For Friday, July 7, 2023

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1 – In case you missed it, the Michigan Legislature approved a new 2023-24 fiscal year budget in late June. It includes hundreds of millions of dollars to fund renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure and more. 

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer praised the passage and is expected to sign the budget. 

As noted by the Michigan Energy Innovation Business Council, the $81.7 billion budget increases funding to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy by more than 40 percent, drawing on federal infrastructure dollars. 

Advanced energy provisions include $125 million for transitioning school buses to electric vehicles and $30 million for local communities to install renewable energy projects. 

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2 – The new Michigan budget also includes $4 million to replace the Steelhead survey vessel.

The Steelhead has been operating on the Great Lakes for more than 50 years, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

The 62.5-foot-long craft was built in Escanaba in the late 1960s for sampling fisheries and deepwater habitats. 

Its initial operations included investigating major fish stocks on lakes Michigan and Huron, according to The Alpena News. 

The Steelhead operates out of the Charlevoix Fisheries Research Station.

It’s one of four state research vessels with an on-board crew. 

The craft typically runs from March through December, mainly on Lake Michigan, occasionally assisting with other Great Lakes projects.

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3 – More news from the State Veterinarian’s Office: Eastern equine encephalitis has been detected in mosquitoes from Bay County. This is the first detection of the disease in Michigan this year.

Eastern equine encephalitis is a viral disease transmitted through the bites of mosquitoes to animals and people. 

Officials say it’s typically seen in late summer to early fall each year in Michigan.

The disease is one of the most dangerous mosquito-borne diseases in the U.S., with a 90 percent fatality rate among horses that become ill. The fatality rate is 33 percent among humans who become ill.

The state says the detection shows the virus is present in the environment and highlights the need to take precautions such as vaccinating horses against mosquito-borne diseases.

For more information, visit michigan.gov/eee.

– Mr. Great Lakes is heard Fridays at 9:30 a.m. in Bay City, Michigan, on Delta College Public Radio 90.1 FM (listen live). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes

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