Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/author/capital-news-service/page/12/)
Capital News Service is a wire service at Michigan State University covering state government - issues and personalities.
Michigan farm officials are fighting an attempt by the federal Environmental Protection agency to regulate small bodies of water.
They fear that a new permit process would make farming more expensive and time-consuming.
Golf courses in Michigan have reopened after a prolonged winter freeze that caused costly damage and set revenue behind for the season.
Coal ash could be used in concrete, lime ash could be used for farming and copper sand could be made into shingles under legislation that would allow certain industries to sell byproducts that they now throw away.
By Nick Stanek
Farmers may be off to a late start this year after snowfall and low temperatures put them behind schedule. There is good news and bad news associated with the snow. The heavy snow insulated the ground, protecting micro-organisms that are good for corn. But the high water remaining in fields could strain the industry, said corn grower Scott Lonier, owner of Lonier Farms near Lansing. “We are at the mercy of Mother Nature right now,” he said.
Information for all Michigan trails – including those on the water – would soon be available at the click of a button under legislation recently introduced by lawmakers.
The record-breaking ice on Lake Superior is bad news for the steel industry but not for tourism in some parts of the Upper Peninsula.
Both University of Michigan and Michigan State University fan gear contained varying levels of potentially toxic chemicals, according to a recent study by the Ecology Center.
Farmers are treating cows with more than the usual number of pneumonia cases, chapped teats and udders, disturbed calving cycles and injuries from slipping on ice.
Despite the near-record snowfall in Michigan that created a banner year for snow-related sports, snowmobile fatalities haven’t climbed with the piles of snow.
Heavy snowfall is proving to be helpful for some of Michigan’s endangered species, like Karner blue butterflies.