(Ed. Note: This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan, a nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. Visit the newsroom online: bridgemi.com.)
By Matt Mencarini
Bridge Michigan
Vehicle crashes involving alcohol or drugs, along with arrests for drunk driving decreased across Michigan last year, but the drops were not uniform.
There were 24,690 drunk driving arrests in 2025, down 628 from the year prior, according to Michigan State Police data released this month. While total crashes were up, crashes that involved drugs or alcohol decreased by 2.4%. And while there were 28 fewer fatal crashes, the report indicates that about one in three fatal traffic crashes in Michigan involved alcohol or drugs.
Drunk driving arrests and crashes in Michigan are also down from about a decade ago. In 2014, state police reported 9,396 alcohol-related crashes and more than 35,000 arrests.
Caroline Cash is the chief communications officer at the Governors Highway Safety Association, a national organization that represents state highway safety offices. Outside an increase early in the pandemic, she said the national trend is similar to Michigan’s.
“It has steadily declined, which is good news,” she said. “But still far too many families are faced with an empty chair or someone who is not coming home.”
Many of the 27 counties above the state average in drunk driving arrests per capita are in northern Michigan.
Macomb County in metro Detroit was among 23 counties below the state average in drunk driving crashes last year. Commander Jason Abro of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office said the department’s strategy focuses on education and visibility.
“You have to do it continually and not once in a while,” he said. “You have to continually educate the public with the issue of impaired driving.”
For visibility, Abro said having deputies on the roads around major events or high-traffic times like the night before Thanksgiving makes a difference because “if people believe that they’re going to be stopped they’re less likely to go out and drive impaired.”
Sue Strong, a regional program manager with the Michigan Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said planning and responsibility play a role. Someone going out for dinner or drinks with friends will plan what to wear, where to go and who they’ll be with. Strong said that planning should also include how they’re going around.
“You know what the law is, but you have to think beyond that, about the lives you put at risk on the street,” she said. “Your car becomes a weapon.”
Cash said education is crucial, and added that those efforts should go beyond the broader public to include prosecutors and judges.
Like many states, Michigan has sobriety courts for people struggling with alcohol or drug addiction. Those specialty courts are voluntary programs that come with increased court supervision but also additional treatment resources.
Cash said that more or continued education for prosecutors and judges about speciality courts and addiction issues connected to alcohol abuse can help prevent repeat offenders.
“Screeing and assessment is huge,” she said. “We don’t want someone to plead down to a charge where they’re not going to get the help that they need.”
While the recent state police report included positive trends about lower totals and rates, the data also provides insight into the severity of impaired driving.
In 2025, more than 85% of the breath tests showed blood alcohol levels of 0.1 or higher, including 3,000 out of the more than 7,400 tests that returned levels more than twice the legal limit for someone 21 years old.
“It is the most preventive cause of traffic deaths,” said Abro of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office. “In today’s day and age, with Uber and Lyft and the fee they charge for you to get home safely, it’s a no brainer. We should not have any drunk driving deaths.”
By Matt Mencarini
Bridge Michigan
Vehicle crashes involving alcohol or drugs, along with arrests for drunk driving decreased across Michigan last year, but the drops were not uniform.
There were 24,690 drunk driving arrests in 2025, down 628 from the year prior, according to Michigan State Police data released this month. While total crashes were up, crashes that involved drugs or alcohol decreased by 2.4%. And while there were 28 fewer fatal crashes, the report indicates that about one in three fatal traffic crashes in Michigan involved alcohol or drugs.
Drunk driving arrests and crashes in Michigan are also down from about a decade ago. In 2014, state police reported 9,396 alcohol-related crashes and more than 35,000 arrests.
Caroline Cash is the chief communications officer at the Governors Highway Safety Association, a national organization that represents state highway safety offices. Outside an increase early in the pandemic, she said the national trend is similar to Michigan’s.
“It has steadily declined, which is good news,” she said. “But still far too many families are faced with an empty chair or someone who is not coming home.”
Many of the 27 counties above the state average in drunk driving arrests per capita are in northern Michigan.
Macomb County in metro Detroit was among 23 counties below the state average in drunk driving crashes last year. Commander Jason Abro of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office said the department’s strategy focuses on education and visibility.
“You have to do it continually and not once in a while,” he said. “You have to continually educate the public with the issue of impaired driving.”
For visibility, Abro said having deputies on the roads around major events or high-traffic times like the night before Thanksgiving makes a difference because “if people believe that they’re going to be stopped they’re less likely to go out and drive impaired.”
Sue Strong, a regional program manager with the Michigan Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said planning and responsibility play a role. Someone going out for dinner or drinks with friends will plan what to wear, where to go and who they’ll be with. Strong said that planning should also include how they’re going around.
