In today's newsletter, ‘free gas’ under threat for some, Tom Izzo not spreading ‘rat poison’ and 50,000 holiday lights shimmer along this bright walking trail. |
Michigan weather is too unpredictable for this kind of schedule |
I told myself I wouldn't do much for most of December, I wanted to take a little hibernation before attending multiple family Christmas gatherings. However, it has turned out to be my busiest month of the year with planned gift-shopping trips and social events. Former North Branch resident and longtime truck driver John Schank has also stayed busy, transporting the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree to Washington, D.C. for the second time. Have some holes in your calendar? Consider visiting the two Michigan mansions that beat out the ‘A Christmas Story’ house on USA Today’s Best Holiday Historic Home Tour list. The Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores came in at No. 5 and Meadow Brook Hall in Rochester ranked as No. 2. If you're on the west side of the state, a 17,000-square-foot mansion on the lakeshore in Holland is decked out for the holidays and welcomes guests four times a week. |
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The Mona Shores Singing Christmas Tree at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in 1985 and then again in 1986 and the updated 67-foot tall tree at the Frauenthal Center in 2018. For four decades, a West Michigan high school choir has been dazzling crowds as America’s Tallest Singing Christmas Tree. |
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5 charged in ‘significant’ human trafficking operation, among largest ever uncovered in Michigan |
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced charges against five people accused of conducting one of the largest human trafficking operations ever uncovered in the state. Search warrants were executed Friday as part of an investigation into an “international human trafficking ring involving commercial sex at illicit massage parlors in Detroit, Highland Park, St. Clair Shores, and Sterling Heights,” according to Nessel’s office. ‘Going too fast’: The past couple weeks have been busy for Michigan State Police, as troopers have handled 247 crash calls throughout Southwest Michigan since Tuesday, Nov. 26, including pileups during a nasty stretch of snowy weather. Make sure to stop: Michigan schools could profit from fines against drivers whose traffic infractions are caught on cameras affixed to the stop-arm of school buses under legislation passed by state lawmakers this week. |
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After 70 years without a bill, ‘free gas’ under threat for some in West Michigan |
Quietly in West Michigan, a unique energy conflict is brewing. There, in sprawling geologic formations deep underground, Consumers Energy pools natural gas for the winter. In exchange, some residents living above the deep gas storage fields have been grandfathered into an arrangement that provides them gas free of charge, but it could all be coming to an end. For some, Consumers is wriggling out of the deal, citing safety and reliability issues forcing the decommissioning of old gas wells. But residents say it’s another example of a big utility getting its way, while leaving them to stomach costly alternatives. And the conflict may rear its head across other parts of Michigan, a state with more subterranean gas stockpile space than any other in the nation. In politics: Legislation that would block the import of radioactive waste to Michigan is advancing in lame duck. |
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Michigan saw heaps of snow beginning on Thanksgiving: Top spot had 57 inches |
Our long-duration Thanksgiving Weekend snowfall event that saw some places getting a foot or two of snow a day was a heckuva way to welcome in winter. Most of the snow coming down was sparked by cold air rushing over the warmer waters of the Great Lakes. And it was capped by a Clipper storm system and Arctic air blast that brought in snow squalls, thundersnow and more accumulation. Now that it’s over, the National Weather Service meteorologists in Grand Rapids have summarized the event, sharing some eyebrow-raising numbers. See how the accumulation stacked up here. Click into your snowshoes and cross-country skies because one Lakeshore trail is making the most of this first snow. The Muskegon Luge Adventure Sports Park, located inside Muskegon State Park, groomed and opened its snowshoe and cross-country ski trails on Friday, Dec. 6. Relative warmth: Cold, snowy weather isn’t the only thing headed for Michigan this winter. Dozens of species of “weird and wonderful” ducks will also descend upon the state. Here are five we might spot this time of year, and how to successfully ID them. |
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Tom Izzo not spreading ‘rat poison’ amid Michigan State’s early success |
Victory: From a near turnover to a play that sent a surge through the Breslin Center crowd late in the first half, it was that kind of game for the Spartans, who torched Nebraska for an 89-52 win on Saturday. Back-to-back wins by double digits to open Big Ten play following a third-place finish in the Maui Invitational isn’t a bad start for an overhauled team. “My good friend Nick Saban would say ‘let’s not start spreading the rat poison here,’” Izzo said. “We played two really good games. … I don’t know if anybody knows where anybody is but what I do know is this team at Michigan State is making some progress.” Michigan football finished the regular season strong, and got bumped up in the Big Ten bowl pecking order. The 7-5 Wolverines were selected Sunday to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Eve in Tampa. Michigan will play Alabama in a rematch of last year’s Rose Bowl. |
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50,000 holiday lights shimmer along this bright Michigan walking trail |
Clark Griswold would be so proud: The Trail of Lights at Robert Williams Nature and Historical Learned Center in Davison Township is a one-third-mile trail illuminated by more than 50,000 lights and features a number of stunning sights to witness nature’s beauty in a new, unique way. The forest is lit up with a variety of seasonal lights that feature a large walking tunnel, snowflake lights, incredible sights — even a giant dinosaur. The Pretzel Bell in downtown Ann Arbor officially opened a pop-up bar inspired by the iconic “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” in its Down Bar. The bar will run until Jan. 4 to honor the holiday movie from 1989. Are you good with open waters?: There’s two open positions on the most remote, tallest lighthouse on Lake Michigan. |
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Thank you for joining me on today's edition of the Morning Briefing. As always, you can catch the latest Michigan news at MLive.com. While you're there, consider becoming a subscriber. See you tomorrow! — Jamie Rewerts |
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