Community News

Scientist describes first documented meteotsunami in the Great Lakes.

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GREAT LAKES METEOTSUNAMI: Large waves from Lake Michigan struck Ludington on April 13, 2018, in the first documented case of a meteotsunami in the Great Lakes. That event provides an opportunity for scientists to better understand and forecast such events. Will meteotsunamis become more frequent in the summer due to climate change and to assess their danger to the ecosystem by increasing erosion and releasing contaminants from sediments? An expert at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor explains. By Brandon Chew. FOR LUDINGTON, OCEANA, BENZIE, HOLLAND, ALCONA, TRAVERSE CITY, HARBOR SPRINGS, LEELANAU, PETOSKEY, CHEBOYGAN, ST. IGNACE, SAULT STE. MARIE, MONROE, MARQUETTE AND ALL POINTS.

Arts & Entertainment

Three Michigan buildings make historic places list

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HISTORIC REGISTER: The Grosse Pointe Central Library, the Detroit Savings Bank Southwest Branch building and Hickory (Masonic) Lodge No. 345 in Hickory Corners have just won National Park Service inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Earlier this spring, the Park Service approved three other Michigan sites: the Bailey Buildings in Lansing, the Ojibway Fire Tower in Isle Royale National Park and Camp Black Lake in Ocqueoc Township, Presque Isle County. Note to editors: May is Historic Preservation Month. By Kirsten Rintelmann. FOR DETROIT, HOLLAND, IONIA, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy

DNR offers $1 million to improve wildlife habitat

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WILDLIFE GRANTS: The DNR plans to award about $1 million in wildlife habitat grants this year under a program that was sidelined by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. We talk to DNR program manager and past grant winners Lenawee Conservation District and Michigan chapter of the National Turkey Federation. Past grants went for the federation’s habitat work in Oceana, Lake, Newaygo, Barry, Muskegon, Manistee, Alcona, Crawford, Oscoda, LIVINGSTON and Otsego counties. For news and outdoors pages. By Kirsten Rintelmann. FOR BLISSFIELD, MONROE, CRAWFORD COUNTY, OCEANA COUNTY, MANISTEE, ALCONA, LAKE COUNTY, LUDINGTON, FOWLERVILLE AND ALL POINTS.

Conservation
Adult zebra mussels are large enough to be seen in containers with moss balls.

Forget freighter ballast, these mussels got here on moss balls

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MOSS BALLS: The new hitchhikers in the Great Lakes region aren’t stopping drivers with a thumbs up. They’re riding moss balls across the ocean, and aquarium owners should be on the lookout for invasive zebra mussels. The warnings come from MSU Extension, Michigan and Wisconsin natural resource departments and the U.S. Geological Survey. By Taylor Haelterman. FOR ALL POINTS.

Commentary
In 2018 goldenrod shimmering in the summer sun reclaims what had once been a golf course in East Lansing.

Needed: wild places in urban spaces

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URBAN GREEN SPACE: An abandoned golf course near the the edge of the MSU campus had been shrouded by tallgrass and sparkling goldenrod, filled with asters and milkweed that lured birds every summer, with sycamores and willows shading the shore of the Red Cedar River. Now that sanctuary is gone amidst development, and its disappearance is a reminder of the importance of urban greenspace. Commentary. By Marshall Lee Weimer. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy

Record visitation at Michigan’s national parks expected to continue

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NATIONAL PARKS: Despite the pandemic, the number of visitors to Sleeping Bear National Lakeshore and Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore zoomed last year, and so did problems with parking and insufficient staffing. How are park managers planning to handle another possible onrush this summer? Isle Royale numbers, however, plummeted because the ferries between the island and the mainland shut down. By Samuel Blatchford. FOR MARQUETTE, LEELANAU, TRAVERSE CITY, SAULT STE. MARIE AND ALL POINTS.

Diversity Issues
Children playing nearby air pollution sources in Detroit’s Delray neighborhood.

Chronic health problems linked to pollution fuels environmental justice movement

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DIRTY AIR: Environmental justice activists say the health of residents in Southeast Michigan’s communities of color is disproportionately harmed by poor air quality. Studies show that one indicator of the disparities is the high rate of asthma in some Detroit neighborhoods. We talk with Detroiters Working for Environment Justice and the deputy director of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy. By Jakkar Aimery. FOR DETROIT AND ALL POINTS

Environment

A new EPA app aims to help track water quality at beaches

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WATER TESTING: The EPA has a new app to help monitor contamination at freshwater beaches and other water recreation spots. But Michigan is ahead of the game with the BeachGuard program it’s been using for years. Last summer’s closures included beaches in Leelanau, Grand Traverse, Macomb, Hurron and Isabella counties. We talk to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and District Health Department #10, which covers Crawford, Kalkaska, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Missaukee, Newaygo and Oceana counties. By Sophia Lada. FORCRAWFORD COUNTY, OCEANA COUNTY, BIG RAPIDS, LUDINGTON, LAKE COUNTY, MANISTEE, TRAVERSE CITY, LEELANAU, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.