John James, the Republican nominee for governor, is proposing to repeal or reduce Michigan’s new 24% wholesale marijuana tax. Photo credit: J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press.

by Simon D. Schuster, Bridge Michigan

LANSING — Republican John James is proposing to “repeal or sharply reduce” Michigan’s new 24% wholesale tax on marijuana and courting industry donors as he competes to be Michigan’s next governor.

The new tax was a Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed last year, but James argues it “drives up prices, gives illegal operators a competitive edge and has already fallen far short of revenue projections.”

James publicly vowed to repeal or reduce the wholesale tax in mid-August, weeks after he had discussed doing the same at a campaign fundraiser organized by marijuana industry leaders.

The gathering, hosted by executives of the JARS Cannabis dispensary chain, netted his campaign nearly $90,000, according to state disclosures.

That a small fraction of the nearly $1.2 million James raised from donors since late July, but it underscored the willingness of industry executives to back opponents of a tax they see as an existential threat.

“He was clear as a bell: He wants to get rid of that 24% tax,” said Tim Beck, a longtime marijuana advocate who attended the fundraiser and told Bridge Michigan that about 100 people attended.

Marijuana officials have said they were blindsided by the wholesale tax, which is separate from the state 10% retail excise tax and was part of a road funding deal negotiated behind closed doors by Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and Republican House Speaker Matt Hall.

An industry group is it, arguing it violates the will of voters who legalized marijuana in 2018.

As part of his proposal to repeal the wholesale tax, James noted state revenue collections have so far fallen short of projections.

The House Fiscal Agency had projected the tax would annually to help fix Michigan roads as part of a promised $2 billion annual infusion, but state budget officials recently reported it had generated just in the first six months since implementation, below even revised estimates.

James has not said how or if he’d try to make up road funding revenue if the tax is fully eliminated. His campaign did not respond to requests for comment, nor did a spokesperson for Hall, the GOP House Speaker.

Benson takes wait-and-see approach

Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, has not taken a firm stance on the 24% wholesale marijuana tax, which her running mate, Brinks, supported in the Legislature.

It a “new and emerging issue,” Benson said Tuesday when Bridge asked her about the tax at a campaign stop.

“There’s a lot of data yet to be determined on that particular tax 
 we need to know where the money is going and also the impact that it’s had on the industry,” she said. “At the same time, I want to make sure that any changes we are making to our tax code do not come at the expense of driving up costs for Michiganders.”

Michigan marijuana industry was already struggling with growing pains before the new tax, and Robin Schneider, head of a top trade group, said many business owners have told her they simply aren’t paying it.

“They’re operating on a wish and a prayer right now,” said Schneider, the executive director of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association. She attended the fundraiser and her association donated $1,000 to James.

As of July 31, worked in the marijuana industry in Michigan, a state with about jobs.

Schneider told Bridge the James campaign approached her about the tax issue ahead of the fundraiser. “We didn’t do anything,” she told Bridge. “They made it clear that they support us.”

Beck, who is a member of the industry association but has no business of his own, said he feels marijuana business owners are “pretty united” around James.

Schneider said her association “repeatedly” reached out to Benson but has not heard back. The group previously supported Benson Democratic primary rival, Chris Swanson, who similarly to repeal the tax.

An industry in turmoil

Michigan marijuana industry experienced meteoric growth after recreational sales began in 2020, but competition has been cutthroat, with rapid expansion and aggressive consolidation making it difficult for small businesses to survive, leaving all but the largest producers and dispensary chains standing.

With the market .

In 2018, when 56% of Michigan voters voted to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes, James — then in his first of two campaigns for US Senate — said he would vote against the proposal but would respect the will of voters if they approved it.

Eight years later, James now says “state government has a responsibility to respect” the voter-approved law “while promoting workplace and community safety, keeping intoxicating products out of the hands of children, protecting consumers and enforcing the law against those who refuse to follow it.”

Diversion to the black market is something that nearly every state that has legalized marijuana has struggled with. In Oregon, where marijuana is legal and regulated, some experts have estimated only about two-thirds of sales are through the legal market, and it are making a dent.

The industry has also sought other routes to reduce the financial pressure Michigan fiercely competitive market has brought on weed businesses.

Schneider industry association has backed a proposal introduced by state Senate Democrats that would , cutting off new entry into the market, much like the state-sanctioned oligopoly currently in place for alcohol wholesalers.

That legislation, however, has remained stalled in committee.

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Joel Petersen carries a net of whitefish aboard near Leland. The commercial fisherman has watched the whitefish population decline dramatically in recent years. Photo credit: Josh Boland/Bridge Michigan.

by Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

With time running out to save the Great Lakes’ whitefish from a deadly mussel invasion, Michigan officials have a moonshot plan to pluck fish from Lake Michigan and breed them in captivity.

With sustained money, effort and luck, the fish offspring could one day help repopulate the lake after humans quell the mussels that have pushed the lake wild whitefish to near-collapse.

“It really about saving those genetic stocks right now,” said Doug Craven, natural resources director for the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. “If we don’t do it this year, there may not be enough wild fish in those stocks” to do it in the future.

Armed with $350,000 from the recently passed state budget and nearly $900,000 from the , state and tribal scientists will fan out from Naubinway to Saugatuck this fall to collect the spawning fish.

For now, the mission is limited in scale, targeting the bloodlines most in danger of disappearing. But those involved in the “genetic rescue” mission told Bridge Michigan they hope it sets the stage for a major whitefish recovery program.

That a marked change from just a year ago, when beyond some small-scale experiments led by Native American tribes, there was no coordinated plan to intervene as zebra and quagga mussels from Europe from the lower Great Lakes.

The filter-feeding mussels now dominate the food web in every Great Lake except Superior. They strip away the plankton baby whitefish eat and leave behind water so clear the hatchlings risk deadly sunburns if starvation doesn’t kill them first.

So far, — and whitefish don’t have long to wait.

