Capital News Service

Child safety advocates push for new car seat rules

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Safety advocates want to put more children in car seats under proposed legislation that has been stalled for years. Last year, 4,544 children ages 14 and under were injured in Michigan traffic accidents. Of those, 43 died. But car injuries are the second-highest preventable injuries in children. We talk to a Grand Rapids injury prevention expert and the director of the Michigan Chapter for the American Academy of Pediatrics. The bill is cosponsored by a Grand Rapids lawmaker. By Megan Castleberry FOR GRAND RAPIDS, LANSING AND ALL POINTS.

News

Half a million Michiganders might be at risk of eviction by the end of year

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Half a million Michigan families could risk eviction by the end of the year without financial help from the federal government, housing advocates say. One in every five Michigan rental households have fallen behind on their payments because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Michigan League for Public Policy. And 242,000 Michigan children are in families that haven’t been able to keep up with rent or get enough to eat. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently ordered a ban on evicting low-income tenants who cannot pay their rent because of COVID-19. The order is effective until the end of the year, but it doesn’t relieve tenants from paying back rent that they owe landlords. By Zholdas Orisbayev FOR LANSING AND ALL POINTS

News
Cover Photo of Wolf Island by L. David Mech (with Greg Breining and Rolf O. Peterson)

Remembering the birth of Isle Royale’s wolf-moose study

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When L. David Mech arrived at Isle Royale in 1959, he had no idea he would pioneer the nation’s longest-running prey-predator study, one that would become a model for wildlife biologists around the world. Nor did he likely expect to eat beaver brains or loon there. His new memoir tells of his first three summers and three winters at one of the country’s most remote national parks. We talk to Mech and a Michigan Tech professor who is now a leading wolf-moose researcher. By Eric Freedman. FOR MARQUETTE, BAY MILLS, SAULT STE. MARIE, ST. IGNACE AND ALL POINTS.

News
Patrons that walk up to a Grand Rapids Library kiosk are asked to wear masks.

Pandemic impacts library services now, budgets in long term

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COVID-19 may have kept library patrons from spending hours browsing the stacks for new reads, but Michigan librarians are busy quarantining books, shipping them to eager readers and finding ways to innovate to serve the public safely. New ways of using the library such as “grab-and-go” trips are planned. We spoke to library workers in Grand Rapids, Detroit and East Lansing. By Taylor Haelterma. FOR GRAND RAPIDS, LANSING AND ALL POINTS.

Capital News Service

Toxic blooms still threaten Lake Erie

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Toxic algae blooming in Lake Erie is creating safety concerns for humans and aquatic life, prompting the state to work with farmers to reduce the phosphorus levels in field runoff. For news and agriculture sections. Experts at NOAA, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.

News

Fish farmers find new applications for old dairy equipment

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It’s unlikely most people get excited when they see a vacant manure pit, but converted storage lagoons on former dairy farms can be money-making ventures for aquaculture operations. We hear from a Michigan Sea Grant expert in the Western UP and from Wisconsin farmers.

Environment

Mighty mites might manage mosquitoes

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It’s mosquito season, and scientists at Wayne State University and elsewhere are studying how water mites, who are close relatives to spiders and live in freshwater, can parasitize or prey on mosquitoes. Understanding water mites could be important for developing new ways to control the beasts, which are both annoying and sometimes transit diseases like West Nile virus. We also talk to a Midland County mosquito control official. By Weiting Du.