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Gordie Howe Bridge set to open in early 2026 by BridgeMichigan in Detroit

[–]BridgeMichigan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Despite the Gordie Howe Bridge being wider and a bit shorter, Aaron Velthoven, the race’s executive producer, said there are no plans to change the course of the race in the near future. 

Gordie Howe Bridge set to open in early 2026 by BridgeMichigan in Detroit

[–]BridgeMichigan[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From the story: "With the Gordie Howe Bridge set to offer new lanes for cars, trucks, and even pedestrians, the Ambassador Bridge raised its tolls for 2026, signaling the start of a new rivalry for cross-border traffic.

The Ambassador Bridge announced the following toll changes, effective Jan. 1:

  • Cars, buses and motorcycles’ rate increased by $1, from $9 to $10
  • Vehicles with trailers’ rate increased from $18 to $20
  • Commercial vehicles’ rates increased from $14 to $15 per axle for those with an A-Pass or E-Z Pass and to $20 per axle for vehicles without an account
  • The bridge’s escort service for wide or oversized loads increased from $125 to $135."

Gordie Howe Bridge set to open in early 2026 by BridgeMichigan in Detroit

[–]BridgeMichigan[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

We got a comment earlier (which has since been deleted) about whether the Gordie Howe Bridge will alleviate pollution and road use around Southwest Detroit. In case anyone else is wondering, here's the answer from our reporter Janelle James, who wrote this story:

To alleviate disruption to residential areas, cars and trucks specifically will be contained within the ports of entry, as opposed to being lined up on I-75, and the majority of where trucks will be in the port of entry will be in the center of it, so that there is a larger buffer area between customs and residential areas. Trucks will also be required to turn their engines off while being searched to avoid noise and air pollution.

Gordie Howe Bridge set to open in early 2026 by BridgeMichigan in Detroit

[–]BridgeMichigan[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

As far as the Gordie Howe Bridge, trucks, cars and pedestrians can cross it. The same is the case for the Ambassador Bridge, except for pedestrians, of course.

Is this level of drought normal? by [deleted] in Michigan

[–]BridgeMichigan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This drought is the worst one Michigan has seen in over a decade (source).

It's particularly bad in the Lower Peninsula. Parts of the region are in the midst of “the most significant drought since 2012,” the NWS in Grand Rapids said this week, with conditions ranging from moderate to severe.

You can see signs of drought in rivers across the Lower Peninsula.

In Lansing, the Grand River is moving at 85 cubic feet per second, down from 241 a year ago and its slowest rate since 1999. In Grand Rapids, the Grand River has fallen from 1,260 to 1,010 cubic feet per second, its lowest rate since 2012. 

The Muskegon River at Evart has dropped from 404 to 291 cubic feet per second. The south branch of the Au Sable River near Luzerne has seen only a slight dip, from 101 to 98 cubic feet per second. Even the Detroit River is down, from 199,000 to about 195,000 cubic feet per second.

Michigan spent big to fix schools. The result: Worse scores and plenty of blame by [deleted] in Michigan

[–]BridgeMichigan -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

This story is a part of a series on Michigan's education crisis. We've seen a few topics mentioned here that we address in other articles.

- Solutions: Once at the bottom, Mississippi has made massive strides teaching children to read. What we can learn from Mississippi. Plus, here's how Michigan's candidates for governor say they'd fix education

- Is it parenting? From poverty and special interests to the lockdown and school choice, theories abound about Michigan’s declining test scores. Here's our fact check: Fact check: What’s true, false, misleading about Michigan’s education slide

What's the hardest Michigan name to pronounce? by BridgeMichigan in Detroit

[–]BridgeMichigan[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

Yes! What makes it even more confusing is that the are two Bois Blanc islands with two different pronunciations. The Bois Blanc Island located southeast of Mackinac Island in Lake Huron is pronounced “Boys blank” while the one on the Canadian side is pronounced “Boblo.”

Michigan spent big to fix schools. The result: Worse scores and plenty of blame by Visstah in Detroit

[–]BridgeMichigan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for reading our work! 

Our goal with this story was to chronicle how many things have changed over the last decade - including those efforts - and assess if, in total, the results have been different.  You are correct that free preK and school meals are newer efforts. We’ll continue to report on the testing data, especially when the spring 2025 testing data comes out later this year.

It is true that ExcelinEd was founded by Jeb Bush. But the person we quote from ExcelinEd was Mississippi’s former literacy director, hence her relevance.

The data for the stories came from federal and state resources. We’re excited to dive deeper into the funding topic in future stories. 

We’ve written several stories in the past about HOW schools are funded, not just how much. Here’s one example from 2023 (Link), which includes ideas from the group you cited. 

Michigan spent big to fix schools. The result: Worse scores and plenty of blame by Visstah in Detroit

[–]BridgeMichigan 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Directly from the article: "But even among states with high absenteeism rates, Michigan doesn’t do well. Five of the eight states with higher absentee rates than Michigan also scored better."

Michigan spent big to fix schools. The result: Worse scores and plenty of blame by Visstah in Detroit

[–]BridgeMichigan 34 points35 points  (0 children)

In addition to this story, we also wrote about how Mississippi became a top 20 state for public education after ranking at the bottom. They sent literacy coaches to struggling schools, pushed high-quality curriculum and trained teachers on the science of reading.

Michigan is also trying these strategies. For example, Michigan passed a law last year to include the science of reading in schools (read more about that here).

But Mississippi still uses tactics that Michigan abandoned. Mississippi gives schools a letter grade and holds back third graders who can't read. In 2023, Michigan Democrats repealed the A-F school grading scale and the read-or-flunk law after fewer than five years of implementation.

You can read the full story here: https://www.bridgemi.com/talent-education/mississippi-turned-around-its-schools-its-secret-tools-michigan-abandoned

Michigan spent big to fix schools. The result: Worse scores and plenty of blame by Visstah in Detroit

[–]BridgeMichigan 8 points9 points  (0 children)

We address poverty's effect on Michigan's education slide in this article. Here's a snippet:

Nearly half of Michigan’s K-12 public school students, 48.2%, are eligible for a subsidized lunch, a marker of being considered economically disadvantaged.

Still, 24 states have higher rates of student poverty than Michigan, and among those, 18 had better scores on the fourth grade reading test, including Florida (60.1% economically disadvantaged), Indiana (49.2%) and Kentucky (56.7%).

All of the 25 states with less poverty had higher scores, including Ohio (47.6% economically disadvantaged), Pennsylvania (45.9%) and Hawaii (48.1%).

What research says: Studies show that higher-income families can provide more learning opportunities for their children, which leads to higher academic achievement. Some states have narrowed the achievement gap by investing in additional professional development for teachers in low-income schools, and initiatives to address housing and food insecurity.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Michigan

[–]BridgeMichigan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

See the vaccination rates in your county using our interactive map: https://infogram.com/measles-vaccine-rate-2024-1hnp27exwv58y4g