Trump deportation policy hits close to home

MSU freshman Pamela Quintana descibes her mother as hardworking, kind and community-oriented. “Everyone who knows her loves her,” said Quintana. “She’s known throughout the community…she’s a very hands-on mom, always taking care of her kids.” Every day, she wakes up at 5 a.m. She cleans as many as five homes a day to make ends meet. And she tries to return home at 5 p.m to see the kids she works hard to support.

Icy lakes made some towns, businesses winners or losers

By NICK STANEK
Capital News Service
LANSING — The record-breaking ice on Lake Superior is bad news for the steel industry but not for tourism in some parts of the Upper Peninsula. The Sault Ste. Marie locks opened Tuesday as they do every year on March 25. But this was the first time since 2009 a boat didn’t pass through the very same day. The lack of boat traffic in 2009 was due to economic reasons.

Dairy dilemma: Cold chills milk production, threatens cow health, increases feed costs

By DARCIE MORAN
Capital News Service
LANSING — The seemingly everlasting winter chill might cost Michigan dairy farmers whose cows are trying to stay warm. Farmers are treating cows with more than the usual number of pneumonia cases, chapped teats and udders, disturbed calving cycles and injuries from slipping on ice. And some of them might receive a lower paycheck from lackluster milk production thanks to the long, cold winter. Although cows prefer cooler temperatures, the animals need far more energy to survive during harsh winter weather, said Ron Erskine, Michigan State University professor of veterinary medicine. Because the animals are using the energy from food to stay warm, it is not going to milk production, Erskine said.

Waterfowl threatened by confusing roads with water

By DARCIE MORAN
Capital News Service
LANSING — Near-record ice and less open water on the Great Lakes are a growing concern for the safety of waterfowl in Michigan. Licensed rehabilitators say they have seen a “profound” increase in reports of waterfowl stranded on roadways that they confuse with open water. Once they land, some birds cannot take off again because their bodies are adapted to lifting off from water. Northernaire Wildlife Rescue owner Susan Good said this year she’s fielded at least 50 calls so far about stranded waterfowl. Typically her Cheboygan County business receives about six stranded bird reports each year from surrounding areas.

ID the ice? Help shipping, boaters

By GREG MONAHAN
Capital News Service
LANSING – Think all ice is the same? That’s not the case on Michigan’s Great Lakes. And now scientists have found out how to detect the differences – with math. The development, reported recently in the International Association for Great Lakes Research, is important because it could help guide freighters through Michigan’s icy lakes, assist the Coast Guard in breaking up large ice formations and help weather scientists predict evaporation that could lead to lake effect snow. Researcher George Leshkevich of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Ann Arbor led the study with help from Son Nghiem of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

New film highlights worlds of Great Lakes ice

By MATTHEW HALL
Capital News Service
LANSING — The shaping of the Great Lakes’ geographic, economic and cultural history by ice is revealed in a documentary set to be finished in late April. Producers of “Project Ice” used high-definition cameras to capture spectacular scenes of ice on the lakes, as well as intimate portraits of residents’ connection to the wonders of winter, said William Kleinert, executive producer and director of the film. “Ice has been involved in so many aspects of the Great Lakes, right from its original creation from glaciation, on through the present and the development of its culture, economy, shipping, navigation and commerce,” Kleinert said. He began the project two years ago to document the historic car ferries on the Straits of Mackinac. But it evolved into something bigger and more illustrative of the entire Great Lakes region.