Michigan

How about train service at Michigan Central Station? | Letters

Published

1 year ago

June 30, 2024

How about train service at Michigan Central Station? | Letters

After Michigan Central Station restoration, what’s next?

Last Sunday’s “Letters to the Editor” was dedicated to reminiscences of Detroit’s Michigan Central Station and reflections of the station’s restored status.

What about any plans or speculation about actual train service, and the state of Detroit’s current Amtrak station? The current station in New Center is functional at a bare-bones level. Passengers arriving at the station are greeting with a “Welcome to Detroit” message spelled out in adhesive mailbox-type letters stuck on the wall.

In the 1950s, my mother could take a train from Grand Rapids to Detroit. Not anymore.

Restoration of Michigan Central Station was once thought a near-impossibility. It happened, with universal support and national recognition.

Rail service to Michigan Central Station, and train service to the west side of the state is possible. There are no obstacles that cannot be achieved in this arena.

So often I hear my West Michigan friends and relatives say they would visit Detroit “if they didn’t have to drive.” Train service from Holland and Grand Rapids to Michigan Central Station would bring thousands of people a new and overwhelmingly positive view of Detroit.

Aaron Dome

Detroit

Mitch Albom is ‘almost always right,’ and ‘dangerously wrong’

After Mitch Albom writes a controversial piece, the opinion section is often filled with “Mitch is right, and Mitch is wrong” letters to the editor. What readers tend to miss is that Albom is almost always right, and also dangerously wrong in the same columns. It starts with his preferred tactic of writing as a moderate, common sense-filled centrist. The only problem is that more often than not, while he straddles the left and the right, he perpetuates false equivalencies between the two major political parties.

In his column last Sunday, he wrote correctly about how the Democrats and Republicans are both using fear as the driving message of their campaigns. (“Both parties have decided: In the 2024 election, ‘fear’ is the word,” June 23, Detroit Free Press.) This is an unfortunate place that our politics have come to, and Albom is dead on about that.

He went astray again when he claimed that both sides are guilty of the same thing. He is, of course, right on the surface. Both sides are using fear as the main force driving their message to vote for them or, more accurately, against their opponent.

However, the examples that Albom used objectively prove my point that he is once again drawing very weak parallels. He pointed out that Trump is scaring voters with a Biden presidency that will cause our economy to tank, allow violent immigrants to pour over the border and result in transgender story hours infiltrating our schools. We have four years of evidence that a Biden presidency will not do and has not done any of that.

The warnings about a second Trump presidency by the Biden campaign are also fear-mongering, but there is a distinct difference; they have already been proven to be true. Albom’s column said that the Democrats are also trying to scare us with claims that a Trump presidency will be one of retribution. Trump has actually been quoted as saying exactly that. The claims that he will be a dictator on day one are also Trump’s words, not theirs. Albom goes on to say that Democrats are trying to scare everyone into thinking that Trump will try to get rid of Obamacare, abortion rights and give tax breaks to the rich. Again, these are things that Trump either talked about doing, tried to do, or did during his four years in office.

It is one thing to try and scare voters with outrageous hypotheticals. It is something else entirely to remind them to be truly afraid of what they’ve already seen.

Bryan Chase

Huntington Woods

I can’t accept Mitch Albom’s ‘both-sides-ism’

Although I’m full of admiration for Mitch Albom’s writing and his extraordinary work to make our world and the broader world a better place, I can’t accept his “both-sides-ism” expressed in last Sunday’s column. (“Both parties have decided: In the 2024 election, ‘fear’ is the word,” June 23, Detroit Free Press.)

Just consider Mitch’s major point that citizens are pressed by Trump to fear that “… a Biden justice department would come after you … for every time you disagree with it.” And at the same time, Mitch says “… so does the Biden camp warn about Trump … who will target his enemies (in what will be) … a four-year revenge tour.”

So that’s what each side says. But responsible journalism requires some evaluation of the evidence.

There’s plenty of documentation (much of it from Trump himself) supporting Trump’s intention to target and prosecute those in the “deep state” and justice department and others who were not sufficiently loyal or who attempted to administer justice without fear or favor.

But where’s the evidence that the Biden team is planning to come after citizens who disagree with it? Documents outlining those plans? Statements from Biden or the attorney general? Campaign materials? Speeches by Biden confidantes or supportive political commentators?

It’s just not the same.

Michael Emlaw

Ann Arbor

‘Joe Biden will keep this country a democracy — Trump will not’

It was obvious that Joe Biden was not his best during the “debate” on Thursday. The same is true for Donald Trump.

