Elections & Northern Michigan Politics

This week on Points North, thousands of students are back in school. Hear how state efforts to improve reading and writing scores for third graders may be getting lost in translation.

Plus an interview with the new Superintendent of Traverse City Area Public Schools.

In 2016, then Gov. Rick Snyder signed the controversial “Read by Grade Three” bill into law. It's meant to improve the reading and writing abilities of third graders in Michigan, but if their scores don’t rise students could be held back.

As the law starts to take effect, educators are frustrated with how it aims to get test scores up. 

Back to school

State Rep. Larry Inman (R-Williamsburg) is accused of extortion, soliciting a bribe and lying to the FBI. He has plead not guilty to all charges.

The trial is set for August 6 in Grand Rapids.

Prosecutors say Inman texted a lobbyist from the Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights (MRCCM) in June 2018 and offered to vote ‘no’ on a prevailing wage bill if MRCCM and other trade unions would donate more to his campaign.

Anti-abortion groups will soon be on sidewalks and at events around the state, asking voters to support ballot measures that would restrict abortion in Michigan.

Researchers say if your kid goes to a good preschool, they'll be better off as an adult. A four-decade study from the HighScope Educational Research Foundation looked at the long-term effects preschool had on students. It found that kids who went to high-quality preschools grew up to have higher incomes and IQs than those who didn't. They also committed fewer crimes and had fewer teenage pregnancies.

School districts across Michigan have bond proposals going to a vote on May 7.

Ludington Area Schools district is asking the community for a new elementary building, renovations to the middle and high school and improvements to technology, transportation, arts and athletic facilities.  

District Superintendent Jason Kennedy says the district needs signficant renovations.

"The average age of the facilities in Ludington is 64 years old," Kennedy says. "We need to consider doing more than just fixing and repairing the facilities."

Dozens of school districts across the state will put bond proposals to voters next month. They are asking residents to pay for improvements in schools, but in some small communities in northern Michigan, a tax hike for your schools can be a tough sell.

Recreational marijuana was legalized in Michigan this year, but many cities across the state aren’t letting marijuana businesses operate. Some officials argue that the state hasn’t figured out how to regulate them yet.

But a small community in northern Michigan is in the middle of a legal and political debate that could set a precedent for the rest of the state.

Republicans’ eight-year run of complete control over state government has come to an end. By 10 p.m. on Election Night, the writing was on the wall – Republicans would not hold the governor’s office.

Voters in four counties along Michigan’s northwest coast will have a new leader in Lansing after next week’s election. Curt VanderWall is the current representative in the 101st House District but he’s leaving the seat vacant as he runs for the state senate.

On the Republican side, longtime radio host Jack O’Malley is running for office for the first time.

Two years ago, President Donald Trump won election despite losing the popular vote to Hilary Clinton by nearly three million votes.

That’s because of the Electoral College, a system set up in the Constitution gives votes – or electors – to each state based on population.

A pair of political newcomers is challenging three incumbents on the Traverse City commission. All five candidates gathered Wednesday night at a forum put on by the League of Women Voters of the Grand Traverse Area.

The forum packed a large community room at the Traverse Area District Library. Voters showed up to hear from five candidates running for three seats on the city commission.