A new study from U-M finds most residents speaking at city council public comment periods in 15 communities are concerned primarily with local problems such as housing, public works and zoning, while a smaller proportion raise broader social concerns such as affordability, anti-racism and homelessness.
Eric Freedman, Capital News Service
A guest author for Bridge Magazine.
Posted inMichigan Government
MSU researchers: Moss — yes, moss — can help solve murders
New study examines how law enforcement agencies, forensic teams and botanists have used moss to solve murders, track missing people and calculate how long ago someone died.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Detroit’s vacant lots have surprising upside: boosting bird diversity
Empty lots in deindustrialized cities like Detroit may contribute to bird species diversity, says a new study by researchers at MSU and Carleton University in Canada. The study recommends that vacant land management in the city takes a balanced approach that considers the needs of both residents and birds.
Posted inMichigan Government
In win for Michigan cities, court clears South Haven in beach drowning suit
The state Court of Appeals has cleared the city of South Haven of liability in the 2020 drowning of an 18-year-old swimmer at a public beach on the Lake Michigan coast.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Life goes on, even at uninhabited Lake Huron island, sometimes surprisingly
In nature, a lot can change on a largely uninhabited Great Lakes island over the course of a century. And a lot can stay the same.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Move over, coal-mine canaries: Michigan study says robins can predict soil lead
A new study in the journal “Urban Ecosystems” found that high blood lead levels in robins can accurately predict where soil is contaminated.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Moose bone study in Michigan offers insight into aging: Turns out, it stinks
The recently published study found that the severity and prevalence of the three diseases among moose increased with their age, based on an examination of jaw bones, hip joints and skulls of animals that died on the island at age 1 or older.
Posted inMichigan Government
Ship doomed on Lake Michigan now docked on National Register of Historic Places
A Detroit-built sailing ship that sank in Lake Michigan during an 1864 storm has been added to the National Register of Historic Places.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Great Lakes shipping continues to decline
Shipping on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway is continuing its long-term downturn, and changes in the region’s steel industry are largely responsible for the trend, according to a recent Congressional Research Service report.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
At long last, researchers discover diet of Michigan’s only venomous snake
It’s mice, shrews and voles for the eastern massasauga rattlesnake. But you’ll never guess how GVSU researchers learned it. Double spoiler: They looked at poop.