Lack of school counselors hobbles Michigan college enrollment efforts
by Ron French聽 (bridge Michigan) Susy Talentino retirement isn鈥檛 going as she鈥檇 planned. The veteran high school counselor left Sault Ste Marie Public Schools in 2022, but is already back advising students. The district that presented her with a teal-bordered cake with the words 鈥淓njoy retirement Susy鈥 just a year ago asked her to come […]
Climate change is harming Michigan hunting and fishing, groups warn lawmakers
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) LANSING鈥擟limate change is threatening the future of Michigan forests, fish and wildlife, and Michigan must act now to bolster nature against a warming world. That was the message delivered to legislators Tuesday by a recently-formed coalition of hunting, fishing and conservation groups organized around their concern for how warming temperatures […]
Democrats seek to reverse Michigan ban-on-bans of plastic bags
by Kelly House (Bridge Michigan) Michigan Democrats took a step forward Thursday in their quest to abolish a controversial 鈥渂an on bans鈥 of plastic bags. A House committee heard testimony on a聽bill that aims to reverse a 2016 state law 鈥 passed when Republicans controlled the Legislature 鈥 that prevents local municipalities from restricting the […]
Michigan is 鈥榠mproving outcomes鈥 for early childhood health and education, report says
by Hannah Dellinger/Chalkbeat Detroit (Bridge Michigan) Michigan is improving its outcomes for early childhood education, well-being, and health, according to a national report released Wednesday. The聽annual report, by the nonpartisan research organization聽Zero to Three, details areas where Michigan performed better than national averages, such as the percentage of parents who read to their babies daily […]
Lawmakers revisit auto insurance law, seek higher payouts for crash victims
by Lauren Gibbons (Bridge Michigan) Michigan lawmakers this week introduced bills designed to expand medical care for victims of catastrophic car crashes who say their care was compromised by the state’s auto insurance overhaul four years ago. Crash survivors and their health providers have complained that 2019 changes to the state no fault insurance system […]
Michigan dairy farm housing: 鈥業nvisible鈥 workers suffer, state looks other way
by Yue Stella Yu (Bridge Michigan) For six years, Louise Esqueda corralled, fed and cared for cows and calves six days a week at a dairy farm in southern Michigan. When her workday ended, Esqueda returned to living聽quarters provided by her employer 鈥斅燼 mobile home stacked atop a basement. When she arrived in summer 2016, […]
UAW strike 2023 update: Biden coming to Michigan; more workers hit picket lines
by Bridge Michigan Staff President Joe Biden will take the United Auto Workers up on its offer to come to Michigan in an聽historic聽show of support for striking workers. The president said he will travel to Michigan on Tuesday. 鈥淚鈥檒l go to Michigan to join the picket line and stand in solidarity with the men and […]
Medicaid cuts off 148K Michiganders in review; cancer patients get reprieve
by Robin Erb聽 (Bridge Michigan) More than 147,000 Michiganders so far have lost Medicaid coverage, two months into a year-long process to reexamine each case. But the Whitmer administration has extended a lifeline, at least for now, for more than 6,000 patients undergoing cancer treatment. Those patients receiving life-saving medical treatment will receive Medicaid coverage […]
Free COVID tests bound for Michigan mailboxes 鈥 if you ask
by Robin Erb With COVID cases on the rise and winter months ahead, Michiganders will once again be able to get free COVID tests from the federal government 鈥 up to four per household. The Biden administration, which on Wednesday聽announced the return of free at-home tests, also urged Americans not to toss out the now-nearly-forgotten […]
On Mackinac, Vivek Ramaswamy steals Michigan GOP spotlight
by Jonathan Oosting (Bridge Michigan) MACKINAC ISLAND鈥擯residential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy wowed Michigan Republicans on Friday at a state party island retreat, railing against the 鈥渨oke industrial complex鈥 and vowing to upend the bureaucracy in Washington, D.C. 鈥淚t was one of the best speeches I鈥檝e ever heard,鈥 Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, told Bridge Michigan on […]
