Prices are climbing and competition is fierce as traditionally slow areas of Michigan become real-estate hotspots. No longer geographically tied to their workplaces and enjoying low interest rates, buyers are sparking a ‘feeding frenzy’ in northern Michigan.
Rural Michigan
Posted inTalent & Education
How a few coronavirus cases ended classes at a rural Michigan school
For every student that tested positive, there were dozens of friends or classmates found to be in close contact with them, sidelining them from the classroom as well.
Posted inGuest Commentary
First Person | Back to school in Michigan: Too new, weird and heartbreaking
An 11th-grader in Beaverton in central Michigan returns to school. Mask compliance is shaky. Emotions are raw. And students and teachers are doing their best to cope with a bizarre new reality.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Pandemic brings record crowds to Michigan parks. (And trash and trouble)
Parks, harbors, campgrounds and beaches are seeing big upticks in visitors this summer, as COVID-19 restricts summer travel options and vacationers embrace outdoor recreation for its built-in social distancing.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
$5 million in federal grants not a lot to solve Michigan’s rural opioid crisis
One mental health official says the funds “won’t go very far at all,” as the state’s opioid overdose rates start to climb once again after the coronavirus outbreak hit Michigan in the spring.
Posted inBusiness Watch
PPE turns into ‘tremendous’ opportunity for Reed City factory
Thirty jobs created during the COVID-19 pandemic is one sign that Reed City Group’s diversification into medical equipment is paying off.
Posted inBusiness Watch
Coronavirus has spared the Keweenaw Peninsula but may kill summer tourism
Untouched until now by COVID-19, this Upper Peninsula tourist haven needs thousands of downstate visitors to keep its economy alive. The opening of restaurants and bars may not be enough to save many of its businesses.
Posted inMichigan Government
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to reopen northern Michigan by Memorial Day weekend
Gretchen Whitmer announces bars, restaurants and other retail establishments in 32 northern Michigan counties can reopen with some restrictions on Friday. And she hints that she could announce this week that more areas can reopen.
Posted inMichigan Health Watch
With higher suicide risk during coronavirus, Michigan makes plans to help
Mental health advocates highlight a rise in anxiety from the pandemic and economic disruption in Michigan, as experts devise ways to help health care workers and ordinary residents in an extraordinary time.
Posted inMichigan Government
Few coronavirus cases, lots of land. Should northern Michigan reopen?
Northern Michigan has more than half of the state’s land mass and 2 percent of its coronavirus cases. As Gov. Whitmer says she’ll take geography into account to reopen the economy, Bridge examines regional differences in cases, hospital capacity, testing and unemployment.