In some areas of lakes Michigan and Huron, almost no hatchlings have survived to adulthood for two decades. Commercial harvests have plummeted from 6.9 million pounds in 2009 to less than 2 million pounds last year, and the geriatric fish that remain will soon die of old age.

For now, rescue efforts led by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians will be focused on Lake Michigan, where the crisis is particularly dire.

“For the southern Lake Michigan stocks, the only fear I have is, I hope we’re not too late,” said DNR Fisheries Chief Randy Claramunt.

After retrieving wild adults from several distinct bloodlines, scientists will attempt to incubate their eggs at the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery and then transfer the survivors to hatcheries across the state.

Ideally, those refugees would remain in human care for years or even decades until the mussel invasion subsides.

But money remains a barrier.

There are 18 unique whitefish populations in lakes Michigan and Huron, and most of them are imperiled. Current funding will cover only a couple of years of hatchery space, fish food and other expenses for only some of those populations.

Great Lakes Fishery Trust Manager Dan Lord said leaders of the effort hope to recruit deeper-pocketed partners, such as neighboring states and the US and Canadian governments.

For context, the federally funded recovery of Great Lakes lake trout has taken decades and hundreds of millions of dollars — and .

Hoping to be prepared if the money materializes, state, federal, tribal and nonprofit scientists are developing a menu of options for broader rescue efforts that could involve hatcheries, or new attempts to .

“We’re looking comprehensively at all the places where we could possibly create (a refuge) for fish,” said Matt Herbert, a senior conservation scientist with the Nature Conservancy in Michigan.

The species’ long-term survival in the Great Lakes depends upon efforts to curb the mussel invasion.

A Bridge Michigan analysis found those efforts are that scientists build research equipment out of scrap metal while worrying whether their work can continue another year.

In the wake of that reporting, US Reps. Debbie Dingell and Tim Walberg, both of Michigan, cosponsored that would devote $500 million to mussel control research over the next decade. So far, the bill has shown no sign of momentum, prompting for Congress to act.

“Whitefish are the canary in the coal mine,” Craven said. “They’re not the only species being affected by quagga mussels. So it important to address this for the sake of those ecosystems and those other fisheries, too.”

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Norwich Bluff is on the border of the Norwich Plains roadless area in the Ottawa National Forest, one of the areas in Michigan that could lose protections against permanent roads and logging. Photo courtesy of John Rebers.

by Laura Herberg, Bridge Michigan

Conservation groups are on a quest to keep thousands of acres of national forest land in Michigan free from permanent roads and logging.

The US Forest Service is the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule that protects nearly 45 million acres of National Forest System lands across the US — and about 16,000 acres in Michigan — from such development, with some exceptions.

The agency says decisions about how to manage wildfires and whether to harvest timber and should be made by local Forest Service officials. Some logging companies and offroad vehicle groups support the change, but not all.

A is trying to get people to tell the Forest Service they want the state roadless forest land to stay that way — and to do so before a public comment period ends early next month.

“These areas are incredibly unique,” said Emma Shedd, a forest ecologist with the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club. “It’s one of the only kinds of protections that we have like this at the federal level that prevents habitat fragmentation.”

Groups that favor keeping the roadless rule in place — among them the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, Copper Country Trout Unlimited and Keweenaw Youth for Climate Action — are holding a Saturday to discuss the issue and to encourage people to file public comments before an Oct. 6 deadline. The deadline was recently pushed back from Sept. 21.

In Michigan, the Roadless Rule protects 7,846 acres in the Hiawatha National Forest with the Delirium, Fibre, Government Island and Round Island roadless areas; 3,915 acres in the Huron-Manistee National Forest with the Bear Swamp roadless area, and 4,360 acres with the Norwich Plains roadless area in the Ottawa National Forest.

‘Quiet and solitude’

John Rebers, a volunteer with the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, has spent time in the Norwich Plains roadless area in the Western Upper Peninsula. He hiked parts of the North Country Trail and saw older forest, steep rocky areas and wildflowers.

Being in a roadless area “gives you a chance to get in touch with the roots of the country and get a feeling for what it was like,” he said. “It just allows more quiet and solitude.”

Michigan roadless areas can be viewed . In total, the protected areas are relatively small, making up just 0.5% of Forest Service land in the state.

“It an infinitesimally small part of Michigan forests,” said Bill Cook, editor of Michigan Forests magazine. “Chances are forest managers wouldn’t find a lot of reason to manage those areas anyways.”

But Shedd, with the Michigan Chapter of the Sierra Club, said that doesn’t make the land any less significant. Federally endangered species like the gray wolf, Northern long-eared bat and showy lady slipper, a type of orchid, are found in the state roadless areas, along with black bear, moose, the American martin and Canada lynx.

“The fragmented landscapes that happen when we have all these roads kind of crisscrossing through really degrades the habitat for those animal species, and is part of what makes having these larger intact areas so important,” Shedd said.

The argument to rescind the rule

The national Blue Ribbon Coalition, which advocates for recreation access on public land, says that rescinding the Roadless Rule would not result in a “private free-for-all” of paved roads, pointing out that new roads would be Forest Service roads which “are closer to the trails our community already loves to recreate on”. The coalition wants the rule rescinded, in part, to open up opportunities for the all terrain vehicle and snowmobile riders it lobbies for.

Rescinding the roadless rule wouldn’t have a huge impact on off-road vehicle access in Michigan though, according to Rich Rottier, the vice president of the Michigan Snowmobile & ORV Association.

There’s plenty to ride in Michigan without it. It just it would be a new area to go ride, is all,” he said. “If they opened it, it’d be great. If they don’t, as far as the ORV is concerned, it’s not that big of a deal.”

One of the reasons the Trump Administration wants to rescind the Roadless Rule is to open up more opportunities for timber harvesting. But Justin Knepper, the executive director of the Michigan Association of Timbermen, said the state forest industry is struggling to find markets for the wood that currently available. He said our increasingly digital world means there less demand for paper, and faux wood products like vinyl flooring are becoming popular alternatives for hardwood floors.

