Roadside parks reopening April 28

Roadside parks reopening April 28

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                MEDIA CONTACT
April 21, 2022                                                                                      Dan Weingarten
906-250-4809
[email protected]

 

Most MDOT roadside parks reopening April 28

LANSING, Mich. ­– Most of the roadside parks operated by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will reopen for the season Thursday, April 28.

MDOT maintains 85 roadside parks around the state. Some parks operate seasonally, usually closing in late October and reopening in the spring.

The following roadside parks will remain closed until later in the spring due to weather conditions. MDOT plans to reopen these parks in mid-May, weather permitting:

Alger County
– Deer Lake Roadside Park on M-28
– Kiva Roadside Park on US-41
– Scott Falls/Rathfoot Roadside Park on M-28
– Grand Island Harbor Scenic Turnout on M-28
– Au Train Roadside Park on M-28

Baraga County
– Tioga Creek Roadside Park on M-28
– Canyon Falls Roadside Park on US-41
– Baraga Cliff Roadside Park on US-41

Keweenaw County
– Esrey Roadside Park on M-26
– Hebard Roadside Park on M-26
– Great Sand Bay Roadside Park on M-26
– Snow Gauge Roadside Park on M-26

Luce County
– Old Flowing Well Roadside Park on M-28

Schoolcraft County
– Manistique River Roadside Park on M-77

While most parks are scheduled to be open April 28, motorists should not expect drinking water at all parks to be turned on until sometime later in May, after annual testing and treatment of the park water systems is completed.

In addition, the St. Ignace Rest Area on southbound I-75 will remain closed due to construction. It is expected to reopen in early May.

A map showing the status of MDOT roadside parks and a complete list of parks are available on the MDOT website.

State Capitol raise awareness about preventing child abuse

State Capitol raise awareness about preventing child abuse

MDHHS banner with logo no names

Press Release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2022 

CONTACT: Bob Wheaton, 517-241-2112, WheatonB@michigan.gov

Children's Trust Fund Rally 2022

Rally, pinwheels at State Capitol raise awareness about preventing child abuse and neglect

Children’s Trust Fund holds annual event with remarks from Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and other advocates

LANSING, Mich. – Blue and silver pinwheels spun in the breeze outside the State Capitol today as more than 200 advocates for children and families spread their message about preventing child abuse and neglect.

Attendees of the 14th annual Children’s Trust Fund Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Day Rally planted the pinwheels in the ground following the event. The pinwheel is the national symbol for child abuse and neglect prevention.

More than 16,000 child abuse and neglect cases were confirmed in Michigan last year. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed April as Child Abuse Prevention Month.

The Children’s Trust Fund, housed within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), was established by the Michigan Legislature in 1982.  It serves as a voice for Michigan’s children and families and promotes their health, safety and welfare by funding effective local programs and services that prevent child abuse and neglect.

“Providing support to parents is critically important in ensuring that Michigan’s children grow up safe and healthy,” said Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, one of the speakers at the rally. “I am proud to work with the Children’s Trust Fund to help families in local communities around the state and prevent child abuse and neglect.”

MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel also was among the speakers at the rally. “At MDHHS, we continue to find and act on meaningful opportunities to invest in Michigan families and children,” she said. “We do this by working alongside not just parents and caregivers, but also other adults, communities and partners. We provide information, encourage conversations, promote positive and nurturing relationships between children and adults, and strengthen home- and community-based supports that will keep kids safe where they live, visit, play and go to school.”

Suzanne Greenberg, executive director of the Children’s Trust Fund, served as emcee. “The national symbol for child abuse and neglect prevention is the pinwheel,” Greenberg said. “It serves as an uplifting reminder of childhood and the bright futures all children deserve. Child Abuse Prevention Month is an opportunity for you to be a positive force on behalf of the children and families in your community. No one person can do everything, but everyone can do something. And together, we can do anything!”

Other event speakers included Amy Tattrie Loepp, Children’s Trust Fund board chair; state Rep. Brenda Carter, D-Pontiac; State Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Kent County; Jason Cross, state manager for Indian Child Welfare Act Compliance and Race Equity; and Bishop Reginald Bluestein, assistant executive director of Concerned About Reaching Everyone (CARE) in Detroit. Sharon Barry of Barry County received the Inspire Award for her work to prevent child abuse and neglect. Event entertainment was provided by Lansing’s Dwight Rich School for the Arts.

Today’s rally is one of two major Children’s Trust Fund events in April and May.

The annual Pam Posthumus Signature Auction Event is May 17 at 5 p.m. at the Breslin Center on Michigan State University’s campus in East Lansing to raise money to support child abuse prevention programming. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation to support the Children’s Trust Fund, visit www.michigan.gov/ctf.