“You know what the law is, but you have to think beyond that, about the lives you put at risk on the street,” she said. “Your car becomes a weapon.”
Cash said education is crucial, and added that those efforts should go beyond the broader public to include prosecutors and judges.
Like many states, Michigan has sobriety courts for people struggling with alcohol or drug addiction. Those specialty courts are voluntary programs that come with increased court supervision but also additional treatment resources.
Cash said that more or continued education for prosecutors and judges about speciality courts and addiction issues connected to alcohol abuse can help prevent repeat offenders.
“Screeing and assessment is huge,” she said. “We don’t want someone to plead down to a charge where they’re not going to get the help that they need.”
While the recent state police report included positive trends about lower totals and rates, the data also provides insight into the severity of impaired driving.
In 2025, more than 85% of the breath tests showed blood alcohol levels of 0.1 or higher, including 3,000 out of the more than 7,400 tests that returned levels more than twice the legal limit for someone 21 years old.
“It is the most preventive cause of traffic deaths,” said Abro of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office. “In today’s day and age, with Uber and Lyft and the fee they charge for you to get home safely, it’s a no brainer. We should not have any drunk driving deaths.”
Study: Demand for Food Assistance Remains High
For the third year in a row, a national study shows the number of people in West Michigan and the Upper Peninsula who struggle to afford enough nutritious food has remained at a stubbornly high rate of 14.8 percent. This means that 1 in 7 people overall in the food bank’s 40-county service area, including Ottawa County, make tough choices between food and other basic necessities.
The number of children in food-insecure households also remains persistently elevated. Data show that 18 percent of children, or 95,820 children, live in households that struggle to afford enough nutritious food.
The findings are part of the annual Feeding America Map the Meal Gap study, released July 28, that tracks food insecurity in every county in the United States. Feeding America uses publicly available data to create a searchable map that shows food insecurity rates in every community in the United States. The 2026 map is built on publicly available data from 2024.
Along with the map, the study calculates the gap between the number of meals people need and the number they can acquire through their earnings and federal food assistance. The study estimates that the meal gap in the food bank’s service area is nearly 69.6 million meals.
Neighbors fill the gap in part by turning to the charitable food system.
“Behind every number is a child, a family, a senior, a veteran, a neighbor?working hard to make ends meet,” said Pattijean McCahill, Feeding America West Michigan President and chief executive officer. “The study affirms our experience of high demand in 2024, and the demand continues today as our neighbors experience higher food, fuel, and housing costs.
“At the food bank, we continue to invest more each year in food, community partnerships, and solutions that help us serve more neighbors facing hunger. We don’t see the need ending. In fact, we expect it to grow this year by at least an additional 50,000 households.”
Feeding America updates the Map the Meal Gap study annually, and food banks use the data to allocate food resources in the areas they serve.
Key points from the study:
• The 2024 food insecurity rate of 14.8 percent is a slight uptick of 0.4 percent compared to 2023 for the food bank’s 40-county service area.
• The factors that contribute to food insecurity have not changed. Neighbors continue to be squeezed by high food, fuel, and housing prices.
• Forty percent of food insecure households make too much to qualify for federal nutrition assistance programs.
• Data shows that food insecurity rates continue to remain higher than average in deeply rural and chronically economically depressed communities. The 10 counties in our service area with the highest food insecurity rates are rural counties (Lake, Mackinac, Iron, Luce, Baraga,
Oceana, Ontonagon, Osceola, Schoolcraft, and Mecosta).
• Data collected independently by the food bank aligns with the Map the Meal Gap findings. Attendance at fixed pantries and Mobile Food Pantry distributions rose dramatically in late 2021 and attendance has remained at consistently high levels ever since.
• The food bank’s service area food insecurity rate of 14.8 percent was slightly better than the state average. The Michigan average is 15.1 percent, more than 1.5 million Michiganders.
Food insecurity occurs when a household cannot access enough food due to a lack of money and other essential resources. It is often linked to one or multiple factors related to household income, unanticipated expenses, access to affordable health care, the surrounding social and physical environment, and barriers to opportunity.
Map the Meal Gap uses publicly available data from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service, U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics to estimate local food insecurity at the county, congressional district, and state levels. The study also estimates local meal costs and food budget shortfalls using food price data from NIQ, based on USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan, and grocery sales tax data for every county and state in the country.
The 2026 report is the last one for which USDA data will be available. Although USDA has stopped collecting food security data, Feeding America will continue to estimate local food insecurity and meal costs in the years ahead.
To view the searchable map, visit FeedingAmerica.org/MaptheMealGap. For more information about Feeding America West Michigan and how we are working with our community to end hunger, visit feedwm.org.
