After years of planning and securing funding the Boardman River restoration project is in high gear in Grand Traverse County. It is a monumental environmental project to turn back the clock more than one hundred years, erasing much of the damage man has done to the river and its ecology. Kevin Essebaggers takes us through the project and talks with ecologist Frank Dituri about where the project stands, what you can expect to see happen this year, and why it’s such an important undertaking.

This week that we observe Memorial Day, Kevin Essebaggers welcomes Renee Haley, an Army veteran and Director of Veterans Services for Clare County. She explains why it can be very difficult for veterans in northern Michigan to get the benefits they earned in the service of their country, and the effort to change that. We also explain a change the U.S. Veterans Administration made this week to make it easier for veterans in Michigan to secure a low-cost home loan.

Michigan’s auto insurance rates routinely rank among the highest in the country. Kevin Essebaggers looks into the reason for that, and welcomes insurance agent Seth Wenger to talk about what’s driving up costs, and the effort to reign in those costs. We’ll also hear from the Republican candidates for Michigan governor about their plans to reform the system.

This week Kevin Essebaggers looks into a renewed effort to build a new shipping lock in Sault Ste. Marie.

It started when President Trump publicly backed the plan at a rally in Michigan last month.

Find out what state leaders are doing to build on that momentum, and 9&10’s Aaron Parseghian joins the conversation after attending the Trump rally, and the subsequent stop by the Lt. Governor in the Soo to push for funding the project.

On episode 3 of 9&10 News Focus, Kevin Essebaggers breaks down the details of Governor Snyder’s proposed boost to school security, and the moves already taken by the Michigan Senate to fund those changes.

Officer Jeff Rork of the Cadillac Police Department joins Kevin for a discussion on the role of school resource officers in Michigan, and how that role could be expanded under the new plans.

On this week’s 9&10 News Focus we’re following up on 9&10’s forum on the Opioid crisis in northern Michigan. A doctor with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan suggests it may be a bigger problem in Michigan than nationally, and a bigger problem in northern Michigan than the rest of the state. Kevin Essebaggers is talking with reporter David Lyden about the crisis and what came out of the forum that can be used to help turn around the staggering statistics. We’ll also hear a father tell the heartbreaking story of the loss of his son to an opioid addiction.

In this inaugural episode of 9&10 News Focus we turn our attention to the controversial Line 5 pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac. How did it become so controversial and who is now calling for Enbridge to decommission it in light of recently discovered damage? We get perspective from 9&10 News reporter Aaron Parseghian who has talked to lawmakers, Enbridge, the U.S. Coast Guard, residents and others about the current state of Line 5, and what happens next.