News

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — New estimates from a state department show fewer Michigan infants dying while the state develops policies to save more babies. A February report from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the state’s infant mortality rate fell by 14.6 percent from 2000 to 2013 …

Michigan ranks 11th in the country when it comes to financial literacy. The analysis comes from WalletHub.com. The ranking looks at financial education programs and consumer habits. Their key metrics in the analysis included Champlain University’s High School Financial Literacy Grades, to the percentage of residents with a rainy-day fund. …

High school students could claim computer coding classes as a way to fulfill their foreign language requirement to graduate under legislation introduced in Lansing. State Representative Lisa Posthumus-Lyons, R-Alto, is sponsoring the bill and says coding is a recognized language worldwide and should fulfill a world language requirement in Michigan. …

A state lawmaker says he’d like to see legislation this summer to implement recommendations from the Michigan Human Trafficking Commission. The commission released several recommendations earlier this year and Representative Kurt Heise, R-Plymouth, says one of the proposals he’d especially like to see legislation on would allow victims of forced …

Gasoline prices in many parts of Michigan have experienced up to a 20 cent per gallon increase, according to Gasbuddy.com. Patrick DeHaan of Gasbuddy says it’s the result of a culmination of falling retail prices colliding with continued increases in wholesale gas prices. He also says while oil inventories continue …

Michigan Democrats are urging Governor Rick Snyder to condemn policies throughout the country that they say discriminate against gay and transgender people. The call comes in the wake of North Carolina enacting a law that, among other things, requires LGBT citizens to use public restrooms that correspond with the gender …

Concussions in high school sports are on everyone’s mind these days. One local athletic trainer is taking part in a nationwide pilot program designed to identify when a student athlete is showing symptoms of a concussion. Aspirus Keweenaw’s Dorothy Jamison has been using the program at Calumet and Lake Linden-Hubbell …

Should students be allowed to choose which school bathroom they use based on the gender they identify with? State Senator Tom Casperson doesn’t think so and he is taking steps to prevent it from happening. Under guidelines being considered by the Michigan Board of Education, students would also be allowed …

A juried exhibit of artwork by students in the Finlandia University International School of Art and Design will be featured at the Finlandia University Gallery through April 20. The exhibition includes works by students working in media including drawing, painting, illustration, ceramic design, fiber arts and fashion design, sculpture, integrated …

One in every seven people is food insecure in West Michigan and in the Upper Peninsula. Feeding America West Michigan distributed more than 27 million pounds of food to Michigan residents in 2015. To help fight hunger here in the Upper Peninsula, the organization is teaming up with Walmart on …