“Our industry is kind of on the rocks,” he said. “So from my perspective, it doesn’t matter how many new acres come online if we don’t have a market to sell the wood.”

Wildfire impact

Where there is the most disagreement surrounding the Roadless Rule, is how rescinding it would impact the ability to mitigate wildfires. Proponents say that allowing roads would make it easier to fight them. Opponents say fires can be fought from the air, that forest management tools like prescribed burns and  some tree removal are typically allowed under the Roadless Rule and they point to studies that show .

While the new deadline on the proposed Roadless Rule change and affiliated documents is Oct. 6, a coalition of Midwest groups wants to see the 45-day comment period .

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Students work in Rudyard Area Schools’ CTE cabinetry and furniture manufacturing program. Photo credit: Chloe Trofatter for Bridge Michigan.

by Isabel Lohman, Bridge Michigan

In Genesee County, students as young as seventh grade develop career exploration plans. Across four sites in Southeast Michigan, more than 900 students attend night classes at trade school while working construction jobs during the day. And statewide, Michigan is doling out grants to get more career and technical education programs .

Skilled trades and career technical education are having a moment.

It on the campaign trail too.

US Secretary of Education Linda McMahon recently described a “” while touting the trades. Republican US House candidate Mike Bouchard Jr. said “,” while the party Senate nominee, Mike Rogers,  .

Now, career and technical education experts say students need more exposure to career planning and the state needs more instructors with experience in the industry they are teaching about.

“If you call it a shop class, that just going to resonate and pull people thoughts backwards to what they experienced as a shop class — not our high-tech programming and clean facilities,” said Brian Pyles, executive director of the Michigan Association for Career and Technical Education and former state director of career and technical education at the Michigan Department of Education.

The subjects range widely too. Statewide, about one-fourth of high schoolers, or , took a career and technical education course in the 2024-2025 school year. These from accounting to health professions and law enforcement. They also include courses some may associate with a traditional “shop class,” such as plumbing, welding and heating and cooling.

But the attention on career tech hasn’t quelled a longstanding debate about the value of training or if a college degree is needed. The calls come as Michigan test scores decrease and many jobs in growth industries require a college education.

One critic fears increasing the focus on career training could lead to lower-paying jobs.

There were 390 high school buildings with career and technical education enrollments in the 2024-25 academic year, according to the Michigan Department of Education.

“Michigan Career and Technical Education system has evolved far beyond the traditional idea of ‘shop class,’” said Bob Wheaton, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Education. “Today, Michigan offers a wide range of high‑skill, high‑demand programs across multiple industry sectors, giving students hands-on learning experiences connected to real careers.”

The focus on career tech also comes as groups to aimed to make students show skills mastery, not just time in class, and giving students more exposure to careers.

Meanwhile, only , as measured by the SAT, and elected officials and advocates are also raising the alarm over .

While Michigan high school graduation standards were designed to , many students never set foot on a college campus. ÌÇĐÄÊÓÆ” enrolled in college within six months of graduation, according to preliminary data.

How much students and graduates earn 

Experts say studying career tech courses can lead to well-paying jobs but caution that not all training is the same.

Earnings vary depending on if a student took a few career tech courses or a full program and how much additional schooling they received post high school.

Michiganders with bachelor’s degrees earn significantly more than those without, . But college graduates who also completed a career tech program in high school tend to earn even more.

Lou Glazer, president of Michigan Future, cautions that most . Glazer group advocates for increased prosperity in the state, including attracting and retaining talent.

“I find that most folks who are pushing a CTE agenda are doing the exact opposite with their own kids. The question I have started to ask everybody I have an education conversation with is: ‘What kind of education do you want for your kids?’ And most never mention CTE.”

Asked whether emphasizing career tech studies could lead to lower wages, Glazer said:

“I think by and large, the answer is yes, but it really depends on the program.”

Access to career tech varies across the state

Students can attend courses in their local public schools, career centers at their intermediate school district or in workforce training programs at trade organizations or colleges.

High school students can earn an industry credential and in some cases associate degrees.

But career and technical education isn’t one thing, making it harder to measure outcomes.

“In general, students who are in skilled trades are less likely to go to college in part because there this really large positive payoff to workforce entry, said Shaun Dougherty, a professor of education and policy at Boston College, who studies such programs.

“But in contrast, students who are in college-aligned programs like healthcare, like education, like some applied engineering, those students are more likely to enroll in college, especially two-year colleges after high school.”

Dougherty studies Michigan career tech in a multistate research effort and said Michigan “is among the states who doing it especially well.”

Among Michigan students who completed an associate degree through their career and technical education coursework in the 2017-2018 school year, . But 33.7% earned a bachelor degree or higher while small groups got a certificate or associate degree. Students who completed certificates through their career and technical education program were less likely to earn a bachelor’s degree.

Dougherty warned that this type of education is not a silver bullet. He said students should take multiple courses in their chosen trade, combining that with work-based learning, partnerships with other educational institutions and learning from instructors who have real-life experiences in the trades.

In Michigan, people with experience in a given career area can teach in a classroom without a teaching certificate using a state-issued . ÌÇĐÄÊÓÆ” s were granted in the 24-25 school year.

Demand for skilled trade jobs varies among different states, too, Dougherty cautioned.

What ‘hot’?

Michigan recently released its annual list of that will be in demand through 2034.

According to the state Center for Data and Analytics, two-thirds of the 67,000 “hot” openings call for a bachelor degree or higher. Some also call for a license or other credential.

Among the others, two career fields call for apprenticeships: Electricians and plumbers. Top pay would be about $45 per hour, the state says, or about $93,600 per year.  Combined, about 3,600 openings are forecast through 2034.

Lowest-paid hot jobs that don’t require college would be construction labor and heavy-truck drivers. Both careers could expect pay to top out at $62,400, a rate $4,100 below the state average for personal income. Nearly 10,000 openings are expected.

