TPUSA is a national conservative nonprofit that has chapters at more than 850 high schools, colleges, and universities. According to their website, the group’s mission is to educate and organize students, as well as promote “the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.” The organization is well-known for its founder, Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on Sept. 10, 2025, while giving a speech at Utah Valley University. Kirk, who started TPUSA when he was 18 years old, accumulated a large social media presence from both his podcast and his tours to various college campuses, where he was known for debating liberal and progressive thinkers. He garnered both admiration and backlash, and he leaves behind a contentious legacy.

A beloved NMC educator and advocate, Gray was 62 years old at the time of her passing on Jan. 12. Gray attended NMC as a student and also met her husband here. A Hawk Owl through and through, she returned to instruct NMC English courses for 15 years and founded the Neurodiversity Support Center (NSC). Gray is known for providing support for neurodiverse students at NMC. Coworkers and students remember her as someone who always showed up, advocated for students, and led with kindness first.

Boasting wide, bipartisan support from Michiganders, transparency in government runs on the behind-the-scenes, often invisible, work of public servants working for local municipalities. 

The Freedom of Information Act is a Michigan public records law meant to help inform citizens about how their government works. 

First passed in 1976, the state law came into effect at a time when there was demand for more transparency in government, according to Gregory Plagens, professor of political science at Eastern Michigan University. 

Michigan’s public-records law grants residents access to government information, but one journalist says that promise rings hollow after Grand Blanc Township quoted her a combined $164,000 to fulfill two requests. 

Independent journalist and social media influencer Anna Matson filed two requests under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for Grand Blanc Township 

The NMC Library is looking for volunteers for two events. One is a Read-Aloud and Craft Night for community children on Thursday, Jan 29, from 4:30 to 6:30pm at the NMC Library. The Library is also hosting a similar event on Friday, Jan 30, from 1:15 to 2:30pm at a local elementary school. Contact the NMC Library for more information.

When the temperature dips, housing instability changes from an abstract policy debate to an immediate safety issue. Traverse City’s shelters, outreach programs, and partner agencies do what they can to meet urgent needs—food, warmth, hygiene, safety—but this winter, the demand is outpacing the capacity of the system to respond.

Michigan and Massachusetts are the only states where citizens cannot submit a Freedom of Information Act request to collect records from their executive and legislative branches. 

For years, both Democrats and Republicans in Michigan have advocated expanding FOIA to include the two branches of government, but no deal has been reached. 

NMC’s Music and Audio Tech departments are home to many creative people, and Wren Yaske is one of them. She’s a first-year Audio Tech student and a prolific musician. Born in Gaylord, she plays a variety of instruments, but primarily creates in Logic Pro, a music production software.

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The project was presented to a crowd of around 150 residents to gauge their levels of interest in the data center being built. Citizens were given the opportunity to ask questions about land use, energy use, and tax dollars. Multiple community members came forward to voice their concern about the company using public DNR land and the possible effects on the local community.

The Michigan Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows access to most records of public bodies. The most recent legislation aimed at changing FOIA was rejected last month by House Speaker Matt Hall in favor of reforms to publicly disclose legislative earmarks before the state budget was passed.

Across Michigan, civics and social studies are disappearing from K-12 school curriculums, while children and young adults have more access to social media and internet disinformation than ever before. 

At the same time, efforts to expand Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act remain stalled in Lansing. 

Director of the Eastern Michigan University Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur Institute for Civic Education calls it a “perfect storm” for democracy.