News

A 25-year veteran at the Michigan Department of Transportation is moving on. M-DOT Chief Operating Officer Greg Johnson has been named as the new State Highway Administrator for the Maryland Department of Transportation. Johnson joined M-DOT as a staff engineer in the MDOT Southwest Region in 1989. He has served …

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is proposing new rules regarding air-pollution permits, but at least one environmental group doesn’t like them. The proposed rules would bring the number of automatically regulated contaminants down from about 1,200 to 756. DEQ spokeswoman, Barb Rosenbaum, says the new rules exclude low-toxicity non-carcinogens …

The new head of Michigan’s Democratic Party wants lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered advocates to forge ahead on a 2016 ballot initiative seeking anti-discrimination protections. Some advocates say doing so could be pricey but Brandon Dillon says – with little education – it would do well at the ballot box. …

A bill introduced this week in the Michigan House would create a new, yearly fee drivers would have to pay. It would be based on the number of miles you drive; $50 for every 10,000 miles. State Representative Robert Kosowski is sponsoring the measure. He says the fee would be …

The effort to revamp Michigan’s way of providing legal help to poor people charged with crimes is taking another step forward. The Michigan Indigent Defense Commission sent a survey to chief judges and court administrators to measure how well the poor are represented. It’s part of a larger effort to …

Some Michigan drivers say they could get behind increasing the state’s speed limit to 80 miles an hour. Right now it’s 70. Wanda, who was taking a motorcycle ride from southeast Michigan to Dexter, tells the Michigan Radio Network at a rest area outside of Lansing most people travel faster …

It might cost more to take the teacher certification exam in Michigan under a bill before a House committee. The measure, which has already passed the Senate, would remove the cap on the cost for the exam. Currently the cap is $50 and $75 respectively. The thinking on the state’s …

Will the 97th District Court have a judge in the future? The State Court Administrative Office is calling for the cutting of nine trial court judgeships, and the addition of three others. Of the courts listed in their report, the district court judgeship serving Houghton, Baraga and Keweenaw County would …

More than 20 students are spreading their wings and learning to fly this summer. Flight training during this week’s Summer Youth Program at Michigan Tech taught the basics of flying an airplane to 18 international students and three from the United States. The international students are from South Korea, part …

A West Branch Township man accused of child abuse and torture had his case bound over to circuit court. 27–year–old Nicholas Racine appeared in Marquette County District Court Thursday. Police arrested Racine back on June 25th. According to the Michigan State Police, Racine is accused of severely injuring a 3–month–old …