Highest paid is electrical power-line installers & repairers, which could make $124,800 per year after long-term on the job training. However, only 295 openings are projected in coming years.

All but one of the eight lowest paying “hot” jobs do not require any college.

How much training is necessary?

Generally, those with a bachelor degree make annually than those without.

But 42% of recent college graduates with at least a bachelor’s degree are underemployed, according to a .

Pyles from the Michigan Association for Career and Technical Education said many skilled trade workers have associate degrees or earn college credit through their apprenticeships.

“For elected officials to continue to talk about skilled trades professionals not needing a college education, I think that they are minimizing the rigor and intellect that an individual needs in today skilled trades environment to be successful.”

Connection to the local and broader economy

Public schools are required to have for each student. Michigan Community College Association President Brandy Johnson said these plans should help students develop career and college goals but in practice, they are “not a meaningful experience in the vast majority of schools.”

Johnson, who is on the board of , a group aiming to change graduation standards, said almost all career tech programs in Michigan have an agreement with community colleges so that students can earn college credit for training.

Community colleges are now forming agreements with labor unions that allow trade apprenticeships to count for up to 75% of the credits needed for an associate degree. The next step is working with four-year universities, Johnson said.

Johnson said these new programs are not about getting more money for college but instead about awarding more associate degrees, helping the state meet its goal of 60% of working age adults with a .

“The point of it really is to do away with this notion that you can either go into a trade or go to college,” Johnson said. “That is the silliest dichotomy and not a thing in 2026.”

Diana Allard, executive director of career and technical education at Genesee ISD said students “need to understand that they have to have some sort of training to get a good job,” adding that “you need some skills and some evidence of that skill.”

How could Michigan improve? 

Allard said while Michigan offers a for students, the state should rethink its funding so that students are encouraged to take training in high school.

Michigan is toward reimbursing school districts for dual enrollment courses, where students take a class that counts for high school and college credit.

But Allard said Michigan can do more.

“I think our graduation requirements in the state, although they allow for flexibility, districts are still struggling to open that box if you will.”

When McMahon, the US Secretary of Education spoke of trades in Michigan, she did it from the Southeast Construction Academy in Sterling Heights, which has grown enrollment. President and CEO Keith Ledbetter said Michigan should reevaluate its K-12 system and what success looks like.

“I get frustrated because the young people who walk in the door of our trade school feel like they’ve been a failure. High schools have labeled them a failure,” he said.

“It OK that people are differently skilled. Someone who is mechanically inclined, it doesn’t mean that they’re dumb. It means that they’re gifted in something other than what these other people are gifted at.”

Bridge business reporter Paula Gardner contributed to this report.

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Foote Dam, in the Au Sable River, is one of 13 Michigan impoundments that Consumers Energy wants to sell to Confluence Hydro, a subsidiary of a Maryland-based private equity firm. Photo credit: Ella Miller/Bridge Michigan.

by Kelly House, Bridge Michigan

State utility regulators could soon decide whether Consumers Energy can sell 13 of Michigan largest dams to a private equity buyer, in a decision that could have major implications for rivers, rural economies and energy bills.

The looming decision — which had been expected this week before Consumers —  follows years of deliberations about the aging impoundments in some of the Lower Peninsula most well-known rivers.

Proponents of the proposed sale see it as a way to preserve the vast recreational reservoirs created by the dams, which attract tourists and create valuable waterfront property.

Opponents contend the deal is too risky and expensive, and some argue dam removal would be better for taxpayers and the environment.

Here what to know as the Michigan Public Service Commission prepares to rule on the sale:

The backstory:

For years, Consumers has been the hydropower business, citing mounting costs to maintain century-old impoundments in the Kalamazoo, Grand, Muskegon, Manistee and Au Sable rivers that provide little power.

After years of debating whether to keep, sell or demolish the dams, Consumers last fall that newly established firm Confluence Hydro had agreed to buy them for $1 apiece. In exchange, Consumers would ink a 30-year contract obligating its ratepayers to buy back the power at twice the market rate, .

Utility officials for ratepayers and a godsend for the small-town economies that depend upon fishing, boating and tourism opportunities created by the dams.

Confluence, a subsidiary of Maryland private equity firm Hull Street Energy, has vowed to modernize the dams to continue operating for decades to come.

Sale critics, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Attorney General Dana Nessel and environmental and ratepayer advocates, would instead let Confluence pocket profits while delaying maintenance, ultimately leaving taxpayers with the bill.

They point to the , and dams as examples of what could go wrong.

In June, an administrative law judge overseeing sale deliberations ” and urged the Michigan Public Service Commission to reject it.

The commission had been expected to decide the case this week, but no vote occurred after Consumers to negotiate with sale critics.

“There may be an opportunity for the parties to reach a constructive solution,” company lawyer Bret Totoraitis stated in the .

Sale critics contend the time for negotiations has passed.

“Consumers has no authority to unilaterally dictate the case schedule,” wrote Stephen Campbell, a lawyer for the ratepayer group Michigan Association of Businesses Advocating for Tariff Equity.

The proposal has divided river communities

On one side, small towns where economies and lifestyles revolve around boating, fishing and swimming in the vast lake-like reservoirs behind the dams. On the other, river lovers who favor removing dams to restore natural flows with more fish and colder water.

Perhaps nowhere is the debate more intense than on , a nationally renown fly fishing destination where six of Consumers’ 13 dams are located.

Economic studies commissioned by Consumers found that the dams bolster property values and create hundreds of jobs in the tourism-dependent communities along the Au Sable. Removing them would reduce gross regional product by millions, according to the analyses by Public Sector Consultants.

Dam opponents have criticized the studies, noting that free-flowing rivers are also a tourism asset.

They argue the appeal of boating and fishing in reservoirs doesn’t justify the environmental harm inflicted by dams, which warm the water, block fish migration and trap sediment upstream.

