CNS budget, April 22, 2022

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April 22, 2022, CNS Budget — Week 14

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.

HERE’S YOUR FILE:

WILD RICE: A new study from Michigan Tech and its collaborators finds health risks from toxic materials, including arsenic, in wild rice grown in a part of the U.P. where millions of tons of copper mining tailings were dumped in the early 1900s, including L’Anse Bay and an inland lake in Baraga County. Tribes are restoring areas that grow wild rice, which is of spiritual as well as nutritional importance. Wildlife and migrating birds also eat contaminated wild rice. We hear from a Keweenaw Bay Indian Community wildlife biologist, a Ferris State biologist and a member of Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. By Lindsay M. McCoy. FOR BAY MILLS, IRON MOUNTAIN, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, BIG RAPIDS, MICHIGAN FARM BUREAU and ALL POINTS.

w/WILD RICE PHOTO: Toxic metals from mining near Keweenaw Bay were found in local wild rice beds, like this one at Lake Plumbago in Baraga County. Credit: Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Natural Resources Department.

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PROSECUTORS: County prosecutors are facing a shortage of assistant prosecutors, a problem that can lead to delayed trials and hearings. Major reasons are higher salaries in private practice and some state agencies, burnout and fewer law school enrollments. The prosecutors in Eaton County, who heads the state Prosecuting Attorneys Association, and Alger County discuss. By Hope O’Dell. FOR MARQUETTE, IRON MOUNTAIN, LANSING CITY PULSE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, CORP! SAULT STE. MARIE and ALL POINTS. 

CLIMATE LETTER: Fifteen national and Michigan-based businesses, including Ford Motor Co., General Motors and two Grand Rapids-area microbreweries and Crystal Mountain resort have written to the governor urging action on carbon neutrality. The Whitmer administration has just released its promised MI Healthy Climate Plan that would generate 60% of the state’s electricity from renewable resources, phase out all coal-fired plants by 2030 and build infrastructure to support 2 million electric vehicles on the roads by 2030. Lindsay M. McCoy. FOR MICHIGAN FARM NEWS GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, WKTV, PLANET DETROIT and ALL POINTS.

w/CLIMATE LETTER GRAPHIC: Climate solutions logo. Credit: Asher Freedman

BRIDGES: From 2017 to 2021, the number of Michigan bridges in poor condition increased from 1,146 to 1,240. MDOT’s recently launched bridge bundling program plans to repair up to 78 locally owned bridges in serious or critical condition. It’s starting repairs on 19 bridges this year, including ones in Macomb, Ottawa, Clinton, Lapeer and Jackson counties. Other counties with future projects are Eaton, Hillsdale, Ingham, Lenawee, Lapeer, Luce, Muskegon, St. Clair and St. Joseph. We hear from MDOT, the County Road Association and the Kent County Road Commission. By Sydney Bowler. FOR DETROIT, HOLLAND, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, HILLSDALE, ADRIAN, BLISSFIELD, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, MARQUETTE, IRON MOUNTAIN, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, WKTV and ALL POINTS. Editor’s note: A list of bridge repair locations can be found here.

w/BRIDGES PHOTO: Repair work underway on the abutment for the Byron Road bridge over the Black River in Ottawa County. Credit: Michigan Department of Transportation

SHOE REPAIRS: A new law allows shoe repair stores to donate unclaimed footwear to charities if customers failed to pick them up within six months. A Delta Township lawmaker is the chief sponsor. The only three “no” votes in the Legislature came from representatives from Three Rivers, Lake City and Milford. We hear from a Traverse City shoe repair shop, the trade association Shoe Service Institute of America and the Lansing-based nonprofit Footsteps of Michigan. By Jada Penn. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, CORP! GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, LANSING CITY PULSE, DETROIT, CRAWFORD COUNTY, CADILLAC and ALL POINTS.

SUMMER FESTIVALS: The COVID-19 pandemic shuttered summer festivals across Michigan in 2020 and 2021. Now, festival organizers are preparing for a return to closer-to-normal. We talk to the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City, the Roll’N Out Food Truck Festival in Grand Rapids and the Grand Rapids Asian-Pacific Festival. By Jada Penn. FOR TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, WKTV and ALL POINTS. Editor’s note: This site has listings if you want to add local festivals. 

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ADULT LEARNERS: As the number of traditional-age college undergraduates drops, some community colleges and public and private colleges and universities are actively recruiting nontraditional, a/k/a adult, students to start or finish their degrees and finding ways to respond to their different needs, including child care, advising and juggling work, school and family obligations. The Michigan Association of State Universities, Michigan Reconnect and Wayne State discuss. By Sydney Bowler. FOR DETROIT, HILLSDALE, HOLLAND, LANSING CITY PULSE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, BIG RAPIDS, SAULT STE. MARIE, BIG RAPIDS, ADRIAN and ALL POINTS.

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