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STATE NEWS for FRI 22MAR19
President
Donald Trump will be in Grand Rapids for a rally next week. The
president is coming to Michigan for a 2020 re-election campaign rally on
Thursday, March 28th. The rally will be held the the Van Andel Arena
at 7PM and tickets are available now at
President Trump's campaign website.
Michigan GOP Chair, Laura Cox, said that she is thrilled that the
president is coming to Michigan for a campaign stop, which proves that he
is making Michigan a priority in the 2020 election and the Michigan
Republican Party will do everything in its power to deliver the stat's 16
electoral votes to his re-election.
A
big announcement is expected from G-M today. Reuters is reporting that
General Motors Co will announce today plans to invest $300 million in a
suburban Detroit plant that builds electric and self-driving vehicles for
Chevrolet and the automaker’s selfdriving Cruise unit.
A
Michigan woman is missing in Wisconsin. Police in Wisconsin are looking
for 39- year-old Amanda Hanover after her car was found in Kenosha. Family
members say Hanover was last seen in Portage, Michigan on Monday. Her car
was found parked near the Lake Michigan shoreline in Kenosha . Her cell
phone was in the car. Police say they have conducted a drone search along
the lake, but didn't find anything.
A 21-year-old man was shot in Kalamazoo Thursday and said it happened
during a drug deal in Parchment. The Kalamazoo Township Police Department
says the victim drove himself to the hospital and his injuries are not
believed to be life threatening. Witnesses says they saw a small black car
take off after the shooting.
A
Catholic priest, 72-year-old Father Robert DeLand, Junior, has been
acquitted of sexually assaulting two male teens. M-Live reports DeLand
stood and embraced his supporters after the verdict was read. DeLand still
faces three felonies and one misdemeanor involving one of the two teens
and another young man in two remaining trials. DeLand had most recently
been assigned to St. Agnes Church in Freeland before he was suspended.
DeLand had plead no contest to all charges against him, and then withdrew
the plea about a month later.
The air quality has tested fine in a southwest Michigan school where
two teachers got sick. Vicksburg Community Schools Superintendent Kevin
O'Neill says the air quality is fine at Sunset Lake Elementary School. A
report found no sign of mold, water damage, carbon monoxide or other
problems. The teachers worked in the same classroom. One got sick last
year and then in December, one of the teachers got so sick that she had to
be hospitalized. A parent says three of her children have had class in
that room and all three have had sudden upper respiratory issues. Testing
will continue
Health
officials reporting the confirmation of four additional measles cases in
Oakland County in Metro Detroit. Three other cases are currently under
investigation. These cases follow a confirmed travel-related measles case
announced by the Health Division earlier this month. Officials say Measles
is highly contagious. You need to get vaccinated...If symptoms develop,
do not visit your doctor or emergency room
unless you call ahead so they can take precautions to prevent exposure to
other individuals.
Dozens of organizations from accross Michigan will gather today at the
Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit to
commemorate World Water Day. The event will focus on making water more
affordable, as well as keeping it free of contaminants. The event begins
with a ceremony at 4:00 p.m. Jewish, Christian and Muslim faith leaders
will be there, along with tribal members
The Michigan D-E-Q regulators will meet next week to determine if a dairy
farm will face criminal or civil actions after manure from their farm
spilled into the Coldwater River in west Michigan. M-Live reports Brook
View Dairy, a Holland-based multi facility dairy, is being investigated by
the DEQ after manure was spread on fields east of Freeport and since the
ground was frozen , it didn't absorb it and it ran into Messer Brook and
then the Coldwater River. President of Schrems West Michigan Trout
Unlimited, Lance Climie, says these manure spills are going to kill the
streams.
A
worker has died after an industrial accident at a logging company in the
Upper Peninsula on Thursday. W-L-U-C reports the employee was injured
during routine maintenance on a vehicle at Minerick Logging Inc. in Sagola
Township in Dickinson County.
Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich of Flint has announced legislation
to decriminalize sports betting pools in Michigan. The bill would exempt
low-stakes tournament brackets from the definition of gambling under
Michigan law. The bill would make it legal in Michigan to wager bets of up
to $25 in pool-style bracket competitions of up to 100 individuals. The
bill also requires that the entire sum of the bets be paid back to one or
more of the participants.
