Jacob Wheeler

Michigan’s majestic national park had to shutter its visitor’s center and curb popular snowshoe hikes. But a hardy group of park angels is hauling trash, cleaning toilets and helping maintain the park during the shutdown.

In Harbor Springs, Cynthia Shafer battles illness and political assumptions

Can 11 passionate Michigan residents and families reach across the political and cultural chasms that too often divide our state?

The city’s downtown stores are shuttering. While some hope for a shift to a tourism-based economy, a port project is betting on new industry

A human trafficking court in Washtenaw County is dispensing with assembly line prosecution of prostitutes. Instead, the court identifies whether women have been coerced into the sex trade, and offers them services to begin a new life.

Latino immigrants, including some in the U.S. illegally, were among the last to know about lead in Flint’s water. What is the state’s duty to help hard-to-find residents?

The anti-immigration protests last summer in Vassar have given way to the more mundane process of placing nearly 200 unaccompanied minors with relatives or foster families. Michigan remains one of the nation’s most welcoming states.

As residents flee rural areas in Michigan and across the country, Hispanic workers are becoming an even greater force in agricultural production. Nearly 3-in-10 Michigan farms are now owned by non-U.S. citizens.

Proposed rules require more testing around drilling sites and disclosure of the chemicals used by energy companies. Environmentalists call the rules a step forward, but not nearly enough to protect Michigan waters and public health.

A conservation group squares off against Encana over frack drilling near a Michigan fly fishing haven.

Michigan has seen explosive growth in hydraulic fracturing, bringing a mix of high-paying jobs and environmental and health concerns to rural communities.

Oil and gas field workers average $64,000 in Kalkaska County, a region where unemployment still tops 10 percent.

One indelible image related to hydraulic fracturing – that of a homeowner setting his own water on fire – has dogged the fracking industry since the release of "Gasland," a documentary.

Fracking’s economic benefits are weighed against the potential risks to Michigan’s environment and public health.

Since its closing in 2000, the iconic Leelanau ski resort has been a case study on how to turn a magnificent property into a rotting, unsellable eyesore.

Hearts are in the right place, but missteps dog efforts to sell the scenic resort.

A beautiful mountain is no longer enough to keep a ski resort in business in Michigan. Successful resorts include facilities and attractions to keep tourists coming year-round.