Lawmakers vowed to strengthen Michigan’s weak dam safety laws after the Midland dam failures of 2020 but never did. Some see a window of opportunity for renewed action after the latest floods.
Michigan’s latest dam safety crisis revives calls for reforms, funding
Posted inBusiness Watch
Overflow crowd tells Lansing lawmakers: Stop secrecy around data centers
Michigan is awash in data center proposals, in part because of tax incentives. Many residents say enough is enough, calling for tighter regulations and to non-disclosure agreements with local officials.
Posted inMichigan Government
Ex-Michigan party leaders: Time to ditch nominating conventions
Following a combative Michigan Democratic Party convention, a bipartisan duo is pushing a plan to let voters nominate attorney general and secretary of state candidates through primary elections instead.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan recycling rate hits high. Bottle law critics say it could go higher
Michigan’s recycling rate hits a record 26% but still trails the national rate of 32%. A group seeking to repeal the state’s bottle return law argues investing in universal curbside recycling would be more effective.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
After floods, ice chunks battering homes in northern Michigan
Large chunks of ice have rammed into homes along Michigan’s Black Lake in the northeastern Lower Peninsula as constant spring rainfall and winter melt have flooded homes and threatened to overflow stressed dam systems.
Posted inTalent & Education
Michigan schools get creative, competitive, to curb high absenteeism
Michigan schools want to boost the number of students regularly showing up for class. Can competitions help boost attendance?
Posted inGuest Commentary
Opinion | Michigan must stay ahead of synthetic opioid cychlorphine before cases appear
Cychlorphine is 10 times more potent than fentanyl. Modern overdose surveillance depends heavily on whether laboratories are looking deeply enough to identify what routine screens can miss.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Supreme Court sides with Nessel in Line 5 jurisdiction dispute
Enbridge had sought to move Nessel’s Line 5 shutdown case into federal court, where the company was expected to get more favorable treatment. But justices unanimously ruled that the company missed the deadline to do so.
Posted inMichigan Government
9 governor hopefuls to make Michigan ballot — if their signatures are valid
Disqualified four years ago, Perry Johnson was the eighth of nine major party gubernatorial candidate to file signatures required to make this year’s Michigan ballot. Independent Mike Duggan has until July.
Posted inOutdoors Life
89-year-old Michigan hunting and fishing group may shut doors soon
The president of Michigan United Conservation Clubs said it has until May 1 to raise $100,000 or “we will be forced to close our doors.” The group — made up of individual members and hunting, fishing, trapping and conservation clubs — claims to be the largest statewide conservation organization in the nation.