Tagged: Stateside

Two laws took effect this week in Michigan, one concerning abortion and the other concerning marijuana. The state Legislature passed the controversial bills in a frenzy of activity last December.

Let's start with the new bill concerning abortion. 

Chad Livingood is the Lansing reporter for the Detroit News and Chris Gautz is  the Capitol correspondent for Crain's Detroit Business. 

They outlined the new law for us, which regulates abortion clinics that provide surgical abortions. 

Michigan high schools currently require students to take foreign language in grades nine through twelve. Well, that might change soon.

Republican State Representative Phil Potvin of Cadillac is pushing a bill that would make studying a foreign language and algebra II merely an option for students.

Last year House Bill 4102 was heard in the 96th Legislature, but wasn't voted on. Potvin expects the bill to be voted on this year.

"The real reason to do this is that our kids have such a tight curriculum now. [This bill] would allow them some choices."

U.S. media shape many Americans' perceptions of the Middle East.

The general lack of knowledge about the culture, society and economy of a part of the world that is so closely connected to the United States was the impetus for a joint effort between the University of Michigan and Qatar University.

Together, the schools have created the Social and Economic Survey Research Institute, charged with the mission of conducting state of the art social science research in the Arab Gulf.

Michigan Radio's Cynthia Canty spoke with Mark Tessler, a University of Michigan Professor of Political Science and a principal researcher at the Institute.

Yesterday, Ann Arbor was buzzing with maize and blue fans as Michigan made its way to the Final Four for the first time since the Fab Five era.

Now, we all want to know what will happen next.

Will Trey Burke win the College Player of the Year award? What will Michigan need to do as they face Syracuse?

Michigan Radio's sports commentator John U. Bacon joined Cynthia Canty to relive yesterday's greatest moments and talk about what we should expect from the Wolverines.

To listen to the full audio, click the link above.

Michigan officially becomes a right-to-work state today. It's the 24th state in the nation to do so, and the 2nd in the Midwest.

On today's show, we'll find out just what Michiganders think of the new controversial law.

And we'll find out why a group of Republicans in Michigan are calling on Republican National Committeeman Dave Agema to resign.

We also talk about how budget cuts are affecting Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and we'll talk about the history of Belle Isle.

And we'll hear about "Nerd Night" in Ann Arbor.

But first, we talk with state budget director John Nixon about coming federal budget cuts and how he expects these cuts to affect Michigan's bottom line.

'The sequester' has generated a nervous buzz throughout the nation as we wait to see if the federal budget cuts will be a big deal. 

For some agencies in Michigan, the cuts are already here.

Let's take a look at one of the state's most popular scenic tourist destinations - the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Last year, the Dunes had a record year with 1.53 million visitors.

Tom Ulrich is the Deputy Superintendent of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

Though he wasn't told to furlough any of his year round employees, Ulrich was required to cut a lot of the seasonal employees that are crucial to park maintenance over the summer.

The issue of whether or not the State would take over Belle Isle was tossed back and forth between Detroit City Council and Lansing like a hot potato.

It finally ground to a halt when City Council tabled a decision on a state deal. Governor Snyder declared the deal dead once that happened.

The State took its offer off the table, saying there was not enough time to get Belle Isle ready for the summer season.

But this political squabbling over Belle Isle has a long history in Detroit and Michigan.

It’s not new.

It goes back to the very first days when Detroiters wanted a park.

That was in 1871, and fireworks were flaring then.

Amy Elliott Bragg is the author of “Hidden History of Detroit” and she blogs about Detroit history at nighttraintodetroit.com.

Amy broke down the history of the Belle Isle purchase - the controversy that was stirred up  over a 100 years ago - and what can we  learn in 2013 about what it took to make Belle Isle a city park.

Listen to the full interview above.