Saying she was ‘appalled’ by the possible closure of an Ottawa County library, romance novelist Nora Roberts steps in with a $50,000 donation and a willingness to send more. Donations now exceed next year’s budget shortfall for the library.
Ron French
Ron reports on a variety of subjects across the state. Ron came to Bridge in 2011 from The Detroit News, where he was a project reporter. Born and raised in Indiana, Ron graduated from Purdue University. He reported for newspapers across Indiana before moving to Michigan in 1995. Ron lives in Okemos, and like the true Michigander he’s become, he now has a family cabin Up North. You can reach him at rfrench@bridgemi.com or 517-214-3636.
Posted inTalent & Education
After student loan relief, here are 4 more ways to cut Michigan college debt
Michigan students leave college with more debt than the U.S. average. Experts have suggestions for ways to lessen the load.
Posted inTalent & Education
MI community colleges ditching remedial courses to keep students enrolled
Remedial courses are one of the main reasons vulnerable students drop out. The courses cost money and provide students with no credit toward graduation, discouraging many students from completing their degrees.
Posted inMichigan Government
Fundraisers pass $100K for Michigan library defunded over LGBTQ books
The Patmos Library in Ottawa County has attracted donations from as far away as Australia. Meanwhile, some of the books that upset residents aren’t sexually explicit.
Posted inMichigan Government
Defunded over LGBTQ books, Michigan library will try tax again in November
Jamestown Township’s library will be forced to close if residents again reject a millage over fears that stocking LGBTQ books is tantamount to the ‘indoctrination’ of children.
Posted inMichigan Government
Donations pour in after Michigan town defunded library over LGBTQ books
More than $50,000 has been contributed so far through a pair of GoFundMe campaigns. Nearly 1,000 donors from as far away as Australia have pitched in to keep the Jamestown Township library open.
Posted inMichigan Government
Upset over LGBTQ books, a Michigan town defunds its library in tax vote
Voters in Jamestown Township, near Grand Rapids, rejected a renewal of an operations millage for the community’s public library Tuesday, leaving the library’s future in doubt. Those leading the effort said the library was indoctrinating children.
Posted inQuality of Life
How polo is changing the soul of an Up North Michigan village
Culture clashes don’t get much bigger than when wealthy polo players from around the U.S. converge on a tiny, one-stop-sign village in Emmet County.
Posted inMichigan Government
Most threats made after Oxford were hoaxes. How should they be punished?
At least 133 students in six Michigan counties were charged after allegedly threatening schools in the month following the rampage at Oxford High School. Most were middle-schoolers. It’s not clear any will receive time behind bars.
Posted inTalent & Education
A supergroup was to reform Michigan schools, then the schools dropped out
A coalition of business, school, philanthropy and labor groups came together in 2019 to try and solve decades of mediocrity in Michigan public education. But major school groups, including the department of education, have bailed, leaving the effort in question.