Improvements to state’s child welfare system

Improvements to state’s child welfare system

MDHHS banner with logo no names

Press Release


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 26, 2022 

CONTACT: Bob Wheaton, 517-241-2112, WheatonB@michigan.gov

MDHHS unveils new strategies that will continue improvements to state’s child welfare system

Judge praises plans to better serve children, families

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) today shared newly developed strategies to keep foster youth safe and move the state’s child welfare system closer to exiting federal court oversight.

Judge Nancy G. Edmunds praised MDHHS and the other parties involved for “hard work with still more to come. But we’re starting to see at least flags toward the finish line down the road sooner than we may have anticipated in January.”

MDHHS shared a plan it developed with federal court monitors in the three months since a January court appearance. The department today appeared virtually in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Judge Edmunds in January requested the plan to address 14 areas identified by the court as needing improvement.

“With these new strategies we will make substantial progress to improve the performance of the department’s child welfare system,” said MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel. “More importantly, we believe these strategies will improve safety for children and decrease the time it takes to find permanent homes for youth in the department’s care.”

The strategies are designed to continue to improve the state’s child welfare system in areas such as:

  • Improved collaboration and oversight of private agency partners that provide residential and foster care services.
  • Reducing the time children are in out-of-home care and reunifying them with their families sooner.
  • Keeping siblings placed in foster care together.
  • Limiting the time children spend in emergency or temporary facilities.
  • Ensuring relative home placements are safe.

“We have designated knowledgeable, experienced senior staff to lead the way in implementing these strategies,” said Demetrius Starling, executive director of the MDHHS Children’s Services Agency. “I am personally committed to working with these

senior staff and the monitoring team to make these improvements for the good of the children and families we serve.”

Federal court monitors have been tracking the department’s progress since a court settlement in 2008 following a 2006 lawsuit.

Today, the court monitors also released their latest progress report, which was for the period of January-June 2021. MDHHS met the court-required performance metrics for 14 commitments monitored during this period, including ones related to caseloads for Children’s Protective Services (CPS) workers and timely completion of CPS investigations. In addition, the report highlights eight commitments in which the department consistently achieved compliance for every monitoring period since the creation of the Modified Implementation, Sustainability and Exit Plan.

View the latest federal court monitor report on the MDHHS website.

Agreement between Michigan and federal gov. for national parks

Agreement between Michigan and federal gov. for national parks

A pioneering agreement between Michigan and federal government for national parks

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations with two State of Michigan officials about the announcement of an agreement with the National Park Service (NPS) to work together and develop programs for more sustainable and equitable travel to NPS lands.

Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/10476040-a-pioneering-agreement-between-michigan-and-federal-government-for-national-parks

TMT - National Park Service

The announcement coincided with other Earth Week events across the state and featured a visit from Charles F. Sams III, who was sworn in Dec. 16, 2021, as NPS director, the first tribal citizen to lead the service in its 106-year history.

(Video story of the event.)

Trevor Pawl

First, Trevor Pawl, Michigan’s chief mobility officer, explains the potential opportunities from the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) announced Tuesday, April 19, between NPS and several state departments.

Some of the possibilities include installing more charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, something NPS has already begun.

Jean Ruestman

Later, Jean Ruestman, who directs MDOT’s Office of Passenger Transportation and a key player in developing the MOU, joins the podcast to talk about the potential to provide broader accessibility to the parks.

She also explains how the Michigan Mobility Challenge, highlighted by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2019, could provide a model for inspiring ideas to increase access to the national parks.


Podcast photo: Morning fog in Yellowstone River Valley. National Park Service photo by Neal Herbert.
First portrait: Trevor Pawl, Michigan’s chief mobility officer
Second portrait: Jean Ruestman, MDOT Office of Passenger Transportation

 Whitmer Unveils MI Healthy Climate Plan

 Whitmer Unveils MI Healthy Climate Plan

Gov. Whitmer Press Release Header

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, April 21

Contact: [email protected]

 

Gov. Whitmer Unveils MI Healthy Climate Plan to Create Good-Paying Jobs, Protect Air and Water

Plan outlines path to carbon neutrality by 2050, interim steps to take by 2030 including more clean energy, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, land & water conservation

 

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Governor Gretchen Whitmer today released the MI Healthy Climate Plan, a roadmap for Michigan to achieve economy-wide carbon neutrality by 2050 with interim 2030 goals. Governor Whitmer joined Liesl Clark, Director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), business owners, tribal leaders, and students at a large solar array in Traverse City to announce the plan. The MI Healthy Climate Plan proposes climate action that would create tens of thousands of clean-energy jobs, spur economic development and innovation, protect clean air and water, and improve public health. The MI Healthy Climate Plan builds off the leadership of tribal communities and cities and town across Michigan, in addition to the private sector.