The number of children in food-insecure households also remains persistently elevated. Data show that 18 percent of children, or 95,820 children, live in households that struggle to afford enough nutritious food.
The findings are part of the annual Feeding America Map the Meal Gap study, released July 28, that tracks food insecurity in every county in the United States. Feeding America uses publicly available data to create a searchable map that shows food insecurity rates in every community in the United States. The 2026 map is built on publicly available data from 2024.
Along with the map, the study calculates the gap between the number of meals people need and the number they can acquire through their earnings and federal food assistance. The study estimates that the meal gap in the food bank’s service area is nearly 69.6 million meals.
Neighbors fill the gap in part by turning to the charitable food system.
“Behind every number is a child, a family, a senior, a veteran, a neighbor?working hard to make ends meet,” said Pattijean McCahill, Feeding America West Michigan President and chief executive officer. “The study affirms our experience of high demand in 2024, and the demand continues today as our neighbors experience higher food, fuel, and housing costs.
“At the food bank, we continue to invest more each year in food, community partnerships, and solutions that help us serve more neighbors facing hunger. We don’t see the need ending. In fact, we expect it to grow this year by at least an additional 50,000 households.”
Feeding America updates the Map the Meal Gap study annually, and food banks use the data to allocate food resources in the areas they serve.
Key points from the study:
• The 2024 food insecurity rate of 14.8 percent is a slight uptick of 0.4 percent compared to 2023 for the food bank’s 40-county service area.
• The factors that contribute to food insecurity have not changed. Neighbors continue to be squeezed by high food, fuel, and housing prices.
• Forty percent of food insecure households make too much to qualify for federal nutrition assistance programs.
• Data shows that food insecurity rates continue to remain higher than average in deeply rural and chronically economically depressed communities. The 10 counties in our service area with the highest food insecurity rates are rural counties (Lake, Mackinac, Iron, Luce, Baraga,
Oceana, Ontonagon, Osceola, Schoolcraft, and Mecosta).
• Data collected independently by the food bank aligns with the Map the Meal Gap findings. Attendance at fixed pantries and Mobile Food Pantry distributions rose dramatically in late 2021 and attendance has remained at consistently high levels ever since.
• The food bank’s service area food insecurity rate of 14.8 percent was slightly better than the state average. The Michigan average is 15.1 percent, more than 1.5 million Michiganders.
Food insecurity occurs when a household cannot access enough food due to a lack of money and other essential resources. It is often linked to one or multiple factors related to household income, unanticipated expenses, access to affordable health care, the surrounding social and physical environment, and barriers to opportunity.
Map the Meal Gap uses publicly available data from U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Economic Research Service, U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics to estimate local food insecurity at the county, congressional district, and state levels. The study also estimates local meal costs and food budget shortfalls using food price data from NIQ, based on USDA’s Thrifty Food Plan, and grocery sales tax data for every county and state in the country.
The 2026 report is the last one for which USDA data will be available. Although USDA has stopped collecting food security data, Feeding America will continue to estimate local food insecurity and meal costs in the years ahead.
To view the searchable map, visit FeedingAmerica.org/MaptheMealGap. For more information about Feeding America West Michigan and how we are working with our community to end hunger, visit feedwm.org.
Vietnam Veterans Replica Wall Coming to Battle Creek
The Calhoun County Red White Blue Foundation will be hosting The Wall That Heals in Battle Creek later this month as part of our nation’s 250th anniversary.
The exhibit will take place Aug. 20-23, 2026 at Harper Creek High School’s soccer field complex, located at 7290 B Drive North.
The travelling exhibit honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and it bears the names of the 58,281 men and
women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. The event will be staffed around the clock by more than 300 volunteers and open to the public – 24 hours per day – with free admission and free parking.
The mission of The Wall That Heals is to honor and remember those who served in the Vietnam War by bringing a traveling three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and a Mobile Education Center to communities across the nation, offering healing, reflection, and education to all who visit.
“This is an opportunity to welcome home the 58,281 Americans whose names are on the Wall and honor the more than 700,000 Vietnam veterans still living today,” said retired U.S. Air Force Col. Frank Walker, who chairs the Calhoun County Red White Blue Foundation. “Many of those Vietnam veterans and their families will never have the opportunity to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. so we are bringing this moving tribute to them.”
The Wall That Heals is transported from community to community in a 53-foot trailer. When parked, the trailer opens with exhibits built into its sides, allowing it to serve as a Mobile Education Center telling the story of the Vietnam War, the establishment of The Wall, and how the Memorial and Vietnam transformed the way our nation treats its veterans and service members.
