Up North Lowdown

What a contract for nurses has to say about AI

The potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare settings was a big subject at the bargaining table for union nurses at northern Michigan's largest hospital. Now that they have a deal, what does it say? We have some details. Also, we have a look at IPR's Sound Garden Project and its residency in Glen Arbor.

America 250: Whose stories?

The Grand Rapids-based Native News Online is doing a variety of things this year to bring Native voices to the forefront as the United States marks 250 years as a nation. Native News Online Editor and Publisher Levi Rickert talked to IPR about how the project got started and the complicated mix of feelings he and many others feel around occasions like the semiquincentennial of the United States.

When grown-ups become band kids

It's never too late to learn something new. That's the idea behind Act 2, a program of the Traverse City Philharmonic that lets adults who are new to music learn how to play an instrument. Some, like Jennifer Wesling, participated in music in their youth and are learning a new musical instrument. Classical IPR has been checking in with members of the Act 2 band. On this episode, we get an update and, we should let you know: They sound terrific!

DNA and a cold-case conviction

On Monday, a Grand Traverse County jury convicted Steven Gary Koon, 64, of the killing of Linda Meteer in 1989. Key to securing the conviction, the prosecutor said, was mitochondrial DNA evidence demonstrating Meteer had been in Koon's vehicle. Journalist Mardi Link explains how recent science secured a conviction after 37 years.

Saving Antrim's Spring Cleanup

For about 20 years, people in Antrim County have piled unwanted goods along the side of the road. People spend time picking it all over, taking what they like, and often find some real treasures: furniture, art, a hot tub. But MDOT says the trash needs to stay out of the right-of-way or the Spring Cleanup could end. And one township is hoping a small sign might save the tradition.