Nov. 16, 2018 – Week 11
Note that next week’s budget and stories will be sent Tuesday, Nov. 20, to accommodate use over the Thanksgiving holiday.
To: CNS Editors
From: Dave Poulson and Sheila Schimpf
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 Dave Poulson at (517) 432-5417 or (517) 899-1640 poulsondavid@gmail.com.
Correspondents, their contact information and the CNS publications each especially serves are listed here: http://news.jrn.msu.edu/about-capital-news-service/contact-capital-news-service/
Here is your file:
SNOWMOBILES – Snow is flying, and Michigan’s snowmobilers are gearing up to hit the trails. Pre-season trail permits are up 43 percent as northern Michigan businesses hope for a snowy season. By Kaley Fech. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL, ST. IGNACE, MARQUETTE MINING JOURNAL, CADILLAC NEWS, BAY MILLS, CHEBOYGAN and ALL POINTS.
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JOBSTRAINING – A state bonding program that helps run a statewide jobs training program linking community colleges with local employers is in danger of running out by the end of the year. We talk to the president of the Michigan Community College Association, a vice president at Northwestern Michigan College and a vice president at Mid Michigan College in Harrison. Includes references to Clare, Petoskey, Lansing, Grand Rapids and more. By Nick Kipper. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, CLARE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING CITY PULSE, PETOSKEY AND ALL POINTS.
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GERRYMANDERING – Want to determine the future of Michigan’s representation in Congress? You have until June of 2020 to volunteer to serve on the state’s new redistricting commission that voters approved Nov. 6. Michigan officials are getting set to implement the new way of establishing legislative districts after the state was one of at least three states to approve proposals designed to halt gerrymandering that created an unfair advantage to some political parties. Only 17 Michigan counties voted against the proposal, including Alcona, Mackinac, Missaukee, Montmorency, Wexford, Newaygo, Luce and Cheboygan. . By Jeremy Wahr. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/GERRYMANDERINGMAP – Breakdown of which counties voted for or against Prop 2. Source: Michigan Secretary of State and county clerks. Credit: Jeremy Wahr
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PFASDRONES – Environmental officials are taking to the skies to monitor an emerging threat to Michigan’s water. Drones that can detect PFAS will head out over a second lake in Michigan contaminated by old military bases, identifying specific sites. Then all-weather infrared cameras trained on those sites will be installed as part of a high-tech monitoring system that could be increasingly used to check on pollution and help in the cleanup. But opponents say the high-tech bling is just for show. By Lance Cohen. FOR CRAWFORD COUNTY AVALANCHE AND ALL POINTS
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PHRAGFIGHT – Homeowners and government agencies are fighting the invasive phragmites plant that is invading Michigan wetlands and crowding out native species. But members of First Nations tribes and other groups say the plant has appeared for a reason and perhaps it should be treated as a friend rather than a foe. By Whitney McDonald. FOR ALL POINTS
wPHRAG1: A phragmites fire flares on Harsens Island. CREDIT: Chuck Miller
wPHRAG2: Invasive phragmites.
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PHOTONFARMS – Farmers who lease land for solar arrays can’t qualify for a state farmland preservation tax credit, state officials say. Despite that ruling a drop in equipment costs and a Michigan Public Service Commission policy change that makes them profitable have prompted more farmers to consider farming photons. By Quinn Zimmerman. FOR ALL POINTS
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DEADDEER – Data from dead deer in Wisconsin and applied to living ones in Virginia could help detect chronic wasting disease earlier in herds in Michigan and elsewhere. A group of wildlife agencies has developed a new statistical approach for early detection of the contagious neurological disease that is always fatal. By Kaley Fech. FOR ALL POINTS
w/DeerPhoto: Protruding ribs and hipbones are signs that a deer has chronic wasting disease. Credit: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
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