Northern Michigan Journalism Collaborative

Dylan Leenheer discovered his official prison photograph had been digitally altered to depict him wearing a feathered headdress, beaded necklace and buckskin clothing, with what appeared to be war paint on his face.

More than a dozen Michigan counties are still working to recover from April floods that washed out roads and bridges. One school district in Manistee County is spending tens of thousands of dollars in new transportation costs while losing tens of thousands of dollars as students transfer out of the district to avoid the long detours.

Six weeks after a man’s throat was cut at the usually peaceful Blissfest Music Festival in Harbor Springs, police still haven’t said whether the man was attacked or injured himself.

Michigan wineries are fighting back against a worldwide decline in wine consumption by leaning into tourism, special events, creative activities — and goats.

Voters in November will choose a new governor and new attorney general. Some of the candidates for governor and AG — along with the U.S. Senate candidates — have taken stances on Line 5, while others have not.

Growing workload and increased public vitriol are making public service less attractive. Some local officials would like to leave office but no one is stepping forward to replace them.

In 2024, lawmakers in 2024 passed legislation allowing corrections officers to join the Michigan State Police pension plan, but the bills were never sent to the governor. A court ordered them sent, but when they arrived, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer vetoed them, citing passed deadlines she said could’ve opened the state to more litigation.

The Leelanau Enterprise put together profiles of the three Republicans and three Democrats hoping to advance to the general election in November for the 1st Congressional District.

The Michigan Department of Corrections has announced a $10,000-a-year hike in starting pay at five Upper Peninsula prisons. U.P. prisons house about a fourth of the state’s inmates but record nearly three-fourths of assaults on prison staff.

Throughout northern Michigan, some residents’ homes remain inundated after last month’s historic flooding, while others struggle to find a way to clean up and try to return to normal.