Michigan leads the nation in potatoes produced for potato chips, but a deadly disease is killing up to half of potato farmers’ yield. MSU researchers are working on an environmentally safe treatment to slow disease spread.
State Rep. Ken Borton wants to allow recreational wildlife and bird feeding to be protected. He said the intent is to allow feeding of squirrels and other small animals. But state wildlife officials say that would encourage deer and elk to congregate, spreading disease.
In a conservative Michigan county, residents debate the availability of books some residents considered pornography, but which drew strong support from the library board and its attorney on First Amendment grounds.
Heavy winter storms resulted in eroded trails and fallen trees at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Tahquamenon Falls State Park. Park rangers are now working long hours to finish the repairs for the summer season.
Among possible changes to Michigan’s deer hunting regulations: More opportunity for youth and disabled hunters, and the return of antler-point restrictions in 19 Michigan counties.
Another geomagnetic storm is expected to make the light show visible across much of the northern U.S. late at night. Your odds improve if you are far from city lights, there is no cloud cover and luck is with you.
The Edenville and Sanford dams once blocked invasive lampreys from entering upstream rivers. But the 2020 dam failures provided an opening, and lamprey now threaten native fish. Regulators say they have a plan.
Nante Niemi of Wisconsin, missing since Saturday, was found on Monday hiding near a log two miles from his family’s campsite, Michigan State Police reported. He appeared to be in good health and was reunited with family.
Great Lakes whitefish are in decline, in part because dams block their passage to rivers where they once spawned. Tribal scientists are looking to save a fish of economic and cultural importance.
Democratic lawmakers want to end Michigan’s “shameful” reign as the only state without a statewide code to prevent leaky systems from fouling lakes, rivers and groundwater. Past efforts failed, but bill sponsors say the state’s surplus changes the conversation.
A small-town elections clerk investigated by Michigan State Police after questioning the accuracy of her own voting machines lost a recall election Tuesday night in Adams Township, according to unofficial results.
Warmer weather ushers in the start of tick season. Not all ticks carry disease but some can transmit bacteria that causes Lyme disease or triggers Alpha-gal Syndrome (AGS), which can lead to a red meat allergy.
Michigan Tech is launching a nursing program this fall, filling a void caused by Finlandia University’s recent decision to close. And Lake Superior State is expanding its program to train nurses to work in rural areas.
Opponents of solar development on Michigan’s farmland want to ban 'utility-scale; arrays on land zoned for farming. But the proposal is on hold, for now, amid confusion about what 'utility-scale' means.
Putting solar farms on agricultural land is meeting more resistance in rural areas. But in the emerging agrivoltaics movement, solar panels peacefully coexist with crops, allowing both to benefit from one another.
Traverse City nonprofit 20Fathoms is a hub for startups and entrepreneurs in an area known for seasonal job growth. In a Q and A, Executive Director Eric Roberts says the focus on tech growth will boost the ‘baseline economy’ by encouraging higher-paying, year-round jobs.
Among the species that newly receive threatened status are the Eastern whip-poor-will, evening grosbeak, golden-winged warbler, Northern goshawk, spruce grouse and upland sandpiper.
Many Michiganders likely were frustrated by the sudden return to frigid temperatures last week and the nearly 50-degree temperature shift could be a problem for some of this year’s fruit crop. But farmers say they are generally thankful for cooler temps.