Salaries of the presidents of four private colleges in Michigan.

Pay for private college presidents on the rise, including in Michigan

PRIVATE PRESIDENTS: How well paid are the presidents of Michigan’s largest private colleges and universities with annual budgets of $100 million or more? We look at Hope, Hillsdale, University of Detroit Mercy and the Homer Stryker School of Medicine at Western Michigan University. They made between $1,137,144 and $306,993 in 2021, according to a new analysis by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Story also references Baker College with its five campuses. We talk to a U-D Mercy faculty leader, the Hope student body president and a national expert. By Alex Walters. FOR HOLLAND, HILLSDALE, DETROIT, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, CADILLAC AND ALL POINTS.

Republican Sen. Jonathan Lindsey of Allen.

Some lawmakers eye ban on gender-affirming medical care

TRANSGENDER HEALTH: Some Michigan lawmakers would like the state to follow Ohio in restricting gender-affirming medical care. Among them are legislators from Clare, Oxford, Allen, Brighton and Niles. The ACLU calls such a proposal cynical and political and argues that it would interfere with the right of individuals and families to make their own medical decisions. By Sophia Ceru. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, CLARE, DETROIT, FOWLERVILLE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HILLSDALE AND ALL POINTS.

Col. James Grady II is the director of the State Police.

State Police still working to improve troopers’ diversity

STATE POLICE ACADEMY: Despite intensified recruitment efforts in recent years, State Police recruits remain disproportionately white. In fact, the proportion of prospective recruits of color is smaller than in the State Police ranks overall. Recruits of color also have a lower academy graduation rate than their white peers. We hear from the department’s director and chief recruiter, as well as an MSU expert. By Alex Walters FOR DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Ashley Kern, CEO of SightLine in Hancock

More small businesses embrace artificial intelligence

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SMALL BUSINESS: About one-quarter of small businesses surveyed in the state use AI for tasks such as marketing, data analysis and business operations. MSU and Central Michigan experts point out ethical issues.We hear from a company in Hancock that provides services to Michigan Tech and Grand Valley State, an Ann Arbor company that helps clients reduce food waste and the Small Business Association. For news and business sections. By Theo Scheer. FOR IRON MOUNTAIN, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, CORP!, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, DETROIT, CADILLAC, CLARE COUNTY, CRAWFORD COUNTY AND ALL POINTS.

Danielle Atkinson is the founding director of the advocacy group Mothering Justice

Supreme Court to rule soon on case about minimum wage for tipped workers

TIPPED WAGES: A looming state Supreme Court decision could reinvigorate efforts to raise Michigan’s minimum wage and equalize it for restaurant and bar employees who receive tips. The issue is whether the Legislature acted unconstitutionally when it used an adopt-and-amend strategy to keep a citizen initiative off the ballot. We hear from Mothering Justice, a Detroit group that favors a higher minimum wage, and Save MI Tips and the Small Business Association of Michigan, which oppose it. For news and business sections. By Owen McCarthy. FOR GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, CORP! LANSING CITY PULSE, DETROIT, TRAVERSE CITY, PETOSKEY, HOLLAND, MANISTEE, CADILLAC AND ALL POINTS.

Photographer Danielle Jorae is the author of a new book about lighthouses in the Lower Peninsula.

Photobook illuminates the beauty of Michigan lighthouses

LIGHTHOUSES BOOK: Portland photographer Danielle Jorae’s new book is about lighthouses of the Lower Peninsula. They include ones at Point Austin, Tawas and Sleeping Bear Dunes and the Huron Lightship in Port Huron. Her new project will look at UP lighthouses. By Clara Lincolnhol. FOR GREENVILLE, WKTV, LEELANAU, TRAVERSE CITY, ALPENA, ALCONA, LANSING CITY PULSE, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, IRON MOUNTAIN, ST. IGNACE, CHEBOYGAN, HOLLAND, OCEANA COUNTY, LUDINGTON, MONROE AND ALL POINTS.

Angela Gabridge is the executive director of MiGen, a Ferndale-based nonprofit focused on elderly LGBTQ+ people.

New resource centers for LGBTQ+ seniors ‘guaranteed to be welcoming’ 

LGBTQ+ SENIORS: Two new Metro Detroit senior centers are focused on older LGBTQ+ residents, filling what advocates say is a need for services they may otherwise not get. We hear from a Ferndale-based nonprofit and the UP Area Agency on Aging. By Alex Walters. FOR DETROIT, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, IRON MOUNTAIN, ST. IGNACE, CHEBOYGAN, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Anti-Semitic, anti-Muslim incidents on the rise in Michigan

HATE INCIDENTS: The number of reported anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim incidents has skyrocketed since the Hamas-Israeli war began Oct. 7. We talk to the Anti-Defamation League and Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Alleged perpetrators from Farmington Hills and Pickford have been arrested. Meanwhile, the governor has proposed more funding to help the Department of Civil Rights handle its backlog of complaints. We also hear from the State Police and Department of Civil Rights. By Sophia Ceru. FOR DETROIT, SAULT STE. MARIE, MARQUETTE, ST. IGNACE, LANSING CITY PULSE, AND ALL POINTS.

This statue commemorates the status of Grand Rapids as the first city to fluoridate its drinking water

Some in Michigan hoping to change minds about drinking water and fluoridation 

FLUORIDE: A California court case may throw into doubt the future of widespread fluoridation of public water systems in Michigan – where Grand Rapids became the nation’s first city to use it – and elsewhere. We hear from a pro-fluoride U-M dental professor, fluoridation opponents in Marquette and Lansing and a national anti-fluoridation group. References include Oxford, Cadillac, Gladwin, Iron Mountain, Three Rivers and Saugatuck By Theo Scheer. FOR WKTV, GREENVILLE, DETROIT, PLANET DETROIT, CADILLAC, IRON MOUNTAIN, MARQUETTE, SAULT STE. MARIE, GLADWIN, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.