Quality of Life

Northern Michigan counties are losing residents at a startling rate. Jobs are scarce. And so is hope among some.

After lost decade, state sees slow growth. Check out how your county is faring with this interactive map.

Leaving prison was supposed to make everything better. It was only the beginning of the troubles for an unlikely pair.

The 2016 election exposed a gulf among Michigan residents. Bridge revisited 11 people and families we first profiled at Donald Trump’s inauguration to see if the past six months had changed their outlook. Both sides, it appears, are digging in.

TRAVERSE CITY – Ben Shomo didn’t vote for president last fall, at a time when he followed politics closely. Today, he doesn’t own a TV and seldom checks news websites on his phone. “I’ve gone through bouts of general unenthusiastic tendencies,” admitted the 21-year-old. He said he thinks people have moved on from the divisive […]

DETROIT – Asandi Conner cares about her daughter, Briana, a student at the University of Michigan. She cares about her job, leading the Detroit Revitalization Fellows at Wayne State University. She cares about her neighborhood, Grixdale Park, in northeast Detroit. She cares about her dog, Nala, who has come along for a stroll on a […]

SUNFIELD – The grass is wet from an early morning rain as John Hulett takes his cocker spaniel Goldie for a walk along a wheat field on his Ionia County farm. At the edge of the field is a patch of woods that drops off toward Sebewa Creek. In the woods is a large rock […]

WYOMING – A few months ago, Wilfredo Diaz heard a siren, looked in the rearview mirror and saw the strobes of a police car on his tail. Could this be the moment he and his family had dreaded? Could this be when the authorities arrest him and send him and his family back to Guatemala? […]

SAUGATUCK – The sun is about to set over Lake Michigan. Ron Price sits at a picnic table on a beach near Saugatuck, where he often comes to relax. Below the sleeve of his T-shirt is a tattoo of a Bible verse, Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Price, […]

ANN ARBOR –  Aric Knuth and Jim Leija took their dogs Olive and Maisie on a walk through their Ann Arbor neighborhood, past well-kept homes and blooming gardens. The couple lead upper-middle class lives in a vibrant city, with five college degrees between them and good jobs at the University of Michigan. The doom and […]