Its massive timbers and earthy aroma of fresh-ground grain haven’t changed much since 1849, when oxen and horses began hauling wagons and sleighs here heaped with local products destined for markets in Chicago and beyond.

You can still buy pigs’ ears and munch on roasted peanuts in the mill store, where oak floors are worn smooth with the boots of farmers who lived before Abraham Lincoln was president.

But now semi-trucks filled with local corn and soybeans pull out of here daily, headed for an ethanol plant in South Bend.

Spurred by a global economy with a new voracious appetite for grains, Decatur’s NorthStar Grains LLC could be poised for new vitality.

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Lionel LLC has emerged from bankruptcy protection, ending more than three years of restructuring and a bitter fight with a rival model train company.

The 108-year-old Chesterfield Township, Mich.-based toy maker formally came out of bankruptcy Thursday, leaving the company poised to move out of the hobby shop and into the broader pop-culture marketplace.

Chief Executive Gerald Calabrese, a former Marvel Comics executive who shepherded Lionel through bankruptcy, said in an interview that he sees the new Lionel as an entertainment company and not just a toy maker.

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After researching the question for seven years, a federal agency said Wednesday it cannot draw broad conclusions about how industrial pollution in the Great Lakes region has affected human health.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry called for more study — and better organization and analysis of information — so the area’s citizens and governments can deal with potential dangers from environmental contaminants.

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Traffic delays cost the average Detroit-area driver 54 hours per year, and the city is one of the worst in the country for commuters, according to Forbes.

Of the 75 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, Forbes ranks Detroit as the second worst for drivers, citing the lack of regularly used public transportation as a cause of regular congestion.

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Ferry service to Wisconsin resumes on May 3.

Milwaukee’s Lake Express will arrive in Muskegon on Thursday around noon. The first cross-lake cruise is now set for May 3rd.

It marks the start of the 5th season for the high speed catamaran. The Lake Express crosses Lake Michigan in 2 1/2 hours.

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What is Free Comic Book Day?

Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free* to anyone who comes into their stores.

* Each retailer will decide the guidelines for receiving comics.

Check for a participating store near you!

So-called “factory farming” takes a big, hidden toll on human health and the environment, is undermining rural America’s economic stability and fails to provide the humane treatment of livestock increasingly demanded by American consumers, concludes an independent, 2½-year analysis that calls for major changes in the way corporate agriculture produces meat, milk and eggs.

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Michigan had nearly 39,000 fewer children under the age of 5 last year compared with 2000, a startling decline that experts say could have a dramatic effect on the state’s schools, retailers and job market for decades to come.

The census population estimates released today show Michigan had the second highest percentage drop among its youngest residents, behind Louisiana, and the second largest estimated drop just behind New York, a much more populous state.

The implications could be long-lasting: Everything and everyone from physicians to youth sports teams to churches will be affected by the changing needs of the state. And a generation from now, there could be fewer people entering the work force — and again, fewer families to raise the next generation of Michiganians.

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Acclaimed keyboardist Chuck Leavell has shared the stage with musicians like Eric Clapton, Ray Charles and George Harrison. He was a member of the Allman Brothers and has played with the Rolling Stones for the past two decades.

But this Saturday, he will share the stage with a group of Central Michigan University students.

Leavell is scheduled to speak at the 1:30 p.m. commencement ceremony on Saturday in Rose Arena. He said he has been working hard for the past two weeks preparing a speech that he hopes will inspire the graduating students.

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Opponents of a planned nickel and copper mine in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are trying to overturn a decision by the state Department of Environmental Quality to allow the project.

A hearing began Monday in Lansing on a challenge to the DEQ’s approval of permit applications submitted by Kennecott Minerals Co. It is expected to last several weeks.

The challenge was filed by the National Wildlife Federation, the Huron Mountain Club, the Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. They contend the DEQ wrongly concluded that Kennecott’s plan meets environmental protection standards set under a state nonferrous mining law enacted in 2004.

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Who is Bill Polian’s mirror opposite? NFL executives are loath to criticize one of their own openly. But talk to them in private and nearly all concede that Detroit Lions President and CEO Matt Millen has made more bad draft decisions than anyone else in two centuries.

Mr. Millen is famous for wasting top draft picks on wide receivers, perhaps the lowest-impact position in pro football, especially, says Cold Hard Football Facts Kerry Bryne, “since Millen has never been able to find a decent quarterback to throw the ball to them.”

Continue reading: The Wall Street Journal

Ann Arbor is proposing a way to reduce traffic and parking congestion in the heart of the city by providing residents with a small fleet of cars and SUVs for use for an hourly fee.

The Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority is turning to Zipcars — a members-only car sharing company that rents vehicles by the hour or the day — to offer vehicles to those who normally use buses or bicycles for transportation.

Ann Arbor wants to bring in three Zipcars after seeing the success of the 2-year-old Zipcar franchise at the University of Michigan.

Continue reading: The Detroit News

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West Michigan residents concerned about sinking Great Lakes water levels will get a chance to share their views this week when U.S. and Canadian officials studying the issue visit Muskegon.

The International Joint Commission, a U.S.-Canadian panel that advises the two nations on Great Lakes issues, is studying water levels in lakes Michigan, Huron, Superior and Erie. A committee working on the IJC’s International Upper Great Lakes Study will host a public hearing on lake levels Sunday, from 10 a.m. to noon, at Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute, 740 W. Shoreline.

Continue reading: The Muskegon Chronicle

Also see Scientists wade into water level worries. (Contains info on a public meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Great Lakes Maritime Center, 51 Water St., Port Huron.)