For Trump, it was more like a “lie fest.” Trump never answered the questions forthrightly. He danced around them and outright lied.

Trump does not have the slightest clue what needs to be done. All he wants to do is to complain about the border as a talking point. Trump is a 78-year-old bully that has never grown up. Joe Biden is a good president in addition to being of moral character.

Trump would get rid of NATO and allow Russia to completely bulldoze Ukraine — and, why stop there? There’s Poland and others as well. Do not forget Trump attempted a coup on Jan. 6.

Trump said on Thursday what he said when he “debated” Hillary Clinton, that he would accept the outcome of the election only if it was fair. Well, IT WAS FAIR, and he did not accept it. What makes you think that he will this time around? Joe Biden will keep this country a democracy — Trump will not. For God sakes for the safety, well-being and freedoms we enjoy and want — re-elect Joe Biden.

Jim Jeziorowski

Wayne

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Michigan

Michigan Department of Natural Resources urges caution with fires amid heightened risk

Published

6 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Press Room

Michigan Department of Natural Resources urges caution with fires amid heightened risk

Recent dry conditions have increased fire risk in northern parts of Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources said Friday, and have prompted officials to urge caution for anyone making a burn pile.

The DNR said nine out of 10 wildfires in the state are started by human activities, and is asking anyone working or playing outdoors on Saturday or Sunday to “keep that in mind.”

Officials are urging extra caution for people making a fire in the northern Lower Peninsula, where there are downed trees and branches from the ice storm in March.

According to the DNR, people wanting to burn leaves or yard debris should check if check here for a burn permit, and anyone in the southern Lower Peninsula should check with their local fire department or city officials.

The state agency is asking anyone making a fire to keep it small, never leave it unattended, keep a hose or other water source nearby and not to burn plastic, hazardous materials, foam or other household trash. Anyone burning paper, leaves and natural materials is asked to use a burn barrel with a screen on top.

DNR officials added that keeping trailer chains from dragging and not parking hot equipment on dry grass can prevent sparks.

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Michigan

Cutting it: Shrinking Michigan market favors big, modern sawmills over small operators

Published

18 hours ago

October 11, 2025

Press Room

Cutting it: Shrinking Michigan market favors big, modern sawmills over small operators

Onaway— As general manager of a mid-Michigan sawmill for more than 25 years, Todd Smith has seen the state’s industry shrink, battered by foreign competition, inflation and a shortage of skilled workers.

Now there’s a new worry for him and 110 other employees at Devereaux Sawmill in Ionia County: tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump in an effort to force manufacturing of all kinds back into the United States.

“A lot of lumber gets exported to China and, even though we don’t export a lot to China, all the lumber that was going there has to go somewhere else,” Smith said. “So when trade into China gets cut back or cut off … it can flood the market. My hope is that the tariffs in the end will be more of a benefit than they are of a hardship right now.”

In the meantime, the levies add to the headwinds for Devereaux and other Michigan sawmills that turn lumber into cabinets, furniture and trim pieces as part of the state’s $26.5 billion forest products industry. According to research from Michigan State University’s Department of Forestry, the number of sawmills in Michigan declined to 237 from 257 between 2018 and 2023, while the number of small operators plunged 43% from 1990 to 2023. Overall, the state’s industry lost more than $211 million in output and 1,100 jobs between 2019 and 2023.

That consolidation has ripple effects for local economies. The report cited the closure of two Besse Forest Products Group mills in the Upper Peninsula last year that resulted in more than 100 layoffs as highlighting the fragility of rural communities dependent on mill infrastructure.

“In one area, there is investment happening in the sawmill, which created a job, and another area where the mill is closed, people lose logging as a particular rule of economics,” said Jagdish Poudel, an assistant professor of forest economics and policy at MSU.

To Smith, it’s a simple but challenging calculus: Get bigger or get gone.

“You have to grow in order to stay profitable, and the smaller places seem to be struggling and getting squeezed out, which is too bad in a way, but that’s kind of the way it is,” he said. “Farming seems to be going that way, and some of big-box stores squeeze out the little hardware (stores), and our industry is quite similar. There’s still some operators who can get it done, but if you’re not growing and getting bigger, then it’s harder to keep the doors open.”

Up north in Cheboygan County, Precision Hardwoods is among the Michigan sawmills getting bigger.

