Radio Made in Michigan

The iconic Michigan steamship, the SS Badger, may lose its permit to dump  spent coal into Lake Michigan.  The Ludington company that owns and operates the Badger, Lake Michigan Carferry, expects to hear soon from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency about its request to continue the practice.  

Hugh McDiarmid, communications director  for the Michigan Environmental Council, discusses the impact of the SS Badger on the environment.

A recent study published in the journal Health Affairs this week shows a decline in life expectancy for American women.  Scientists still aren’t sure of the causes, and the need for more data is further complicated by the long history of gender imbalance in medical research.

A major road construction project is getting underway in East Lansing.  The Michigan Department of Transportation says there will be improvements on Grand River Avenue from Coolidge Road to Park Lake Road, and on Michigan Avenue from the west city limits to Grand River.

There will be road resurfacing, sidewalk and ramp improvements, non-motorized pathways, and traffic signal upgrades. Todd Sneathen, the city of East Lansing’s Director of Public Works, discusses the upcoming road work. 

Hundreds of nurses from across the state were in Lansing yesterday to lobby their state lawmakers.  

The stretch run begins next week for the remainder of the concert season at the Wharton Center for Performing Arts.  WKAR’s Peter Whorf chats with Wharton Center executive director Mike Brand about the breadth and depth of performances coming to East Lansing in the next few months.  

Police say a 20-year-old college student from Michigan has died in an alcohol-related incident while on spring break in the Florida Panhandle.

People in Michigan could get the chance to pet and take photos with bear cubs, under legislation approved by the House.

The Michigan Senate has voted to authorize $21 million in emergency spending to dredge Great Lakes harbors grappling with record-low water levels.

The Obama administration has conditionally approved Michigan to help run a health insurance market in partnership with the federal government.

A decision on whether Michigan’s gay marriage ban is constitutional will wait until this summer.