The three-quarter scale replica is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. Visitors will experience The Wall rising above them as they walk towards the apex, a key feature of the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Visitors are able to do name rubbings of individual service members’ names on The Wall.
The Mobile Education Center exhibit includes two digital photo displays. The Hometown Heroes display highlights service members whose names are on The Wall and list their home of record within the area of the visit. The In Memory display highlights Vietnam veterans from the local area honored through VVMF’s In Memory program which honors veterans who returned home from Vietnam and later died.
Additional displays include videos that teach about the history and impact of The Wall; educational exhibits told through items representative of those left at the Vietnam Veteran Memorial in Washington D.C.; a replica of the In Memory plaque; a map of Vietnam and a timeline of the Vietnam War.
For more information about The Wall That Heals, visit TheWallThatHealsBattleCreek.com.
The exhibit will take place Aug. 20-23, 2026 at Harper Creek High School’s soccer field complex, located at 7290 B Drive North.
The travelling exhibit honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War, and it bears the names of the 58,281 men and
women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam. The event will be staffed around the clock by more than 300 volunteers and open to the public – 24 hours per day – with free admission and free parking.
The mission of The Wall That Heals is to honor and remember those who served in the Vietnam War by bringing a traveling three-quarter scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and a Mobile Education Center to communities across the nation, offering healing, reflection, and education to all who visit.
“This is an opportunity to welcome home the 58,281 Americans whose names are on the Wall and honor the more than 700,000 Vietnam veterans still living today,” said retired U.S. Air Force Col. Frank Walker, who chairs the Calhoun County Red White Blue Foundation. “Many of those Vietnam veterans and their families will never have the opportunity to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. so we are bringing this moving tribute to them.”
The Wall That Heals is transported from community to community in a 53-foot trailer. When parked, the trailer opens with exhibits built into its sides, allowing it to serve as a Mobile Education Center telling the story of the Vietnam War, the establishment of The Wall, and how the Memorial and Vietnam transformed the way our nation treats its veterans and service members.
The three-quarter scale replica is 375 feet in length and stands 7.5 feet high at its tallest point. Visitors will experience The Wall rising above them as they walk towards the apex, a key feature of the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Visitors are able to do name rubbings of individual service members’ names on The Wall.
The Mobile Education Center exhibit includes two digital photo displays. The Hometown Heroes display highlights service members whose names are on The Wall and list their home of record within the area of the visit. The In Memory display highlights Vietnam veterans from the local area honored through VVMF’s In Memory program which honors veterans who returned home from Vietnam and later died.
Additional displays include videos that teach about the history and impact of The Wall; educational exhibits told through items representative of those left at the Vietnam Veteran Memorial in Washington D.C.; a replica of the In Memory plaque; a map of Vietnam and a timeline of the Vietnam War.
For more information about The Wall That Heals, visit TheWallThatHealsBattleCreek.com.
Huizenga Announces Funding for Mental Health Care
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga has announced that more than $2.1 million in federal funding through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been awarded to Ottawa County to help strengthen mental health resources and support substance abuse recovery.
The funding is a direct result of appropriations legislation that Huizenga supported.
Ottawa County Community Mental Health has been awarded a $1,000,000 Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Improvement and Advancement Grant. This grant is designed to sustain and enhance services at existing Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics.
These community-based clinics offer coordinated, evidence-based outpatient services, including crisis services, while also enhancing access for anyone in need and coordinating care to mitigate gaps in care.
Additionally, HHS awarded the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District with a federal grant totaling $1,181,868 through Project AWARE. Project AWARE is designed to help create a sustainable framework to address mental health, substance use, and co-occurring disorders as well as promoting the social and emotional wellbeing for school-aged youth.
“Improving access to mental health resources is something I have consistently fought for,” Huizenga said. “Whether it is a student at school or a family in our community, this federal funding will improve outcomes, enhance recovery, and strengthen overall care for residents of Ottawa County.”
The funding is a direct result of appropriations legislation that Huizenga supported.
Ottawa County Community Mental Health has been awarded a $1,000,000 Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Improvement and Advancement Grant. This grant is designed to sustain and enhance services at existing Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics.
These community-based clinics offer coordinated, evidence-based outpatient services, including crisis services, while also enhancing access for anyone in need and coordinating care to mitigate gaps in care.
Additionally, HHS awarded the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District with a federal grant totaling $1,181,868 through Project AWARE. Project AWARE is designed to help create a sustainable framework to address mental health, substance use, and co-occurring disorders as well as promoting the social and emotional wellbeing for school-aged youth.
“Improving access to mental health resources is something I have consistently fought for,” Huizenga said. “Whether it is a student at school or a family in our community, this federal funding will improve outcomes, enhance recovery, and strengthen overall care for residents of Ottawa County.”
