West Branch wants to become a destination for tourists and new businesses. Residents plead for more job training. And the town may even ditch its Victorian past. (With slideshow)
Quality of Life
Michigan is a great place to live. Bridge will report that fact often — and on potential threats to the assets that make it so.
Posted inQuality of Life
Plans on track for passenger train from Ann Arbor to Traverse City, group says
Booming tourism in Traverse City and interest justifies daily passenger trains from Ann Arbor through stops to Up North, study shows.
Posted inQuality of Life
Michigan’s riding high. But a downturn is coming and the safety net is frayed.
A peak economy is the perfect time to expand job training and assistance. Instead, state officials are squandering the good times, experts warn.
Posted inQuality of Life
Michigan falls short in frontline treatment for opioid crisis
The state, hard hit by opioid deaths, has a shortage of doctors trained to prescribe medication that’s critical to recovery.
Posted inQuality of Life
Lansing provides sluggish response to Michigan’s rising drug prices
Expected bills aimed at skyrocketing drug costs face an uncertain fate in the Michigan Legislature
Posted inQuality of Life
How other states are fighting prescription drug costs
From pressuring drug manufacturers to offer bigger discounts to seeking bulk sales from Canada, other states are taking aggressive steps to help consumers.
Posted inQuality of Life
Did a Michigan campus narrowly avert a massacre like the Florida shooting?
We’ve all seen the horrible scenes from a Florida high school. But similar carnage may have visited Lansing Community College in November. But then a worried friend called police.
Posted inQuality of Life
Aging area near Traverse City joins “village movement” to stay at home
Graying populations in regions across Michigan can benefit from grassroots membership networks that help with rides, nursing visits, and other challenges for older residents who want to remain independent.
Posted inQuality of Life
An election divided them. A year later, they meet face to face.
We’ve followed Michigan residents with diverse political views since the 2016 presidential election. They came together in one room on a recent morning. Here’s what happened.
Posted inQuality of Life
Trump and anti-Trump Michiganders meet: A photo story
Coffee, donuts, laughs and a few tears: a year after a divisive presidential election, voters meet to swap political views amid hopes they can work together on some issues.