A STEM-education center in Alpena is closing down due to a lack of federal funding.
STARBASE is a program run by the Department of Defense that hosts sessions for students to learn about science, math and engineering through applied practice.
There are 90 STARBASE programs in the country, with only three locations in Michigan. All of them are now closed because the U.S. House and Senate were not able to agree on a budget for the federally-funded program.
In a statement, STARBASE Alpena said it's not sure if this is a temporary or permanent closure. The post said if the Senate concedes to the House's $60 million appropriation, operations would resume, but the current Senate proposal falls $40 million short of the House allocation.
The program started its fiscal year in October with no budget and was operating under a continuing resolution that provided limited funds, but the Alpena team wrote those funds were expended.
STARBASE Alpena is taking donations from the public, but the team could not be immediately reached for comment.
Editor's note: WCMU intends to follow this story as it develops.
