In an exclusive op-ed for the ‘Gander, Michigan Sen. Erika Geiss and former Colorado State Sen. Jessie Ulibarri argue that Michigan needs to pass paid family and medical leave into law in 2024. If we’ve seen one thing this year, it’s that Michigan’s working families know how to fight for a better future. From autoworkers to Blue Cross Blue Shield and casino workers, we have seen our people show up for one another in the face of corporate power. But we mustn’t abandon workers once strikes end. With costs remaining high, and the end of federal childcare funding putting us on a “child care cliff ..read more

Grant funding awarded through Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration will help Michigan cities and road commissions rebuild local roads in a dozen communities. MICHIGAN—A total of $4 million in state grant funding announced this week by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration will go toward fixing several well-traveled local roads across Michigan. “These grants will help communities across Michigan fix local roads faster to get people to work, allow businesses to expand, and move goods all year round,” Whitmer said in a statement. The funding comes from the state’s Transportation Economic Devel ..read more

BY ANNA LIZ NICHOLS, MICHIGAN ADVANCE The day before the second anniversary of the mass shooting at Oxford High School, survivors and their parents met for a roundtable discussion at Oakland University on how Michigan can prevent another school shooting. Thursday will mark two years since the mass shooting at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021, that killed four students and injured seven others. “This is something I’ll live with for the rest of my life and it’s something I don’t go a day without thinking about,” former Oxford student Maddie Johnson told the Advance. Johnson has described the ..read more

BY JON KING, MICHIGAN ADVANCE  MICHIGAN—A little over a week after ratifying contracts with the Detroit Three automakers, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union announced on Tuesday it had reached  a tentative agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBSM) and its HMO subsidiary, Blue Care Network. Approximately 1,300 UAW members have been on strike since Sept. 13—before the strike began against Ford, Stellantis and GM—and will remain on the picket line until ratification of the proposed deal, which includes what the union called “historic wins” including “significant” genera ..read more

Clean energy standards signed into law this week are poised to accelerate Michigan’s transition to cleaner—and much more affordable—energy for all Michigan families. MICHIGAN—Long-awaited legislation signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer this week will create new clean energy standards for the state’s electricity providers, requiring them to source most—and eventually all—of their energy through renewable sources over the next 17 years. And beyond helping tackle the climate change crisis and protect the environment, the new laws are set to lower household utility costs by an average of $145 ..read more

A new state law signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will cut ‘red tape’ in public schools and ensure teachers spend more time teaching their students instead of teaching to the test. MICHIGAN—Democratic-led legislation signed into law last week by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is designed to provide Michigan students with more personalized, face-to-face learning with teachers instead of burying kids in lessons designed exclusively for standardized testing. “Today’s bills take important steps to further cut unnecessary red tape and reduce government bureaucracy in schools to ensure that educators can spend ..read more

LANSING—Michigan is joining an effort to curb deceptive uses of artificial intelligence and manipulated media through state-level policies as Congress and the Federal Elections Commission continue to debate more sweeping regulations ahead of the 2024 elections. Campaigns on the state and federal level will be required to clearly say which political advertisements airing in Michigan were created using artificial intelligence under legislation expected to be signed in the coming days by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat. It also would prohibit use of AI-generated deepfakes within 90 days of an e ..read more

State officials are confident that new regulatory controls will prevent PFAS-contaminated biosolids from being spread on more Michigan farms. But farmers want more testing—and federal resources—to ensure their livelihoods are protected. MICHIGAN—Jason Grostic didn’t expect to be the last generation to run his century-old cattle farm in Livingston County. But after state officials learned that his fertilizer had been slowly poisoning his farm for longer than a decade, Grostic said he wasn’t left with many options. He likened his situation to being diagnosed with a form of terminal cancer. “It’s ..read more

In an op-ed, Michigan teacher Mercedes Harvey-Flowers advocates for more student voices in the decision making process and shares how students turned their complaints into innovative solutions. The room is warm; that sticky, sweaty, kind of smelly warm that you only feel in a high school classroom. The hum of fans circulating the heavy air amplifies the silence around me. Students waffle between staring at me and staring at the screens of their laptops. After 20 minutes of this, I rise from my perch on the heater. “Shut your computers,” I instruct, as I pass out scrap paper and pens. “Grab a p ..read more

BY ANNA LIZ NICHOLS, MICHIGAN ADVANCE The Michigan Attorney General’s office announced earlier this month that after five years since the investigation into sexual abuse within the Catholic Church began, the office has wrapped up all active cases against clergy members with many incidents dating back decades. A total of 11 Catholic priests were charged in the statewide investigation. Back in 2018, the Department of Attorney General executed search warrants for all of Michigan’s dioceses, reporting that they seized 220 boxes of documents and more than 3.5 million digital documents. “Our team co ..read more