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Merit Professional Learning is offering two project management courses in November. Each course is ideal for those seeking a career in project management or wishing to brush up on their management skills.
Rediscovery of a long-forgotten mineral deposit located under two West Michigan counties is set to spark a new multibillion industry in Michigan that will quickly position the state as the nation's leading source for a critical agricultural tool that is in demand internationally. Potash -- potassium chloride -- is an essential plant nutrient and critical ingredient in fertilizer. Currently mined in only three locations in the nation, supplies are dwindling and prices skyrocketing. Now, one of the highest-quality potash ore deposits in the world has been identified below the surface of West Michigan. The discovery was made by using the treasure trove of geologic data that is housed at Western Michigan University's Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education. The result of the rediscovery, say geologists, will be the introduction of a new industry in Michigan worth as much as $65 billion, easily surpassing the state's historical oil and gas production revenues and triggering explosive job growth in Osceola and Mecosta counties. "This is conceivably one of Michigan's most valuable resources," said Theodore A. Pagano, a potash geologist, engineer and general manager of Michigan Potash Co. LLC. That firm now controls the rediscovered potassium ore reserve called the Borgen Bed that lies under more than 14,500 acres in the two counties. His company has worked quietly over the past three years to ensure the reserve could be technically, economically and logistically put into production and compete head to head with the New Mexico and western Canadian mines that are now the major North American sources of potash. "This is the United States' only shovel-ready potash project," Pagano said. "Michigan is New Mexico untapped. What we're looking at is the introduction of an industry that is critical to the economic health of the state. We'll be producing a Michigan product for Michigan farmers that would dramatically reduce the expensive transport costs on the more than 300,000 tons of potash consumed in our state annually." Verification of the quality and amount of the potash in the Borgen Bed was done by using core samples provided by WMU geologists under the direction of Dr. William B. Harrison III, professor emeritus of geosciences and director of his department's Geological Repository for Research and Education, which is also now the permanent home to the Michigan Geological Survey. In 2008, Harrison and his wife, Linda, an administrator with the repository, came into possession of geologic core samples collected in the early 1980s when a Canadian company was prospecting for potash in Michigan. That company established a mine and small processing plant in Michigan but pulled back from fully commercializing the deposit. Over the years, changing business plans and corporate mergers pushed the Michigan operation into the background, and mineral leases for the area lapsed. The sample cores came to WMU by chance and were added into the University's statewide collection of core samples. "Without Bill and Linda Harrison, Michigan and the United States would be without the rediscovery of a multi-billion dollar potash deposit," said Pagano, adding that he learned through industry sources that the Harrisons might be able to help him in his quest to define the scope and quality of the Borgen Bed. Potash is found in just a few areas once covered by inland seas. The seas evaporated and the potassium and sodium chloride deposits crystallized into potash ore and were covered by successive layers of rock and soil. The Michigan deposit, WMU's Harrison said, is the purest and highest-grade potash being produced globally -- 600 percent higher than that being produced in New Mexico's vast Permian Basin. It is also twice the grade of deposits found in Canada and Russia, the two nations that control more than 80 percent of the world's potash reserve. "One of the things that makes this so valuable is that it is an incredibly rich deposit that is in easy reach of the enormous demand from Midwest corn and soybean farmers who operate within a 500-mile radius of this deposit." Harrison said. "This is an opportunity for new wealth to come from the use of natural resources never tapped before." This Spotlight feature is sponsored by Western Michigan University. More at www.wmich.edu.
Big changes are coming to a heavily-traveled roadway in Southfield. It's part of what city officials are calling the Evergreen Road Improvement Project.
Detroit Police Officer Patrick Hill had been hospitalized since April 2nd, after he was wounded during the shootout with a murder suspect.
This year's Healthy Heart Check program will take place on Saturday, Oct. 27, at Oxford High School.
Some 27,000 people laced up their running shoes for the 36th Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon on Sunday.
The billboard in Flint that says "I'm Concerned About The Blueberries" isn't about blueberries after all.
Prosecutors have said the boy was left unattended while the couple fought.
Westbrook says that despite a rally just last month another is needed because Detroit city leaders haven't done anything to help the problem.
A man is facing charges after a police raid found a kilogram of cocaine, several thousand dollars in cash, two pit bulls, a python and a small alligator in a Detroit home.
The state has given $375,000 to help restore Windmill Island Gardens in Holland and its more than 250-year-old DeZwaan windmill.
A Michigan man arrested after authorities found about 17,000 prescription pills in his vehicle has been convicted on drug charges in southwest Ohio.
A lawyer has sued Michigan on behalf of seven boys who say they were sexually and physically abused while in Michigan's prison system.
Walmart has offered to re-hire a Michigan man who says he was fired after trying to help a woman who was being assaulted in the store's parking lot.