 

“Michigan has been impacted by climate change, from a polar vortex and historic floods to dam breaks and week-long power outages. The MI Healthy Climate Plan identifies actions we can take to address climate change head-on, lower costs for Michiganders, ensure every Michigan worker has a good-paying, sustainable job, and every family has clean air, water, and a home powered by clean, reliable energy,” said Governor Whitmer. “If we follow the steps outlined in the plan and collaborate with public and private sector partners, we can build a Michigan where every Michigander has clean air to breathe, clean water to drink, and access to healthy, affordable local food. Today, we are positioning Michigan to become the global center of clean energy innovation where workers can get good-paying jobs, from those that don’t require a college degree to careers in advanced engineering and science. We can protect our beautiful public lands and majestic Great Lakes, driven by our unyielding belief in a brighter future.”

 

“This is a uniquely Michigan plan. It was shaped by a multitude of Michiganders with varied perspectives on climate change,” said Liesl ClarkEGLE Director. “We heard from environmental justice, public transit, local food, and climate action advocates; an array of business and labor leaders; academic experts and local government officials; and concerned residents of all political persuasions and walks of life. The resulting MI Healthy Climate Plan will be a game-changer for Michigan’s economy and environment. It is a bold plan that a broad cross-section of Michiganders can rally around.”

 

“One of Michigan’s greatest assets is its location advantage, including our access to water resources of the Great Lakes. The MI Healthy Climate Plan helps us minimize that location advantage by ensuring that we are intentional about preserving that advantage for future generations.  At MEDC, we are focused on attracting and growing businesses that not only create jobs but also demonstrate a commitment to sustainable practices to ensure long-term economic opportunity and well-being for all Michiganders,” said Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Quentin L. Messer, Jr. “In 2021, Michigan was recognized as a top state in sustainable development practices by Site Selection magazine, affirming Michigan’s commitment to green energy practices and demonstrating our competitive advantages when it comes to climate issues. Michigan will be a climate winner and this plan is an important part of the winning playbook.”

 

MI Healthy Climate Plan  In September 2020, the Governor committed Michigan to achieving economy-wide carbon neutrality no later than 2050. The goal included interim reductions of 28% by 2025, 52% by 2030, and maintaining net negative greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) after 2050. Concurrently, she charged EGLE, through its Office of Climate and Energy, to work alongside the Council on Climate Solutions to develop the MI Healthy Climate Plan, a state action plan to reduce GHG emissions and transition toward economy-wide carbon neutrality.

 

The plan positions Michigan as a climate action leader and focuses on actions to spur economic development and create good-paying jobs, lower energy and transportation costs for working families and businesses, work towards energy independence, mitigate the worst impacts of climate change, improve public health, and protect natural resources and wildlife.

 

The MI Healthy Climate Plan identifies what needs to happen for Michigan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 with a prioritization on actions from now until 2030. The plan’s recommendations fall around 6 pillars:

  • Commit to Environmental Justice and Pursue a Just Transition
  • Clean the Electric Grid
  • Electrify Vehicles and Increase Public Transit
  • Repair and Decarbonize Homes and Businesses
  • Drive Clean Innovation in Industry
  • Protect Michigan’s Land and Water

 

Leading on Climate, Creating Good-Paying Jobs, Growing Michigan’s Economy Since taking office, Governor Whitmer has taken action to tackle climate change head-on and grow Michigan’s economy. She has committed to powering all State of Michigan facilities with 100% renewable energy by 2025 and attracted battery and electric vehicle manufacturing investments from automakers, who have added 21,600 good-paying auto jobs in Michigan since the governor took office. She has signed bipartisan budgets investing millions of dollars in clean energy improvements and recently proposed a budget investing over half a billion dollars in climate action, including clean energy improvements for small businesses and families, a rebate to lower the cost of electric vehicles, grants to build climate-resilient infrastructure, and funds to expand our electric vehicle charging network.

 

Recently, Michigan state senators Polehanki and McCann introduced bills to establish a $500 charging equipment and $2,000 electric vehicle rebate to knock off nearly $10,000 off the price of an electric vehicle when combined with the federal tax credit.

 

The Whitmer-Gilchrist Administration’s water, environment, and climate accomplishments can be found here, and mobility and automotive accomplishments can be found here.

