Julie Riddle

Julie Riddle's Latest Articles

‘Just sitting there silent’: Sturgis Hospital closure impact goes beyond loss of health care

By Julie Riddle

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Sturgis

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September 10, 2026

Former patients now have to travel farther to access hospital care. But residents and experts say the impact of such a closure goes beyond inconvenience. The loss of a rural hospital can exacerbate barriers to health care, even to the point of endangering lives. It can dent the economies of entire communities. Perhaps most devastatingly, a rural hospital closure leaves emotional scars for the residents and care workers who relied on it as a place of comfort, connectedness, and safety.

‘If kids aren’t here, how can they learn?” Rural Southwest Michigan battles to bring back absent students

By Julie Riddle

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Local

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April 15, 2026

Some high schoolers miss school because they have been “parentified,” kept home to look after younger siblings while a parent works. Others hold down jobs to help support the family. Others “just don’t want to be here,” Bangor High School Principal Tammy Wilson says. School attendance secretary Hailey Marbut grew up in the area, where school takes a back seat for many teens in families barely scraping by. “They aren’t looking to the future and thinking of, ‘What could I do, where could I go, who could I be?’” she says. “They’re just trying to survive.”

‘We just can’t compete’: Southwest Michigan farmers caught between high labor costs and cheap imports amid immigration uncertainty

By Julie Riddle

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News

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August 14, 2025

Over the last decade and a half, Michigan has lost specialty crops at nearly twice the rate of the U.S. on average, according to a report released in March by the Michigan State University Extension. More than 1,700 Southwest Michigan farms ceased operation between 2012 and 2022, the most recent year for which data is available.

‘Folks aren’t left behind’: Climate change readiness includes protecting homes of most vulnerable

By Julie Riddle

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Kalamazoo

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June 24, 2025

As local governments use regulations to protect against the impacts of a changing climate, several new efforts in Kalamazoo show how going green can boost local economies while keeping people most susceptible to the harm of climate change safe in their own homes.

‘Everybody needs help sometime’: Rural eviction drives cycles of housing instability

By Julie Riddle

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News

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March 27, 2025

About 450 St. Joseph County households are behind on their rent, averaging about $800 in rent debt per household. Many of them are one emergency away from becoming one of the 40,000 Michigan households removed from their home by eviction each year.

Youth Mental Health series explores solutions for teens in crisis

By Julie Riddle

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Local

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October 21, 2024

"Anxiety will take as much room as you give it," says Patti Criswell, who has spent her career listening to and helping young people through mental health struggles.

Genetic testing: A new tool in prescribing mental health meds

By Julie Riddle

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Kalamazoo

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October 24, 2023

"Trial and error is the hallmark of prescribing mental health medication. This test can help minimize, or even eliminate in some cases, that trial-and-error process." — Anna Langerveld, president and CEO of Kalamazoo's Genemarkers

Filling the mind-body gap: Fast-growing profession bridges mental, physical health needs

By Julie Riddle

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Kalamazoo

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August 2, 2023

Trained in the treatment of both physical and mental health needs, PMHNPs serve as a bridge between those worlds.

‘We can help more kids’

By Julie Riddle

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Kalamazoo

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July 25, 2023

Michigan is repaying student loans for some mental health workers, a financial boost that keeps mental health workers on the job, caring for children.