Addressing chemical contamination in Michigan waterways, farmland and military bases remains a critical and complicated issue for legislators going into a new administration, Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said on a telephone town hall Monday night. PFAS, or Per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a group of industrial chemicals, commonly used in manufacturing to make heat resistant, water repellent, and non-stick products. Dubbed “forever chemicals” because of their long half-life in the human b...
Sep 19, 2024•3 min•Ep. 252
Michigan lawmakers are launching bipartisan efforts to increase police recruitment and benefits as the number of law enforcement officers trends downward in the state. U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., introduced legislation Friday that would provide $50 million annually to state and local law enforcement agencies to create “Pathways to Policing” programs aimed at boosting recruitment in the field. The programs would specifically target candidates from underrepresented communities or with non-tradi...
Sep 18, 2024•2 min•Ep. 251
Michigan House lawmakers are taking steps to increase online child safety by introducing a bill that would impact minors, their parents and social media companies. The Social Media Regulation Act, introduced by State Rep. Mark Tisdel, R-Rochester Hills, would require social media companies to verify the ages of new and existing users, restrict companies from collecting data or sharing minors’ personal information, and provide extensive parental controls. Among other requirements, social media co...
Sep 13, 2024•2 min•Ep. 250
Seven Michigan public school districts, the recipients of the first electric school buses in the state, reported mixed but mostly positive experiences about the vehicles since adopting them five years ago. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy released summaries of feedback on electric buses’ real-world performance, coming from public school districts in Ann Arbor, Gaylord, Kalamazoo, Oxford, Roseville, Three Rivers and Zeeland. Within the past two years alone, Michigan has dire...
Sep 12, 2024•3 min•Ep. 249
Following a Michigan Department of Education report showing drops in reading and math proficiency in some grades, Michigan House Republicans have unveiled a multi-step plan to boost student achievement and teacher support. The plan would provide extra funding for school safety and mental health resources, waive state fees for teachers and modernize the standard curriculum, State Reps. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, and Nancy DeBoer, R-Holland, announced Monday. Support this podcast: https://secure.an...
Sep 11, 2024•3 min•Ep. 248
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers addressed concerns voiced by Michigan lawmakers about the shipment of radioactive waste to Wayne Disposal, assuring the public all proper safety measures are in place and that environmental surveillance will continue throughout the transport process. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, had submitted a series of questions to the USACE, asking for details about its unexpected plan to ship 6,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil and concrete and 4,000 gallons of contam...
Sep 06, 2024•4 min•Ep. 247
The Michigan Department of Education is awarding nearly $25 million in grants to local public education agencies to fund K-5 mathematics programs aimed at improving math instruction and learning recovery. The announcement follows MDE data released last week showing mixed progress in mathematics learning in schools across the state. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full story: https://www.thecentersqua...
Sep 05, 2024•3 min•Ep. 246
Michigan’s U.S. Senate candidates are running on their records regarding labor and economic policy, but they are opposed on the role of electric vehicles. Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s approach to labor policy focuses primarily on supporting domestic manufacturing. Republican former Representative Mike Roger’s approach to labor policy focuses primarily on encouraging innovation and reducing government regulation, particularly for small businesses. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com...
Sep 04, 2024•3 min•Ep. 245
New data released from Michigan's Department of Education reveals mixed student progress in 2024, with some grades scoring higher on standardized tests than last year and others performing their lowest in years. Math, English language arts and science scores were gathered through the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, or M-STEP, for grades three through seven, while scores for older students came from PSAT and SAT results. Eleventh-graders had the worst overall decline, scoring lower...
Aug 30, 2024•3 min•Ep. 244
Detroit’s Election Commission is facing a lawsuit for selecting a disproportionately high number of Democrat poll workers in the August primaries, a possible violation of Michigan election law. The commission appointed about 2,337 Democrat poll workers and about 310 Republican poll workers, an imbalance of more than 7 to 1. Poll workers, also known as election inspectors, assist voters and manage ballot counting. They also identify and report any irregularities or issues that arise during the el...
