May 7, 2021 CNS Bonus Week Budget
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman & Judy Putnam
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/
For technical problems, contact CNS technical manager Eryn Ho at (616) 485-9295; hoeryn@msu.edu.
For other matters, contact Eric Freedman at (517) 256-3873; freedma5@msu.edu.
BONUS WEEK: This is our traditional end-of-semester Bonus Week file with still-timely stories you may not have had space to run earlier, especially with the large amount of space allocated to coverage of the pandemic and the presidential transition. As in recent years, we also plan to send packages of Michigan-focused environmental news stories during the summer in collaboration with our partner, Great Lakes Echo.
Here’s your file:
BOOKSTORES COVID: Independent bookstores are soldiering on during the pandemic, and some are benefiting from the closure of local public libraries. We hear from the owners of independent bookshops in Ludington and Brighten. By Kirsten Rintelmann. FOR ALL POINTS.
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ENERGY-INTENSIVE INDUSTRIES: Industries in Michigan that use lots of energy in manufacturing face challenges in achieving environmental sustainability, a major goal of the Whitmer administration. We talk to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, as well as representatives of the automotive, steel, cement and chemical industries. By Brandon Chew. FOR ALL POINTS.
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PRISON DISCRIMINATION: The state Civil Rights Department says it will increase its resources devoted to handling inmate discrimination complaints at a time when the Biden administration is pushing nationally for racial equity. There’s also concern about the disparate impact of COVID-19 on inmates. We hear from the director of the Department of Civil Rights, the Detroit chapter of the NAACP, the Corrections Department and a Central Michigan University sociologist. By Jakkar Aimery. FOR ALL POINTS.
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COVID PUPPIES: Pet adoptions are continuing at a high level and business has picked up at pet grooming, boarding and day care facilities. We talk to the director of Grayling’s AuSable Valley Animal Shelter and owners of pet-related businesses in Belding, Ferndale and Detroit. By Elaine Mallon. FOR AND ALL POINTS. FOR ALL POINTS.
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STANDARDIZED TESTS: A growing number of Michigan private and public colleges and universities are making the ACT and SAT optional rather than mandatory for applicants. Critics of such tests contend they don’t correlate with a student’s academic ability to successfully complete the degree. We hear from Michigan Independent Colleges & Universities, Michigan Association of State Universities and a Central Michigan University admissions officer. By Kristia Postema. FOR ALL POINTS.
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BASEBALL: Michigan’s minor league baseball teams are coming to bat for a season with pandemic-related restrictions, including a seating capacity cap and cashless food concessions. We hear about the West Michigan Whitecaps in Comstock Park and the Lansing Lugnuts. For new sand sports sections. By Samuel Blatchford. FOR ALL POINTS.
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TEACHER PREP: Are teacher preparation programs driving prospective educators away from the field? Lack of respect, inadequate wages and overly demanding workloads were cited as a few of the top forces driving them out of the field. MSU education majors complain that their mandatory unpaid one-year internship — student teaching — plus the cost of additional credits are a costly barrier to them entering the profession. We talk to students, the Michigan Education Association and the university. By Chloe Trofatter. FOR ALL POINTS.
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MASS TRANSIT: What are the possible impacts of the Biden administration’s transportation priorities on proposals to improve mass transit in Southeast Michigan? We hear from SEMTA, a carless Detroit photographer, the Ferndale mayor, the Detroit Regional Chamber and the Michigan Municipal League. By Sophia Lada. FOR ALL POINTS.
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INTERIOR SECRETARY: What do Michigan’s tribes want from the new secretary of the Interior, the country’s 1st Native American Cabinet member? We hear from Northern Michigan University’s Center for Native American Studies, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. The state is home to 12 of the 574 federally recognized tribes, including the Bay Mills Indian Community, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Potawatomi Indians of Michigan (Gun Lake), Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. By Shelden Krause. FOR AND ALL POINTS.
w/INTERIOR SECRETARY TABLE: Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribes and their locations
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SHIPWRECK SONGS: “The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down of the big lake they called Gitche Gumee. The lake, it is said, never gives up her dead,” including the 29-member crew of the Edmund Fitzgerald. A new study says folks songs memorializing victims of Great Lakes shipwrecks such as the Edmund Fitzgerald, the Eastland, the Lady Elgin and the Rouse Simmons (a/k/a “the Christmas ship”) build public awareness and help preserve historic wrecks. A maritime cultural resources researcher, from Les ALL POINTS.
w/SHIPWRECK SONGS PHOTO EDMUND FITZGERALD: The Edmund Fitzgerald, carrying a load of iron ore, went down in Lake Superior in 1975 and became the most famous Great Lakes shipwreck thanks to a song by Gordon Lightfoot. Credit: Wikipedia
w/SHIPWRECK SONGS PHOTO LADY ELGIN: The Lady Elgin, on route from Chicago to Milwaukee, sank after a collision in 1860, taking at least 380 lives. Credit: Wikipedia
w/SHIPWRECK SONGS PHOTO EASTLAND: The capsized Eastland in the Chicago River cost 844 lives in 1915. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
w/SHIPWRECK SONGS PHOTO ROUSE SIMMONS: The Rouse Simmons, loaded with Christmas trees, sank in 1912 in Lake Michigan. Credit: National Archives
CNS