Michigan’s rural communities are struggling to find people to hold public office. Lansing has been slow to help.
Northern Michigan
Posted inEvents, Michigan Government, The Center for Michigan
Issues Watch returns Sept. 30 to discuss Michigan rural government crisis
Join Bridge for a virtual event to explore how small communities throughout the state struggle to deliver services and attract officials.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Near Sleeping Bear Dunes, residents battle beavers — and feds — over floods
Residents around an Up North lake deal with routine flooding and say flat-tailed rodents downstream are to blame.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Shifting sand is natural to Michigan’s dunes. How to cope is controversial
Great Lakes sand dunes, especially those on the Lake Michigan shoreline, are threatened by erosion and fluctuating water levels. But there’s disagreement on alternative approaches to effectively address the problems.
Posted inMichigan Government
Lawsuit says Michigan town discriminated by denying Christian group building
The township says the Christian group didn’t meet the zoning criteria, but Youth For Christ called it religious discrimination.
Posted inMichigan Government
Damage from flood lingers Up North, as costs mount for schools, governments
Federal aid is just starting to trickle in from April flooding, but the toll is adding up. One school district is losing students because a washed-out bridge created bus detours, while Manistee County worries about costs.
Posted inMichigan Government
As crisis looms for Michigan rural townships, bills to help sit idle in Lansing
Small towns have trouble attracting leaders and are saddled with increasing responsibilities, but efforts to help struggle to even get a hearing in the Capitol.
Posted inBusiness Watch
With fewer people drinking these days, Michigan wineries turn to goats
Wine consumption is down across the US and world, but wineries are turning to goat happy hours, snowshoe vineyard tours and other events to keep people coming through the doors.
Posted inBusiness Watch
As family farms decline, more Michigan farmers trying to preserve their land
The number of family-owned farms is on the decline, but the share of farms in preservation programs is on the upswing.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan monitoring gaps mean many may unknowingly breathe unhealthy air
Michigan has just two monitors for the entire Upper Peninsula and no monitors north of Frankfort in the Lower Peninsula.