Aug 29, 2024•2 min•Ep. 243
Republican lawmakers are not the only ones raising concerns about Michigan’s minimum wage changes. Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a motion with the state’s Supreme Court, asking for guidance on how to implement inflation adjustments. Nessel specifically pointed out how the court’s broad language in its July ruling could lead to five possible options for when and how to adjust the minimum wage over time, with the state Department of Treasury’s approach and the Department of Labor and Econ...
Aug 28, 2024•3 min•Ep. 242
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Enbridge Energy’s request for the Line 5 lawsuit Nessel v. Enbridge to receive a rehearing in federal court, returning the case to state court. The court Enbridge had missed the 30-day deadline after Nessel filed the lawsuit in June 2019 to appeal moving the case to federal court, and that it relied on improper arguments when doing so. The Canadian company had proposed boring a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac to house the pipeline more than five yea...
Aug 21, 2024•2 min•Ep. 241
Michigan has made progress addressing teacher shortages in hard-to-fill subjects and specialties within the past five years, the State Board of Education announced. Since the 2017-18 school year, the number of certified teachers teaching math jumped 60%, 31% for science, and 53% for English as a Second Language and bilingual education. The number of early childhood education teachers increased by 171%. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-94...
Aug 16, 2024•3 min•Ep. 240
Michigan's health department is taking applicants for a new “Michigan Racial Health Equity Think Tank.” The forum group is one part of the fiscal year 2025 state budget’s $35 million in Racial Disparities Task Force recommendations. The MDHHS website describes MiRHETT as a part of the Social Determinants of Health program, first implemented in 2022. The forum series will gather statewide leaders to “address and improve disparity gaps for racial minorities.” They will discuss final reports from t...
Aug 15, 2024•2 min•Ep. 239
After recent filings revealed electric battery producer Gotion receives subsidies from the Chinese Communist Party, state Sen. Lana Theis called on Michigan government officials to cease subsidizing the company’s $2.4 billion dollar project in central Michigan. Gotion CEO Chuck Thelen had previously maintained the Chinese government was not involved in the American wing of the company. But in July, the company admitted in a Foreign Agents Registration Act filing to receiving funding subsidies fr...
Aug 14, 2024•2 min•Ep. 238
Michigan’s local governments have until Aug. 12 to request funds from the $1.2 billion National Kroger Settlement on opioid abuse. The Great Lakes state is expected to receive $42 million over the course of 11 years. Eligible communities, at the city or county level, can apply for the funding to be used toward drug abuse treatment. Agreements are expected to be effective by early fall. Michigan previously received more than $1.6 billion in settlement funds from Allergan Pharmaceutical, CVS, Jans...
Aug 09, 2024•1 min•Ep. 237
U.S. Customs and Border Protection field operatives seized 266 pounds of cocaine last week from a tractor-trailer entering the country outbound from Canada, the agency revealed Tuesday. Alerted by K-9s, CPB field operatives found 100 bricks of narcotics stacked behind a false wall in the trailer trying to cross at the Blue Water Bridge port of entry. Agents arrested the driver, a Canadian citizen, once testing confirmed the drugs were cocaine. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/fran...
Aug 08, 2024•2 min•Ep. 236
Democrat Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers were confirmed Tuesday night as party nominees for the U.S. Senate as Michigan held its primary election. Current U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, will retire after finishing her current term. Stabenow joined Slotkin on stage after the race was called, and offered her endorsement. Slotkin beat actor Hill Harper with more than 76% percent of the vote, and ogers defeated former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash and physician ...
Aug 07, 2024•2 min•Ep. 235
Michigan's Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Wednesday the state's Republican-led legislature in 2018 acted unconstitutionally when it changed the language of a petition that would raise the state’s minimum wage immediately before it became law. The minimum wage in Michigan is currently $10.33 per hour for non-tipped workers and $3.93 per hour for tipped workers. Following the court’s decision, the minimum wage will rise to at least $12 an hour starting Feb. 21. Tipped workers will receive the same min...
Aug 02, 2024•4 min•Ep. 234
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently highlighted the need for the state government and the media to work together in combating election misinformation, as public trust in the media has hit an all-time low. Nessel also emphasized her department’s work to address voter or poll worker intimidation, set up a hotline for voters to report suspicious election-related activities, and prosecute election fraud and other crimes. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-founda...