 

Quotes from Members of the Council on Climate Solutions

“The Michigan Healthy Climate Plan is a bold first step toward mitigating the worst impacts of climate change while advancing opportunity, justice, and health. We have a long way to go, but this plan moves us quickly to get onto the right path,” said Phil Roos, CEO of Great Lakes GrowthWorks and Co-Chair of the Council on Climate Solutions. “Kudos to Governor Whitmer for her leadership in setting goals that match the magnitude of the challenge, and to her and EGLE Director Clark for putting in place a collaborative process that gave voice to an incredibly wide range of perspectives. That process has led to a plan that is Michigan-centric, positioning our state as a leader in the clean economy of the future, as a healthy refuge in a rapidly warming climate, and as leaders in advancing opportunity and justice for all as we make this important and critical transition to a decarbonized economy and healthier life for all the citizens of our state.”

 

“Hemlock Semiconductor’s core focus on driving sustainability and combating climate change by reducing the carbon footprint of our products and manufacturing processes is aligned with Governor Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan,” said Steven Holty, Hemlock Semiconductor Sustainability Leader and Co-Chair of the Energy Intensive Industries Workgroup for the Council on Climate Solutions. “Lowering the cost of clean energy for industrial users and delivering carbon-neutral fuels by 2050 will help create a more competitive business environment in Michigan and support HSC’s continued growth and success as the nation’s leading manufacturer of ultra-low carbon polysilicon for the semiconductor and solar energy industries. We also commend Gov. Whitmer for her plan to identify and prioritize low-carbon procurement opportunities for the State of Michigan. This action sends an important signal that Michigan is serious about leveraging the state’s considerable purchasing power to achieve carbon neutrality.”

 

“Ford is leading the electric vehicle revolution, investing more than $50 billion in electric vehicles through 2026, committing to carbon neutrality no later than 2050, and bringing exciting, all-electric versions of America’s most popular vehicles to market, including the all new, all electric F-150 Lightning,” said Cynthia Williams, Global Director of Sustainability, Homologation and Compliance at Ford and member of the Council on Climate Solutions. “We’re transforming our business and going all-in on electrification because we know it’s good for people and the planet. With investments in world-class facilities, such as the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, we’re proud to be leading America’s transition to electric vehicles, creating jobs, and ushering in a new era of clean, carbon-neutral manufacturing from our home right here in Michigan. We are proud to see a plan for bold climate action in Michigan.”

 

“I’m grateful for my chance to help with the MI Healthy Climate Plan. As someone who has worked in Tribal environmental and natural resource management for nearly thirty years, I am glad to see such a great effort towards climate change issues in our State,” said Frank William Beaver, Director of the Natural Resources Department for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and member of the Council on Climate Solutions. “Over the years I’ve seen impacts such as the warming of our lakes and streams, the deterioration and failing of our dams, and an increased risk of flooding due to the loss of wetlands. From the fish and wild game across our state to the Mnoomin (wild rice) that grows on our waters, and the lakes and trails that we enjoy, we all love and depend on these natural systems. I know that through this Plan that we can reduce impacts to these systems now and in the future.”

 

“The MI Healthy Climate Plan has the potential to help speed up our state’s shift to clean energy in a way that helps everyone,” said Derrell Slaughter, Michigan Clean Energy Advocate at Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Secretary of the Council on Climate Solutions. “The implementation of the plan will increase renewable energy in Michigan, create more access for clean energy and clean transportation, and get Michigan off coal while lowering costs for working families and protecting our natural resources and public health. We must now work to implement these recommendations to create a healthier Michigan. The time is now to tackle the climate crisis head on and this plan shows us how the Great Lakes State can do its part.”

 

“Since our founding over 110 years ago along the shores of Lake Michigan in Benton Harbor, improving life at home has been at the heart of Whirlpool Corporation,” said Ron Voglewede, Director of Sustainability, Whirlpool Corporation, and member of the Council on Climate Solutions. “Fulfilling our vision requires us to think of not only the four walls around us and the communities in which we live, but of the planet that sustains us. We are proud to work in collaboration with Governor Whitmer and several other stakeholders to help all Michiganders have a home that can save on energy costs, to support clean energy solutions, and to help ensure that Michigan continues to lead in the transition to a low carbon economy.”

 

“This is a thoughtful plan that will both advance a stronger economic future for workers in Michigan and protect the environment so generations to come will be able to enjoy it,” said Jim Harrison, Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) director of renewable energies and advisor on the Council on Climate Solutions. “We commend Governor Whitmer for taking a worker-inclusive approach to meeting the state’s carbon emission reduction goals. We appreciate the opportunity to share input on behalf of our members and look forward to implementing this plan to maximize its effectiveness.”