It's a regional roundup today on the Up North Lowdown. We'll hear about a crucial millage vote in Benzie County, solar array concerns in Wexford County and how rainfall doesn't necessarily tell you much about wildfire danger.

Union nurses and Munson Medical Center in Traverse City have reached a tentative agreement after months of negotiation. Artificial intelligence was among the issues on the table during those talks. We hear why. Plus, other stories from northern Michigan.

Last year, you might recall, northern Michigan experienced three tornadoes on the same day. In 2022, Gaylord was hit by a deadly twister. And southwest Michigan suffered deaths and injuries after tornadoes earlier this year. What do you do if you live in a home with little shelter, like no basement, or lots of windows? More and more, people are turning to tornado safe rooms. Bridge Michigan's Nate Miller wrote about the growing trend and talks with the Lowdown about why demand is growing for the shelters.

Prison workers in the Michigan Department of Corrections have been upset about working conditions — including thin staffing, safety concerns and mandatory overtime — for a while. IPR, WCMU and the Northern Michigan Journalism Collaborative produced a series of reports about this back in April. Now, those workers are about to get a raise. Will it assuage any concern? Reporting for this episode came from Claire Keenan-Kurgan.

Some groups that do research and collect data on the Great Lakes face existential threats as the federal budgeting process gets underway. The president wants to cut their funding. That’s worrying scientists who say the work they do is the foundation of weather observations, water quality, maritime safety and recreation on the Great Lakes. IPR climate solutions reporter Vivian La tells us more. And, yes, it's been a buggy spring so far. We hear what might be happening, from IPR's Ellie Katz.

How do you tell the story of a complicated country, for people you'll never meet? Hear our conversation with Interlochen resident Tom Medema, project manager for America's Time Capsule, part of the official celebration of the nation's semiquincentennial. The capsule will be buried in Philadelphia until 2276.

Michigan needs new farmers. So does the nation. But it's a hard business. There are big challenges, including high costs and access to land. That's to say nothing of fickle weather and a changing climate. Just south of Traverse City, an incubator farm is working to solve some of these issues. IPR climate solutions reporter Vivian La takes us there. And Austin Rowlader has details on a new investigation into the Antrim County Clerk's office, this time from Michigan State Police.

Five children from Grand Traverse County were sent out of state for mental health treatment — to a Missouri facility with a history of allegations of sexual and physical abuse. Now, the mother of one of those children speaks out, telling IPR she warned the court about the facility's past, but her son was sent there anyway.

We first met Leslie Meyers, aka "the Dam Lady," back in October — long before rising waters this spring that flooded many households downstream of the dam in Bellaire. When that happened, in April, it was Meyers who was tasked with orchestrating the emergency response, issuing evacuation preparedness orders, handling media contacts, and overseeing repairs to the 100 year old earthen berm that holds back the Upper Chain of Lakes in Antrim County. And after all that, her moniker has taken on a new weight.

The Traverse City Pit Spitters begin their season today in Kalamazoo. After two games there, the team comes to Traverse City for a Wednesday home opener against the Rockford Rivets. Last year the team had the second most wins in franchise history. But it's hard to how what will happen this year. Pit Spitters Manager Todd Reed explains why and talks about the importance of building a team around more than wins and losses.