Once a frontier town dominated by agriculture, Morenci now finds itself on a new frontier, with the scent of pot wafting through its streets. Despite reluctance from “conservative farm folks,” most support the financial boost the industry has brought.
Rural Michigan
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Michigan county threatens to bulldoze Amish homes in poop dispute
An Amish community, with help from the ACLU, argues that Lenawee County is violating its religious freedom by demanding it stop using outhouses and spreading human waste in fields. Local residents are backing the Amish.
Posted inMichigan Government
Michigan Republican pushes to deregulate health care. Some hospitals call foul.
A GOP legislative package would remove barriers to small rural hospitals expanding or offering some of the same services as larger hospitals in the region. Both sides say their vision would lower costs.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Old motels, campsites and shelters fill housing void in northwest Michigan
Even middle-income workers are now priced out of safe, affordable homes in Michigan’s resort region. Housing stock has declined for all but the affluent, leaving high school students to fill the construction breach.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
This flu season looks deadly. Yet much of Michigan won’t get its shot.
In much of rural Michigan, and in Detroit, fewer than 20 percent of residents get flu shots, even though the vaccine makes it far less likely that people will die or get seriously ill from the virus.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Caro’s psychiatric hospital is saved. Michigan’s mental health crisis persists.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spared a psychiatric hospital whose closure would have devastated the Thumb. But long waiting lists persist statewide, and the hospital’s problems remain.
Posted inTalent & Education
Tiny school districts to Lansing: Stop acting like ‘middle-schoolers’
Superintendents in some of Michigan’s most isolated districts blame Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Repubican leaders for a budget fight that they say threatens their future and treats students like political pawns.
Posted inMichigan Government
Rural Michigan sheriffs fear layoffs after Whitmer vetoes road patrol
Law enforcement raises alarms after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer axed $13 million for a state grant program that has helped county sheriffs hire road patrol deputies since 1978.
Posted inMichigan Government
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer targets rural Michigan in bid to sway GOP on budgets
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer used her line-item veto power to cut several GOP budget priorities in hopes of restarting negotiations. Rural Michigan is among the hardest hit.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
Seeking a cure: The quest to save the Midwest’s rural hospitals
Small rural hospitals are getting squeezed by competition and market forces, forcing painful consolidations, sales and closures. Nationwide, 113 rural hospitals have closed in less than a decade.