- Bridge Michigan has been listening to readers’ top election-year concerns and reporting on those issues
- Bridge also has held regular virtual discussions around those issues
- The latest virtual discussion was around challenges faced by rural governments. You can watch a recap of that discussion below
Many of Michigan’s rural local governments are in crisis, struggling to recruit people to elected and staff positions and lacking the resources to repair aging infrastructure.
Some help is available through the state’s Office of Rural Prosperity, including a leadership academy to train people willing to step up to participate in their local government, networking support and grants.
But legislative efforts to fund rural projects and offer staffing support have stalled in Lansing.
Those issues and more came up Wednesday during Bridge Michigan’s latest Issues Watch virtual discussion. Bridge regional editor Justin Hinkley moderated a talk between Linda Paradiso, Houghton Township clerk; Debra Horner, senior program manager at the Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan; Sarah Lucas, director of the Office of Rural Prosperity; and Bridge senior reporter Ron French.
RELATED STORIES:
- Rural Michigan in crisis: Too many governments that too few want to lead
- Other states shrink local governments. Michigan law preserves archaic ‘mess’
- As crisis looms for Michigan rural townships, bills to help sit idle in Lansing
Missed the discussion? You can watch it here:
The discussion was part of Bridge Listens, our yearlong effort to listen to readers’ top concerns as the 2026 campaign season unfolds. Bridge Listens will culminate with our Issues Summit Oct. 21 at Marygrove Conservancy in Detroit. It will be livestreamed online too. You can register for the summit here.
Bridge has also hosted virtual discussions covering topics including health care, schools, nursing homes, opioid settlement funds, the state’s population crisis, youth mental health, voter issues, the marijuana industry, gun violence, the collapse of whitefish in the lower Great Lakes, tourism, deer hunting and industrial pollution.
Bridge Club members are notified of future events from our nonprofit newsroom and receive member-exclusive benefits such as free Bridge event tickets, copies of our bimonthly Bridge Culture Club selections and more. Member support allows us to offer engagement opportunities like this Issues Watch series.
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