Lansing hates the UP, favors MSU athletics
UP legislators would like to use State MDOT aircraft to fly to and from Lansing and are jumping through hoops to get permission.
However, MSU athletics has had free reign on MDOT aircraft since 2008, and has been far and away the most frequent public university to use the aircraft. Their athletic department used it 16 times alone in fiscal year 2016-2017.
What a fucking joke. The State only cares about the UP when they need a photo for their cheesy ass tourist plugs or they want to pretend to be hunting and conservation experts.
If they can't provide accommodation I say the UP just has our own legislative sessions, with beer and saunas.
January 3rd, 2020 at 12:24 PM ^
The article bears little resemblance to the content of this post, which appears to be a "man yells at cloud" summary that isn't clear what it is even angry about.
MSU's use of the aircraft doesn't appear to be relevant to the bill. It is relevant to the existence of the aircraft at all, which is discussed but isn't actually an issue with the legislation.
January 3rd, 2020 at 12:29 PM ^
Instead of driving 5-10 hours, our legislators would like better travel conditions. They're having to fight for the ability to save time and effort so they can be effective members of a government that tends to cast them aside.
The article clearly included the MSU athletics section to show what the State has decided is the "most appropriate" use of taxpayer funded transportation.
So, yes I'm yelling at a cloud, but that cloud spells out, "MSU's athletic department is more important than the people of the UP."
Should I not be angry? Why does MSU sports take precedence over, you know, actual government?
January 3rd, 2020 at 12:34 PM ^
Right - although, MSU should be paying the MI government for use of the airplanes.
As for the UP legislators - there are daily Delta flights from DTW to 4 UP airports. They can use those flights and from there either connect to a Lansing flight or take a shuttle. I don't feel sorry for them at all here.
Looking at various maps, there are only 5 MI legislators from the UP anyway. I know it's a bit of a pain getting to Lansing, but that's what they signed up for. It's all expense-able anyway.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:06 PM ^
"That's what they signed up for" is a terrible reason to not provide better transportation, especially when it's been made available to an irrelevant cause like MSU athletics. It's also the typical response the UP seems to get, so it's not likely to satisfy the constituents.
Also, there is one flight in and out of every airport. Have you flown out of the UP? It is typically an easy, low demand flight. But unless you book months in advance, a reasonably priced or even available flight is far from a guarantee.
But your lack of empathy is not surprising. That's why this is an issue anyways. Most knuckleheaded downstaters will easily brush off MSU athletics being given better treatment than democratically elected officials of OUR state. But because there are "only 5" north of the bridge, it might as well be a different state.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:43 PM ^
I mean - imagine state legislators from western Kansas, western Nebraska, western Montana, eastern Oregon or the Idaho Panhandle.
Those folk are just as remote from their respective state capitals as folk from the UP. But they do not have commercial flight options. I follow the aviation industry as a hobby, and I know there are no regularly scheduled flights from Scottsbluff or Garden City, KS to the east! They are definitely driving to Lincoln and Topeka!
In that respect, UP legislators have it fairly good. They at least have daily flight options to get downstate.
And, yes, it IS what they signed up for. Every job has its inherent challenges. This job has travel challenges. This is literally FIVE people trying to carve out their own use of a state resource.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:48 PM ^
Comparing other states is irrelevant. I don't know or care about their government operations. I am talking about MDOT resources.
And those resources are being used largely by ONE athletic department over five legislators.
January 3rd, 2020 at 2:10 PM ^
Fair enough - the "other state comparison" was just to point out that the UP isn't unique in terms of being geographically isolated from the rest of their state.
As for MSU: basically all big-time football/basketball coaches now have it written into their contract that they get use of private airplanes for (1) long-distance recruiting visits, along with (2) a set number of personal trips.
Some universities own 1-2 airplanes (I know Penn State does), some don't. For those that don't, they have to rent a plane out. As long as MSU is paying Lansing for it, I don't really see an issue with MSU using those planes for those purposes.
