April 20, 2018 – Week 13
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman & 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 CNS Director Eric Freedman at (517) 355-4729 or (517) 256-3873; freedma5@msu.edu.
UPCOMING #1 FOR EDITORS: Next Friday, April 27, will be our final regular weekly file of the spring semester. You’re welcome to continue using prior stories and visuals from our website.
UPCOMING #2 FOR EDITORS: On Wednesday, May 2, CNS will move a special package of articles about campaign financing reported by our partner, Spartan Newsroom.
UPCOMING #3 FOR EDITORS: On Friday, May 4, CNS will move its end-of-semester Bonus Week budget. These are still-timely stories you may not have had space for when they were first reported.
Here’s your file:
UPDEER: Heavy snows this winter are bad news for the U.P.’s deer population. It’s harder than usual for them to move around and to find nutritious browse, according to the DNR. Adverse effects include death and lower reproduction rates. We also talk to the MUCC vice president who is a trustee for the U.P. Whitetails Association. By Kaley Fech. FOR SAULT STE. MARIE, ST. IGNACE, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, CHEBOYGAN AND ALL POINTS.
ADULTEDUCATION: Despite Michigan’s low high school graduation rate, funding of adult education programs remains far lower than needed. Some U.P. residents must drive 50 miles to the closest program. We hear from the Michigan Workforce Development Agency, Northwest Michigan Works! and the Michigan League for Public Policy. By Casey Hull. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, BIG RAPIDS, MANISTEE, CADILLAC, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, BAY MILLS AND ALL POINTS.
SCHOOLCOUNSELORS: School shootings and other traumatic events highlight a growing workload for public school counselors, with too few therapists amid rising concern about violent incidents and threats in school. Petoskey and Traverse City school experts and the MEA talk about it. By Casey Hull. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LANSING CITY PULSE, PETOSKEY AND ALL POINTS.
ROADPAYOUTS: Did a pothole just eat your tire and rim? Want compensation? Fuhgeddaboutit. Like the state, counties rarely reimburse motorists for pothole damage to their vehicles. Road officials in Gladwin and Montmorency explain why. The MDOT director says more money for road maintenance would reduce the problem. By Maxwell Evans. FOR MONTMORENCY, GLADWIN AND ALL POINTS.
PEOPLEMOVING: Some rural areas are seeing more folks move in than out. Isabella, Wayne, Missaukee and Grand Traverse are among the counties that lost more residents than they gained while Crawford, Lake, Antrim and Leelanau showed net migration gains. We talk to the Crawford County economic development coordinator, a Mancelona legislator and experts from Northern Michigan University and Grand Valley State University. By Crystal Chen. FOR CRAWFORD COUNTY, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, BIG RAPIDS, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LAKE COUNTY AND ALL POINTS.
DISABILITIES: Facilities employing and training people with disabilities face increased regulations that could cut the amount of help they can provide. The dispute focuses on the state’s interpretation of a federal law intended to get more people with disabilities into the general workforce. We talk to program officials in Traverse City and Alpena and to the Michigan Association of Rehabilitation Organizations. By Casey Hull. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, ALCONA, MONTMORENCY, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS.
BREED: Lions and tigers and bears, oh regulate! A Lowell lawmaker wants the state to regulate the breeding of large carnivores by zoos in Michigan, saying it would promote animal safety, health and conservation. The zoo in Grand Rapids likes the idea but the Detroit Zoo doesn’t.We also talk to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and to the DNR. By Crystal Chen. FOR IONIA, GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS.
PROJECTS: A pilot program looking for better ways to coordinate repair, maintenance and replacement of Michigan’s roads and other infrastructure is finishing its recommendations this month. The pilot program includes 13 West Michigan counties, including Ionia, Lake, Mecosta, Mason, Oceana, Montcalm, Ottawa, Kent, Allegan, as well as Metro Detroit. We hear from Lt. Gov. Calley and a Snyder advisor. A lawmaker from Walker has introduced related legislation. By Riley Murdock. FOR IONIA, GREENVILLE, LUDINGTON, HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, OCEANA, LAKE COUNTY, BIG RAPIDS AND ALL POINTS.
