CNS BUDGET WEEK 2
Sept. 15, 2023
To: CNS Editors
From: Eric Freedman and Judy Putnam
http://news.jrn.msu.edu/capitalnewsservice/
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DARK SKY: Dark sky parks are drawing more public attention in Michigan as venues for stargazing unaffected by artificial light. There are currently three international designated ones in Emmet, Keweenaw and Cass counties. The DNR has also designated parts of six state parks in Emmet, Presque Isle, Lenawee, Huron and Alcona counties as dark sky preserves. We talk to a dark skies advocate from Ann Arbor, a Keweenaw park activities leader and the park manager of Headlands in Mackinaw City. By Kelsey Lester. FOR IRON MOUNTAIN, MARQUETTE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, PETOSKEY, CHEBOYGAN, ADRIAN, BLISSFIELD, ALPENA, ALCONA AND ALL POINTS.
w/DARK SKY PHOTO TREELINE: The treeline at Keweenaw Dark Sky Park in the Upper Peninsula. Credit: Chris Guibert.
w/DARK SKY PHOTO CAR & BIKE: A visitor’s car and bike are silhouetted against the night sky at the Upper Peninsula’s Keweenaw Dark Sky Park. Credit: Chris Guibert
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BUILDING DIVERSITY: DEI efforts are expanding at private colleges and universities with an emphasis on recruiting and retaining minority students. Some are now majority-minority institutions with more non-white than white students. Andrews University, in Berrien Springs, is tied for first place as most ethnically diverse among U.S. colleges. We also talk to Davenport College in Grand Rapids, Michigan Independent Colleges and Universities and Ann Arbor-based Michigan Future Inc. By Liz Nass. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, WKTV, CORP!, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, BAY MILLS, LANSING CITY PULSE, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.
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MICHIGAN ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARSHIPS: The state’s new Michigan Achievement Scholarship program kicked in this fall, providing annual grants of $2,000 to $5,500 to 2023 high school grads who go on to college or career training. It more than doubles the amount the state allocated for student aid last year and is intended to increase higher education affordability and opportunity. We talk to a financial aid advisor at Ludington High School, the Michigan Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and Michigan Association of State Universities. Includes references to Grand Valley and MSU. By Kenzie Terpstra. FOR LUDINGTON, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, DETROIT, CORP!, BAY MILLS AND ALL POINTS.
w/MICHIGAN ACHIEVEMENT SCHOLARSHIPS TABLE: Maximum scholarship grants by type of higher education and career training institution.
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SCHOOL MEALS: Free breakfasts and lunches are now available to all students, regardless of family income, at participating public school districts. The state has budgeted $160 million to offer the meals this year, and experts say children with full bellies learn better. Officials at Holt and East Lansing schools, Michigan Education Association and state Department of Education discuss. By Brandy Muz. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.
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BASS FISHING: Adding a bass fishing team has helped Adrian College lure more students, and the team is now one of the best in the country. The campus president explains how and why the small private school launched the initiative in 2015. There also are teams and clubs at Southwestern Michigan College, Ferris State, Grand Valley State, MSU, U-M, Lake Superior and Northern Michigan. For news and sports sections. By Stephanie Rauhe. FOR ADRIAN, BLISSFIELD, BIG RAPIDS, WKTV, STURGIS, GREENVILLE, THREE RIVERS, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS AND ALL POINTS.
w/BASS FISHING PHOTO: Adrian College anglers on the varsity bass fishing team pose with their catch. Credit: Adrian College
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EXOTIC WATER: The Army Corps of Engineers hopes a new grant strategy will help combat the invasive European frog-bit and its unwelcome water soldier relative that are spreading in the Great Lakes and inland waters. Frog-bit has been found in 12 Michigan counties, including Alpena, Chippewa, Monroe, Wayne, Montmorency, Kent and Macomb. Experts from Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council in Petoskey, Huron Pines in Gaylord and the Department of Great Lakes, Environment and Energy discuss. By Vladislava Sukhanovskaya. FOR ALPENA, WKTV, MONTMORENCY, MONROE, DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT, SAULT STE. MARIE, ALCONA AND ALL POINTS.
w/EXOTIC WATER PLANTS PHOTO: The European frog-bit looks like a little lily pad and lives in shallow waters. Credit: Shelby Bauer/ Huron Pines
w/EXOTIC WATER PLANTS REMOVAL: Hand removal of frog-bit. Credit: Department of Natural Resources
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EAGLES SOAR: Michigan’s bald eagle population is rebounding, reflecting a stunning success story for the national bird, which was nearly wiped off the map by the 1960s. Once confined to a few locations in the Northern Lower Peninsula and UP, they’re now present in nearly every corner of the state, including more urbanized areas like DTE’s Monroe Power Plant, while parts of the Detroit River have become eagle-watching hotspots. Lingering threats from lead bullets and habitat fragmentation remain barriers to full recovery. By Ashley Zhou. FOR MONROE, ADRIAN, BLISSFIELD, PLANET DETROIT, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.
w/EAGLES SOAR PHOTO: In July, a bald eagle took flight off from Harsens Island in St. Clair County, a rare sighting during this season, said Stacy Williams, the owner of Harsens Island Photography. Credit: Harsens Island Photography
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EARTHWORMS: The lowly earthworm has lots to do with the health of Northern Michigan’s hardwood forests. “Exotic” – non-native – earthworms can have widespread and complex effects on individual trees and overall forest health, including causing dieback of sugar maples, say researchers from Michigan Technological University and their partners. All the earthworms that the researchers found in the Upper Peninsula, including in the Hiawatha and Ottawa National Forests, as well as northern Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota, are unwelcome invaders. By Eric Freedman FOR IRON MOUNTAIN, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, ST IGNACE, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS AND ALL POINTS.
w/EARTHWORMS TESTING SAP: Michigan Tech graduate student Shelby Lane-Clark checks on maple sap being collected to test for chemical differences in forests with different amounts of earthworms present. Credit: Tara Bal
w/EARTHWORMS COLLECTING: Michigan Tech graduate students Manuel Anderson and Shelby Lane-Clark check identification of plants while surveying for the impact of non-native earthworms. Credit: Mattison Brady
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