I think MSU using state planes and U-M not doing so is simple as which university is located in Lansing. If U-M needs to rent a plane, it's simply cheaper to use someone who is hanger-ing their planes at Ann Arbor (or Willow Run).
January 3rd, 2020 at 2:46 PM ^
Well neither of us seem to know for sure if MSU is paying for it but we'll just assume they are.
The beginning of the article does make mention of all the other state departments that are allowed to use this program at no cost.
Oh and the bill does allow for using already scheduled flights (like you suggested), forgot to mention that in your earlier points. They aren't currently allowed I guess. Seems like a no-brainer, good-will notion to pass it. Hopefully it does, I feel the UP is feeling more and more underrepresented lately. Whitmer has pretty much stomped popular UP topics (deer baiting, wolf hunt, gas pipeline, Pure Michigan to name a few). We don't need to get into those, I just want you to know there is a lot of anti-Lansing angst brewing again.
January 3rd, 2020 at 6:25 PM ^
Stay in Pennsylvania. Comparing the relative distance between the UP and Lansing, and parts of Kansas suggests you failed your Geography, or haven’t traveled much.
January 3rd, 2020 at 7:49 PM ^
I can't tell who you're even replying to because this site blows on mobile and I just see a thick blue line, but Marquette to Lansing is a longer drive than Pittsburgh to Philly.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:07 PM ^
If you are for eliminating tax payer support for any university athletic endeavor, that's one thing. But assuming that you are fine with some taxpayer money dribbling into college athletics, it doesn't really matter if the State of Michigan subsidizes the use of its planes for athletic purposes, or the school "pays" for a charter (like we do). Both still depend on the use of tax revenue...
January 3rd, 2020 at 2:19 PM ^
As someone who uses “daily flights to the UP” when I visit my parents I can assure you that they are a pain the the butt. Nothing like arriving at midnight & still having to drive an hour to reach your destination.
January 3rd, 2020 at 2:39 PM ^
That sounds like my regular trips flying home to Denver. Ha!
January 4th, 2020 at 3:07 PM ^
Why should the UP government officials have to "book a flight" to get to Lansing. The fact that they allow MSU athletics allowance use it and not actually Michigan legislators says a lot actually
January 3rd, 2020 at 12:34 PM ^
SECESSION
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:18 PM ^
Dem's fightin' words!
January 3rd, 2020 at 2:25 PM ^
The UP should be a separate state if the populace feels that disconnected from the treatment from Lansing.
There are many situations that this would fit -- Illinois, California, NY are the first three that come to mind -- where the populations are very large and a significant percentage of people don't feel that the single state government represents their interest.
January 3rd, 2020 at 2:49 PM ^
It would devastate the education model in the UP.
Also road maintenance would become unbearable.
But all of the Michigan travel brochures would be reduced to Sleeping Bear Dunes and "pick a lake to drink on a sand bar from your pontoon".
January 3rd, 2020 at 12:35 PM ^
Everyone shits on the UP. You kinda get used to it after awhile.
January 3rd, 2020 at 12:57 PM ^
not everyone. love the U.P. and proudly claim my yooper heritage.
as an aside, literally 100 yrs ago when cars were a new-fangled thing, my grandmother used to drive my great grandfather to the legislature meetings down in lansing. the then-governor asked great grandpa to draft the driver's license bill. he did that but the governor objected to the minimum age, which great grandpa had set at 14. my great grandfather told the governor (as legend has it), 'my daughter has been driving me to the meetings since she was 12, and she's only now 14'. so for years, the driver's license age in michigan was 14 b/c of grandmother XM.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:22 PM ^
The XM legend continues to grow. I will gladly ghostwrite your autobiography.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:42 PM ^
i shared that story this summer with a conference room full of our state judges in the UP. they got a kick out of it. and as far as i know, it is 100% true - i would never disbelieve grandma XM, she was awesome.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:02 PM ^
I'll buy it!
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:40 PM ^
And the entire trip was uphill, both ways!
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:43 PM ^
in blizzard conditions, even in the summer, and always into the wind...
