By Jon King, Editor-in-Chief
“Public rights to our public waters are empty promises without permitting systems that prevent pollution and harm to our water ecosystems.”
- Liz Kirkwood, executive director of Flow Water Advocates, on a ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court requiring reconsideration of the state’s environmental permitting process for wastewater discharge from the state’s factory farms.
YOUR TOP MICHIGAN ADVANCE STORIES OF THE WEEK
A sign reading “Flock Out!” blocks a Flock license plate reader camera in Lansing, Mich. on Sept. 28, 2026. (Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance)
By Kyle Davidson
As Lansing residents press the city to end its automated license plate reader contract with Flock Safety, members of DeFlock Lansing and the Michigan Capitol Visibility Brigade gathered at the intersection of Michigan Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, where four Flock cameras are installed.
A “SNAP welcomed here” sign is seen at the entrance to a Big Lots store in Portland, Oregon. (Getty Images)
By Katherine Dailey
Across Michigan, school districts, food pantries, legal aid groups and nonprofits are preparing for another change in the distribution of SNAP benefits.
Survivors of Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse, along with some of their parents react to the Michigan State University Board of Trustees voting unanimously to release documents the school has withheld from the state attorney general for years for its investigation into Nassar’s abuse on Dec. 15, 2023. (Photo: Anna Liz Nichols)
COMMENTARY
By Megan Bonanni and Erin Blayer
For survivors of childhood sexual abuse, coming forward can be a complex process shaped by trauma, fear, shame and the circumstances surrounding the abuse. Survivors may not disclose what happened or fully understand their experiences until years or decades later. But the law does not always give survivors that same amount of time. In Michigan, statutes of limitations can prevent survivors from bringing civil claims based on abuse that occurred years earlier.
U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, right, speaks at a rally with U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, left, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and U.S. House candidate William Lawrence in Lansing, Mich., on July 19, 2026. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance)
By Ben Solis
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders has big plans for the U.S. Senate’s healthcare and labor policy-making committee if Democrats take back chamber in the upcoming general election, and Michigan Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed would be tapped to help him if he is elected in the fall.
A farmer with a large tractor spreading liquid manure on a ploughed field on an overcast spring day. | Simply Creative Photography/Getty Images
By Kyle Davidson
A ruling from the Michigan Supreme Court regarding a permit for Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel project is echoing into other aspects of the state’s environmental permitting process, as the state’s high court encouraged the Court of Appeals to take another look at a case centered on regulations for Michigan’s factory farms.
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