IPR’s news team reported on hundreds of stories across the region in 2019, and the top 10 stories viewed are listed below:
Private prison operator GEO Group won the contract from the Bureau of Prisons to hold inmates convicted of federal crimes at their North Lake Correctional Facility in Baldwin. Critics say federal prisons outsourced to private companies have harmful practices. They claim the company is taking advantage of a desperate community.
Traverse City nurses in the maternity ward at Munson Medical Center sent a letter to administration expressing dismay with recent schedule changes to their shifts. Forty-two of the 52 nurses who work in the unit signed the letter before it was sent to the medical center on Aug. 2.
As Lake Michigan water levels remain at a near record high, more and more shoreline is being eaten away everyday. Large trees are sliding down steep banks into the water, wooden staircases are being torn out and property owners are panicking. As the fall storm season approaches, some worry their homes will be next.
Newly released images from Enbridge Energy show damage sustained to the Line 5 oil pipelines from an anchor strike last April.
The board of Traverse City Area Public Schools could look at removing recently-appointed Superintendent Ann Cardon at a special meeting today, sources tell IPR.
Interlochen Public Radio has obtained emails between a private security contractor working for Enbridge Energy and several law enforcement agencies near the Straits of Mackinac. The emails show the contractor kept tabs on anti-Line 5 activists (known as water protectors) in the Straits of Mackinac this summer. He shared information about their camp, protests and social media posts with local law enforcement.
The man responsible for shooting another hunter near Torch Lake has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. David Michael Barber of Gaylord was arraigned in court Friday. The Antrim County Prosecutor also charged Barber with a felony firearm possession and careless discharge of a weapon. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
The U.S. International Trade Commission will levy tariffs against Turkish tart cherry exporters, according to a press release obtained by IPR.
As part of IPR’s investigation into conditions at the jail, we heard from more than a dozen former inmates – both male and female – who say there are a handful of corrections officers who often ignore their needs.
Deer hunting is declining in Michigan. In the late 1990’s, almost 800,000 people were hunting deer in the state. Twenty years later, that number has dropped by around 25 percent. A new ban on deer baiting is likely to further that trend.