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STATE NEWS for THU 21MAR19
A southwest Michigan couple is charged with child abuse after their
seven-month-old daughter was hospitalized with skull fractures and
bruising. 20-year-old Angel Rickett and 26-year-old Derek Lamere have
reportedly been charged with child abuse. Police say Rickett shook the
baby, causing her head to hit the wall and she slapped her face. Lamere
was charged because police say he knew it happened and did not protect the
baby.
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A
35-year-old west Michigan woman was killed in a car crash northwest of
Rockford. The Kent County Sheriff's Department says a woman from Cedar
Springs was killed when she collided with a pickup truck. Three others,
including her two young children, who were in car seats in the back seat,
are hospitalized. Their injuries are not life threatening. Alcohol is not
believed to be a factor in the crash.
A
west Michigan man is missing after leaving home on Monday. The Kent County
Sheriff's Office says 56-year-old Russell Anderson left his Gaines
Township home on his bicycle to look for returnable cans, something he
normally does before returning home to care for his ailing father. He has
not been seen since then. Anderson was last known to be wearing an orange
reflective vest and jeans. Anyone with information should call police.
A
20-year-old Grand Blanc Township man has been charged with videotaping his
coworkers at Tim Horton's bathroom. W-J-R-T reports Eric Andrews allegedly
recorded coworkers in the employee bathroom at the Tim Horton's in Fenton
for two years. Some of the charges against him include-two counts of child
sexually abusive material and possession child sexually abusive material.
Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton says Andrews may also have set up
cameras in bathrooms in people's homes.
The
former city manager in Albion is accused of embezzling a month after
taking office. LaTonya Rufus has been charged with two counts of
embezzlement last November, a month after taking office. She was placed on
administrative leave three months later. City attorney Cullen Harkness
says as part of her release agreement, she must pay back 65-hundred
dollars in moving expenses.
A high-ranking Pittsburgh official and her husband are charged in an
alleged altercation with Detroit Police at the Westin Book Cadillac
earlier this month. It happened shortly after midnight on March 6th, when
Controller Chelsa Wagner and her husband Khari Mosley were in town. He was
apparently upset when workers wouldn't let him to his hotel room without
his key. Police were called, and there was a loud confrontation. She is
accused of later pushing a police officer. Detroit Police Chief James
Craig says his officers acted appropriately. Wagner has said it was a
misunderstanding.
March Madness means -- popcorn madness! Starting tomorrow, if you
wear your favorite sports jersey to a movie at an Emagine Theatre you can
score a free tub of popcorn to celebrate the start of the NCAA tournament.
And it's not just specific to college jerseys, they say you can wear a
jersey from any team in any league at any level to get the free 44-ounce
popcorn. The promotion runs until April 8th at all Emagine locations in
Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
U-S
Representative Elissa Slotkin will hold her first town hall meeting since
she took office in January. The Democrat will host the public event at
Oakland University's Oakland Center tonight at 6 o'clock. It will focus on
prescription drug prices and health care, along with other topics of
interest to 8th District residents. Slotkin narrowly defeated incumbent
Republican Mike Bishop in last November's election.
An acclaimed photographic exhibition commemorating President John F.
Kennedy’s private life and public trajectory is opening in Michigan.
“American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’s Life and Times” opens at the
Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum at Saginaw Valley State University
today. The opening event, which takes place from 4 to 8 p.m., will feature
a talk with exhibition curator and noted photojournalist Lawrence
Schiller, who photographed JFK.
Top
STATE NEWS for WED 20MAR19
A statewide tornado drill is set for 1 p.m. on March 27th.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has declared the week of March 24th - 30th as
Michigan's Severe Weather Awareness Week. Broadcasters and Emergency
Management partners statewide are encouraging Michiganders to conduct a
statewide tornado drill at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, March 27th and to come
up with an emergency plan if they do not already have one in place.
A
Detroit man has been sentenced to six months in prison for stealing more
than 280- thousand dollars from the Social Security Administration and the
Department of Veteran's Affairs. 76-year-old Walter Terrell, Sr. must also
spend three years on supervised release after his prison sentence and pay
full restitution to the government. Terrell, according to court records
continued to receive his mother's Social Security retirement insurance
benefits for 37 years after her death and forged his mother's name to cash
the checks. Terrell also unlawfully retained more than 35-thousand dollars
in payments to his mother by the department of Vetarans Affairs.
