State News

A Michigan lawmaker is facing a second charge of sexual harassment. Democratic Senator Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak says Republican Senator Peter Lucido of Shelby Township made crude remarks and touched her inappropriately during a capitol orientation session after the November, 2018 election. Lucido denies that. Lucido is already being …

A reward is being offered to help find the culprits who are poaching elk in the Northern Lower Peninsula. In mid-December, three adult elk cows were killed illegally in Otsego County. It was the third such case in northern Michigan in roughly a month. In mid-November, one bull elk was …

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is proceeding with her court case against the proposed tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac that would house the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline. The tunnel was approved in the waning days of the Rick Snyder administration. Enbridge would build it, and relocate Line 5 from …

The cost of an automobile Michigan Recreation Passport will go up this year. The increase from $11.00 to $12.00 is the first since the Passport program began seven years ago. The hike is actually required by law – the Recreation Passport funding model ties the rate to the Consumer Price …

Two Michigan children have died from influenza. They are the first pediatric deaths reported in our state this flu season. 32 pediatric deaths have been recorded nationwide. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services reports that the children lived in Shiawassee and Wayne Counties. MDHHS chief medical executive and …

A third Michigander has died from vaping-related lung injury. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed the death of an adult male on December 19th. No other information about the individual is being released because of confidentiality issues. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that …

An effort is underway to add sexual identity to the protections offered under Michigan’s civil rights laws. A group called the Fair and Equal Michigan committee has filed petition language with the state Board of Canvassers. If the language is approved, supporters would have until May 27th to collect 340,047 …

For the first time ever, the Michigan Lottery has contributed a billion dollars to the state school aid fund. Last year’s record contribution was $129 million larger than 2018. 26 cents of each dollar spent on the lottery goes to the school fund. The largest amount – 62 cents – …

The political jockeying around who’ll become the next U.S. District Attorney for our area continues. President Donald Trump had nominated Tom Leonard for the Michigan Western District job last fall. Leonard is a Republican, and is a former speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives. He narrowly lost the 2018 …

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson wants to add a third gender option to Michigan’s driver’s licenses. 13 other states have already added a gender-neutral choice to their IDs. Groups representing the LBGT community have been requesting the change since shortly after Benson was elected. Benson has made changes to …