Rural Michigan

Military veterans are at higher risk of suicide than the general population, even more so for veterans from rural areas, which have far fewer therapists. A large U.S. study found rural vets who received tablets for remote visits were far more likely to get mental health treatment, with fewer ER visits and lower suicide rates.

Michigan’s messiest primary may be Up North, where Republican activists offered one candidate a government job to drop out of the race and a conservative radio host is running as a Democrat.

The governor hopes a new federal funding source can prolong the plant’s life, protecting jobs and preventing the need to burn more fossil fuels for energy. But plant owners say that, for now, they’re sticking with plans to close.

Michigan hunters are so adept at hunting elk that state regulators now say a rarely used season in January is no longer necessary.

Authors Dave McVeigh and Jim Bolone joined Bridge Michigan on Wednesday to discuss their coming-of-age novel set on Mackinac Island.

Limits could go from 3 to 2 per day because recreational anglers exceeded limits with Michigan tribes.

A list of 20 resolutions is exposing some fault lines among Democrats. Causes like tribal issues made the cut, while some favored by urban and rural blocs did not.

Sales were brisk at Up North Family Cafe for two years, and it expanded. But now increased costs while customers seem worried about their own finances are insurmountable. The restaurant will close Friday.

Whitewater Township Planning Commission member Mike Jacobson, 59, said he did not intend to offend, but used a term employed by his parents and grandparents from the 1960’s. In his mind, he said, it was not much different from the term, “people of color.”

Michigan is sitting on a massive mineral deposit that could create a billion-dollar industry. The state this week finalized plans to spend $50 million in taxpayer funds to help a private company extract potash, a critical and increasingly costly component of fertilizers used at farms across the country but primarily imported from Canada, Russia and Belarus.

In an overwhelmingly white region around Traverse City, residents are divided over the implications of the latest incident, in which a public official made reference to “colored people.”

Great Lakes invasive species cling to shipments and navigate canals to migrate, but one aquatic invader — sea lamprey — benefitted from border closures instead.

Demand for seasonal workers from other countries is setting a record this year. That leaves Northern Michigan’s hospitality industry struggling to fill the worker positions that drive tourism.

Community volunteers are filling the Three Pines Studio, making linen tea towels that are shipped from tiny Cross Village to across the U.S. They’re sold as a fundraiser to alleviate hunger during the Russian invasion.

Conservationists cheer the comeback, but some fear it could lead to the loosening of regulations.

Hunting, trapping expanded to nine more counties. Michigan says populations are stable enough to support the expansion, but the vote comes as other states move away from such hunts.

The internet is now part of our lives in ways many of us have not expected, so it can no longer be treated as anything other than a basic utility. If we want to see results and see our communities move forward, we need to act fast.

Fissures over COVID safety protections in schools have left a region divided and sent a veteran health officer packing.

Legal experts say the public trust doctrine in Michigan should be expanded to protect groundwater, but they don't think legislators should target water bottling operations. They believe all users should be treated the same.

Join us April 13 for our next Bridge Book Club discussion. Co-authors Dave McVeigh and Jim Bolone will discuss this coming-of-age novel. Bridge members will receive a free e-version of the book.