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.
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
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 inMichigan Education Watch
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.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
High Court rejects ban on religious school aid. How it impacts Michigan.
The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday that states can’t give taxpayer funds to some private schools while excluding religious schools. Legal experts say it won’t immediately impact Michigan, but opens the door to broader school choice.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
Hillsdale to consider banning Harry Potter as library wars hit Michigan
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.
Posted inMichigan Education Watch
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 Politics Watch
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 inMichigan Education Watch
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 inMichigan Education Watch
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 inMichigan Education Watch
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.”