The Michigan Department of Civil Rights will hold two hearings next
week in Grand Rapids as it looks into recent incidents that have drawn
criticism to the police department. Two teen boys were held at gunpoint by
an officer after being stopped for walking in the street recently. Then on
Sunday, an officer struck a man in the leg repeatedly during an arrest. A
spokesperson for the civil rights department says this is serious and they
believe that what they've seen shows that there is clearly something going
on, but they don't know what that is.
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A
37-year-old woman was hit and killed by a semi truck on I-94 in Kalamazoo
County in southwest Michigan last night. The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's
Office says it happened at about 11 last night on eastbound I-94 in
Charleston Township, east of Kalamazoo. There's no word why the woman was
walking on the freeway. Police do not believe speed or alcohol were
factors in the accident.
There will be extra police presence at Farmington High School after
a threatening picture went viral on social media. A letter sent to parents
say two students showed staff members the picture that showed a student
making a comment about a shooting at the school. An investigation
involving police was able to determine the post was "photo-shopped" and made
at least a month ago. Information from students leads police to believe
the post was a hoax. Despite the findings, extra police will be in the
school, but Spirit Week plans will continue as is.
A
west Michigan father, Gary Birkhead, has been charged with involuntary
manslaughter in connection to his son's fatal overdose in 2017. WOOD TV
reports 16- year-old Cole Birkhead died after overdosing in Coloma. Court
records in Van Buren County show that Birkhead also faces a charge of
second degree child abuse.
The effort to reform Michigan's no-fault auto insurance continues in
Lansing. State Representative Jason Sheppard -- a Republican from Monroe
County -- introducing legislation which would eliminate the no-fault
system and move Michigan to a tort system, similar to other states such as
Ohio. Michigan drivers currently have the only no-fault system in the
country mandating unlimited medical coverage. The bill package has been
referred to the House Insurance Committee
Legislation
that would keep e-cigarettes out the hands of young people has passed the
State Senate Committee. The bills aim to ban the sale of e-cigarettes and
other vaping products to minors. Four students from Pinckney Community
schools testified on the bills' behalf. They passed committee 8 to 0.
Beaumont is proposing a new hospital in northern Oakland County.
Executives submitted paperwork to build a new 117-bed facility at a cost
of 140-million dollars at the corner of Lapeer Road, M-24 and Market
Street today. Beaumont says the hospital will meet the health care needs
of the community. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services,
which will decide whether to approve the project by July.
Top
STATE NEWS for TUE 19MAR19
Governor
Gretchen Whitmer has declared a state of emergency for Newaygo County due
to the impact of recent flooding. The county had requested state
assistance to address the impacts of heavy rainfall and snowmelt, which
resulted in widespread flooding. Whitmer says as Newaygo County continues
to deal with the effects of severe flooding, they are doing all they can
to ensure the health and safety of their residents,” She says by signing
this declaration, the state can offer even more resources to assist the
county’s efforts. On March 14, heavy rains and melting snow resulted in
widespread flooding, which damaged homes, displaced residents and washed
out roadways.
A woman has been arrested at Detroit Metro Airport after she
allegedly caused a scare in the air on a Delta flight. Airport officials
say the plane had departed from Indianapolis when the woman tried to open
the boarding door. She was restrained by passengers until the airplane
landed at Detroit Metro Airport around 6:45 last night. It was there that
the woman was arrested by airport police. It appeared the woman may have
been suffering from a medical issue and did not have any criminal intent.
The FBI is investigating.
A
group of dogs were removed from a home In Oakland County in a case that's
connected to a larger bust in Roseville over the weekend. Animal control
officers recovered nine dogs from a home in West Bloomfield yesterday.
This revelation came after Roseville police found 30 animals in cages on
Saturday. Police say both groups of dogs are connected to a 51-year-old
woman who claimed to be running a rescue out of a garage at a Roseville
cemetery. She is now cooperating with investigators.
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STATE NEWS for MON 18MAR19
A
car has been pulled from the Plaster Creek in Grand Rapids, but there's no
sign of the driver. The Audi crashed into the creek Saturday night after
witnesses say it jumped the curb and crashed through the guard rail. No
one saw the driver get out of the car after the crash and a rapid current
kept recovery crews from getting the car until Sunday morning. Grand
Rapids Fire Battalion Chief Bruce Veldkamp says they've been checking to
make sure the driver didn't get out of the vehicle and then they'll search
the river.
