reWorking Michigan

This week's reWorking Michigan story looks at how Michigan’s new law allowing motorcyclists to ride without a helmet is affecting insurance companies and agencies.

Therapy for children with autism can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Until now, that kind of treatment was unaffordable for many parents of autistic children.  But a new Michigan law will soon require insurance companies to cover autism diagnosis and treatment for children and teenagers.  This law is also expected to create  hundreds or perhaps thousands of new jobs for people who are trained to treat autistic children.

Last week, Mayor Virg Bernero announced that a series of small wind turbines would be installed on the roofs of City Hall and the Lansing Center in June.  Generating electrical power from wind energy is part of Michigan’s overall renewable energy strategy.  But there’s some debate as to whether the urban core is the best laboratory in which to try it out.  

This week from reWorking Michigan, we look at the first project under development at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University.   The Land Grant Project will stretch the museum’s mission, bringing artists into the classrooms at MSU.

Our report this week looks at safety in the workplace.  In 2011, the state of Michigan created the Workplace Safety Advisory Rules Committee.  For months, its members combed through volumes of health and safety rules applying to a wide range of industries.  The committee recommended eliminating hundreds of regulations it deemed obsolete or burdensome.  State lawmakers are now considering that report.  In the meantime, some labor groups say the recommendations go too far.

For the last year, most of the cross-border attention has been paid to the debate over building a new bridge linking Detroit and Windsor, Ontario. However, things are also happening in Michigan’s other border cities to help businesses in Michigan and Ontario.

Record-breaking warm temperatures this spring have coaxed fruit trees and other perennial crops in Michigan to bud weeks ahead of schedule.  Farmers are facing a much earlier growing season and several more weeks of anxiety over the threat of frost.

To understand pharmacology, you first need to understand what it isn’t. Being a pharmacologist doesn’t mean you work in a pharmacy.

More people in Michigan are using yoga to keep their bodies toned and their stress level in check. For others, it's a growing business opportunity. reWorking Michigan looks at the growth potential of yoga studios. 

The challenges facing the companies catching and selling whitefish from Michigan waters have been many and varied over the years.

Can parks, natural areas and waterways affect employment growth and income?  Yes, according to a new study by the Land Policy Institute and the Michigan Natural Features Inventory at Michigan State University.

East Lansing, MI – EAST LANSING, MI (WKAR) - Some Chinese students at Michigan State University are not only getting their degree here, but also want to start a business here.

East Lansing, MI – EAST LANSING, MI (WKAR) - Last week, officials got a scare when U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu expressed some doubt over whether the federal government would continue funding the $615 million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams at Michigan State University. Still, the hiring and construction process continues.

EAST LANSING, MI – Winter farmers markets are expanding across the country and in Michigan. On our reWorking Michigan Monday report, WKAR's Gretchen Millich shows us how hoop houses allow farmers to grow and sell fresh vegetables through the winter.