Ron and Carol Henriksen retired to the kind of place most people can only imagine — a riverfront house in an area of the Western Upper Peninsula that is so serene, the dominant sound is often the whisk of trees rustling in the wind. After living in suburband Chicago for three decades, in the path […]
Dan Wyant
Posted inBusiness Watch
Mines begin digging into U.P. free of key state tax
In September, after years of heated debate and legal battles, Kennecott Eagle Minerals began blasting into the ground at its controversial nickel mine near Marquette. The company, a subsidiary of London-based mining giant Rio Tinto, believes the Eagle mine will yield 300 million pounds of nickel and 250 million pounds of copper. Kennecott is one […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Taxation on resources varies widely among states
Severance taxes that Michigan and other states levy on extractive industries are used for a variety of purposes, from funding pollution cleanups to supporting public education, according to a new study. Most of the $57 million that Michigan collected in severances taxes on extractive industries in 2010 went into the state’s general fund, according to […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Quiet settles over environmental debate at Capitol
Gov. Rick Snyder and the Legislature have gone big on many issues so far this year — taxes, public employee benefits and education, to name a few — but one area that has drawn less attention has been their work on bills affecting the environment. That’s about to change. So far, the push for changes […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Veteran regulator prefers to say 'yes'
Getting to “yes” is a mission for Jim Sygo, the deputy director of the Department of Environmental Quality. It’s an answer, he believes can help Michigan’s environment and its economy. And it is a fundamental reason why Sygo is still on the job after nearly 30 years of state service that has taken him from […]
Posted inMichigan Government
Pure slacking — Michigan falters on conservation
Images of children frolicking on scenic beaches fill a television screen as the soothing voice of actor Tim Allen narrates the commercial promoting Michigan as the place to spend “the perfect summer.” A line you won’t hear Allen speak: Beach closures due to bacterial pollution — contamination linked to fecal matter — have doubled in […]
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