NewsRoom

Eight proposals may be on Michigan's November ballot, bringing a deluge of money and ads over issues ranging from protecting collective bargaining rights to requiring utilities to use more renewable energy.

The Republican-led state House has narrowly approved a bill that would allow more online charter schools in Michigan.

Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wrigglesworth is offering a way for people convicted of non-violent crimes to avoid time behind bars by cleaning up dead animals.

Starting Saturday, people walking the streets of East Lansing or wandering the Michigan State University campus will be stumbling up art projects in unlikely places.

The Broad Without Walls is a project of the Broad Art Museum, opening at MSU this fall.

Michigan State University often boasts of its status as America’s “pioneer land grant university.”  In 1855, MSU was chartered under state law as an agricultural college.  The deal included 14,000 acres of state owned land.  Seven years later, the Morrill Act granted federally-owned land to the states to build new universities. 

The act marked a major shift in American education.  Up till then, colleges mainly emphasized the liberal arts.  Land grant universities still taught the classics, but also included agriculture, science and engineering. 

State elections officials say the campaign to reverse Michigan’s emergency manager law appears to have gathered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

There’s a debate at the state Capitol about a natural gas drilling process known as “fracking.” Drills use a mixture of chemicals and water to extract gas from hard-to-reach pockets underground. The practice has been around for decades. Problems have been reported in other parts of the country – although never in Michigan.

But Democratic state Representative Lisa Brown says the fact that wells are now going deeper and using directional drilling raises questions.

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero has announced the city will be hiring more police officers.

For a writer, winning the National Book Award is a prestigious honor. Being nominated can even be enough to boost your career.

Two National Book Award winners will speak at the Library of Michigan’s Night For Notables this weekend. The event honors the state’s notable authors.

WKAR’s Scott Pohl spoke with Jesmyn Ward and Jaimy Gordon about what the award has meant to them.