SCHOOLHOMELESSNESS: Michigan schoolchildren and youths are struggling with homelessness at some of the highest rates in the nation, new studies from U-M and the Michigan League for Public Policy show. The top five counties for child wellbeing are Livingston, Ottawa, Clinton and Oakland. The bottom five are Lake, Clare, Muskegon, Calhoun and Oceana. A Ludington-based nonprofit agency that works with homeless youth tells us more. By Gloria Nzeka. FOR LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, OCEANA, LAKE COUNTY, HOLLAND, CLARE COUNTY, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.
TESTSCORES: Michigan continues to fare poorly on a national education assessment test for fourth- and eighth-graders. We talk to the Education Department and a Wayne State education expert. By Colton Wood. FOR ALL POINTS.
JAILDIVERSION: Lt. Gov. Calley says the state should do more to provide treatment rather than jail for criminal suspects with mental health and substance abuse programs. We hear about pilot programs in Barry County and Kalamazoo that involve mental health agencies, judges, sheriffs and prosecutors. By Colton Wood. FOR ALL POINTS.
CRIMINALJUSTICE: Although the state’s prison population has plunged, criminal justice experts say more can be done to reduce the number of inmates. There’s legislation sponsored by representatives from Williamsbug and Grand Rapids, among other places. The Citizens Alliance on Prisons and Public Spending and Lt. Gov. Calley discuss. By Gloria Nzeka. FOR IONIA, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, GREENVILLE, LANSING CITY LIMITS, BAY MILLS, TRAVERSE CITY AND ALL POINTS.
BOATINGSAFETY: Are Michigan waters getting less safe for boating, with or without motors? The number of recreational boating accidents on inland waters and the Great Lakes increased from 92 in 2013 to 125 in 2016, and the deaths rose from 21 in 2012 to 38 in 2016, according to the Coast Guard. One factor is the sharply rising interest in paddle sports. We talk to the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office, the head of the state Waterways Commission, from Grand Haven, and a Hudsonville-based powerboat club. By Agnes Bao. FOR CRAWFORD COUNTY, HOLLAND, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, OCEANA, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, LEELANAU, CHEBOYGAN, CADILLAC, BIG RAPIDS, GLADWIN, GREENVILLE, ALCONA, MONTMORENCY, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, CLARE, HARBOR SPRINGS, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, LAKE COUNTY, HERALD-REVIEW, BENZIE AND ALL POINTS.
AVIANMALARIA: Researchers from Western Michigan University have found a surprisingly large number of blood parasites that infect Southwest Michigan songbirds with sometimes-deadly avian malaria. Climate change could worsen the problem, according to the scientists who tested 726 songbirds from dozens of bird species in 12 counties. By Eric Freedman. FOR STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.
FEMMEMUSIC: Female and gender non-conforming artists might not get the recognition they deserve, but passionate local and statewide female and gender nonconforming artists are pushing boundaries, including the organization Girls Rock Detroit, the Metro Detroit band Zilch and Lansing singer V.Soul. For news and entertainment/features sections. By Terri Powys. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.
w/FEMMEMUSICPHOTO: Girls Rock Detroit founders Melissa Coppola, Rosalind Hartigan and Willa Rae. Credit: Rosalind Hartigan
CORMORANTS: It’s legal again to kill cormorants after a year-long hiatus during a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study. Colonies are found in places like Beaver Island, Ludington, Saginaw Bay and the Les Cheneaux Islands, causing habitat devastation and pushing out other bird species in some places. Critics claim the birds hurt local fisheries, but researchers say their impact on local fishing is exaggerated. The Fish and Wildlife Service and a researcher explain. By Steven Maier. FOR SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, CHEBOYGAN, ST. IGNACE, ALCONA, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, OCEANA, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, BENZIE AND ALL POINTS.
w/CORMORANTSPHOTO: Cormorants on this island in the St. Mary’s River in the Eastern U.P. have degraded its vegetation. Credit: Francie Cuthbert.
LIFEAFTERSPORTS: How do college athletes who don’t make it to the pros cope with the transition? Few ever play professionally: only 5.6 percent of men’s ice hockey players join the NHL, only 1.5 percent of football players will play in the NFL and fewer than 1 percent of female basketball athletes will play in the WNBA. We talk to a former MSU club football and track and field player from Newport who now works in IT, a former U-M All American swimmer who now helps athletes transition and a former MSU rugby player from Oxford who now works at a ski resort. For sports and news sections. By Trevor Darnell. FOR ALL POINTS.
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