Michigan unemployment fraud now at $8.5B. Legislators have more questions.
By Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) With pandemic-related unemployment fraud now estimated to reach at least $8.5 billion, Michigan officials and legislators continue to spar over whether the state agency in charge of payments is fixing longstanding mismanagement. Also unclear is whether more fraudulent payments will be uncovered, how much of the reported fraud is criminal […]
Michigan to end most contact tracing as COVID overwhelms effort
by Robin Erb(Bridge Michigan) Broad community contract tracing for COVID in Michigan is coming to an end in most cases — a dramatic signal of the overwhelming spread of omicron and the diminishing returns of an effort launched nearly two years ago across the state. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, which began […]
For Michigan parents, a “hellscape” of nasal swabs, missed work, and fury
By Ron French (Bridge Magazine) Betsy Beaudoin panicked for a moment when she and her son got to the bus stop near their Novi home Thursday morning. Was this the no-bus-service day for her fifth-grader in Novi Community School District, which runs buses just four days a week due to a driver shortage? Or was […]
Much of Michigan is rural. What will it take for small towns to thrive?
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Gary McDowell recalls his small hometown of Rudyard as a vibrant community in Michigan’s Chippewa County. The town’s population has held steady over the years, even as residents left surrounding areas and the Upper Peninsula, whose population fell over the last decade by about 10,000 to 300,000. Still, the damage […]
Michigan businesses fear crippling staff shortages as omicron spreads
by Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Clay Verkaik came into work Monday morning knowing that 10 of his workers at Preferred Produce in Detroit would be out sick, just like they were at the end of last week. But as the hours ticked by, more called in ill. By the time he left work at 4 […]
Road salt threatens Michigan lakes and rivers. Can an alternative take hold?
By Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Road salt is threatening the Great Lakes’ famous fresh waters and creating even bigger problems for the inland rivers, lakes and aquifers – not to mention your car’s undercarriage. But decades of experiments with other options, from beet- and corn-based deicers to sand and chemical mixes, have yet to yield […]
Michigan superintendent: With schools closing, let’s address teacher shortages
By Ron French (Bridge Michigan) A teacher shortage growing for years in Michigan has exploded in recent months, with some schools forced to temporarily close or switch to remote learning because of a lack of bodies to lead classrooms. Teachers who test positive or are exposed to COVID-19 are out of school for up to […]
Battle brewing among Michigan Democrats over new political maps
by Sergio Martínez-Beltrán (Bridge Michigan) LANSING—While some Michigan Democrats are celebrating new political maps that give them a real chance to flip both state legislative chambers, other members of the party — particularly Black members — have said those ‘rejoicing’ are putting politics over the interests of marginalized communities. “I don’t think that they see […]
Fearing more losses, Michigan restaurants hit pause as COVID strikes staff
By Paula Gardner (Bridge Michigan) Exhaustion. Resources stretched thin, just like staffing. Uncertainty. Michigan’s restaurants fighting to get through the pandemic look back on nearly two years of disruption that, if they’ve survived, took them to the brink. Now they’re starting 2022 with not just more of the same: Thanks to record-high cases of coronavirus, their […]
Michigan nursing home staff shortage raises peril, adds to hospital woes
By Robin Erb, Mike Wilkinson (Bridge Michigan) MOUNT CLEMENS—The dining room at the Martha T. Berry Medical Care Facility is empty these days. There is no one to staff it. A few doors down, veteran nurse Nora Kopek administers more than 400 COVID-19 tests a week to residents, staff, guests and vendors — no longer […]
