Ongoing walleye studies help DNR

By EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING – The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is in its final sampling year of a tag-and-recapture study of the walleye population in the inland waterways of Northern Michigan. It’s part of ongoing research about the popular species by the Fisheries Division. “The studies have provided data on the exploitation rate of the population, walleye growth rates and the movements between waters,” said Edward Baker, manager of the Marquette Fisheries Research Station. Many of the state’s Great Lakes waters are world-famous for walleye. According to the DNR, the Lake Erie-Detroit River-Lake St.

Airports hit by lower federal, state aid

By EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING – A slight drop in money from Washington and Lansing this year has reduced the ability of some Michigan airports to do maintenance and infrastructure projects. The state has 235 public use airports, a number that hasn’t changed for several years, according to the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). For 2013, these airports will receive about $107.7 million in government funds, $82.2 million from the federal government and $14.4 million from the state. Jon Ogar of MDOT’s Aeronautics Bureau said federal funding has been declining a little, while state money has steadily dropped in recent years. “Generally, about 75 percent of funding is used for rehabilitating or maintaining current infrastructure, and the remainder is used for capacity enhancement,” Ogar said.

Mackinac summer means new businesses, exhibits

By EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING – New businesses, new history exhibits and new members of the Mackinac Island State Park Commission kick off the island’s approaching tourism season. Named as the 8th most-pristine destination island in the world by National Geographic, Mackinac Island attracts more than 1 million visitors each year, according to the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau. As the second-largest industry in the state, tourism brings in more than $17 billion annually, according to a report from Michigan State University. Mary McGuire, executive director of the bureau, said several new businesses that offer recreational activities will open this season, including Great Turtle Kayaking, Green Planet Extreme Kayaking Tours and Spirit of the North Yoga. “The businesses here do all they can to update each season.

Out-of-state students boost university budgets

By EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING –When the state cuts funding to public higher education, universities generally react by raising tuition. But a second option is to increase the number of out-of-state and international students who pay more to attend. For example, Michigan State University charges about $12,000 for undergraduate state residents, But out-of-state and international students pay $32,000 – $33,000 each year. Michigan ranks 9th in the nation in the number of international students enrolled in the state’s 15 public universities, but only 45th in out-of-state enrollment. According to Business Leaders for Michigan, based in Detroit, 9.4 percent of students in state universities come from other states.

New yogurt plant may be in the works

By EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING – With its dairy industry and a wide variety of fruits and sugar produced in the state, Michigan has become one of the best choices for yogurt companies to expand their businesses in, advocates say. According to Heather Throne of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, with more than 2,000 dairy farms, Michigan is the 8th largest milk producer in the nation, and the industry provides a $14.7 billion economic impact to the state. Throne said Michigan has the edge for new and expanded milk processing because of its plentiful supply of high-quality milk and other ingredients, including sugar and fruits. It also has easy access to consumer markets. Susan Esser, deputy of the department’s food and dairy division, said there has been a major yogurt processing plant for more than 30 years in Reed City.

Potato plantings potentially poised to push production

By EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING – With a cool, moist climate and deep, sandy and loamy soils, Michigan has always been a good place to grow potatoes, and the traditional crop is expanding. The latest target may be the Northeastern Lower Peninsula, where suitable soil is available, according to Wayne Wood, the president of Michigan Farm Bureau. Some farmland there has lain dormant for years. “We are opening them up because we have the potato industry growing in Michigan and the land’s soil is productive for potatoes.”

With the development of drought-tolerant technology in crops and Michigan’s fresh-water resources, we may see an expansion of potato acres in northeastern Michigan,” Wood said. Ken Nye, the horticulture specialist at the Farm Bureau said, “These areas have the right soil, climate and water capabilities for potato production.”
Access to water for irrigation is critically important for potato growing, Nye said.

Pay-to-drive tax may be far down the road

By EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING –As vehicles are becoming more efficient and gas tax rates have remained the same for decades, those taxes no longer provide enough money to pay for the building and upkeep of roads and bridges, the Snyder administration says. New technology that tracks how much a vehicle drives may provide an answer – but only way down the road. Michigan now taxes motorists 19 cents per gallon for gasoline and 15 cents for diesel, last raised in 1997. And the federal tax of 18.4 cents a gallon hasn’t been raised in nearly two decades. According to the Department of Transportation (MDOT), Michigan’s rate is one of the lowest in the Great Lakes area and the state’s gas tax revenue declined more than $100 million from 2001 to 2011.

Make professional licensing easier for immigrants, advocates say

BY EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING – From physicians to architects to barbers, immigrants and other people educated or trained abroad must meet Michigan’s licensing requirements to continue their professional and vocational careers in this country. And difficulties in doing so could impede efforts by the Snyder administration to attract skilled immigrants to Michigan. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 6 percent of the state’s population was born abroad. Ryan Bates, director of the Alliance for Immigrants Rights and Reform-Michigan, said, “The requirements are complicated. It depends on different types of licenses.”

According to the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affair (LARA), all applicants for commercial licenses must meet the same requirements.

Cigarette smuggling up, Mackinac Center says

BY EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING –Almost 30 percent of the cigarettes smoked in Michigan are smuggled into the state or bought online, the 10th highest rate in the country, according to a new report. The report came from the Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Midland. The center is a free market research and think tank. However, the State Police can’t confirm that 29 percent and the department said it has no estimate of its own. “Their report does not indicate how they arrived at this figure,” said Shanon Banner, the manager of public affairs at the Michigan State Police.

DNR expands Great Lakes muskie stock

By EDITH ZHOU
Capital News Service
LANSING – The muskie production program of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has turned a huge corner by stocking only Great Lakes muskies. DNR’s Fish Production Section operates six large fish hatcheries, including the Wolf Lake State Fish Hatchery in Mattawan which the muskie program belongs to. Based on the department’s figures, hatcheries produce 13 million trout and salmon and 30 million walleye, muskie and sturgeon annually. That’s a total 600,000-700,000 pounds of fish a year stocked in the state’s public waters. The department has raised muskellunge for stocking for decades but had always used northern muskies.