Business & Economy
Sen. Rosemary Bayer, D-West Bloomfield, is cosponsoring a bill to empower the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to regulate new chemicals in water.

Michigan hasn’t updated list of dangerous toxins in nearly 20 years. That might change

By |

TOXINS: The state has been stymied in adding new toxic chemicals to the list of those it can regulate in Michigan waters. Lawmakers from West Bloomfield and Northfield Township want to restore that authority to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. We hear from EGLE, the Farm Bureau and the Michigan Environmental Council. By Theo Scheer. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS.

Education

“That should horrify everybody in this community”: Lead found in water, dust particles in Okemos Public Schools

By |

Parents and teachers expressed their concerns over the recent lead discovery found in several classrooms at Okemos Public Montessori at Central, an elementary school within the Okemos Public School District. Repeated testing found lead in both the drinking water and dust particles in various classrooms across OPM, and on Jan. 22 several teachers, parents, and community members spoke at the biweekly meeting of the Okemos Board of Education. A two-part test first took place on Oct. 19 and Nov.

Business & Economy

Michigan lags in preventing tobacco use but more funds, new laws could change that

By |

TOBACCO MONEY: Michigan isn’t doing well in its anti-tobacco initiatives and spending, the American Lung Association says. The governor wants to boost spending, and some lawmakers want tighter controls over the sale of tobacco products. We talked to Health & Human Services, the Michigan unit of the American Cancer Society and an East Lansing lawmaker. Includes references to anti-tobacco programs by groups in Detroit and Grand Rapids and legislators from Metro Detroit and Flint. By Liz Nass. FOR DETROIT, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, GREENVILLE, LANSING CITY PULSE, WKTV AND ALL POINTS.

Elections & Politics
Republican Sen. Jonathan Lindsey of Allen.

Some lawmakers eye ban on gender-affirming medical care

By |

TRANSGENDER HEALTH: Some Michigan lawmakers would like the state to follow Ohio in restricting gender-affirming medical care. Among them are legislators from Clare, Oxford, Allen, Brighton and Niles. The ACLU calls such a proposal cynical and political and argues that it would interfere with the right of individuals and families to make their own medical decisions. By Sophia Ceru. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, CLARE, DETROIT, FOWLERVILLE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HILLSDALE AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy
Angela Gabridge is the executive director of MiGen, a Ferndale-based nonprofit focused on elderly LGBTQ+ people.

New resource centers for LGBTQ+ seniors ‘guaranteed to be welcoming’ 

By |

LGBTQ+ SENIORS: Two new Metro Detroit senior centers are focused on older LGBTQ+ residents, filling what advocates say is a need for services they may otherwise not get. We hear from a Ferndale-based nonprofit and the UP Area Agency on Aging. By Alex Walters. FOR DETROIT, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, IRON MOUNTAIN, ST. IGNACE, CHEBOYGAN, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Health
This statue commemorates the status of Grand Rapids as the first city to fluoridate its drinking water

Some in Michigan hoping to change minds about drinking water and fluoridation 

By |

FLUORIDE: A California court case may throw into doubt the future of widespread fluoridation of public water systems in Michigan – where Grand Rapids became the nation’s first city to use it – and elsewhere. We hear from a pro-fluoride U-M dental professor, fluoridation opponents in Marquette and Lansing and a national anti-fluoridation group. References include Oxford, Cadillac, Gladwin, Iron Mountain, Three Rivers and Saugatuck By Theo Scheer. FOR WKTV, GREENVILLE, DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT, CADILLAC, IRON MOUNTAIN, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, GLADWIN, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy
Chad Techner is the director of Metro Food Rescue

Food banks face crunch as demand rises

By |

FOOD INSECURITY: Food banks across the state are facing increased demand at a time of inflation and are looking for additional ways to serve hungry people in need. We hear from three Metro Detroit programs. References to Livingston and Monroe counties. By Anish Topiwala. FOR MICHIGAN FARM BUREAU, DETROIT, MONROE, FOWLERVILLE, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Health

Michigan blood banks, hospitals, face donor shortage

By |

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.