CNS Budget – Feb. 9, 2018

Feb. 9, 2018 – Week 4
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman & Perry Parks
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/
For technical problems, contact CNS technical manager Tony Cepak at (517) 803-6841; cepak@msu.edu.
For other matters, contact CNS Director Eric Freedman at (517) 355-4729 or (517-256-3873); freedma5@msu.edu.
Here’s your file:
UNEMPLOYMENT: Unemployment rates in Northern Michigan are generally higher than elsewhere in the state, the latest jobless figures show. Mackinac County had the highest rate in December, followed by Cheboygan, Montmorency, Alger and Schoolcraft counties. We talk to the state director of USDA Rural Development (a former legislator from Traverse City), the Department of Technology, Management and Budget and Northwest Michigan Works!, which serves 10 counties. By Haley Gable. FOR ST. IGNACE, CHEBOYGAN, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MONTMORENCY, TRAVERSE CITY, MANISTEE, CADILLAC, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, ALCONA, BENZIE, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS AND ALL POINTS.
w/UNEMPLOYMENTTABLE: 10 counties with the highest unemployment rates. Source: Department of Technology, Management and Budget.
 
WORKFORWELFARE: Michigan’s economy, on a slow upswing since the Great Recession, has recovered enough so that the state is reinstating stricter work requirements for recipients of federal food assistance. The waiver of a three-month limit on some benefits for unemployed persons is being phased out. Some lawmakers, including ones from Bainbridge Township, Hudsonville, Mancelona and Park Township, want more restrictions on public assistance benefits. We talk to the Department of Health and Human Services, Michigan League for Public Policy and the the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland. By Maxwell Evans. FOR STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, MONTMORENCY, HOLLAND, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, CHEBOYGAN, LANSING CITY PULSE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS
 
DESTINATIONSURVEY: Early results of surveys of summer and fall 2017 college graduates show that about 90 percent of those from Western, Central, Northern and Wayne State have found jobs or are continuing their higher education. The other 11 public universities are expected to report their results in the next few months. Institutions use the “first destination surveys” for recruitment, among other purposes. By Agnes Bao. FOR MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, BIG RAPIDS, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING CITY PULSE, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.
 
Can pair with…
 
COLLEGEGRADS: Why are fewer Michigan high school grads going on to higher education? The proportion of grads who continue beyond high school is dropping. We hear from the state Education Department and the Michigan Association of State Universities. By Colton Wood. FOR ALL POINTS.
 
DAIRY: Dairy farmers who produce Michigan’s top agricultural commodity — milk — are still being slammed by low prices and overproduction. The U.S. Senate is moving on a measure sponsored by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow to help alleviate the problem. Allegan, Ionia, Missaukee, Ottawa, Newaygo and Lenawee are among the 12 counties with the most milk cows. We hear from farmers in Scottville and Gladwin, the Farm Bureau, National Farmers Union and United Dairy Industry of Michigan. For news and agriculture sections. By Gloria Nzeka. FOR BLISSFIELD, IONIA, BIG RAPIDS, HOLLAND, CADILLAC, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL, GLADWIN, LUDINGTON AND ALL POINTS.
w/DAIRYTABLE: 12 counties with the most milk cows. Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture.
 
ATTACKADS: Candidates and their surrogates and alter egos are taking off the gloves early and launching negative ads against their rivals this year, including some in the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial contests. A Central Michigan University political scientist and the Michigan Campaign Finance Network tell us why. By Maxwell Evans. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.
w/ATTACKADSINFOBOX
ADJUNCTFACULTY:  Part-time (adjunct) instructors and non-tenure stream full-timers are teaching a significant number of courses at Michigan’s public universities and community colleges, accounting for 70 percent or more of the faculty at some institutions. That raises questions about job security, courseloads and educational quality.  Story mentions Montcalm, Grand Rapid, Lansing, Gogebic, Kirtland, North Central, Mid-Michigan, Southwestern Michigan community colleges and Northern Michigan, Ferris State and Saginaw Valley State university. The Michigan Association of State Universities, Lecturers’ Employee Organization and Michigan Community College Association discuss. By Crystal Chen. FOR GREENVILLE, IONIA, ALCONA, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, PETOSKEY, BIG RAPIDS, MONTMORENCY, HARBOR SPRINGS, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.
w/ADJUNCTFACULTYTABLE: percentage of adjunct faculty at Michigan’s 15 state universities.
 
BLOCKCHAIN: Whether you invest in Bitcoin or not, the technology behind it will affect your quality of life soon. Michigan manufacturers are using “blockchain” processes to better track and secure products and transactions. Blockchain, or “distributed ledger” technology, records transactions and other data in a permanent, unchangeable “chain” that’s instantly updated for everyone using the chain. Retailers like Wal-Mart are using it to improve food supply chains, and entrepreneurs are making money by building and supporting blockchain processes. We talk to the Michigan Manufacturers Association, an MSU expert and the head of a blockchain “mining” company in suburban Grand Rapids. By Riley Murdock. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS.
 
FUNGI&CHEERIOS: Researchers, including ones from Grand Valley State University, Oklahoma and Texas are hunting for a substance to cure pediatric cancer, drawing chemicals found in fungi deep in the Great Lakes. Samples came from lakes Michigan, Huron and Superior. The fungi spores grow well in the lab on Cheerios. By Jack Nissen. FOR HOLLAND, OCEANA, LUDINGTON, GREENVILLE, MANISTEE, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, LEELANAU, ALCONA, CHEBOYGAN, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, ST. IGNACE, BENZIE, BAY MILLS AND ALL POINTS.
w/FUNGI&CHEERIOSPHOTO: A Ponar dredge collects sediment from lake bottoms. Credit: Mark Luttenton.
 
SALMON&TROUTDIETS: Scientists may have settled a debate between anglers and fishery managers over the future of the lake trout in the Great Lakes. With salmon hauls declining as their favorite food, alewife, dwindles, anglers are anxious to prioritize their protection even over recently resurgent native populations like lake trout. A new study shows lake trout eating whatever’s available, meaning they don’t always directly compete for food with species like the Chinook salmon. We talk to the researchers, including one from DNR, and the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. By Steven Maier. FOR LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, OCEANA, BENZIE, TRAVERSE CITY, HARBOR SPRINGS, ALCONA, PETOSKEY, LEELANAU, CHEBOYGAN, ST. IGNACE, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE AND ALL POINTS.
w/SALMON&TROUTDIETSPHOTO: Lake trout. Credit: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.