Enbridge continues to move forward with the Great Lakes Tunnel project, which would continue to safely and securely meet the energy needs of the Upper Peninsula and the state. Currently, the timing of the project is driven by the permit approval process that is partially complete, but ongoing.

Pending permits include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the tunnel and a Michigan Public Service Commission certificate for the replacement project of the currently operated Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac. Completion of the Great Lakes Tunnel, which would reside hundreds of feet below the lake bed at points, remains the safest option to allow Line 5 to continue to generate over half the propane used by Michiganders to heat their homes, boil their water, and live their lives.

I spoke recently on the status of the project from the Senate floor. Check the video out here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckLL789bCW0

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is asking hunters who harvest a deer this year to bring their full deer carcass or deer head to a Michigan Department of Natural Resources check station or drop box for free bovine tuberculosis testing.

Deer testing samples are needed from Alcona, Alpena, Cheboygan, Crawford, Iosco, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Otsego, Oscoda, Presque Isle and Roscommon counties. The DNR needs samples from these counties to meet surveillance goals, which will help biologists understand the scale of infection in the local deer herd.

When submitting a deer head for TB testing at a DNR check station, hunters should come prepared with the county, township, range and section where the deer was harvested. The deer head should be removed, with 2-3 inches of the neck remaining. If the hunter plans to keep the antlers, they should be removed from the head, but brought along to the check station so that antler measurements can be taken.

Please use the DNR’s interactive map to find the closest Deer Check Station.

Schools throughout Michigan are facing a critical shortage of substitute teachers, which has caused some schools to close or switch to remote learning because they simply don’t have enough teachers and substitutes.

Senate Bill 726 would reduce the wait time from 12 months to two months for retired school employees to return to work without impacting their retirement benefits.

Under current law, school retirees may come back and work in a critical shortage area without it affecting their retirement benefits until July 2025 — but only if they have been retired for at least 12 months. Although the current situation has been exasperated by the pandemic, the shortage of substitute teachers has been an issue for years. The difference now is that is it affecting the ability of schools to stay open and teach our kids.

SB 726 has been referred to the Senate Education and Career Readiness Committee for consideration.

The Michigan Department of Education has announced its 2021-22 competitive robotics competition grant program. These grants are supported through a $5,323,200 appropriation by the Michigan Legislature in the 2022 School Aid Budget.

Eligible school districts provide pupils in grades K-12 with expanded opportunities to improve mathematics, science, and technology skills by participating in events like FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology).

For more information about the grant program, including additional STEM event opportunities, districts may visit Techplan.org, or email Ashley Arras at [email protected].

The Senate Appropriations Committee recently began hearings to consider a budget supplemental bill that would invest over $2.5 billion of Michigan’s remaining federal recovery funds to preserve and protect the state’s water quality, treatment infrastructure, environment and more.

Senate Bill 565 would designate $600 million for the replacement of lead pipes across the state, $700 million to upgrade local drinking water and wastewater facilities and $85 million to ensure students have access to safe water by installing filtered water stations inside schools.

The bill would repurpose $290 million in bonds to assist communities with upgrading and replacing water treatment infrastructure, establish a loan program for homeowners seeking to replace failing septic systems and includes $680 million to repair Michigan’s critical dams. An additional $15 million would be available to conduct surface water monitoring, $10 million for wetland mitigation, and $20 million to implement recommendations included in the Groundwater Use Advisory Council Report. The plan also addresses the harmful impacts of PFAS chemicals and would dedicate $100 million in grants to remove the chemicals from “orphaned” sites.

The bill will remain before the committee for further consideration. If passed from the committee it will move to the full Senate for a vote.

The Michigan Clean Boats, Clean Waters program is offering grants to support aquatic invasive species outreach efforts. This funding opportunity is available to organizations dedicated to boater education and protecting Michigan’s waterways.

Funding requests can range from $1,000 to $3,000 and can be used for a variety of activities including signage, invasive species removal supplies such as plant removal tools, sponges and towels, and staff time to perform watercraft inspections and demonstrations of boat cleaning techniques. Applicants are encouraged to partner with other conservation organizations and to conduct boater outreach on a regional scale.

Please visit the Clean Boats, Clean Waters website for more information and to apply. The deadline is Dec. 17.

As part of the fiscal year 2022 School Aid budget, passed by the Legislature earlier this year, the Michigan Department of Education has announced training grants for Pre-K to third grade teachers. The training will develop an expertise in language and literacy and will provide instruction in the science of reading – at no cost to educators.

Any Michigan Pre-K to third grade teacher currently teaching in any Michigan public school or public charter school is encouraged to apply. Pre-K, kindergarten, and first grade teachers will be prioritized. The deadline to apply to participate in the first cohort is Dec. 10, and the course begins in January 2022.

Additional information, including LETRS resources, cohorts and training dates, and registration information, can be found by visiting https://www.lexialearning.com/Michigan-letrs or the MDE website.

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving and a relaxing time spent with your loved ones, and of course, good food.

There’s nothing quite like having a nice turkey dinner with family on Thanksgiving. Considering the turkey tradition, it brings up the question, “How much do we love turkey?” Well, a lot.

The U.S. is the world’s largest turkey producer and largest exporter of turkey products. In 2020, U.S. producers raised 224 million turkeys, equaling 7.3 billion pounds. The graphic below illustrates some of the turkey numbers in Michigan and the country.

I recently spoke about Thanksgiving during a speech in the Senate. You may watch the video here.