Art
Author asks why residents don’t help Great Lakes more
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Author Dave Dempsey’s latest book steps back from policy and homes in on the hearts of Great Lakes residents to talk about their connection to the lakes.
Waste
Michigan tries to boost recycling rate, but critics argue it won’t be enough
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Michigan is offering grants of up to $500,000 to improve local recycling programs. When Emmet County got a similar state grant, it bought new and bigger recycling bins for curbside pickup. The amount of recycling jumped. That’s the kind of improvement the state is hoping for with the new round of grants because its recycling rate is way below national averages.
Land
Michigan cherry growers happy to see new tariff on Turkish cherries
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Embattled Michigan cherry growers got a win last month when the president revoked Turkey’s duty-free status for cherry juice. But while the move keeps Turkey from getting free access to the U.S. market, growers say the tariff is not big enough to keep away imports that harm prices.
Energy
Attack energy waste to reduce bills, Michigan tells Upper Peninsula plants
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Small manufacturers in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are getting state help to attack some of the highest electric rates in the nation.
Agriculture
Local and environment officials object to farm rules change
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An annual update to Michigan state agriculture practices could allow for farms to be built anywhere, critics say. But supporters of the update say that is untrue and that the proposal simplifies building procedures for many existing farms and that could lead to more agricultural business.
Homepage Featured
With preseason sales up, snowmobile industry hoping for snow
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Traffic on Michigan snowmobile trails took a nosedive during the recession but was up last year.
Echo
Most northern Michigan roadside parks have closed for the winter
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Travelers sometimes wish that the parks could stay open year-round, but the cost of continual snow removal and heating facilities during the winter is simply not in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s budget.
Homepage Featured
Infrared cameras will track PFAS contamination from Wurtsmith Air Force Base
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A wireless all-weather infrared camera system will be placed around Van Etten Lake in Oscoda Township to detect PFAS discharge from the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base.
Agriculture
Two new plants needed to process $1.6 billion in Michigan milk
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Michigan farmers, now among the top dairy producers in the nation, are suffering from the state’s lack of capacity to process milk. New plants are in the works for Greenville and St. Johns. We talk to a Westphalia farmer, Michigan Milk Producers, Farm Bureau and Department of Agriculture & Rural Development
Coal
New report discloses how much toxic coal ash Michigan utilities produce
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Michigan electric utilities last year produced nearly 1.5 million tons of toxic coal ash, a material that may threaten the state’s drinking water. The amount of the material stored in landfills and settling ponds and that can contain arsenic, mercury and lead was reported recently in a study by the Michigan Environmental Council.