Rural Michigan

Many of Michigan’s nearly 1,500 townships and villages are run by part-time retirees in their 80s who are begging for help. The system is frayed and, without reform, communities could falter. Lansing isn’t coming to rescue.

While mail-in prescription orders have been an answer for growing pharmacy deserts, officials say the companies behind those services help cause closures.

Green energy developers can bypass local governments and get approval through the state. However, opposition from communities remains a hurdle.

Pending federal cuts will lead to reduced services at rural hospitals, moving patients to bigger facilities by helicopter. But federal policy limits how much money those choppers can collect.

Records show that federal officials failed for years to force repairs at a hydro plant connected to the Cheboygan Dam. ‘This was not handled properly,’ a county commissioner says. The county sheriff blames private ownership: ‘There’s only so much we can do.’

When the only clinic that offered abortions in Michigan’s rural Upper Peninsula closed, an urgent care facility stepped in to fill the gap. Now, others are considering similar moves as brick-and-mortar clinics close in blue states.

Northern Michigan farmers are still dealing with the damages after last years devastating ice storm.

The Michigan Democratic Party's Rural Caucus is launching a scholarship program to help students in rural areas attend college and trade school.

George-Griffin is WCMU's new rural life & agriculture reporter. The Mount Pleasant native returns home after graduating from Michigan State University and working for WDET, the Detroit Free Press and Eye On Michigan.

New U-M survey finds only about 5% of rural Michigan residents say they would choose an electric vehicle as their next car.