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Morning Briefing

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2023

In today's newsletter, additional grocery assistance is ending, Michigan bald eagles are dying from lead poisoning, and Beyoncé is coming to Michigan this summer.

This month is off to a lively start.

Yesterday, Jessica shared the story of a six-year-old Chesterfield Township boy who racked up a $1,000 GrubHub bill on his dad's app. Turns out Mason Stonehouse is a good tipper. He tacked on 25% in gratuities to each delivery order. 

Tom Brady announced he's retiring from pro-football (again) and moving onto a NFL TV analyst job at FOX. For the live music fans, Beyoncé rolled out her anticipated "Renaissance" world tour dates with one stop in Michigan, two Michigan music artists are nominees for the Inductee Class of 2023 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,  and two country music concerts are coming to Jackson. Keep reading, there's more music news in spot five.

The start of February also marked the beginning of Black History Month. Here are 15 ways to celebrate Black history and culture celebrate in the Kalamazoo area, eight exhibits in Flint and an event series at Delta College.  

Curated by Cara Hackett

The Snow Moon in Italy in February 2022. (Photo by Riccardo Fabi/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Additional grocery money will dry up after February for 1.3M Michigan families

The bonus $95 Michiganders have been adding to their monthly grocery budget since 2020 will no longer be available after February. The federal program tied to COVID-19 emergency funding to address food insecurity is set to end after President Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.

What now?: For the 1.3 million Michigan families who receive food assistance the state health department is directing them to its resource page to find local food banks, free and reduced-price school lunches, the WIC program for women and babies, and Double Up Food Bucks. 

More in politics: After almost a year of brand choice, Michigan families who receive benefits through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children will have to transition to Similac formulas starting March 1 as supply chain regulates.

Read more

Michigan bald eagles are dying of lead poisoning. The reason may surprise you.

Save the eagles: Traverse City's Skegemog Raptor Center is seeing some of its worst cases of the lead-poisoned bald eagles. Testing showed the birds had sky-high levels of lead in their blood. The culprit? Ingested fragments of lead ammunition.

How did this happen? It’s an unintentional consequence of hunting with lead bullets, which create fragments that eagles and other wildlife can accidentally ingest when scavenging carcasses left behind. These cases are common every year at wildlife rehabilitation clinics across Michigan after deer season, explains James Manley, Skegemog Raptor Center’s executive director. “These last three cases were very severe. It’s heartbreaking to see,” Manley says. “People don’t know that it’s a problem.”

Other environmental news: The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said the hemlock woolly adelgid, an invasive pest which kills hemlock trees has been found in Benzie County, extending its march 50 miles north of the known infestation line near Ludington.

Read more

This weekend’s full Snow Moon is last chance to see a ‘micromoon’ this year

Time for sky-gazing: Rising in the east shortly after sunset on Sunday, February 5, the February full moon will be the second of 2023′s two micromoons: the term for when a moon reaches fullness while also being nearly at its farthest point from Earth, according to EarthSky.org. 

Warmer than usual: January 2023 will go down in the record books as one of the warmest for all Michigan cities. Most cities had anywhere between the third-warmest and seventh-warmest January on record. Mark has a breakdown of the temperatures for western areas of Michigan and the southeastern region.

Over in Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor plans to begin construction of a temporary water treatment plant this month to test new technologies for the city’s water future.

Read more

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West Michigan poised to outperform U.S. as economic slowdown looms

Economic news: The West Michigan economy is expected to slow this year, but it will weather rising interest rates and inflation better than the rest of the country, officials said Wednesday during an economic forecast hosted by the Grand Rapids Chamber.

Senate Democrats introduced legislation in an attempt to finally make Juneteenth, a holiday widely celebrated by Black Americans for years, official in Michigan. Senate Bill 50, sponsored by Sen. Sylvia Santana, D-Detroit, could soon designate June 19 of each year as a state recognized, public holiday. 

One more political thing: Educators and parents are urging Michigan lawmakers to nix the state’s “Read by Grade Three” law for the harmful effects being held back a grade has on a young students’ self-confidence, social abilities and literacy goals.

Read more

‘Queen Bey’ fans rejoice! Beyoncé is coming to Michigan on ‘Renaissance’ world tour

Beyoncé is back: As if Swift, Springsteen, Sheeran, Madonna, Metallica, Janet Jackson, P!NK and Morgan Wallen all coming to Michigan this year weren’t enough, Beyonce's "Renaissance" world tour is coming to Ford Field on Wednesday, July 26. 

Rock on: The White Stripes and Motown’s, The Spinners have just been announced as nominees for the Inductee Class of 2023 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

For the history buffs: The world’s oldest brain is located in Ann Arbor, and it belonged to a fish from 319 million years ago. A University of Michigan-led study published Wednesday, Feb. 1, in the British journal Nature highlights the oldest example of a well-preserved brain in a vertebrate fish, UM officials said. 

Read more

You're all caught up .

Thanks for checking back in with us this morning. 

Stay up to date with the latest Michigan news at MLive.com. As you think about your weekend plans, pencil in some time to consider becoming an MLive subscriber.

Until next time. 

— Cara Hackett

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