While deliberations proceed, Consumers is delaying dam safety upgrades 

The company was slated to begin a $350 million replacement of the Hardy Dam spillway last year, but now to December 2028.

The largest dam in Michigan, Hardy is 95 years old and doesn’t comply with federal standards requiring high-hazard hydropower dams to be capable of passing the largest possible flood.

Expanding the spillway would fix that problem. While Consumers officials have described the project as a “critical need,” they argue it not “feasible nor prudent” to start construction while sale talks are ongoing.

Some hydropower watchdogs fear the delay puts downstream communities at risk, while others see slim odds that a record-breaking flood will threaten the dam anytime soon.

The deal comes with a controversial $270 million payday

While Consumers would no longer own or operate the dams, its .

That because the deal includes a “financial compensation mechanism” through which Consumers would collect $270 million from ratepayers for buying back the dams’ power.

That on top of the $160-per-megawatt hour those same ratepayers would pay to Confluence Energy — an above-market price that supposed to cover maintenance costs and a profit margin for the company.

Critics of the arrangement have accused Consumers of “double dipping” on unwanted assets that have already generated untold millions in profits for the company.

Company leaders say they’re within their legal rights, citing a 2023 law that allows utilities to profit off renewable energy contracts.

In an effort to rally support for the sale plan, Consumers it willing to send the profits to a dam safety fund rather than pocketing them.

What happens next?

That not clear.

The three Whitmer appointees who sit on the Michigan Public Service Commission are not required to follow the administrative law judge advice, and have not offered a new timeline for their decision.

They could approve or reject the sale outright, or impose conditions that Consumers must meet to gain approval.

It’s also possible — though some say unlikely — that Consumers and its opponents could reach a settlement agreement that looks different from the current deal.

Company officials had previously refused to consider conditions on the sale, but now say they’re open to conditions that are “consistent” with the existing deal.

If commissioners approve the sale, opponents may appeal. If they reject it, Consumers has vowed to

Decommissioning can mean many things, from full removals to partial teardowns or mere operational modifications. Dam removal would require multiple layers of regulatory review, likely triggering intense deliberations about whether it the right approach for ratepayers, rivers and the public.

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Volunteers and experts like Paul Steen, the director of science for the Huron River Watershed Council, snorkeled for mussels in the Huron River this summer. They relocated them to protect the creatures from silt from a planned dam removal. Photo courtesy of the Huron River Watershed Council.

by Laura Herberg, Bridge Michigan

This summer, groups of about a dozen people each ventured into the Huron River in Ypsilanti just downstream of Peninsular Paper Dam, donning snorkeling gear.

In sections of the river that ranged from a few inches deep to a few feet, they plunged their faces into the water and started digging around. They were looking for mussels.

“We got into a rhythm at some point where somebody would find a mussel, they’d hold it up, and we’d all yell,” said William Moore, a summer aquatic field intern with the Huron River Watershed Council, involved in the mussel search.

Volunteers like Moore, in conjunction with engineers and other experts, relocated 3,000 mussels this summer to protect them from harmful fine sediment that could result from the planned removal of the dam.

Mussels are found in lakes and rivers all across Michigan, many living for 20 to 30 years, but they are in decline. In the early 1900s, their shells were used to make mother of pearl buttons and they were heavily harvested. Modern threats like pollution and changing water depths are difficult for mussels to evade because the shelled creatures aren’t very mobile.

The Huron River has more than 30 kinds of native mussels but there, too, many are disappearing. Four once found in the river are considered endangered by the federal government. The state also tracks threatened and endangered species and a dozen mussels found in the Huron River are on that list.

All mussels in Michigan are protected by the state, regardless of how rare or common they are. Mussels in the state cannot be touched or moved without a proper permit.

Peninsular Paper Dam was first built in 1867, decommissioned in the 1970s and acquired by Ypsilanti in 1986. The dam is slated to be removed as early as next year since it is not in use and its aging infrastructure has been identified as a hazard. While dam removal is generally seen as helpful for aquatic life because it increases water flow, reconnects the river, reduces sediment and improves water quality, in this case, there was concern that the dam initial removal could impact the rare mussels.

“When a dam is taken out, the fine sediment behind the dam is all kind of churned up and entrained into the water and brought downstream,” said Paul Steen, director of science for the Huron River Watershed Council.

That can be a problem for mussels, Steen said, because “they can’t really move. They can move a little, but they’re not like fish. If a mussel gets into a bad situation, it can’t save itself. It’s gonna die.”

A survey conducted a little ways upstream and downstream of Peninsular Paper Dam in 2024 found more than a thousand live mussels. Eight species were recorded, three of which were on the state threatened list: purple wartyback, wavy-rayed lampmussel and the black sandshell.

To keep downstream mussels intact, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources instructed Ypsilanti to relocate native mussels found immediately below the dam before the structure is removed. Ypsilanti contracted the engineering firm GEI to plan and coordinate the effort. The Huron River Watershed Council, along with other experts, partnered as volunteers.

When engineers assessed the Peninsular Paper Dam, they found less sediment had built up behind the dam than they initially feared, Steen said, but they still expected sediment to accumulate along the edges of the river, where flow tends to be slower. So the DNR said the mussels found on the edges of the river should be moved into the center.

That is where the snorkeling gear came in, which Steen said was a great opportunity to get volunteers involved.

“They get a chance to put on the mask and snorkel and search along these lines to locate these mussels,” he said. “It’s this unique experience of being fully immersed in the river, the outside world just gets shut away, the sound of airplanes and cars kind of disappears, and it’s just you in the river.”

Moore, the intern with the watershed council, said searching for the mussels was like hunting for treasure and, every time he found one, it felt “awesome.”

“People don’t realize that activities to preserve native and endangered species like this can be fun. I was out there having the time of my life,” he said.

After the dam is gone, Steen said, they hope to look at how quickly the mussels can repopulate areas above the dam that used to be still water.

