CNS budget, April 17, 2020 – 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 Eric Freedman at (517) 355-4729 or (517) 256-3873; freedma5@msu.edu.
EDITORS: Next Friday, April 24, will be our last regular file of the semester. However, we will have our 1st Bonus Week file the following Friday, May 1, and the 2nd on Friday, May 8, with still-timely stories you may not have had space for when we originally moved them. During the summer, as in the past, we plan to provide several packages of Michigan-focused environmental stories in collaboration with our partner, Great Lakes Echo.
Of course, you’re welcome to continue using any stories and visuals from the CNS archive.
HERE’S YOUR FILE:
Coronavirus-related coverage
COURTS COVID-19: Many courts are postponing minor matters, such as traffic and misdemeanor cases, due to the pandemic. Some are waiving late fees and penalties because so many Michigan residents have lost their jobs. Meanwhile, troopers are exercising discretion in deciding whether to stop a vehicle and ticket the driver. A Hillsdale County judge, a State Supreme Court official and a State Police lieutenant for the district covering Ingham, Livingston, Hillsdale and Lenawee counties discuss. By Joe Dandron. FOR HILLSDALE, BLISSFIELD, LANSING CITY PULSE, FOWLERVILLE AND ALL POINTS.
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FARMERS MARKETS: The governor’s executive orders allow farmers markets to operate during the pandemic, but many aren’t opening on schedule or at all. That has an adverse impact on farmers and other vendors who rely on them. We talk to a Zeeland farmer and a Traverse City-based organization that promotes local farmers and producers. By Katrianna Ray. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, TRAVERSE CITY, CORP!, LEELANAU AND ALL POINTS.
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ONLINE LEARNING: Public schools are wrestling with how to use technology to teach remotely now that schools are shuttered. It’s especially challenging in more rural areas where many homes lack internet access. Greenville and Big Rapids school officials discuss, as does the Kids Count project director. By Danielle James. FOR GREENVILLE, IONIA, BIG RAPIDS AND ALL POINTS.
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HUNTING & FISHING: With turkey season and UP walleye season scheduled to start soon, the extension of the governor’s stay-at-home order with travel restrictions and ban on motorized watercraft use are worrying hunters and anglers. DNR has made adjustments for turkey hunters. We hear from the U.P. Whitetails Association, MUCC and its Region 3 director, Straits Area Sportsmen’s Club, a tournament angler who grew up in Sturgis and Kalamazoo, and the Trappers and Predator Callers Association. For news and outdoors pages. By Kyle Davidson. FOR CLARE, MARQUETTE, ST. IGNACE, SAULT STE. MARIE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, BAY MILLS, CHEBOYGAN, BIG RAPIDS, LUDINGTON, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, CADILLAC, LAKE COUNTY, RECORD HERALD AND ALL POINTS.
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COVID-19 REPORTERS: Journalists at several CNS member newspapers talk about how they’re covering the COVID-19 pandemic and how it reinforces their sense of mission. We talk to editors, reporters and publishers in Traverse City, Leelanau, Greenville, Alcona and Ionia. By Joshua Valiquette. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, GREENVILLE, IONIA, ALCONA AND ALL POINTS.
w/COVID-19 REPORTERS PHOTO: Newsroom of the Daily News in Greenville during a Zoom meeting. Credit: Joshua Valiquette.
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CHILD SUPPORT: Layoffs, downsizing and wage cuts pose a major problem for Michigan courts and for the custodial parents who depend on those payments. Judges appear willing to cut the paying parents such slack under current conditions, but at what price to the children who need the support? We talk to the Grand Rapids lawyer who chairs the State Bar’s Family Law Section and a state Supreme Court official. By Maddy O’Callaghan. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS AND ALL POINTS.
