3/25/2026

BUTTERNUT – Next month the Butternut School District in Southern Ashland County will hold a referendum to raise more money for day-to-day operations of the school district.  The Butternut School District is seeking $500,000 dollars per year for three years. Even if the measure passes, the school will still need to trim $500,000 from its existing operating budget. Projections indicate that the new mill rate will be between $8.77 and $9.22 per thousand dollars of property value.  More information can be found on the Butternut school website.

3/25/2026

UPPER MICHIGAN - Small rural Michigan schools say competitive state grants are leave their students behind, because administrators do not have time to apply. Superintendents describe writing grants between recess duty, substitute teaching, and even snow removal. Michigan offers more than 100 grants worth about $7 billion, and the paperwork can take days. Bigger districts often have staff teams to handle it. Small districts say they are at a disadvantage to get funding for classes like welding, coding, and college credit. Current and former state education leaders also criticize the system that picks winners and losers. Some education officials urge funding formulas instead of competitions. 

3/25/2026

UPPER MICHIGAN - The Michigan Department of Corrections is working to make prisons safer. A five-part Safe Prisons Initiative supports ongoing efforts across 26 prisons, including facilities in the U.P.  MDOC says the five key areas that impact prison safety are prisoner classification and bed space, contraband introduction and technology, prisoner programming, training and staff support and recruitment and retention.  Staffing continues to be an issue in the Michigan prison system.  The U.P. only sees about 18 to 22 new academy applicants each quarter, who are then divided between the six prisons in the region.