This year, the business, which employs more than 80 people, completed a $20 million expansion that includes a new 45,000-square-foot facility that uses artificial intelligence and other technology to cut lumber in seconds — allowing the company to process up to five times the amount of chopped wood for industrialized crates, boxes and pallets as before.

The project, which included the hiring of 18 more employees, was aided by a $130,000 Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund.

Owner Mike Sturgill said he’s seen small sawmills close, which is why his facility on M-68 just west of Onaway not only processes lumber but handles logging, too. That, he said, makes Precision less dependent on outside forces than some competitors.

“We can have control of our future and control of what we do; we’re not relying on someone else to help us,” Sturgill said. “(Whereas) they’re at the mercy of competing against everybody else for logs and trucking capacity.”

Sturgill spends his days in a control room overseeing the new AI system that quickly measures hardwood and softwoods like maple, oak, beech, birch, aspen and pine logs, decides how to cut them, and also kicks out logs that have metal inside or are too bulky to cut. It can send more than 5,000 logs per day through the machine compared to less than 750 per day with the old industrial sawmill.

“This mill operation was $20 million,” he said. “It’s a lot of investment. You have to be sure you want to do this … you got to be in it for a long time before you can recoup your investment.”

He went ahead with the expansion despite being in a market he says has been oversupplied since 2022, in expectation that the housing market will rebound. He’s optimistic that Trump’s tariffs will help, too.

“The market’s been pretty saturated and kind of slow for the last few years, but you can’t keep adding more people to the country and not use more houses, supplies,” Sturgill said. “I think the tariffs are helping us. The more we have to buy here and build here, it will help the industry in general. It’ll be some tough times to get there, some inflation, but ultimately it’ll be better.”

Like the owner, employees such as Joe Burrows, a maintenance worker who joined Precision Hardwoods in April as part of the expansion, are keenly aware of the shakeout among Michigan mills with 50 or fewer employees.

“I know there’s some small mills around here that have closed over the years,” said Burrows, who helped set up parts of the new mill and paint its floors.

Fluctuations in timber prices and increased operational costs contribute to the closures. Larger sawmills benefit from advanced machinery and automation, which enhance productivity and reduce labor costs. Small mills frequently lack access to such technologies, making it difficult to compete.

Smith, the Devereaux general manager, said other challenges include finding qualified loggers and handling customer orders that have grown more specialized over the past two decades.

“The logging profession seems to be dwindling. Finding good quality loggers that still harvest the way that we do … with a chainsaw, it is becoming kind of a dying profession,” he said. “Finding loggers has become a bit of a concern in our industry in Michigan.”

On the customer side, Smith said, “Orders have become a lot more technical. Twenty years ago, we could sell full loads of one common hard maple. Now it’s like 1,000 feet of this, 2,000 feet of that, sprinkle on a little bit of this … everybody wants just enough,” he said. “The markets are unpredictable (and) nobody has a real positive long-term outlook. It’s not like doom and gloom either, but nobody wants to get too carried away. Everybody’s operating with caution.”

mjohnson@detroitnews.com

@_myeshajohnson

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Soccer Rides Early Second Half Goal to Win at Eastern Michigan – Ball State University Athletics

Published

1 day ago

October 10, 2025

Press Room

Soccer Rides Early Second Half Goal to Win at Eastern Michigan – Ball State University Athletics

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Ball State soccer rode an early second half goal to a 1-0 win at Eastern Michigan on Thursday afternoon at Scicluna Field.

Freshman Jordyn Klaasen scored her first collegiate goal off a corner kick assist from LG Moncrief in the 51^st minute to give the Cardinals (6-5-2, 3-3-1 Mid-American Conference) a 1-0 lead that proved to be the difference against the Eagles (4-6-3, 2-2-3 MAC) in a consequential match for MAC Tournament seeding.

The win was Ball State’s third in four tries on the road against conference opponents, and the team is 6-2 overall away from Muncie this year.

Kate Pallante collected two saves including one in the final minutes for her second solo shutout of the year. The Ball State backline limited Eastern to only seven shots on the day.

Joining Klassen with shots on goal from the Cardinals included Addie Chester, who placed three on goal among five total looks, Moncrief, Delaney Caldwell and Tori Monaco. Klaasen and fellow defenders Delaney Ahearn and Grier Isaacson went the full 90 minutes.

Ball State earned more corner kicks (8-5), while EMU committed more fouls (7-5) and offsides violations (5-1) on Thursday.

The Cardinals are set to return home to host Akron at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

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