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DOMESTIC ABUSE: The state’s stay-at-home order is generating more incidents of domestic abuse. Centers Domestic violence experts in Howell and Marquette explain. By Maddy O’Callaghan. FOR FOWLERVILLE, LANSING CITY PULSE, MARQUETTE, SAULT ST. MARIE, BAY MILLS, ST. IGNACE AND ALL POINTS.
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TELEMEDICINE: Lack of internet access is a major barrier to expansion of telemedicine and telehealth services, especially in the U.P. and other rural areas of the state with a shortage of medical specialists. To provide more telehealth services, AARP is supporting a House-passed bill to let out-of-state nurses practice telemedicine in Michigan. Sponsors are from Casco Township and Wyoming. We also talk to the nursing program at Lake Superior State. By Danielle James. FOR SAULT STE. MARIE, ST. IGNACE, HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS AND ALL POINTS.
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WOMEN’S SHELTERS: Women’s shelters are running short on crucial supplies like diapers, sanitizer, cleaning supplies and masks at the same time they’re receiving a surge in the number of calls seeking help. We hear from shelters in Traverse City and Howell. By Katrianna Ray. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, FOWLERVILLE, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.
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FINANCIAL SECURITY: The economic downturn caused by the pandemic is putting heavy financial pressure on retirees and those close to retirement. A financial planner from Rochester Hills, the state director of AARP and a 90-year-old Dickinson County retiree discuss. By Joe Dandron. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, CORP!, MARQUETTE, SAULT ST. MARIE, CHEBOYGAN AND ALL POINTS.
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Other stories
EDUCATION CENSUS: State officials are pushing residents to complete their census forms. The results are important for allocating aid to public and private schools in the state, including money for special education, Head Start and breakfast and lunch programs. We hear from the state Education Department, a Marquette legislator, the state census director and the MEA. By Joe Dandron. FOR MARQUETTE AND ALL POINTS.
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ELDER ABUSE: State Elder Abuse Task Force members say they’ve made progress in protecting older Michigan residents from physical and financial abuse, as happened in Delta and Jackson county cases. Related legislation is pending. It held town halls in Marquette, Kent and Grand Traverse counties, among other places. We talk with members from Elder Law of Michigan, the Elder Law Initiative and Michigan Protective and Advocacy Services. By Joshua Valiquette. FOR MARQUETTE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, LANSING CITY LIMITS, TRAVERSE CITY AND ALL POINTS.
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COURT WATCHERS: The state Elder Abuse Task Force plans to use volunteers from law schools, AARP and other organizations to monitor probate courts. The goal is to ensure that guardians and conservators properly handle their wards’ needs and finances. We hear from AARP and the founder of an earlier family court watchers program. By Kyle Davidson. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, CORP! AND ALL POINTS.
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PIGS & RARE PLANTS: The damage that feral pigs can do to crops is well-known. So is the danger that they might transmit diseases to livestock and wildlife. But a new study by a former MSU grad student, from Tecumseh, used GPS tracking in Arenac, Bay, Gladwin and Midland counties to discover how wild pigs damage endangered plants. The Michigan Nature Association, based in Okemos, explains its concerns about protecting rare plants at its 180 sanctuaries. By Kurt Williams. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS AND ALL POINTS.
w/PIGS & RARE PLANTS PHOTO: Research specialist Dwayne Etter of the Department of Natural Resources in Gladwin County with an anesthetized wild pig newly fitted with a GPS tracking collar. Credit: Dwayne Etter, Department of Natural Resources.
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ANIMAL PROTECTION: A new study by researchers from Michigan Tech and other universities finds widespread support among Americans for protecting endangered species, even among political conservatives, farmers and ranchers. Fish & Wildlife Service’s interpretation of the Endangered Species Act comes under scrutiny. The debate continues over delisting the gray wolf in the Great Lakes region. By Amelia Cole. FOR MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, CHEBOYGAN, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS AND ALL POINTS.
w/ANIMAL PROTECTION GRAPHIC: Endangered species in the U.S. Credit: Alexander Vidal.
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