By Ruth Thornton
Standing next to a converted hoop house in one of the back areas of John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids, David Pavlik points to a line of small cloth-covered cages filled with yellow black-eyed Susans and small orange butterflies. “These cages out here are females that have already bred in the facility,” Pavlik said. “They’re out here in the sun laying eggs.”
Pavlik, a research assistant with Michigan State University, is part of an international partnership racing to save a small, inconspicuous butterfly known as the Poweshiek skipperling that was once so common in Midwest prairies that collectors largely ignored them. Then their populations plummeted, and now they’re found in only a handful of sites in Manitoba and Michigan.
By Ruth Thornton
Early fall temperatures in Michigan will likely be higher than average, according to the National Weather Service, but are predicted to return to normal for the winter if long-term predictions hold up. Cort Scholten, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said precipitation amounts are expected to be near normal for the next three months. “Right now, this outlook is saying that the odds are favoring overall we’ll see more warmer-than-usual days than we will colder than usual days,” he said.
By Donté Smith
Capital News Service
Detroit’s streets are becoming a testing ground for future transportation, with automated shuttles like Accessibili-D and Connect AV offering mobility solutions. These shuttles, which started operating this year, help residents, particularly those with limited transportation, access essential destinations such as doctors’ offices and grocery stores. The Connect AV shuttle provides fully electric, scheduled autonomous transportation along a 10.8-mile route connecting Corktown, downtown Detroit and the East Jefferson Riverfront.
Monroe is split by the River Raisin, which runs directly into Lake Erie. The city’s residents are not shy about taking advantage of its proximity to the water, even if it means fishing in the drainage canal of a power plant. Fishers, young and old, gather at the Monroe fishing site near the DTE Energy Monroe power plant to snag a bite.
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