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Wednesday: Learning

Great Lakes microclimate good for specialty crops

LANSING — While cornfields are abundant throughout the state, Michigan produces many more crops than just corn. Specialty crops, which are fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, flowers and other horticulture crops, are abundant in the Great Lake state. “We are the most agriculturally diverse state in the country behind California,” said Theresa Sisung, an industry relations specialist on the public policy and commodity division team at the Michigan Farm Bureau. Sisung said the state has a strong agricultural market, partly because of its microclimate due to the Great Lakes. The ...

EEGS students attend Chicago session

MARQUETTE — Eighteen students from Northern Michigan University’s Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences Department recently attended the 2023 West Lakes Division of the American Association of Geographers (AAG) meeting hosted by DePaul University in Chicago. Undergraduates Mary ...

Struggle bus: districts trying to fill driver seats

LANSING — School districts across the state are continuing the search for bus drivers to fill critical positions. Katrina Morris, the executive director of the Michigan Association for Pupil Transportation, said there’s been a shortage for a while, but the COVID-19 pandemic made it worse. The Okemos-based organization that promotes education and safety standards for school bus drivers. The public’s view of school bus drivers has deterred many people from applying, Morris said. “You have 60 to 70 kids sitting behind one person. The perception is that anybody can do the ...

Manufacturers work to put career tech back into schools

LANSING — As high school shop and technical education classes fade from curriculums across the nation, manufacturers are looking to increase the number of their workforce with their own training programs. Michigan is known for its manufacturing industry, being a leader in the automaking ...

Analyzing the Holocaust

MARQUETTE — Andrew Port, a leading scholar of modern Germany and professor at Wayne State University, will present “Never Again: Germans and Genocide after the Holocaust” at Northern Michigan University on Thursday. He will discuss how the Holocaust shaped German responses to modern-day genocides in other countries after 1945, and how these foreign atrocities recast Germany’s understanding of its horrific history. NMU professors will also be present to contribute their expertise on the topic. The talk is scheduled from 4-5:30 p.m. in Lydia M. Olson Library. It is free and ...

Michigan makes progress in teacher shortage

LANSING — The number of future educators in Michigan is on the rise once again after a severe dip in enrollment in teaching programs. The Michigan Department of Education says the state has the highest level of students preparing to become teachers since the 2013-14 school year. The U.S. Department of Education reported that the 2021-22 school year saw a 5.5% increase in completion of educator preparation programs across the state. Chandra Madafferi, the Michigan Education Association president, said the shortages have adversely affected public school students across the ...