Michigan municipalities cut staff big-time to get through the last 20 years, including 22,000 fewer law-enforcement positions. And while municipalities most have recovered, the state still considers 139 cities, 36 townships and 15 villages financially distressed.
Joel Kurth
As executive editor of impact, Joel Kurth oversees newsgathering, investigations, and coverage strategy at Bridge Michigan. He joined Bridge in 2017 after 17 years as an investigative reporter and editor at The Detroit News, where he led investigations that drove policy changes on water shutoffs and surgical instrument sterilization and resulted in criminal charges against government officials. He and his teams have won more than 60 state and national awards across a 30-year career in Michigan that has also included stints at newspapers in the Upper Peninsula and Saginaw. Joel also authors Bridge's popular weekly News Quiz.
Joel lives in West Bloomfield with his wife and two children.
Posted inMichigan Government
Bridge is doubling down on politics and changing how we fact-check claims
With Michigan expected to play a crucial role in national election politics, Bridge is launching weekly coverage of issues in the race. We also are launching the Michigan Fact Squad to scrutinize political ads.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan wants drivers to learn to love roundabouts. It’s been a slow go.
Michigan is the birthplace of the three-signal traffic light. But roads engineers increasingly are dumping them for roundabouts, which are safer, improve traffic flows and drive motorists nuts.
Posted inMichigan Government
How to safely navigate roundabouts in Michigan
Tips and facts about roundabouts, which are becoming more common in Michigan. Here’s what you need to know to stay safe.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
As surging Great Lakes threaten Michigan, homeowners beg Canada for help
As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer weighs an emergency declaration for towns besieged by rising waters, a movement is growing to ask Canada to stop dumping millions of gallons of water per day into the Great Lakes through dams in northern Ontario.
Posted inMichigan Government
John Conyers Jr., champion of Detroit and civil rights, dies at 90
John Conyers Jr. served 53 years in Congress as a representative from Detroit, pursuing progressive causes long before they became popular. He died at his home.
Posted inUrban Affairs
In a changing Detroit, footpaths are vanishing across vast, empty lands
The University of Michigan has mapped 5,200 footpaths through Detroit. The author of the study says it’s a valuable planning tool. But one critic calls it ‘poverty porn.’
Posted inUrban Affairs
Wayne County’s tired jail deputies work double shifts at low pay. Wanna apply?
Michigan’s largest county is perpetually short of officers to guard jail inmates that critics contend shouldn’t be incarcerated in the first place. ‘It’s a screwed up system,’ a sheriff’s official admits.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Higgins Lake’s crystal waters are under threat. Blame poop (and other stuff)
It’s not just Higgins Lake. Leaky septic systems and fertilizers are leading to a growth of algae in northern Michigan’s clear water lakes and could require big-time investments to fix.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
What you need to know about Michigan’s flavored e-cigarette ban
Amid a surge in teen vaping, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer orders a ban on flavored e-cigarettes. Here’s a look at the legal, political and health implications of the nation’s first ban.