Elections & Politics
Cover of “Clash: Presidents and the Press in Times of Crisis.”

Gerald Ford’s media relations calm compared with others

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GERALD FORD COMMENTARY: When Gerald Ford, who represented the Grand Rapids area in Congress, became GOP president in 1974, the nation was in agony after the corruption of the Nixon White House and the trauma of the Vietnam War. Ford’s tenure was unspectacular as he wrestled with still-familiar problems such as inflation and international conflicts. He endured no crises that created major conflict with the press – and thus earned only two short references in a new book on press-presidential clashes during crises. For news and opinion sections. By Eric Freedman. FOR WKTV, HOLLAND, LANSING CITY PULSE, DETROIT and ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy

Belle Isle study lights way for savings

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BELLE ISLE: Installation of a state-of-the-art street lighting system on Detroit’s Belle Isle across from Windsor, was a major step forward in saving energy and electricity while improving safety. Now a new study says computer optimization modeling could have led to further savings on the island, which is now a state park. Other communities could use that type of modeling when upgrading their own street light systems. We hear from a coauthor of the study and the Department of Natural Resources. By Eric Freedman. FOR DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT and ALL POINTS.

News

Company executives face sentencing for pollution violation

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CLEAN WATER VIOLATIONS – Two Ottawa County executives face prison and fines for federal Clean Water Act violations. The officials from a Grand Haven electroplating company have pleaded guilty for excessive dumping of zinc. They will be sentenced in January. By Eric Freedman. ATTN: CORP! MAGAZINE, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS JOURNAL, WKTV JOURNAL and HOLLAND SENTINEL.

News
Lighthouse keeper James Davenport and his eight children at McGulpin Point Lighthouse after his wife’s death.

Artifacts reveal human side of Great Lakes lighthouse life

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LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS: Archeological exploration at the McGulpin Point Lighthouse in Mackinaw City, 40 Mile Point Lighthouse on Lake Huron between Alpena and Cheboygan and Fort Gratiot Lighthouse at the junction of the St. Clair River and Lake Huron in Port Huron is shedding light on the health and well-being of lighthouse keepers and their families. Among them are artifacts of a keeper whose wife and newborn died in childbirth and whose son drowned in the Straits of Mackinac, leaving him to raise eight children alone. The State Historic Preservation Office’s senior archaeologist discusses her recently published study. By Eric Freedman, FOR ST. IGNACE, ALPENA, ALCONA, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, MONROE, HOLLAND, OCEANA COUNTY, TRAVERSE CITY, CHEBOYGAN, BAY MILLS, PETOSKEY, LEELANAU, BENZIE COUNTY, LUDINGTON, MANISTEE, HARBOR SPRINGS and ALL POINTS.

Environment
An eastern massasauga rattlesnake

Largest tally of snakebites in Michigan

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SNAKEBITES: Michigan’s only venomous snake, the eastern massasauga rattlesnake, has been suspected or proven responsible for at least 75 bites reported in the state from 2003 through 2020, according to the most comprehensive tally ever of such incidents. Only a handful were confirmed to be eastern massasaugas bites, according to the Michigan Poison & Drug Information Center at Wayne State. Oakland County had the most reported bites. Other counties with reported cases were Alpena, Crawford, Otsego, Manistee, Kalkaska, Clare, St. Joseph, Ottawa, Montmorency, Isabella, Saginaw, Shiawassee, Ingham, Jackson, Washtenaw, Kalamazoo, Barry and Van Buren. By Eric Freedman. FOR CRAWFORD COUNTY, CLARE COUNTY, GREENVILLE, FOWLERVILLE, DETROIT, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, ALPENA, MONTMORENCY, HOLLAND and ALL POINTS.

Environment
The wolf known as 016M is released on Isle Royale in March 2019 after being transported from Ontario

Rare wolf attack on baby foxes found on Isle Royale

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WOLF & FOX: For the first time, scientists have documented an adult wolf killing red fox kits in their den, a new study says. The event occurred in Isle Royale National Park, where an adult male wolf known as “016M” attacked the kits, killing and likely feeding on at least two of them – and possibly also killing a third littermate. By Eric Freedman. FOR IRON MOUNTAIN, MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, CHEBOYGAN and ALL POINTS.

Congress
U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, Michigan’s longest-serving representative, will not run for another term.

Redistricting, retirements mean less clout in Congress

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LEAVING CONGRESS: Michigan’s congressional delegation will look different next year, due largely to redistricting and intra-party fights. The loss of one U.S. House seat, the awkward retirement of one of the chamber’s most senior lawmakers and a messy primary battle for a suburban Detroit seat mean at least three of the state’s 14 incumbents won’t be back on Capitol Hill. That has implications for Michigan’s clout in Washington. Leaving for sure are Fred Upton of St. Joseph, Brenda Lawrence of Southfield and either Haley Stevens of Rochester Hills or Andy Levin of Bloomfield Township. Others could lose in the August primary or November general election. Pundit Bill Ballenger discusses. By Eric Freedman. FOR DETROIT, HOLLAND, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, MANISTEE, WKTV, LUDINGTON, OCEANA COUNTY, LAKE COUNTY, CADILLAC and ALL POINTS.

Commentary

Where have all the watchdogs gone?

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STATEHOUSE REPORTERS COMMENTARY: A new Pew Research Center study finds the total number of U.S. statehouse reporters has grown in the past eight years, but fewer are on the beat full-time. That means fewer journalistic eyes in Lansing on the complexities of state government, politics and public policy. Michigan was one of the states that added full-timers at the Capitol, in large part due to the birth or expansion of nonprofit news services. Commentary for news and editorial pages. By Eric Freedman. FOR ALL POINTS.

Arts & Entertainment
Le Griffon and the Huron Islands, 1679

Charlevoix couple offers theory on mysterious 1679 shipwreck

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GRIFFIN 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 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.

News
Some key findings of the new Knight Foundation-Ipsos report on campus free speech.

Students divided over campus free speech

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CAMPUS FREE EXPRESSION.:When it comes to freedom of expression, students are like other Americans – divided. They split about how much First Amendment protection they have to speak freely on campus, whether colleges and universities should ban racial slurs and whether they feel uncomfortable or unsafe because of what somebody else said about their race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender. New survey shows student attitudes are divided by race and ethnicity, political orientation and, to a lesser degree gender. Campus across the country, in cluding Ferris State, have been involved in recent campus speech controversies. For news and opinion sections. By Eric Freedman. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, BIG RAPIDS, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, DETROIT, GREENVILLE, THREE RIVERS, IONIA, STURGIS and ALL POINTS.