Author

Anna Gustafson

Anna Gustafson

Anna Gustafson is a former assistant editor at Michigan Advance, where her beats included economic justice, health care and immigration. Previously the founder of the Muskegon Times and the editor at Rapid Growth Media in Grand Rapids, Anna has worked as an editor and reporter for news outlets across the country.

‘Trauma after trauma’: Nassar survivors grapple with another sexual abuse investigation at MSU

By: - September 13, 2023

Danielle Moore knows what it means to stand up to a powerful abuser.  She knows what it means to live through trauma, what it means when some people refuse to believe that trauma, what it means to have to recall that trauma day in and day out – in front of the abuser, in front […]

Nessel sues Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority over PFAS contamination

By: - September 11, 2023

After what Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel called “repeated warnings and demands for action” from the state, Nessel announced Monday she is suing the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority over its alleged failure to address the airport’s role in contaminating nearby drinking water with what are known as “forever chemicals.” Nessel filed a lawsuit […]

Fake electors group was ‘guided’ by Trump attorneys, former Michigan GOP co-chair said 

By: - September 8, 2023

A group of Michigan Republicans facing felony charges accusing them of attempting to help overturn the 2020 election were reportedly “guided” by lawyers from former President Donald Trump’s campaign as they planned to use a slate of fake electors in an attempt to secure Trump’s victory, the former co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party said […]

Detroit is the country’s fifth worst city for people with asthma, new report says

By: - September 8, 2023

Detroit is one of the worst cities in the country for people with asthma, leaving adults and children to deeply struggle with what can be a fatal disease, according to a new report published Thursday by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). The nonprofit’s “2023 Asthma Capitals” report ranks Detroit as the country’s […]

‘The rent is too damn high’: Dems plan to tackle housing costs in Michigan

By: - September 2, 2023

From immigrant rights’ groups and affordable housing advocates in Detroit to students in Ann Arbor and community organizers in Lansing, there’s a phrase that is said time and again when talking about housing costs: “The rent is too high.”  There are variations of that – “damn” is often inserted in there, for example – but, […]

‘People are losing hope’: Advocates call on Democrats to back legislation supporting immigrants

By: - September 1, 2023

Following Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “What’s Next” address on Wednesday, advocates praised the Democrat’s call for paid family leave, increasing access to abortion care, boosting election security, and codifying measures in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), among other initiatives – but called on the state’s elected officials to do more to protect immigrants and communities of […]

Whitmer to call for passage of the ‘Reproductive Health Act’ in Wednesday speech

By: - August 28, 2023

After Michigan voters resoundingly passed Proposition 3 in the November 2022 election, enshrining the right to abortion and other reproductive health care in the state constitution, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is slated on Wednesday to champion soon-to-be-introduced legislation that would repeal laws restricting Michiganders’ access to abortion. A longtime advocate of abortion rights whose reelection in […]

Michigan farmers urge state lawmakers to pass ‘right to repair’ legislation

By: - August 23, 2023

Farmers, environmental groups and farming advocates from across Michigan are urging state lawmakers to pass House Bill 4673, which would allow farmers and ranchers to fix their own equipment instead of being forced to turn to manufacturer-authorized repair centers for what they said often amounts to costly and time-consuming assistance.  “Farmers are at the frontlines […]

MSU Interim President Teresa Woodruff won’t seek permanent presidency

By: - August 21, 2023

Michigan State University Interim President Teresa Woodruff announced Sunday that she will not apply to be the institution’s permanent president. “As the third interim president of MSU in the last five years, I wish for a period of stability for the university. Thus, and to enable that goal, I do not seek the full-time presidency […]

Michigan’s childhood vaccination rates have hit their lowest point since 2011

By: - August 18, 2023

Michigan’s childhood vaccination rates have fallen to their lowest point since 2011, alarming health officials throughout the state who are urging families to ensure their children are protected against highly contagious diseases like measles, mumps and whooping cough.  Vaccination rates among Michigan children began to drop during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Now, health officials said fewer […]

‘It’s still killing people every day’: As COVID numbers rise again, health experts urge caution

By: - August 10, 2023

Updated, 11:37 a.m., 8/10/23 Dr. Russ Lampen can easily recall the date: Dec. 13, 2021. On that day, Spectrum Health in West Michigan had its highest-ever number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized during the omicron variant wave – 421.  This week, there are eight people hospitalized with COVID-19 at Grand Rapids’ Corewell Health, the new name […]

Facing a long shadow of racism in agriculture, a Battle Creek farmer is inspiring change

By: - August 6, 2023

Standing amid the tomatoes growing on a two-acre plot of land in one of Battle Creek’s lowest-income neighborhoods, Devon Wilson looked at the small, orange plant nestled in his hand. This, he explained, gesturing towards a sea of green — a melange of kale and cucumbers, collard greens and summer squash — growing under the […]