Stateside: Schools budget with no budget; crop insurance claims rise; a London cop on Detroit police

Today on Stateside, school budgets are due today, but they'll be educated guesses until the legislature and governor pass a new budget. Plus, a London police officer has a new memoir about the 15 years he spent observing the Detroit Police Department. 

Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.  

School budgets are due today despite uncertain funding for next school year

• Michigan school budgets are due today, July 1, but the state’s budget, giving schools their monetary parameters, isn’t due until October at the latest. When this has happened before, schools had to submit their best estimates. Peter Spadafore, with the Michigan Association of Superintendents and Administrators, breaks down the challenges school officials are facing today.

Preschools face uphill battle in northern Michigan

• A study that spans four decades found that kids who attend high quality preschools grew up to have higher incomes, IQ’s, committed fewer crimes, and had fewer teenage pregnancies. All around the country, rural preschools like Leelanau Children's Center are struggling to stay open. A year’s tuition for a four year old is around $8,000. “To pay for childcare, is really expensive. It’s as expensive as sending your child to college but there’s no FAFSA for preschools of toddlers,” said Molly Grosvenor, program director at the Children’s Center. Interlochen Public Radio's Max Johnson reports. 

Crop insurance claims in Michigan way up due to rainy weather

• Crop insurance is especially important for Michigan farmers as seasonal shifts become more volatile. As financially sustainable crop yields become increasingly uncertain for farmers, crop insurance claims have increased. “This is the worst spring on record that farmers have had to withstand, weather-wise and crop insurance-wise,” said Matt Thelen, a Michigan Farm Bureau crop insurance specialist. Thelen discusses the the current challenges facing Michigan farmers and how crop insurance can help.

Comfort during sorrow: The peaks and valleys of life as a funeral director

• Funeral directors help people during what are often the lowest moments in their lives. However, for some pretty obvious reasons, it is not a common career path. Stateside's "Work in Progress" series features conversations between someone just starting out in a career and someone who is reaching the end of their professional life. Today, we introduce you to two funeral directors: Tyler Bernstein, a recent graduate of Wayne State University's Mortuary Science Program, and Thomas Lynch, a semi-retired funeral director for Lynch & Sons Funeral Home in Milford. They exchange advice and discuss what attracted them to the profession.

Platte Point Beach is basically underwater

• Lake Michigan is on track to set a record high-water level for the month of June. In northern Michigan right now, water is so high that shorelines are disappearing and rivers are overflowing. Kaye LaFond went to Platte River Beach a couple weeks ago to see how the high water is changing the scenic spot.

In new memoir, London police officer writes about 15 years observing Detroit Police Department 

• Michael Matthews has been a police officer in London for more than 20 years, and for more than 15 years, he's been observing and acquainting himself with Detroit officers on and off the job. Matthews discusses his new memoir, "American Ruin," which offers an outsider's view of the Detroit Police Department. 

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