Ann Arbor News - Monday, May 8

Monday, May 8: Good morning to everyone but the team at U.S. News who ranked Michigan the 9th worst state in the country. Even if they're not smitten by the mitten, ranking Ohio 7 states ahead of us feels like a crime.

Hyperlinking highlights from U of M beating OSU last year to cope.

Read Time: 2.5 minutes

Reader Count: 478 townies

Percent of Ann Arbor Reading: 0.398%

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ANN ARBORITES SHOULD KNOW

🚄 High-Speed Trains: In their initial 2023 - 2024 Department of Transportation budget proposal, the Michigan Senate included $100 million “to encourage high-speed rail development.” Designed to be intentionally vague and “start the conversation”, the proposed budget leaves the door open for a project that would build high-speed trains that could lessen the state’s “overdependence on cars”. One of the two preliminary routes would connect Ann Arbor to Traverse City and Petoskey.

🚨 Egypt Covington Murder Trial: Shane Lamar Evans, one of the three men charged with the 2017 murder of Ann Arbor singer and bartender Egypt Covington, was sentenced to 15 - 25 years in prison last week. On the night of June 23, 2017, the three men killed Egypt after accidentally breaking into her duplex instead of her neighbors' (a medical marijuana caregiver they knew would be out of town). Every June, Arbor Brewing releases the seasonal beer "A Girl Named Egypt" in her honor.

⛳️ Huron Hills Water Work Praised: For its work in restoring Benz Creek, Huron Hills Golf Course has received the Quality of Life Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Due to outdated stormwater management techniques, the Benz Creek (which flows through the course before feeding into the Huron River) had disconnected from its natural floodplain - leading to damaged wetlands and a frequently flooded golf course. The 2-year project successfully restored the natural flow of the creek, resulting in a course that “looks nicer, plays better, and protects the river”.

MICHIGANDERS SHOULD KNOW

📈 Marketing to Gen Y and Z: Michigan plans to launch a new marketing campaign to attract young adults to move to and work in the state. With an aging and declining population (Michigan ranks 49th in the country for population growth), attracting and retaining young talent is critical to the state’s economy. The range of ads will cover everything from affordable housing and abortion rights to electric vehicles and Detroit-style pizza.

⚛️ Hydrogen Gigafactory: Nel Hydrogen, a Norwegian energy company, has announced plans to build a $400 million gigafactory in Michigan. The project is a win for Governor Gretchen Whitmer as she fights to establish Michigan as a leader in clean energy. Nel is still evaluating where in the state they’ll build the gigafactory.

💼 Michigan Entrepreneurship Soars: 12,000 new Michigan businesses were registered in March 2023, a 7% increase from 2022 and a near 50% increase from pre-pandemic numbers. While registrations have fallen from the state’s July 2020 peak, the sustained wave of new businesses has economists optimistic that the 2020s will be a strong decade for American entrepreneurship.

📚 Recruiting Michigan Teachers: To bring more teachers and staff to the state, the Michigan Senate’s 2023 - 2024 School Aid Funding budget includes a provision to pay school staff who work with students $250 - $450 a month to help pay off college loans. If approved, the $20.76 billion spending plan would be the largest in state history and a 6% increase from last year’s plan.

ON THE MARKET

3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,194 Sqft | $449,900

3 Bed | 2 Bath | 1,282 Sqft | $625,000

4 Bed | 3 Bath | 2,450 Sqft | $1,199,000

That's all for now! Next Michigander comes out Thursday

- Andrew

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P. S. S. - Basketball player Hunter Dickinson has transferred from Michigan to Kansas