Aug 01, 2024•2 min•Ep. 233
Candidates in Michigan's U.S. Senate race disagree on issues ranging from electric vehicles to crime, but most recently, they've clashed over foreign policy. U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich, is facing former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers. Republicans hope to flip the seat as incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow is not running for reelection. Slotkin criticized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent address to Congress, saying he “continues to play politics.” Support this podcast: https://secur...
Jul 31, 2024•3 min•Ep. 232
Michigan has a new way to address its EMT shortage. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a law that would extend temporary EMT and paramedic licenses from 120 days to a year. House Bills 4613 and 4614 were sponsored by state Rep. Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_064371d0-4ab6-11ef-b890-e35831d24bf7.html...
Jul 26, 2024•2 min•Ep. 231
Nearly six months after the Michigan Legislature repealed Right to Work laws, more groups of workers are taking action against what they say are coercive measures of some unions to collect fees. Mechanics from Brown Motors in Petoskey and drivers from MV Transportation in Ypsilanti successfully voted recently to remove their union officials' powers to collect union dues from nonunion members. The Brown Motors mechanics voted by 75% against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, National Rig...
Jul 25, 2024•3 min•Ep. 230
Trump supporters in Michigan expressed varied but mostly positive opinions about his vice-presidential pick from Ohio, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, during street interviews with The Center Square. At the Saturday Trump rally in Grand Rapids, the first featuring Vance, many people interviewed knew little about him, but those who did expressed positive opinions. Katie from Grand Rapids, who works in finance and declined to give her last name, said she thinks Vance is a great pick, especially because of h...
Jul 24, 2024•3 min•Ep. 229
Michigan's governor, secretary of state and three other officials are facing a lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign this week over granting some government offices the power to conduct voter registration. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order in December meant to designate certain state offices, including the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to act as voter registration agencies. The governor said this would make it easier for Michiganders...
Jul 19, 2024•3 min•Ep. 228
A recent report on Michigan’s Child Protection Agency shows organizational issues that have been going on for at least six years. An audit completed in 2018 revealed a failure to conduct background checks, major delays in abuse investigations, failure to meet with some victims, and a lack of safety plans for identified victims. The updated report, conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Auditor General, reveals these issues have not been addressed. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot....
Jul 18, 2024•2 min•Ep. 227
Michigan politicians from both sides of the aisle took to social media this weekend to show support for former President Donald Trump following an attempted assassination at a campaign rally. Trump’s upper ear was pierced by a rifle’s bullet during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, narrowly missing his forehead. Since then, many voices have come forward to condemn the murder attempt, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan GOP Chairman Pete Hoekstra. Support this podcast: https:/...
Jul 17, 2024•3 min•Ep. 226
Four weeks out from Michigan’s Primary Election Day, more than 1.5 million of the state’s voters have requested or received an absentee ballot, breaking records set in 2020. More than 178,000 of those voters have already submitted a completed ballot. Support this podcast: https://secure.anedot.com/franklin-news-foundation/ce052532-b1e4-41c4-945c-d7ce2f52c38a?source_code=xxxxxx Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_043034da-3f9b-11ef-8c4c-0b03daed14ce.html...
Jul 12, 2024•2 min•Ep. 225
For multiple years, the deer population in southern Michigan has been out of control. Cars and crops have suffered alike from a deer surplus, but local conservationists say relaxed hunting regulations could solve the issue. Last year alone, deer were involved in 58,000 car wrecks, killing 19 people. Herds cause millions in crop damage per year. The problem is only exacerbated by declining hunting rates, which were down by 10% last year according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Supp...
Jul 11, 2024•2 min•Ep. 224
Consumers Energy, the largest Michigan utility company, made a commitment Monday to install 1,500 public electric vehicle chargers by 2030 across the state. The decision would make transportation history yet again in the home of the automobile. Consumer’s goal, as a part of the new Transportation Electrification Plan, would nearly double the number of publicly accessible electric charging stations in the state. The plan builds on DTE Energy’s goal to create 620 public fast chargers by 2028. Supp...
Jul 10, 2024•2 min•Ep. 223
