America’s budget on the precipice of catastrophe
The budget of the federal government is the largest of any organization in human history. It's larger than the entire economy of every foreign country except China. And it mostly grows automatically, without regular input from elected officials. In the past, huge surges in the national debt were largely caused by wars or recessions. They were temporary. When the war concluded or economic growth resumed, debt as a share of the economy would fall. That's not how it works anymore. The debt increases due to demographic trends as the bulk of spending goes to programs that serve an aging ...
MSP to step up enforcement through Labor Day weekend
While impaired driving -- whether due to alcohol, drugs or both -- is a year-round danger on the roadways, late summer and the Labor Day holiday period are among the deadliest times of the year for crashes and fatalities involving impaired drivers, the Michigan State Police warned. From 2021 to 2025, the state had a total of 46 drivers killed in traffic crashes over the Labor Day holiday weekends. In those crashes, 39.1% of the drivers killed were alcohol- and/or drug-impaired, according to the Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center. Of the 1,002 fatal crashes that ...
Isle Royale park structures protected under new alliance
The federal government, an entity many people wouldn't necessarily consider the best for the purposes of planning, seems to be out front in establishing an organization to advance coordinated protection and improvement of Isle Royale National Park's historic structures. The Isle Royale Heritage Alliance will be responsible for about 90 cabins, 19 fishery buildings and four lighthouses. The alliance will be powered by volunteers, with coordination by the National Parks of Lake Superior Foundation, the designated nonprofit park partner for Lake Superior's five national parks. "The ...
