State News

The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association has announced that for the second straight year, Michigan drivers will again pay an extra $10 toward caring for people catastrophically injured in crashes. That amount is now $170 per year. Michigan is the only state requiring drivers to buy unlimited medical benefits. Funds are …

State Representative Joe Bellino has introduced legislation which would require retired state legislators to pay more of their own health care costs. The Republican from Monroe says the bill is part of a broader effort aimed at containing costs in public employee retirement systems, which are straining government budgets across …

As the state’s unemployment rate hovers just above five-percent, Bruce Weaver with the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget says the number of payroll jobs in Michigan has increased six-consecutive years. In 2016, jobs in the state rose by 82,000 — 1.9-percent increase. On top of that, Michigan’s unemployment …

Abolishing Daylight Saving Time–as people head to work an hour earlier this Monday, State Representative Peter Lucido is calling for elimination of Michigan’s twice-yearly time shifts. The Macomb County Republican says ending the time change would help make Michigan residents more productive while being beneficial and safer for students.

Volkswagen pled guilty to cheating the U.S. government by using software to skirt emission rules on hundreds of thousands of vehicles. AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert with details.

State officials are meeting today in Lansing to discuss the controversial Enbridge Line 5, the pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac. Advocates plan to show up early to the Pipeline Safety Advisory Board meeting to urge Governor Rick Snyder and Attorney General Bill Schuette to decommission the line. Officials are …

Supporters of a Great Lakes cleanup program are taking their case to Congress. Preliminary budget figures suggest the Trump administration may try to cut nearly all its funding and that contradicts the Trump campaign’s pledge last fall to support the program. The Healing Our Waters-Great Lakes Coalition represents nearly 150 …

As the number of people entering the job market continued to grow, unemployment figures in Michigan rose in January to 5.2-percent. Bruce Weaver is with the Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget. The national jobless rate rose slightly by one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.8 percent from December …

Enrollment is booming at charter schools across the state, which means the Michigan Association of Public School Academies , the state charter school association has some jobs to fill. Dan Quisenberry, President of MAPSA, says the Virtual Job Fair will take place March 17th, with hundreds of new job postings …

On the medical beat, a link between anti-depressant and anti-anxiety drugs and hip fractures. Health Reporter Dr. Deanna Lites has more.