Michigan and UConn square off Monday night in Indianapolis in the 2026 NCAA men's basketball national championship game. The Wolverines are eyeing their second national championship and first since 1989.
Ahead of Monday's game, let's take a look back at Michigan's 1988-89 season and the team's improbable run to its first national title.
What started out as an attempted April Fools' Day joke by a Detroit-area bakery ended up backfiring, in a sense, when customers enthusiastically embraced the design of an intentionally ugly "Easter lamb" cake.
An EF-1 tornado touched down in the area of Van Buren Township and Belleville in Wayne County as severe storms rolled through Southeast Michigan on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
On average, drivers in the state are paying $3.87 per gallon for regular unleaded fuel.
On average, drivers in the state are paying $3.87 per gallon for regular unleaded fuel.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has declared an energy emergency in eight Southeast Michigan counties amid rising gas prices across the state.
General Motors has announced that it's making another round of layoffs at its Factory Zero plant in Metro Detroit. The latest round, the second this year, impacts roughly 1,300 workers and is due to a readjustment of operations amid declining electric vehicle demand.
Cities in Michigan lose big tax revenue from pollution-control tax breaks, and many do not track what they give up.
Gas prices are currently hovering just below $4 a gallon in much of Michgan, AAA says.
Kid Rock posted videos of the helicopters hovering by his Nashville home on social media over the weekend. The Army later confirmed the helicopters were on a training mission.
The bag, called the "Gold Standard Cassette Tape," features a bold, nostalgic design inspired by classic cassette tapes.
The price hike raises the cost of the standard plan with ads by $1 per month and the cost of the standard and premium plans by $2.
It's a sign that Metro Detroiters are ready to say goodbye to winter and welcome spring, and the Marche du Nain Rouge is a feast for the eyes.
Chuck Norris' family said his death at 86 was sudden, but did not share any details on the cause.
Behind some of the viral physiques lies a troubling trend: the use of a powerful drug never approved for humans.
President Trump and top national security officials shed new light on the daring rescues of two American airmen who were shot down over Iran last week.
Artemis II astronauts made history as they traveled farther from Earth than any humans ever have while conducting a moon flyby.
The crew of NASA's Artemis II mission captured a new image of the far side of the moon, which the agency released Sunday.
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman outlined the most critical moments he expects in the coming days as Artemis II astronauts continue their journey around the far side of the moon.
Prosecutors allege the dentist billed Medicaid for large numbers of unnecessary dental crown work on patients that was not provided.
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, there have been eight confirmed measles cases in the state in 2026.
A water services provider and its president are accused of falsifying water safety and discharge tests for private water systems serving mobile home communities in Michigan.
Michigan communities have received millions from a national opioid settlement, but some haven't spent any funds yet.
Paramedics and emergency medical technicians face a harsh reality in Michigan.
Ahead of Monday's game, let's take a look back at Michigan's 1988-89 season and the team's improbable run to its first national title.
Michigan and UConn square off Monday night in Indianapolis in the 2026 NCAA men's basketball national championship game. The Wolverines are eyeing their second national championship and first since 1989.
Even though he hails from a state where Peyton Manning ruled the sports world, the Fab Five and Tom Brady turned Indiana native Josh Mullins into a dedicated Michigan fan.
The Detroit Tigers were beaten 5-3 by the St. Louis Cardinals at Comerica Park on Sunday night. Iván Herrera's two-run single capped a four-run fifth inning for the Cards in the finale of a three-game series.
Michigan is trying to cap off a March Madness string of dominance, the likes of which were last seen by this UConn program that won it all in 2023 and '24.
The roundtable discusses the dramatic impact AI is having in the classroom, at companies and inside homes.
There's a focus on Michigan's defense industry as a national convention comes to Detroit in a few weeks, with over 11,000 people expected at Huntington Place.
Dave Coulter updates Oakland County's move to its new offices in downtown Pontiac and when that might take place.
Gardner White opened doors in Detroit in 1912, and the retailer continues to expand with nine new stores planned this year.
Rose talks about a new TV series being filmed in Detroit called "South West High," which revolves around a fictional high school in the Motor City.
For many Michigan Wolverine fans, especially the ones who make the trip to Indianapolis for the national championship game, their devotion to the maize and blue runs deep. It's often the love for Michigan that leads to many couples finding the love of their life.
Former Detroit Piston Grant Hill discusses what makes the Michigan men's basketball team unique.
While many Michigan fans traveled to Indianapolis to watch the Wolverines in the national championship on Monday, many traveled to the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor for a watch party.
Michigan Wolverine fans are not only flooding Indianapolis to watch the national championship live, but also in Ann Arbor. CBS News Detroit talked to one fan who was on the Michigan cheerleading team at the time of the Fab Five.
The city of Detroit launched a free bus fare program for all of the city's K-12 students.
