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Left Behind – Rural Michigan's Dilemma
In rural areas across the state, residents endure higher poverty, serious health and social ills, and little hope for the future.
Full Coverage
Living poor, in a county of wealth
Being poor is tough anywhere. But wanting for basics in Livingston County, the state’s most affluent, carries a different kind of sting.
Down and out in Lake County
Lake County competes for the unwanted title of Michigan’s poorest county. Like many rural areas across the state, Lake residents endure higher poverty, serious health and social ills, and little hope for the future.
A day on the streets with a young panhandler
The story behind one man's sign.
Free speech goes begging in Grand Rapids
Across Michigan, communities are trying to craft restrictions on panhandling that don’t run afoul of First Amendment protections.
A charter school for the rural poor closes
Is it better to keep low-income students together despite poor test scores? Or do they benefit from learning alongside middle-class children?
Along Michigan’s back roads, thousands of homeless children
Brenda Greenhoe scours abandoned garages and backwoods lots in rural counties, bringing adrift children to school.
Up North, isolation impedes health care for seniors
In far-flung rural Michigan, hardly anything is close by. It can be a problem for those in need of medical attention.
A graying population poses challenges for Up North counties
High up on Michigan’s Mitten, arthritis is creeping into the fingertips. Michigan leads the nation with the most counties with a median age over 50.