpopular. Rather, the soaring cost of gathering signatures is slowing them down. Largely indistinguishable from volunteers to the general public, paid circulators hired to collect signatures to get candidates and […]
Report: A quarter of Michigan roads are poor, will worsen without more funding
by Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) LANSING — Michigan roads will continue to erode and cost taxpayers $25 billion per year by 2031 if lawmakers don’t commit to more money for upkeep, according to a national transportation report released Thursday. Conducted by Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit research group TRIP, the report evaluates Michigan’s current road and bridge conditions and predicts […]
Bacon, labor, materials: Inflation pounds Michigan businesses
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Nelson Sanchez grappled with wage and supply cost increases in 2021 at RoMan Manufacturing in west Michigan, expenses that were rarely mentioned in the national dialog about inflation. Instead, many economists and political leaders assured Americans that the pressures leading to price jumps — like supply shortages and a smaller workforce — were transitory […]
Jury: Two not guilty of Whitmer kidnapping; mistrial for other two
By Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) Jurors on Friday acquitted two men accused of plotting to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and told a judge they were unable to reach a verdict on charges against two others charged in the alleged conspiracy. The jury of six men and six women in Grand Rapids found Daniel Harris, 24, […]
U-M, MSU thrive while Michigan regional universities scramble for students
by Isabel Lohman, Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) For Michigan public universities, state demographic trends have been a ticking time bomb: Fewer students are graduating from high school each year, and a smaller percentage of those who do are heading to college. But the pain is not universal. Enrollment at 12 of the state’s 15 public universities […]
What Michigan parents must know about upcoming school standardized tests
By Tracie Mauriello (Bridge Michigan) Monday begins Michigan’s annual six-week testing season that will help determine how successfully public schools have educated children this school year. The results of the various assessments can influence college admissions, teacher evaluations, and whether third-graders are promoted. Here are some answers to questions parents may have about the assessments. […]
One way to address student mental health in Michigan? Bring the clinic to school.
by Koby Levin, Chalkbeat (Bridge Michigan) Many Michigan school administrators say they’ve often served as stand-in public health officials during the pandemic. So it’s no surprise that districts across the state are eager to get some backup from a program that opens clinics in school buildings. School-based health centers make it convenient for students to leave class […]
A northern Michigan restaurant survived the pandemic, but not inflation
By Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) The story of Up North Family Cafe may be told in a lot of ways: The entrepreneurial dreams of a Cheboygan family. The creativity of a restaurant thriving during the pandemic. The curves of seasonal spending in Northern Michigan. And it can be told through chicken pot pies. Orders for […]
With Roe in doubt, Gretchen Whitmer moves to protect abortion in Michigan
by Robin Erb and Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan ) Gov. Gretchen Whitmer asked the Michigan Supreme Court Thursday to reaffirm a woman’s right to an abortion under the state constitution — a preemptive move to address the possible downfall of federal abortion protections this year. Since the U.S. Supreme Court issued the landmark Roe v. […]
Michigan is spending big on infrastructure. Its problems are even bigger.
by Jonathan Oosting, Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) LANSING—Michigan officials are celebrating a “historic” deal that will pump nearly $3 billion into aging infrastructure, but advocates say the state should be spending that much — or more — every year to adequately address decades of disinvestment. The one-time funding surge for decades-old water systems, crumbling roads and […]
