Michigan Superintendent Michael Rice won’t remove training videos on making schools safe for LGBTQ students. Rice said there are times when it is not appropriate to tell parents when a student comes out about their gender identity.
Ron French
Ron French is the senior enterprise reporter at Bridge Michigan, covering a wide range of topics including rural communities, federal policy impacts, education and public health. Born and raised in Indiana, Ron came to Bridge in 2011 from The Detroit News, where he was a project reporter, and previously reported for newspapers across Indiana. He graduated from Purdue University.
Rooted in Okemos, Ron has become a true Michigander — complete with a family cabin Up North.
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
With fewer inmates (and officers), Michigan closes another prison
Michigan’s prisoner population is dropping fast, but a shortage of corrections officers still strains the system.
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Meet the judge keeping abortion legal in Michigan (for now)
Elizabeth Gleicher had a history of liberal advocacy as a lawyer before joining the Michigan Court of Appeals. Colleagues also say she’s a hard-working, fair judge.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Romance author Nora Roberts helps save MI library defunded over LGBTQ books
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.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
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 inMichigan Education Watch
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 Politics Watch
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 Politics Watch
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 Politics Watch
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 Politics Watch
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.