“We’ll start seeing baby mussels upstream where there used to not be any, as a result of the dam removal,” he said.

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At least 125 county or municipal law enforcement agencies contract with Atlanta-based company Flock Safety to install and maintain automated license plate readers, which snap photos of vehicles as they drive by for police use. Photo credit: Simon D. Schuster/Bridge Michigan.

by Lauren Gibbons, Bridge Michigan

As public concern grows around the use of Flock Safety cameras and other automated license plate readers, Michigan political candidates are calling for increased scrutiny and guardrails around the technology.

On Wednesday, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jocelyn Benson became the latest to weigh in, arguing that “Michiganders deserve to know when government is collecting information about them, where that information goes, and who has access to it.”

The readers — typically nondescript cameras perched near busy roadways — snap a picture every time a car drives by and are touted by police as a speedy way to help locate missing people or catch criminals.

A majority of the cameras in Michigan are operated by Flock, an Atlanta-based company that has contracted with at least

But privacy advocates and residents in communities large and small are increasingly raising concerns, arguing the technology infringes on citizens’ privacy rights, relies too heavily on artificial intelligence and can lead to data getting shared well beyond local boundary lines.

“Right now, we’re not getting that basic transparency,” Benson said in a statement, promising to work with the Legislature to approve clear statewide rules for how the cameras are used, who can access the data, when it can be shared and when it must be deleted.

“I hear from people across Michigan who drive past a Flock camera every day and have no idea what happens to that picture after it taken: who sees it, how long it kept, or whether it shared with agencies they’ve never heard of.”

Her Republican opponent, John James, told reporters in a recent press call that, when it comes to Flock cameras, it important to balance constitutional rights to privacy with the need for public safety.

“Our right to privacy is non-negotiable,” he said. “But we also need to make sure that we are working within the Constitution to keep innocent people safe and put bad actors away 
 I’ll be doing everything that I can to protect the privacy of Michiganders and also enforce the law.”

In Michigan US Senate race, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed has protested the “mass proliferation” of Flock cameras, making a pitch for voters to support him “if you believe, like me, that you shouldn’t just be surveilled because you’re driving along the street.”

“We’ve got to stand up to this massive surveillance apparatus that is being built behind closed doors and behind our backs,” he said in .

El-Sayed has claimed Republican rival Mike Rogers is part of a “regime” pushing for the proliferation of Flock cameras, citing his past work as chair of the US House Select Committee on Intelligence. But Rogers was no longer in Congress when Flock cameras were created in 2017.

Last week, a Rogers campaign spokesperson told he “vehemently opposes unchecked use of Flock cameras to track law-abiding citizens.”

“Security and liberty aren’t enemies,” the spokesperson said. “Good government protects both.”

Why it an issue 

In most communities with license plate readers, the devices are placed at or near major public intersections. As vehicles pass by, the reader takes a photo of the back of the car, collecting the license plate number that can be used to look up the vehicle registration.

Law enforcement agencies using the devices tout the technology as a speedy way to help locate missing people or catch criminals, with many agencies crediting the tool with arrests in high-profile cases.

But critics contend that the cameras amount to 24/7 surveillance of drivers, the vast majority of whom will never be charged with a crime, posing major privacy concerns.

Throughout the state, heated debates over the use of license plate readers have erupted in town halls and city meetings as local officials weigh whether to introduce new cameras or keep existing ones.

Community pushback “really exploded” starting in summer 2025 as reports emerged about the data being used for immigration-related searches, and more, Sarah Hamid, director of strategic campaigns for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for digital privacy rights, previously told Bridge.

Flock has said it data with any federal agency, but system lookup data analyzed last year by showed local and state police across the country have frequently performed searches for federal partners, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, a former software engineer who is running as the Democratic nominee for Secretary of State, sees the issue as part of a broader fight for data protection.

Gilchrist told attendees of last week state Democratic Party convention that he’d stand up to the federal government and anyone else aiming to take undue advantage of residents’ voter records, driving history and other personal information that should remain confidential.

Last month, Flock Safety in response to backlash, announcing requirements for law enforcement to label searches with a criminal case number, automatic reviews of abnormal search activities and a new seven-day default for records retention, down from 30 days.

A Flock Safety spokesperson told Bridge Friday that the company supports “thoughtful, bipartisan legislation that puts strong privacy, transparency and accountability guardrails in place while preserving law enforcement ability to use technology responsibly to keep people safe.”

Where things stand now

Though some communities are exploring other options for license plate reader technology or have rejected the cameras outright, many others have approved new contracts or re-upped existing ones, and cameras are peppered throughout the state.

have adopted policies aimed at regulating the use and retention of data collected by license plate readers, which capture pictures of vehicle license plates every time a car drives by.

Legislation is pending in both the state and to implement some form of statewide regulation, with supporters aiming to require a 14-day limit on data retention and limit use of the license plate reader system to specific law enforcement actions, including:

• Finding missing people
• Locating stolen vehicles
• Locating people with outstanding arrest warrants
• Identifying uninsured or unregistered vehicles
• Parking and tolling enforcement
• Criminal investigations

Sen. Jim Runestad, a Republican lawmaker who sponsored the Senate bills, told Bridge it currently “the wild, wild west” when it comes to how data is retained and used across different municipalities, and whether it shared with other entities. He not convinced that legislative leaders will be motivated to take action before the end of the year, however.

“There is no oversight,” said Runestad, who also chairs the Michigan Republican Party. “We should be having people coming in, all the stakeholders, and really going through what is the best practice, what do we need to modify
and they’re not doing anything.”

Several law enforcement organizations, including the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association, have said they’re not against statewide regulation but are concerned about limiting record retention, as criminal investigations or missing person searches can take longer than two weeks to complete.

They’ve argued a limited window to access the data could limit the effectiveness of the tool.

