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Stateside for Monday, October 21st, 2013

There's a labor shortage in West Michigan. Construction jobs are going unfilled. We look at what that means for the housing industry and the economy as a whole. 

And, after this weekend's loss to the Boston Red Sox, Tigers Manager Jim Leyland announced he's stepping down today.

We found out more about the man who led the Tigers to win the last three AL Central Division titles.

Also, George and Ira Gershwin are important figures in the history of American music, but there has never been a definitive edition of their joint body of work, but now the Gershwin family is teaming up with the University of Michigan to change that.

We spoke to the editor-in-chief of the George and Ira Gershwin Critical Edition to find out more.

First on the show, Bridge Magazine is taking a close look at the challenges Michigan faces as we try to improve our education system.

The starting point for all of this is where Michigan students stand as compared to students across America, and then how students in the U.S. compare to other nations.

American students rank 17th in reading, 23rd in science and 31st in Math, which puts us behind students in countries such as Poland and Slovenia.

As for Michigan, we're somewhere in the middle of the U.S. 'pack.' Education week ranked Michigan's K-12 education system 24th. And the National Assessment of Educational Progress exam found Michigan kids are 39th in 4th-grade math and 30th in 8th Grade reading.

This begs the question: How well are students in Michigan prepared for the good education that is needed to enter the middle class?

Bridge Magazine Senior Writer Ron French is seeking the answer in his series of special reports for Bridge Magazine. He joined us today to tell us more.

Stateside is produced daily by a dedicated group of producers and production assistants. Listen daily, on-air, at 3 and 8 p.m., or subscribe to the daily podcast wherever you like to listen.