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:44 PM ^
Also Marquette has the first highway painted center lane, thanks to the breakneck speeds (literally) people used to enjoy around the UP twists and turns.
January 3rd, 2020 at 12:39 PM ^
This is the 21st century. Technology has made it possible to attend meetings in audio and/or visually. They don’t need to drive 10 hours or take a plane or even get out of their PJs.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:12 PM ^
Hey I've been on board with your idea.
But these politicians rely on shmoozing each other to pitch their causes.
"Let's go get a drink and talk business" works far more often than "stare at this screen while I give you my Skype presentation."
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:03 PM ^
Yep. I've been working from home on my current gig because the client didn't want to pay travel costs.
I haven't worn pants in weeks!!!
January 3rd, 2020 at 7:55 PM ^
Don't you hate pants?
January 4th, 2020 at 12:21 PM ^
That sounds like a great alternative account user name.
January 3rd, 2020 at 12:40 PM ^
I wish I lived in the U.P.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:12 PM ^
C’mon up. Hope you like snow.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:36 PM ^
There are jobs and housing!
When we moved from AA, our mortgage, including escrow, was cheaper than a 1 bedroom basement apartment in AA.
January 3rd, 2020 at 10:14 PM ^
Well, there are some jobs. But tons of housing. Like a standard 3 bedroom in AA would buy a huge ass house in Escanaba.
January 3rd, 2020 at 12:59 PM ^
The UP has had a vote (back in the 70’s) to become the 51st state, but lost by 1 vote. Pretty crazy to think if the UP was it’s own state....
http://absolutemichigan.com/michigan/yooper-secession-talk-in-the-upper-peninsula-of-a-51st-state/
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:34 PM ^
Jacobetti is a UP hero for a reason.
And we still talk about the feasibility of separation. The State of Michigan is among the most pathetic members of the union when it comes to revenue sharing. The municipalities would most likely survive, but the schools and universities would take a massive blow.
January 3rd, 2020 at 6:41 PM ^
I love how in all these legends, the margin is always one vote. Just like the alleged vote to make German the official language.
Call me skeptical, but I doubt that nearly half of the Michigan state legislature voted to make the state smaller.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:00 PM ^
I have flown on those planes a few times. Trust me, it's not a privilege. They are little prop planes that bounce around like a carnival ride. I would much rather fly commercial.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:26 PM ^
Meh. Around Labor Day, I flew into Marquette from DTW and out through Hancock to O'Hare. The planes weren't bad at all, both smaller jets. However, the terminals, that was crazy, especially in Hancock. I'd never experienced anything like that.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:29 PM ^
"Terminals".
Iron Mountain has you walk out on the tarmac. And yes I do the Nixon every time.
January 3rd, 2020 at 10:17 PM ^
Old Ford Airport! One gate, but nicely renovated restrooms.
January 3rd, 2020 at 2:27 PM ^
“Terminals?” Houghton (only the airline uses Hancock) only has 1 gate. They recently upgraded TSA from the same agents swapping back & forth between examining luggage & processing passengers. Ie 15 minutes luggage, 15 minutes passengers.
Marquette is a metropolis with its 2 gates.
January 3rd, 2020 at 4:06 PM ^
I flew into Idaho Falls this past August... beautiful flight by the way.
The terminal there is basically the control tower. The baggage claim is a tent in the parking lot.
January 3rd, 2020 at 2:41 PM ^
Commercial carriers use regional jets to serve UP airports. But MDOT probably doesn't have corporate jets.
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:18 PM ^
Did you know...that if you live in Ironwood, you're closer to five other state capitols and the capitol of Manitoba (Winnipeg) than you are to Lansing. And a couple more are only forty miles further (Indianapolis and Pierre).
January 3rd, 2020 at 1:55 PM ^
Also a shoutout to the Porcupine mountains.
That's it. Just wanted to mention those. Probably buried under 5 feet of snow right now.
January 3rd, 2020 at 10:23 PM ^
Ironwood? Nah, Go Speedboys!