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Democratic Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, left, and Republican US Rep. John James, right, will face off in November for Michigan governor. Photos via The Associated Press.

by Simon D. Schuster, Bridge Michigan

LANSING — Democrat Jocelyn Benson outraised Republican rival John James and has a decided cash advantage in the Michigan governor race, according to new disclosures and statements from the campaigns.

As of Aug. 24, Benson had about $5.9 million in her campaign account, while James had about $1.5 million. She also raised three times as much as he did in the latest disclosure period, which ran from July 20 to Aug. 24.

Benson raised more than $1.8 million, including donations from DTE Energy and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan executives who could be banned from such giving under she supports.

James received $371,000 in public funding and reported $1.2 million in private donations, including contributions from multiple members of the powerful DeVos family of west Michigan.

He also received a $5,000 donation from a political action committee representing Blue Cross Blue Shield employees.

The new filings paint an incomplete picture of the fundraising race, however. James has benefited significantly from a super political action committee that was not required to file a new disclosure this week. As of late July, Mission Michigan had spent more than $4.7 million to support him.

Benson has been advertising since before the primary — a majority of her campaign spending in the last filing period was on ads. James has been slower to get on the air, releasing his this week with about two months to go before the Nov. 3 general election.

Benson donors

Benson disclosure shows she received about 17,700 donations averaging about $102 each during the five-week reporting period that followed the Aug. 3 primary.

More than half of her haul — just north of $1 million — came from nearly 9,800 contributions from Michigan donors.

Benson campaign manager Nikki Goldschein called the fundraising evidence of “record-breaking enthusiasm” for Benson.

“John James is looking to Donald Trump and corporate donors to fuel his campaign. We’re building ours with the people,” Goldschein said.

Benson has come out in support of Proposal 2, the Michiganders for Money out of Politics ballot proposal, which would prevent the state utilities, state government contractors and their executives from making political contributions to candidates.

But Benson latest filing shows she accepted donations from at least two executives that would be banned from making donations under that proposal: Tricia Keith, the president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, gave her $8,325 and Gerardo Norcia, the executive chairman of DTE Energy board of directors, gave Benson $3,000.

As recently as Friday, Benson campaign has as “the only candidate not taking utility money in this gov race.”

Benson campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the contributions.

Other donors who gave the legal maximum included:

• Dan Loepp, the former CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield, a longtime supporter of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer
• Matthew Grimm, the co-founder and COO of military technology startup Anduril
• Denish Illitch, a University of Michigan regent and member of the dynastic sports-and-pizza empire
• Benson also received $83,250, the legal maximum for political action committees, from the Whitmer-controlled Building Bridges PAC.

Benson also received donations from interest groups representing realtors, accountants, consulting engineers, attorneys and three different unions.

James’ donors

In private donations, James wasn’t too far behind Benson, reporting about $1.2 million in contributions for the period. He received about half as many donations overall, less than 8,000.

Detailed data on James’ contributions wasn’t available at the time of publication, but his report did reveal several top donors, including individuals who made the maximum allowable contributions of $8,325.

Those included:

• Six members of the billionaire DeVos family, including some who were named after other members exceeded the legal limit but reattributed their donations
• Former GOP primary rival Mike Cox and his wife, Laura Cox, a former state party chair
• Frank Crivello and Reese Fawcet of Florida, executives at Phoenix Investors, a real estate firm with extensive experience in .
• John Kennedy, president and CEO of Autocam Medical, and his wife.

James also received $250 from the CEO of Vista Maria, Kathy Regan, a state contractor for mental health services that has been the subject of an .

Filing delay

It took more than 24 hours for James’ report to become public, due to errors in both the filing and the Michigan Transparency Network, the beleaguered state system that has since launch last year.

James’ disclosure was briefly posted to the state website Thursday but quickly disappeared. His campaign blamed Benson, who currently serves as secretary of state and oversaw the transition to the new system.

The Republican nominee filed his disclosure “in accordance with the deadline but there seems to be an issue with Jocelyn Benson hot pile of garbage MITN system again,” said James’ campaign manager Jackson Gross.

But department spokesperson Angela Benander told Bridge Michigan that the Bureau of Elections was trying to reach the James campaign to verify the numbers are accurate before posting publicly,” noting the public financing system James had opted into for the primary is “really complex.”

Throughout Friday, Benander said bureau staff were still working with the James campaign to resolve any discrepancies before posting the disclosure, which had not yet been made public.

On Friday afternoon, James’ campaign instead released a statement with some of the top numbers. It did not include any details about who had donated to his campaign.

“We filed on time and have the confirmation to prove it. If Jocelyn Benson can’t even run a website correctly why would anyone trust her to run the state?” James spokesperson Alyvia Bailey said in a statement.

The primary losers

James’ self-funded GOP primary rival, businessman Perry Johnson, reported spending about $33 million on his campaign. He lost to James by nearly 15 percentage points, with about 35% of the vote.

The in the primary went through companies connected to his campaign manager, political consultant John Yob.

Cox, the former attorney general who suspended his campaign before the election but whose name still appeared on the ballot, reported spending about $7.7 million in total, of which about $5.3 million was self-funded.

Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson, a Democrat, reported spending nearly $2.2 million in his gubernatorial campaign.

Swanson only netted about 17% of the vote against Benson. His most recent disclosure showed the candidate never ran an ad on television throughout his campaign.

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An eastern massasauga rattlesnake. Photo credit: Department of Natural Resources.

By ANNA BARNES, Capital News Service

LANSING — The eastern massasauga rattlesnake is the only native venomous snake in Michigan — but the state Department of Natural Resources says it has not killed anybody here in over a century.

One did, however, bite a man trying to take its photo last month in Oakland County, which resulted in a hospital stay for him — and an uptick of residents searching for the snakes.

Now, the DNR is asking the public to stop harassing the threatened snakes.

Amy Bleisch is an endangered species biologist at the DNR. She said media attention from the bite has spurred snake enthusiasts to go looking for the species, but not everybody seeking the snake is doing so with good intentions.

