Great Lakes Echo (https://greatlakesecho.org/prominence/homepage-featured/page/218/)
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Food entrepreneurs in Michigan could take an idea to a frozen meal on the shelves of your grocery store using a proposed mock production line.
Proponents hope to generate an additional $300 million to $400 million in sales and 1,000 jobs annually at the center proposed near Lansing.
The center would be one of a kind targeting medium-sized businesses.
Read more.
Editor’s note: Great Lakes Echo commentator Gary Wilson sat down with Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder in Chicago for a one-on-one interview Friday. Here’s Wilson’s take on what the governor had to say. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder brought his Great Lakes message to Chicago today as the region’s governors gathered in Chicago for an annual meeting. Snyder co-chairs the Council of Great Lakes Governors with Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn. The two executives revived the dormant governors group on Mackinac Island last year and the Chicago meeting is an attempt to maintain momentum.
Michigan communities might see more local roads turned to gravel in coming months, thanks to winter’s remaining grip. The rough winter has given Michigan’s road funding concerns a violent push into statewide spotlight as discussion swirls at the Capitol. But road commissions across the state are eyeing the immediate impact that deeply rooted frost has on a local level. County road commissions have increasingly taken up the practice of permanently or temporarily turning paved roads into gravel in recent years to deal with issues of low funding and poor road conditions, said Joe Pulver, Clinton County Road Commission managing director. Last year, about half of Michigan counties were forced to convert paved roads to gravel, said Monica Ware, the communications and development manager for the County Road Association of Michigan.
An Ontario court has ruled in favor of a wind turbine project that put environmental groups at odds with each other.
On one side are supporters of an alternative energy project. On the other are those favoring the protection of a threatened turtle species and fragile soil.
The status of using what are also called Unmanned Aerial Vehicles — UAVs -commercially is in a holding pattern after a federal judge ruled last month that the Federal Aviation Administration had no authority to issue a $10,000 fine against a Virginia drone pilot.
That set off celebrations in the drone community that were short-lived.
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.
Feeling that elected officials have betrayed them in the battle over piles of petroleum coke on the Southeast Side of Chicago, residents have vowed to take the fight to the streets and into their own hands.
In “Canvas Detroit,” Nichole Christian and Julie Pincus profile the Motor City’s brightest and most diverse of up and coming street artists. From murals on boulevards to grass sculptures, their work can actively improve the urban environment and shine a light on previously ignored and abandoned cityscapes. Detroit is a city that needs “problem solving,” Christian says, and art won’t solve it all. But the city is fostering a wickedly creative atmosphere that is ripe for revitalization. Christian recently explained to Great Lakes Echo the importance of street art and how it can revitalize a city.
While the debate over the long-term environmental impact of what is commonly known as fracking rages, researchers at Penn State University say they have discovered how to use industrial waste products to make the practice more sustainable. During the lifetime of a fracking well, millions of gallons of water are pumped deep into the ground, causing immense fractures and releasing natural gas from the underlying shale deposits. Mixed into the water are chemicals of variable toxicity. But it also contains sand particles to keep fractures open, allowing the natural gas to continue flowing. These particles, known as proppants, are the focus of Penn State material scientists John Hellmann and Barry Scheetz’s research.
By Alison Dirr
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Perry Schmitt describes himself as pro-mining but blames the frac sand mine across the highway from his home for driving down the asking price by more than $25,000, to $189,000. His neighbors made out better. Kari Curran and her husband sold 130 acres for $1.5 million to a company affiliated with Unimin Mining Corp., operator of the mine. The property was previously valued at about $225,000. “It was kind of bittersweet,” Curran said.