LANSING — A group of pig farmers and hunting ranch operators told Michigan lawmakers that the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been waging a decade-long campaign to destroy their livelihoods under the guise of environmental enforcement.
At the center of the controversy is the DNR’s 2010 Invasive Species Order (ISO), which effectively banned the possession of certain breeds of pigs the state deemed “feral” or “invasive.” But according to the farmers, the pigs in question are not wild animals, but barnyard livestock raised for hunting and meat.
“This is not about dangerous pigs,” said Republican State Sen. Ed McBroom during a hearing. “It’s about government overreach. The DNR ignored legislative efforts to regulate the industry and instead used executive authority to force these farmers out.”
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McBroom recounted how small farmers were targeted despite breeding pigs on fenced, regulated ranches. The DNR argued that phenotypic traits — such as ear shape and hair color — were enough to classify the pigs as invasive. In one court challenge, the department released a list of characteristics they claimed would distinguish illegal pigs from legal ones, but critics say the list was arbitrary and unscientific.
Veterinary experts testified that the DNR’s pig classification methods were based on flawed science. They said the department created a genetic test based on less than 600 samples, which they argued was insufficient for a reliable scientific basis. Heritage breeds common on Michigan farms were left out of the analysis altogether.
Farmers say they initially complied with DNR regulations and court rulings, but the state kept moving the goalposts. After winning a lawsuit in 2016, many believed the ordeal was over — until the DNR sent undercover agents to buy pigs, kill them, and re-test their DNA to pursue new lawsuits against ranchers.
According to McBroom, dozens of ranches have been forced to shut down. “There were 70 ranches before this. Now there are five,” he said. “We figured out a way to make a living farming in the U.P., and they’ve spent millions trying to shut us down.”
Lawmakers on the committee expressed bipartisan outrage. One representative described the actions as "weaponization of the government," saying that ordinary farmers were being treated like criminals for doing honest agricultural work.
Witnesses argued the issue boils down to money and control, claiming the DNR wanted authority over fenced hunting operations and a share of the associated revenues.
As lawsuits continue, farmers and lawmakers alike say reform is needed to protect small businesses from regulatory abuse. “These are hardworking people trying to survive,” said McBroom. “The state should be helping them, not harassing them.”
Michigan House Bill 5711, which would roll back the state’s clean energy mandates for utilities, has cleared the House Energy Committee and is headed to the full House for a vote.
If approved there, it would move to the Senate for consideration.
🚨The Village of Birch Run, Michigan doesn’t record or live stream their public meetings. They’re not legally required to, but I think it would be something good to do for transparency. I talked to the village president who did not want to touch the issue.
The USGS says a magnitude 2.9 earthquake hit about 7 km south southeast of Amherstburg, Canada, just across from the Detroit area. It happened at a shallow depth of about 2 km.
Did you feel anything in Mid Michigan or Metro Detroit?
No livestream. No recording. No transparency. So I showed up. St. Charles, Michigan school board. Know a school board or local government keeping meetings off camera? Tell me where to go next.
Thank-you for being here. M to F I send out this morning email. The stories they don’t want you to see.
SOS Benson’s Past Ties to SPLC Draw Scrutiny Amid Federal Investigation Allegations
LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat who is running for governor, isn’t shy about her longtime ties to the now federally-indicted Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
The left-leaning SPLC is under a U.S. Department of Justice criminal investigation, and faces 11 counts related to wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. It centers on the SPLC paying people to infiltrate groups like the Ku Klux Klan and Neo-Nazi organizations in order to incite racial unrest. These are the very groups the SPLC said they fought against.
The Michigan Fair Elections Institute (MFEI) stressed that Benson’s affiliation with the SPLC wasn’t “peripheral.” It said, “By her own account, [Benson] worked at the organization as an undercover operative in the late 1990s, going so far as to pose as a freelance journalist to gain access to neo-Nazi leaders and white supremacist groups.” Click here to read more.
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FBI looks into dead or missing nuclear and space defense scientists tied to NASA, Blue Origin, and SpaceX
Almost a dozen scientists related to nuclear and space defense programs tied to NASA, SpaceX, and Blue Origin are dead or missing in cases as far back as 2022, and they’ve gone largely unnoticed by authorities and the public—until now.
The House Oversight Committee formally demanded answers from four federal agencies Monday on the deaths and disappearances of at least 11 American scientists and researchers with ties to NASA, nuclear research, and classified defense programs—several of them directly connected to the space defense technologies now being commercialized by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Rep. Eric Burlison (R-Mo.), the chair of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs, sent letters to FBI Director Kash Patel, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, requesting staff-level briefings no later than April 27. Click here to read more.
Alabama boy’s secret Facebook post asking for cancer drug grabs national attention
RALPH, Ala. - An Alabama teenager took a chance on Wednesday, filming a two-minute video on his mom’s Facebook page without his parents knowing.
He didn’t expect what happened next.
Will Roberts, 15, lives in Ralph, an unincorporated community in Tuscaloosa County. He’s fighting for his life against stage 4 bone cancer, called osteosarcoma, which has spread throughout his body.
“From a parent’s aspect, you’re just getting by day to day in hopes that this miraculous treatment is advanced in the time that you’re allowed to fight every day,” said Will’s mother, Brittney. Click here to read more.
Appeals court keeps Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ open
ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that the immigration detention facility in the Florida Everglades known as “Alligator Alcatraz” can continue operating, overturning a lower court’s order that had required it to begin winding down.
In a 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the state-run center did not trigger requirements for a federal environmental review. The majority said Florida officials built and control the facility on state land, without sufficient federal involvement to invoke the National Environmental Policy Act.
“Florida, not the federal government, controls the site and bore the full cost of construction,” the opinion stated. At the time of the district court’s injunction last August, no federal reimbursement had been provided, the panel noted. Click here to read more.
Fairfax Schools’ ‘Equity’ Calendar and Its Classroom Consequences
In January 2022, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) adopted a calendar containing fewer five-day school weeks and more early release days with the explicitly stated goals of “equity and inclusion.”
At that time, the 12 Democratic-endorsed school board members also voted to decouple spring break from Easter—a terrible idea that lasted only a year—as part of broader efforts to create a more “equitable” school calendar.
FCPS’s updated calendar further recognizes several religious and cultural holidays, including Eid al-Adha, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Día de los Muertos, Diwali, Bodhi Day, Three Kings Day/Epiphany, Orthodox Christmas, Orthodox Epiphany, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, Good Friday, Theravada, Orthodox Good Friday/Last Night of Passover and Eid al-Fitr. Click here to read more.
