Michigan News

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is offering $250,000 in grants to help communities develop recycling programs. Governor Rick Snyder announced a plan this week to boost the state's residential recycling rate.  Among the proposals is producing more information about local recycling options. The funding from the Community Pollution Prevention Grant Program will help local leaders do that.

Michigan could receive nearly $2 million in federal block grants for specialty crops as a result of the U.S. farm bill. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says $66 million is available nationwide to state departments of agriculture for specialty crops. Michigan's allocation increased in the 2014 budget year from $1.26 million in 2013.

EVART, Mich. (AP) - Floodwaters are receding along rivers in Michigan's central and western Lower Peninsula, a trend that should continue with mostly dry weather in the forecast for the next several days.

The University of Michigan says it's working to boost black enrollment, which has dropped to 4.7 percent since state residents voted to ban consideration of race in admissions. 

DTE Energy Company says it's shut down the Fermi 2 nuclear power plant to replace one of the two main transformers.  The plant is along Lake Erie in Monroe County's Frenchtown Township. 

Pressure is building for Michigan lawmakers to commit $350 million to Detroit pensions after the bankrupt city reached tentative agreements with pension funds and a retiree group. The deals are tied to Detroit getting money from the state over 20 years, along with $466 million in private money, all to shore up pensions.

Attorneys who persuaded a judge to overturn Michigan's ban on gay marriage are opposing the state's request to have an entire appeals court take the case. They want the case to move quickly, but they say the Cincinnati-based court should stick to its practice of assigning cases to a three-judge panel.

Organizers are set to announce details about this year's gay pride festival in Detroit. 

Equality Michigan on Wednesday plans to reveal the entertainment lineup and other specifics related to the Motor City Pride event.

General Motors says it will ask a federal bankruptcy judge to shield the company from legal claims involving conduct before its 2009 bankruptcy. The company revealed its strategy late Tuesday in a motion filed in a federal court case in Corpus Christi, Texas, surrounding defective ignition switches that have led GM to recall more than 2 million cars.

The Detroit pension fund that covers all retirees except former police officers and firefighters says it has reached a tentative agreement with the bankrupt city. Tina Bassett, a spokeswoman for the city's general pension fund, says retirees would see a 4.5 percent cut and their cost-of-living payments would be eliminated under a deal reached late Tuesday.

Democratic Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum says she won't run for Michigan's 8th District U.S. House seat to replace Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers. The clerk announced her decision on Tuesday after meeting with political groups in Washington, D.C., last week.

General Motors says it's investing $449 million in two Detroit-area factories to build the next generation Chevrolet Volt hybrid electric car. 

Members of Congress from the Great Lakes region are lobbying colleagues to continue funding a cleanup program for the inland seas. 

Rosalynn Carter is scheduled to visit Grand Rapids to honor the 96th anniversary of the birth of fellow former first lady Betty Ford. The wife of the late President Gerald Ford died in 2011. The Ford Presidential Foundation says Carter is to participate in a luncheon discussion about friendship among America's first ladies.

Construction of the final 50 miles of an Enbridge oil pipeline replacement project in Michigan resumes in May. 

Michigan is planning to boost efforts to attract and retain automotive industry jobs in engineering and design, software and coding, systems integration and skilled trades.  

Governor Rick Snyder tells The Associated Press a proposal by Republican House leaders to spend $500 million annually on roads is a good first step toward much-needed changes, but says it's less than half of his spending target.

Governor Rick Snyder is getting up early to talk about Detroit. 

 Snyder is speaking this morning at Pancakes and Politics. It's a regular event featuring elected leaders from the state Capitol or southeastern Michigan. It's being held at the Detroit Athletic Club near Comerica Park.