The southern Michigan city’s library is considering a proposal to ban books about the boy wizard, the latest in a series of controversies statewide over racy graphic novels and books about LGBTQ and civil rights that have made library board meetings a lot less sleepy lately.
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
Michigan teen looks to college, but after pandemic she questions her drive
After spending much of high school learning remotely in bedrooms, the high school class of 2022 displayed more mental health challenges and less classroom focus, school leaders say. Will pandemic drift follow them to college?
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan abortion law: What you should know if SCOTUS overturns Roe
Abortion remains legal for now in Michigan, but access to abortion services is uncertain if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade. We answer your questions about what such a decision would mean for Michigan.
Posted inTalent & Education
Student loan forgiveness could help 1.4 million in Michigan. What to know
Residents owe a total of $51 billion in Michigan. Here’s a primer on what we know so far about a plan to forgive some — or all — of that debt.
Posted inTalent & Education
At MSU, isotope center opens to unlock universe, revolutionize medicine
Scientists from around the world are expected to flock to East Lansing to conduct research at the $730 million Facility for Rare Isotopes, which officially opens Monday. Its particle accelerator is faster than yours.
Posted inTalent & Education
At Michigan State, graduation haunted by ‘what could have been’ without COVID
The pandemic didn’t hospitalize or kill as many college students as it did their grandparents, but it still left a mark on “the best four years of your life.”
Posted inTalent & Education
Low-income Michigan students fare far better at some colleges than others
The majority of Michigan’s public universities, and half its private colleges, are below the national average in the percentage of their low-income students who earn a degree. Some do far better than others in ensuring these students graduate.
Posted inTalent & Education
MSU to drop mask mandate in May, but will keep COVID vax rule next year
The move by Michigan State University reflects the downward trend in new coronavirus cases in the state, as well as the removal of similar mandates in K-12 schools.
Posted inTalent & Education
With COVID masks gone, Michigan students relearn how to play and study
Pandemic measures such as masks and remote learning helped curb the spread of the virus. But educators across the state report they took a toll on young learners’ social and emotional development.
Posted inMichigan Government
Northern Michigan township official apologizes for ‘colored people’ remark
Whitewater Township Planning Commission member Mike Jacobson, 59, said he did not intend to offend, but used a term employed by his parents and grandparents from the 1960’s. In his mind, he said, it was not much different from the term, “people of color.”