Aug. 12--LANSING -- Money raised from Michigan's vehicle registration fees is supposed to be spent fixing the crumbling roads. But for more than 20 years, millions of dollars in registration fees paid by heavy trucks have gone back to the trucking industry many blame for busting up the roads in the first place, records show. The money, close to $8 million since 2012 alone, is paid in grants to ... Read More

Storms and flooding have caused significant damage throughout the U.S. during the first half of 2019. The Associated Press tallied about $1.2 billion of damage in 24 states based on preliminary assessments of public infrastructure categories established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The tally includes damage to roads and bridges, utilities, water control facilities, public ... Read More

Xcel Energy’s proposed $650 million purchase of a gas-fired power plant in Mankato has run into strong opposition from two state agencies concerned about its potential impact on ratepayers. Minneapolis-based Xcel in November announced its intent to buy the large power plant from Atlanta-based Southern Power. Xcel currently buys electricity from the Mankato plant on a long-term contract. The ... Read More

Aug. 10--A building designed by one of the 20th century's most influential architects is coming to Indiana University's Bloomington campus thanks to a tip from one of the state's most prominent philanthropists. The IU Board of Trustees unanimously approved construction of what is being called the Mies van der Rohe Building during its board meeting Friday at the Indiana Memorial Union. The $10 ... Read More

Aug. 7--For nearly 30 years, Scabby the Rat, a giant inflatable balloon with sharp claws, a perpetual snarl and a menacing demeanor, has loomed over construction sites across Chicago and beyond to protest the hiring of nonunion labor. Like deep dish pizza, skyscrapers and the Ferris Wheel, the giant inflatable rat is a Chicago creation that has found its way into the broader culture. Scabby ... Read More

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — The company that operates dual oil pipelines in a key Great Lakes channel says a gap has opened between one pipe and the lake bed that's wider than allowed under an agreement with the state of Michigan. Enbridge Inc.'s Line 5 carries crude oil between Superior, Wisconsin, and Sarnia, Ontario. A 4-mile (6.4-kilometre) section runs across the bottom of the Straits of ... Read More

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Erosion has created a gap beneath an oil pipeline in a key Great Lakes channel that's wider than allowed under an agreement with the state of Michigan, oil transport company Enbridge Inc. said Wednesday. The Canadian company said the opening between the pipe and the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac poses "no safety or integrity risk," an assessment that state ... Read More

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A state appeals court has blocked a key permit for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine in northeastern Minnesota. The Minnesota Court of Appeals on Tuesday stayed the project's water quality permit. Minnesota Public Radio News reports environmental groups and the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa had asked for the permit stay. Environmentalists contend the ... Read More