March 4, 2022 CNS Budget — Week 7
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.
For other matters, contact Eric Freedman at (517) 256-3873; freedma5@msu.edu.
SPRING BREAK AHEAD: MSU will be on spring break the week of March 7 so there will be no file on Friday, March 11. We resume our regular file on Friday, March 18.
HERE’S YOUR FILE:
BLUEBERRIES: A native pest, the stem gall wasp, is the biggest threat to the state’s $132-million-a-year blueberry crops. The state Blueberry Commission, up for renewal this year, is funding research, including studies on how to control the wasp. Most of the state’s blueberries grow in West Michigan, led by Allegan, Berrien, Muskegon, Ottawa and Van Buren counties. We talk to the commission’s director and an MSU entomologist working on the project. By Hope O’Dell. FOR HOLLAND, LUDINGTON, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, OCEANA COUNTY, MANISTEE, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS and ALL POINTS.
w/BLUEBERRIES PHOTO: Stem gall wasp, a native pest, threatens Michigan’s blueberry production. Credit: F.W. Ravin, Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
–
MEAT MARKET: Supply chain problems brought about by the pandemic are putting increased emphasis on local food supplies and processing. One piece of evidence is the advent of more local meat processing facilities in the state, including one opening in Washtenaw County. Sixteen counties, led by Huron, have 20,000 or more head of beef cattle, including Lenawee, Missaukee, Newaygo, Montcalm, Allegan, Kent, Clinton Hillsdale, Ionia and Ottawa, while dairy farming is concentrated in the Thumb, including Huron, Tuscola, St. Clair and Lapeer counties. We hear from the director of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Beef Industry Commission, an MSU supply chain expert and the Ann Arbor co-owner of a new processing facility. Jack Falinski. FOR BLISSFIELD, HOLLAND, ADRIAN, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, IONIA, GREENVILLE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, CORP! WKTV, DETROIT and ALL POINTS.
–
MAPLE SYRUP: The recent trend of warming temperature disrupting the normal sap-tapping season has been reversed this year, as tapping time returns to normal. Demand is up, and optimistic producers are using new vacuum technology to increase the yield of sap. The director of Agriculture and Rural Development and producers from Onaway and Bear Lake, in Manistee County, discuss. By Lindsay McCoy. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, ALPENA, MANISTEE, LUDINGTON and ALL POINTS.
w/MAPLE SYRUP PHOTO: Vacuum tubing systems, shown in the woods at BrixStone Farms in Bear Lake, are replacing old-fashioned taps. Credit: Keaton Foster
–
COMMUNITY COLLEGES GIVING: Michigan community colleges, which are funded mostly by property tax millages, tuition and state aid, are receiving more donations and using some of that largesse to help students cover such essential costs as housing, child care and emergencies. Story includes Henry Ford College, Macomb Community College, Monroe County Community College, Northwestern Michigan College, Schoolcraft College and Delta College, as well as the Michigan Community College Association. By Sydney Bowler. FOR MONROE, ADRIAN, BLISSFIELD, DETROIT, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU and ALL POINTS.
–
SPONGY MOTHS: The bothersome gypsy moth will now be known as the spongy moth. The Entomological Society of America made the change because the word “gypsy” is considered a derogatory slur against the Romani people. A DNR expert explains. By Max Copeland. FOR ALL POINTS.
w/SPONGY MOTHS PHOTO: The spongy moth caterpillar was renamed after its old name, gypsy moth, was banned as an ethnic slur. Credit: Department of Natural Resources.
–
GREAT LAKES POLICY: Environmental policy expert Dave Dempsey is an adviser to the Traverse City-based environmental group FLOW. In his updated book “Great Lakes for Sale,” he talks about the need to correct shortcomings of the Great Lakes Compact, an agreement among the eight Great Lakes states about how to manage their water use. By Kayla Nelsen. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, HARBOR SPRINGS, LEELANAU, ALPENA, ALCONA, CHEBOYGAN, PETOSKEY, OCEANA COUNTY, BENZIE COUNTY, MONROE, HOLLAND, MONROE, SAULT STE. MARIE, BAY MILLS, MARQUETTE, ST. IGNACE, MANISTEE, LUDINGTON and ALL POINTS.
w/GREAT LAKES POLICY COVER: Great Lakes for Sale. Credit: Mission Point Press
–
GRIFFON FOUND?: Is there finally a solution to one of the Great Lakes’ most famous maritime mystery? A Charlevoix diver claims in a new book to have discovered the nearly 350-year-old wreck of French explorer Robert La Salle’s the Griffon in shallow waters in Lake Michigan’s Huron Islands. A board member of the Michigan Shipwreck Research Association, the state archaeologist and the executive director of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum says he’s wrong and that the remains are still in deep waters of northern Lake Michigan. By Eric Freedman. FOR MARQUETTE, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, LEELANAU, HARBOR SPRINGS, OCEANA COUNTY, BENZIE COUNTY, CHEBOYGAN, ST. IGNACE, HOLLAND, ALPENA, MONROE, ALCONA, SAULT STE. MARIE, IRON MOUNTAIN, MANISTEE, LUDINGTON and ALL POINTS.
w/GRIFFON FOUND? COVER: Le Griffon and the Huron Islands, 1679. Credit: Mission Point Press
w/GRIFFON FOUND? MAP: Map showing what Steve Libert believes were the final route and final resting place of the Griffon near the UP’s Garden Peninsula. Credit: Steve and Kathie Libert
w/GRIFFON FOUND? PHOTO: Steve Libert explores the keelson and frames of the wreckage of a ship he believes to be the Griffin. Credit: Rich Gross
–
CNS