Enrollment has fallen at public universities across Michigan, for the seventh year in a row. Mattawan is considering starting school early in the next academic year. Gretchen Whitmer will attend the Detroit Auto Show. WMU is still considering applying for “Tree Campus USA” status. The family of a Michigan man held in a Russian prison plans to meet with officials from other countries this week. The K-Wings get their first win in six games.
Enrollment is down for the seventh year in a row at Michigan’s public universities. That’s according toMLive, which found thatthe number of students at public universities in Michigan fell a little, by 1.4 percent, between fall 2018 and the year before. The birthrate has been falling in Michigan and nationwide, so there are simply fewer college-age students. Their numbers are expected to decline even further. Michigan had 18 percent fewer births last year than in 2000, the year that many of today’s new college students were born.
Students at Mattawan Consolidated Schools could go back to school earlier next year. The Kalamazoo Gazette reports that the district has gotten permission to start classes on August 19 instead of after Labor Day. The district has several meetings planned for this month to take public input on the proposed earlier start date. Mattawan students would get a week-long break in October and another one in February if they go back to school early.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer is expected to head to Detroit soon for the North American International Auto Show. The annual event is set to run all week. Whitmer says she’s been learning about innovation in the auto industry, as part of her campaign promise to, in her words, “fix the damn roads.”
“We have to build roads that can communicate with cars. Not just roads that don’t tear up your car as you’re driving down 28th Street, but roads that are of the future so we can maintain our edge in mobility," she said.
Whitmer is scheduled to attend the show tomorrow and Friday.
Officials at Western Michigan University say the school still has time to apply to the Arbor Day Foundation's Tree Campus USA program. The controversial removal of about 60 trees on Western's campus last year led some students, staff and faculty to question the school's status as a Tree Campus. An investigation by WMUK found that Western fell short of the program's terms for the year 2018. The university's Tree Campus Committee could make its recommendation as early as this week. While the application was due December 31st, Western's Facilities department says Tree Campus USA has been flexible on the deadline in the past.
(MPRN) The state Legislature returned last week to open its 100th session. Both the House and Senate passed various housekeeping resolutions. But the Senate didn’t introduce any bills. The state House kicked off by making civil asset forfeiture the subject of its first bills introduced. The bills would require a person be convicted of a crime before police can take their property involved in the crime – up to a certain amount. Lawmakers in the House also introduced bills to subject the governor’s office and Legislature to open records requests and to let people over 21 buy and posses a stun gun. The chamber is also considering legislation to lower the age of people allowed to sell or serve alcohol.
(MPRN) Michigan can expect to see some economic growth over the next few years – but for the most part the state’s economy is expected to stay flat. During the states Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference on Friday it was reported that the amount of money in the state’s general fund budget is expected to grow, but not by a lot. Governor Gretchen Whitmer will present her budget proposal to the state Legislature within the next few months. From there negotiations on what the final budget should be, will really start to ramp up.
(WDET) The family of an American jailed in Russia on espionage charges says officials from four different nations are expected to meet Monday to discuss monitoring his detention. Michigan native Paul Whelan is a U.S. citizen born in Canada with family ties to Britain and Ireland. His brother David Whelan says the U.S. Ambassador to Russia told him all four countries will coordinate efforts to examine his sibling’s treatment in prison. Russia criminally charged Paul Whelan with espionage but his family says they have yet to hear the evidence against him.
In hockey, Kalamazoo won at Fort Wayne Sunday 5-3. It the was the K-Wings first win in their last six games. The Wings and Komets will play again Wednesday night in Fort Wayne.