Feb. 4, 2022, CNS Budget — Week 3
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman 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.
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HERE’S YOUR FILE:
CYBERSECURITY: There were 77 successful cyber-attacks against state and local governments across the country last year, including one in Webster Township, Washtenaw County. For hackers, penetrating smaller government computer systems may be a gateway to attacking larger systems. New federal money is intended to help rural and other small municipalities protect themselves and their data by beefing up cybersecurity. Experts from the State Police, Michigan Tech, a cybersecurity company and the state Department of Technology, Management and Budget explain. By Lindsay McCoy. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, IRON MOUNTAIN, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, CORP!, DETROIT and ALL POINTS.
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POTATOES: MSU researchers are looking for ways to improve Michigan’s $1.2 billion-a-year potato crop, funded in part by the state Potato Industry Commission. Major producers are Mecosta, Ionia and Montcalm counties. We talk to an Edmore farming consultant, the commission executive director and an MSU expert. By Jack Falinski. FOR GREENVILLE, IONIA, BIG RAPIDS, MICHIGAN FARMER, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS and ALL POINTS.
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TEN CENTS A MEAL: The 10 Cents a Meal for Michigan’s Kids & Farms program policy is soliciting grant requests from schools and child care centers in an effort to boost children’s nutrition and support local farmers. State-funded grants provide matching incentives of up to 10 cents per meal to purchase and serve Michigan-grown fruits, vegetables and legumes. A state program specialist at the Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, which has offices in Traverse City and Petoskey, the Farmers Market Association and Farm Bureau tell us more. By Sydney Bowler. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, DETROIT, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, PETOSKEY, HARBOR SPRINGS and ALL POINTS.
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ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN: The Michigan Public Transit Association, representing about 50 bus and local transportation agencies, has launched a $400,000 information and advocacy campaign to fill jobs and increase ridership. We talk to the association’s executive director, the Bay Area Transit Authority and the Mecosta-Osceola Transit Authority. By Jada Penn. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, BIG RAPIDS, HERALD-REVIEW and ALL POINTS.
w/ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN BILLBOARD PHOTO: Billboards like this are part of a new statewide public transit advocacy campaign. Credit: Michigan Public Transit Association
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DIAL-A-RIDE: Small transit systems across the state are shorthanded, with too few drivers and mechanics, and that leaves riders with longer wait times and canceled routes. We see how Niles Dial-A-Ride Transportation and Marshall Dial-A-Ride are coping and talk to the executive director of the Michigan Public Transit Association. Some larger agencies, like SMART in Metro Detroit, are considering whether to expand dial-a-ride services. The association posts job openings on its website, such as Michigan Transportation Connection schedulers to arrange rides for non-emergency medical appointments around the state and a mechanic for Allegan County Transportation. By Hope O’Dell. FOR HOLLAND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, COLDWATER, DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT and ALL POINTS.
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BOOK CHALLENGES: Michigan has seen an increase in public library and school library books challenged by parents and patrons, especially related to the LGBTQ+ community. Similar situations are arising in other states too. We talk with the Michigan Library Association and Michigan Education Association, as well as librarians in Traverse City and Lansing. For news, education and features sections. By Jada Penn. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU and ALL POINTS.
w/BOOK CHALLENGES LIST: The 10 most frequently challenged library books in 2020. Source: American Library Association
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COPS IN SCHOOLS: Some groups nationally are pushing to remove the police presence in schools, arguing that they pose threats to students’ civil rights. Advocates of school security officers counter that they are on-scene to handle immediate problems and make staff and students feel safer. In the aftermath of the mass shooting at Oxford High School, we hear about the different attitudes in Detroit and Hancock public schools and talk to the ACLU. By Lindsay McCoy. FOR DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE and ALL POINTS.
w/COPS IN SCHOOLS PHOTO: The school resource officer’s office in the Hancock district’s middle school building. Credit: Hancock Public School District
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COMMUNITY FRIDGES: In Detroit and other Great Lakes cities, not all the refrigerators that sit on sidewalks are bound for the landfill or for resale. Some are community hubs against environmental damage, food insecurity and the stigma of mutual aid. These are working refrigerators that provide free food to passersby. Two Wayne State graduate students started the Detroit Community Fridge in Southwest Detroit. Other sites include Benton Harbor, Niles, Kalamazoo, Muskegon and Muskegon Heights. By Kayla Nelsen. FOR PLANET DETROIT, DETROIT, WKTV, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS and ALL POINTS.
w/COMMUNITY FRIDGES PHOTO 1: Inside one of the freshly stocked community fridges in Detroit. Credit: Detroit Community Fridge
w/COMMUNITY FRIDGES PHOTO 2: Alyssa Rogers, a co-founder of the Detroit Community Fridge, in front of one of the group’s refrigerators. Credit: Detroit Community Fridge
w/COMMUNITY FRIDGES PHOTO 3: Emily Eicher, the co-founder of the Detroit Community Fridge, on a grocery run to restock the fridges. Credit: Detroit Community Fridge
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SLAVE OWNERS: Michigan played a crucial role in the North’s victory during the Civil War, but little-remembered is the fact that Michigan voters elected two former slave owners to Congress. Little-remembered George Wallace Jones brought two slaves when he moved from Missouri to what was then Michigan Territory. Jones, who served as the delegate from Michigan Territory (and then Wisconsin Territory), was one of more than 1,700 members of Congress who had owned slaves, according to a Washington Post database. The more prominent one was former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Lewis Cass, whose name has been stripped from a state office building. By Eric Freedman. FOR DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE and ALL POINTS.
w/SLAVE OWNERS JONES PHOTO: George Wallace Jones, a delegate to the U.S. House from Michigan Territory, formerly owned two slaves. Credit: Library of Congress
w/SLAVE OWNERS CASS PHOTO: Lewis Cass, a former Michigan Territory governor, U.S. senator, Secretary of State and Secretary of War, had owned slaves. Credit: Wikipedia.
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CNS