Business & Economy
The Dickinson County Road Commission paves a road with a rubber-modified asphalt that uses recycled tires.

Thousands of tires hitting the roads may end up in them

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TIRES: Michigan may have a sustainable answer, at least in part, to fixing its roads: asphalt made from recycled rubber tires. A partnership among state regulators, Michigan Tech and county road commissions is looking to reduce the piles of used tires. State grants support such efforts. We hear from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, a Muskegon official and a Michigan Tech expert. By Anna Barnes. FOR IRON MOUNTAIN, BAY MILLS, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, ST. IGNACE, LUDINGTON AND ALL POINTS.

Environment
The Smart Lake Erie Watershed Initiative’s buoys are retrieved in the winter and redeployed in the spring to prevent damage to the sensors.

Smart buoys help brace Great Lakes for environmental challenges

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SMART BUOYS: Lake Erie is the first Great Lake getting connected to the internet with a series of offshore “smart” buoys, which provides invaluable data to researchers and anglers. Plans are to extend the technology to other Great Lakes. Michigan TechUniversity and Lake Superior State are part of the collaboration. By Daniel Schoenherr. FOR MONROE, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, ST. IGNACE, ALPENA, ALCONA, CHEBOYGAN, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, LEELANAU, OCEANA COUNTY, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, PLANET DETROIT, IRON MOUNTAIN AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy
Plymouth veterinarian Larry Letsche is a past president of the Michigan Veterinary Medicine Association.

Telehealth for pets: advocates, experts split on expansion of veterinary video-chats

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PET TELEHEALTH: Some lawmakers are pushing to renew the authority of veterinarians to use telehealth, but there have been concerns raised about the possible overprescribing of medications. The lead sponsor, from Livonia, the Michigan Veterinary Medicine Association and the ASPCA opine. Cosponsors include lawmakers from Interlochen, Van Buren Township, Novi, Hamtramck, West Bloomfield and Walker. By Alex Walters. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, DETROIT, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, WKTV AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy

Bicycle accidents increase drastically in Michigan, study says

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BICYCLE ACCIDENTS: Bicycling deaths are up in Michigan, and that worries cycling advocates, law enforcement and traffic safety experts. We hear from the League of Michigan Bicyclists and a former Washtenaw County deputy sheriff. Includes references to serious accidents in Ionia County, Clinton Township and Hillsdale. The Office of Highway Safety Planning has given grants to the sheriffs’ offices in Berrien, Macomb and Oakland counties and to police in Chikaming Township, Detroit, Kalamazoo, Lansing and St. Joseph. By Sophia Ceru. FOR GREENVILLE, IONIA COUNTY, HILLSDALE, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.

Health

Michigan blood banks, hospitals, face donor shortage

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BLOOD SHORTAGE: Michigan’s two large blood banks, Detroit-based Red Cross and Grand Rapids-based Versiti, are grappling with a shortage of donors and canceled blood drives this winter. We talk to the lab manager for MyMichigan Health medical centers in Alma, Clare and Mt. Pleasant, the laboratory medical director at Cadillac Hospital, the medical director of transfusion services at Sparrow Health and the blood bank director for Munson Healthcare. By Theo Scheer. FOR CADILLAC, WKTV, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, DETROIT, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, GREENVILLE, MIDLAND, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Ballot Issues
Mike Yoder, founder of Drone Deer Recovery, flies a drone used to recover deer carcasses.

Lawsuit could complicate drone laws for hunters and anglers.

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DRONES, DEER & FISH: Do drones mesh or clash with hunting and fishing ethics and regulations. A company that uses drones to locate deer carcasses is suing to challenge Michigan’s ban on the practice. Meanwhile, wildlife officials, anglers and hunters debate the ethics and implications of drone use. We hear from the head of the company, the Natural Resources Commission chair, the DNR and a Holland angler. For news and outdoors sections. By Ben Eiler. FOR HOLLAND, WKTV AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy

Michigan Capitol first to deploy AI gun detection

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ZEROEYES: Michigan’s State Capitol is the first in the nation to deploy a gun detection system using artificial intelligence for security. The system, ZeroEyes, supplements the recently installed metal detectors that lawmakers, state staff and hundreds of thousands of visitors pass through each year. We learn more from the State Capitol Commission’s executive director andt he Michigan Coalition For Responsible Gun Owners director for Southwest Michigan. By Kelsey Lester. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy
State parks and other facilities where EV chargers are planned for 2024.

Electric vehicle charging stations to be installed at more state parks

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EV CHARGERS: The DNR is installing chargers in more state parks to accommodate the growing number of visitors who drive EVs. The initiative is a partnership with EV manufacturer Revian and national nonprofit Adopt a Charger. We speak to DNR, Adopt a Charger and the superintendent of Holland State Park. Also mentions Belle Isle, Bay City, Leelanau, Orchard Beach and Mears state parks and the Oden Fish Hatchery, By Kayte Marshall. FOR HOLLAND, LEELANAU, TRAVERSE CITY, OCEANA COUNTY, PETOSKEY, MIDLAND, WKTV, HARBOR SPRINGS, PLANET DETROIT, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.