For Friday, Sept. 27, 2024
1 – A crowdfunding campaign is on to gather the last bit of money for a waterfront park on Saginaw Bay in Linwood.
Supporters including Bay County, local townships and foundations have raised more than $668,000 for improvements to the Linwood Scenic Access Site.
They’ve launched a web campaign to raise the last $50,000 that’s needed. That’s $25,000 from the community, to be matched with another $25,000 from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. if the campaign is successful.
The access site in Linwood is said to be one of only a few public viewing locations where you can see the water of Saginaw Bay. And there’s no entrance fee.
Planned improvements include a new seawall and greenspace park area with picnic tables, spotting scopes, a handicap-accessible fishing platform and Porta Potty, an 800-foot hard surface trail for access to a small beach and a launch for small boats and kayaks.
The campaign is online at PatronCity.com.
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2 – A conceptual vision is out for the site of the old Consumers Energy Karn power plant.
It comes from the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy in partnership with Consumers and the Environmental Law & Policy Center.
The work is detailed in a report called “Where the River Meets the Bay.”
Consumers Energy has said that significant changes are coming to its power plants at the mouth of the Saginaw River in Bay County’s Hampton Township.
That includes solar energy production.
The site was a coal plant from 1959 to 2023. Two generating units powered by natural gas will continue operation through 2031.
The visioning project was designed to solicit input and provide recommendations for coming years.
The report mentions using about 400 acres for accessible outdoor recreation space.
Primary recommendations from the report include opening safe areas in stages as soon as possible, small parks linked together with a trail and road network, and proceeding with “a rigorous public process at every stage.”
– Mr. Great Lakes is heard at 6:45 and 8:45 Friday mornings on Delta College Public Radio 90.1 FM in University Center, Michigan, near Bay City (listen live). Follow @jeffkart on Twitter #MrGreatLakes
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Mr Great Lakes 