10/22/21 CNS Budget — Week 7
To: CNS Editors
From: David Poulson and 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 Dave Poulson at (517) 899-1640; poulson@msu.edu.
Here is this week’s file:
UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT: Michigan will have one of the biggest drops in state graduation rates by 2037, largely because of reduced birth rates during the Great Recession. What does this mean for the state’s higher education system? We interviewed officials at the Michigan Education Association, the Michigan Association of State Universities, State Higher Education Executive Officers Association, the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education and National University System, a San Diego-based company. See chart for localization information. By Cameryn Cass. FOR BIG RAPIDS, MARQUETTE, LANSING CITY PULSE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL and ALL POINTS.
w/UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT CHART Editor’s note: Data from U.S. Department of Education shows change in college enrollment by institution between 2019 and 2020 for use in localizing story.
w/UNDERGRAD ENROLLMENT MAP: Chronicle.com analysis of U.S. Department of Education data.
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DEFINING TERRORISM: Lawmakers from the Upper Peninsula, Grand Rapids area and Oakland County want to redefine terrorism after a Lake Superior State University student was charged for posting an image on social media of an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle that he said would make the “snowflakes melt.” Story includes ACLU, an MSU law professor and legislators from Iron Mountain, Oakland Township, Grand Rapids, Wayland and St. Clair Township By Barbara Bellinger. For BAY MILLS, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, ST. IGNACE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE, WKTV and ALL POINTS.
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ELK HUNT: More than 49,000 hunters applied to hunt Michigan elk in 2021, a record that is part of a steady decade-long rise, state wildlife officials say. Hunters applied for one of only 300 available tags to hunt the state’s herd during the year. The economic impact is also significant. Hunters spend an average of $1,200 per elk hunt. That is double what the average American spends on a standard four-day domestic vacation, according to the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics. Elk viewing tourism is also an economic boost. For news and outdoors sections. By Nicholas Simon FOR CHEBOYGAN, CADILLAC, CRAWFORD COUNTY, ALCONA, MONTMORENCY, CLARE COUNTY and ALL POINTS.
w/ELK HUNT PHOTO: Credit: Gaylord Area Tourism Bureau
w/ELK HUNT GRAPHIC: Interest in elk hunting has risen over the last decade. Credit: Nicholas Simon
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QUALIFIED IMMUNITY: Police and other Michigan government employees could be sued and held liable if they hurt or kill someone while on the job, under proposed legislation. A police reform package pushed by Detroit House Democrats would reduce the blanket protections. They say it \would allow police departments and other government agencies to more easily weed out bad apples. But police say the protections are not as encompassing as critics portray and that they are needed to protect them from unfounded charges. We hear from the Livingston County sheriff, a Detroit legislator, ACLU, Police Officers Association of Michigan and state Association of Chiefs of Police. By Barbara Bellinger. FOR FOWLERVILLE, DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE and ALL POINTS
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PRISON SENTENCES: A group of lawmakers say that Michigan prison policy fails to consider good behavior and rehabilitation when it comes to parole. They are pushing for reforms to a system they say needs greater incentives for self-improvement efforts. We hear from Detroit and Ann Arbor lawmakers, Corrections Department, Association of Chiefs of Police and Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice. By Emerson Wygand. FOR DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE, IONIA, MARQUETTE, GREENVILLE and ALL POINTS.
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MENTAL HEALTH: Rural communities could get priority for funds to shift responses to mental health emergencies from law enforcement to trained mental health professionals. The state Senate has already approved legislation for community grants to help divert people with mental health conditions from jails. We talk to lawmakers from Detroit and Six Lakes, Corrections Department and Department of Health and Human Services. By Danielle James FOR HARRISON, BIG RAPIDS, DETROIT, CLARE AND ALL POINTS
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WOMEN POLICE: Only 9% of Michigan State Police officers are women. That’s better than 2%-8% in most other state police agencies, but worse than 13% in Vermont and North Carolina, a new PEW study finds. However, the State Police plans to improve the situation by increasing the percentage of women in its applicant pool up to 20% by the end of next year. We talk to a female police chief in Midland, a female inspector for the State Police, and the executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police. By Zaira Magomedova. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/WOMEN POLICE CHART : Gender breakdown by rank of Michigan State Police in 2021
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WILDLIFE CONSERVATION: Hunting license revenue is dropping as fewer licenses get sold, reducing money for wildlife habitat projects. A federal bill to provide more funding, with U.S. Rep. Dingell of Dearborn as lead sponsor, hasn’t moved since a subcommittee hearing earlier this year. We talk to a DNR wildlife biologist, National Wildlife Federation and Michigan United Conservation Clubs. Cosponsors are from Watersmeet, Zeeland, Flint, Southfield, Bloomfield Township, Rochester Hills, Detroit, St. Joseph and Tipton. For news and outdoors sections. By Kristia Postema. FOR DETROIT, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, CHEBOYGAN, ALCONA, MONTMORENCY, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU MANISTEE, LUDINGTON, BENZIE COUNTY, CRAWFORD COUNTY, HOLLAND, LAKE COUNTY, OCEANA COUNTY, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HILLSDALE, COLDWATER, BLISSFIELD, MONROE, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS and ALL POINTS.
w/WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PHOTO: Revenue is declining that supports such areas as Rose Lake State Game Area near Lansing in Bath Township, Clinton County. Credit: Trail Run Project.
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MACKINAC WOMEN: What started as personal research for a St. Ignace woman to find more about the Anishinaabe name of an ancestor turned into a book,“The Founding Mothers of Mackinac Island: The Agatha Biddle Band of 1870.” It tells the history of the band of primarily Native American women who lived on Mackinac Island in the 1800s. By Emilie Appleyard. FOR BAY MILLS, ST. IGNACE, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, CHEBOYGAN and ALL POINTS.
w/MACKINAC WOMEN PHOTO: Cover of “The Founding Mothers of Mackinac Island: The Agatha Biddle Band of 1870.” Image: Michigan State University Press.
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WILD BEES & BLUEBERRIES: Extreme weather tied to climate change poses a greater threat than insecticides to the wild bee populations essential to Michigan blueberry growers, says a recent study done in Ottawa, Allegan and Van Buren counties, three of the state’s biggest producers. The state grows about 100 million pounds each year. Wild bees, which pollinate blueberries more effectively than honeybees and bumblebees, are stressed by extreme weather events such as drought, storms and early freezes, as well as chemicals in insecticides. We talk to an MSU Extension researcher and a grower from Grand Junction. Berrien and Muskegon counties are also top producers. By Eric Freedman. FOR HOLLAND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, WKTV, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS and ALL POINTS.
w/WILD BEES & BLUEBERRIES PHOTO: Climate change is a greater threat than insecticides to the wild bee populations that are vital to growing blueberries in Michigan, a new study finds. Image: MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
w/WILD BEES & BLUEBERRIES MAP: Locations of 15 blueberry farms in Southwest Michigan in the study. Credit: “Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment.”
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