State trust fund helps Michigan combat veterans

Today on Current State: a Detroit bankruptcy update; helping Michigan combat veterans; MSU College of Osteopathic Medicine; 50 years of Mustangs; and Scott Southard reviews "The Way North".

Developments toward a ‘grand bargain’ to speed the end of Detroit’s landmark  bankruptcy have been unfolding quickly. Late on Tuesday night, negotiators from the city and two of its retiree pension funds reached tentative deals involving cuts and cost-of-living revisions.  Those agreements were two more hurdles cleared toward an $816-million arrangement that could lessen pension cuts, allow reinvestment in city services, and prevent the sale of city-owned art at the Detroit Institute of Arts. However, more agreements need to be hammered out with other creditors.

Michigan State University is home to the nation’s first publicly-funded Osteopathic Medical School in the country. MSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine is also the top-ranked school of its kind in the nation.

Fifty years ago today, America’s historic journey with the automobile took an adventurous detour. On April 17, 1964, Detroit’s Ford Motor company unveiled the Mustang at the New York World’s Fair, trading stamps not included.

Reviewing a literary collection can feel a lot like reviewing a local talent show.

It can be hard to sum up the entire experience, since every act is unique, and it is unfair to compare the performers to each other; even though we all do it, no matter what the focus of the talent show is or the age of those involved. And like that talent show, literary collections tend to have their writers who take your breath away and make you lean forward in your chair, as well as the ones who make you wonder what you’re missing on TV. "The Way North" is a collection showcasing some of the leading voices in the Upper Peninsula literary movement.