“We’ve had some folks tell us that if they ever saw one, they would kill it,” she said. “That is not only illegal, but it also, unfortunately, a really great way to get bitten. ”

As a threatened species, killing or harassing the rattlesnakes is against the law. Those found violating the Endangered Species Act could be sentenced to up to a year in jail or fined $50,000.

“We’ve had this uptick in interest in eastern massasauga and we’ve been seeing some not-great behaviors from some folks,” she said.

She said some people look for these kinds of species as a hobby, called herping (derived from herpetology, the study of amphibians and reptiles), but there have been situations where their habitats have been trampled and destroyed.

“They’ve also been harassing and interacting with this snake in a way that is very likely to result in another bite if you continue to get in that snake space,” Bleisch said.

The snake is a shy species located in Lower Peninsula wetlands, Bois Blanc and Mackinac Island and wants nothing to do with humans, she said. They are good at hiding, making surveys to count the species long and difficult.

Eastern massasaugas are usually tan with brown splotches that resemble a bowtie. They have rattles on their tails and can grow to be 18 to 30 inches long.

Bleisch said humans have no natural resistance to their venom.

“They get in this evolutionary arms race with their prey where they make their venom a little more potent and the prey makes its resistance a little more potent,” she said. “People are not part of that equation. We have no natural resistance to that venom and so that venom is more impactful to us.”

While the venom is impactful, it also not always used. In so-called dry bites, which happen 25% to 50% of the time, the snake does not deliver any venom, the DNR said.

The species is also declining in population on a global scale due to habitat destruction and poaching.

Bleisch said the snakes have a rough time crossing roads and paved paths. When residents leave designated paths to go look for them, they are further degrading their habitats. She said poaching of the species is also too common.

“That poaching can be persecution when folks have chosen to kill a snake because it a snake,” she said. “But there also poaching by people who are snake enthusiasts, and those folks are collecting these snakes and putting them into the illegal pet trade.”

Bleisch said people don’t realize how important the massasauga are. The snakes keep rodent populations down which in turn keeps tick populations down, and that keeps tick-caused sicknesses down.

“They’re playing a critical role in the ecosystem and our natural heritage,” she said. “Anytime you’re interacting with that snake and it feels threatened to the point where it is rattling, that is taking an energetic cost from that snake and it making it harder for it to continue surviving on the landscape.”

She said if people do come across the snake, they should keep their distance.

“And we definitely do not want to try to pick them up,” Bleisch said.

Anna Barnes is an environmental reporting intern at Michigan Public through a collaboration with MSU Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Capital News Service and the Mott Foundation. This story was written for Michigan Public.

Electric vehicle charging at a park. Photo courtesy of Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

by Kyrmyzy Turebayeva, Great Lakes Echo, Bridge Michigan

LANSING — Michigan is actively expanding electric vehicle infrastructure and promoting the transition to electric transportation.

However, the presence of charging stations does not necessarily mean all residents can equally benefit from electric vehicles.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison found that Michigan EV policies place significant emphasis on expanding charging infrastructure and increasing EV adoption, but pay less attention to whether low-income residents can afford to participate in this transition.

“Access to an electric vehicle is not just the ability to buy a vehicle. It is access to the entire system that makes using that technology possible,” said Chelsea Schelly, a co-author of the study and professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The authors examined how Michigan EV policies align with the state stated goals for an equitable energy transition.

The research grew out of a broader project focused on EV charging infrastructure development in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

As part of that project, researchers worked with local communities and studied questions related to charging station placement.

“At that time, we were looking at where charging stations should be located, including tribal nations, and how to engage local communities in decision-making. Through that work, we realized that EV development is much broader than building charging stations,” Schelly said.

The study was conducted from summer 2024 to summer 2025. The researchers analyzed 76 enacted or amended state and federal policies related to electric vehicles in Michigan.

The researchers used the U.S. Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy database to examine what types of support existing policies provide.

In addition to analyzing policy documents, the researchers used additional data on EV adoption, household income, energy burden, charging availability and regional differences.

The goal was to evaluate how well existing policies address affordability and equity concerns in the transition to electric vehicles.

The lead author of the study was Vincent Edache Idoko, who was a graduate student in the Sustainable Communities Program at Michigan Technological University where he studied sustainability and energy policy at the time of the research.

According to Idoko, who is now a doctoral student at the University of Wisconsin, the analysis found that Michigan EV policy framework primarily focuses on expanding charging infrastructure and increasing EV adoption, while there are fewer measures directly helping low-income households purchase and use EVs.

“Although Michigan is building important components of the EV transition, there remains a gap between formal access to infrastructure and the actual ability of low-income households to benefit from electric mobility,” Idoko said.

However, Schelly said EV adoption involves more than vehicles and charging stations.

It requires a broader socio-technical system that enables people to use the technology.

Many EV owners charge their vehicles at home, which means housing readiness is an important factor.

Older homes may require electrical system upgrades or other costly improvements before they can support home charging.

“Many EV support programs focus on reducing the cost of the vehicle itself, but they do not address the other conditions needed to use that vehicle. As a result, these measures may provide greater benefits to people who already have the necessary infrastructure at home, while additional costs can become a significant barrier for low-income households,” Schelly said.

She noted that the decision to purchase an EV is not only about the price of the vehicle.

It also depends on whether a home is ready for daily charging and whether electrical upgrades are needed.

The authors emphasized that their study does not argue that every Michigan resident needs an electric vehicle.

“We are not saying that every person or every low-income household should have an EV. We are evaluating how well state policies align with their own equity goals,” Schelly said.

She added that the transition to electric transportation is connected not only to vehicles, but also to broader issues such as air quality, public health and who benefits from these changes.

The researchers argue that policymakers should consider not only building charging infrastructure and encouraging EV purchases, but also home charging readiness and whether low-income households can access and benefit from existing support programs.

Kyrmyzy Turebayeva  for Great Lakes Echo.

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