One man was injured after he crashed his vehicle into a tree in
southwest Michigan's Porter Township Sunday afternoon. 63-year-old Randy
Riley was taken to a hospital in Elkhart, Indiana. Police are
investigating, but say alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the
crash.
A
46-year-old woman has been killed after she crashed her car into a tractor
trailer late last night in west Michigan's Oakfield Township. Michigan
State Police say the woman from Morley crossed the center line around
11:30 last night and hit a tractor trailor . She was killed , but the
22-year-old driver of the tractor trailer was not injured. No word yet if
drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.
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A
body was found in a river in the U.P. in Menominee Township over the
weekend. WL-U-C reports the body was found late Saturday morning, but has
not been determined how long it had been there. The Michigan State Police
Crime lab , state police and the Menominee County Sheriff's Office are
working to identify the body.
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A
young woman was stabbed in Calumet in the U.P. over the weekend. W-L-U-C
reports the Houghton County Sheriff's Office a 17-year-old girl was
arrested after one young woman was found with a large laceration on her
face. She was taken to an area hospital and treated and released.
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LOCAL NEWS for FRI 21MAR19
AuSable
Township requested sediment samplings be taken at the mouth of the AuSable
River. 
Huron
County Commissioners will fill vacant seats on the Planning Commission.
Commissioners interviewed seven of the nine candidates looking to fill the
three seats. According to the Huron Daily Tribune, the seven candidates
told commissioners their previous and current involvements in Huron county
regarding planning and zoning. The final two candidates will be
interviewed on Tuesday at 9am during the next Huron County Board of
Commissioners meeting in Room 305 of the Huron County Building.
Commissioners will then appoint three candidates for the open three year
terms. The appointees will take their seats at the April 3rd Huron County
Planning Commission meeting. 
Oscoda
Township Trustees discussed Phase One of the Water Main Extension Project.
Phase One of the Water Main Extension Project should be completed in May.
According to the Oscoda Press, the first phase, which began last year is
part of the goal to get clean municipal water to residents affected by
PFAS contamination coming from the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Phase
One entails a water main extension down Van Ettan Dam Road and Forest
drive as well as a new meter pit installation for Rose Lane. Mac Arthur
Construction intends to complete the remaining work on the Phase One
Project by May, if not sooner. 
Oscoda
County has a new 9-1-1 plan. 
State
Representative Sue Allor's plan to make state government more accountable
to the people of Michigan was unanimously approved by the Michigan House.
The proposal will subject the governor and lieutenant governor to the
Freedom of Information Act and hold state representatives and senators to
the same high standard by creating the Legislative Open Records Act. Allor,
of Wolverine, said the people of Michigan have the right to know what
their state government is doing and how public tax dollars are spent. The
House bills now advance to the Senate for consideration.
The
Whittemore Prescott School District still has elevated PFAS levels in its
water wells. A second round of testing confirmed an elevated level
of PFAS contaminates in the water supply. According to the Ogemaw County
Herald, Whittemore Prescott officials first learned of the contamination
in November after testing by the Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality. The district immediately stopped using the well water for cooking
and drinking. Superintendent Joe Perrera said of the four wells tested in
February, two showed an increase in PFAS since November, one showed a
decrease and one showed no contamination. The district will be required to
test its water wells quarterly to verify the contamination does not
increase. Perrera said a community meeting is in the process of being
scheduled but a date has not yet been set. 
Veterans
are invited to attend a VA Open House at the Lieutenant Colonel Clement C.
VanWagoner VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic, 180 North State Avenue in
Alpena tomorrow morning from 10am-Noon. VA Staff will provide a brief tour
and can assist Veterans with eligibility questions and enrollment for
health care. Veterans should bring their DD214 Certificate of Release or
Discharge from Active Duty so a copy can be made to assist with the
enrollment process. For more information visit Vets Dot Gov. 
The
Michigan Department of Natural Resources Pigeon River Country Equestrian
Committee will hold a public meeting tomorrow, Thursday, March 21st, at
1pm at the DNR Field Office in Roscommon. The public is welcome to attend
to share input and ideas on policy decisions dealing with natural resource
management and outdoor recreation opportunities. For more information
visit
Tawas
City officials are looking into funding street upgrades. The Tawas
City Manager announced a potential grant opportunity for road repairs.
According to the Iosco County News Herald, Tawas City Manager Annge
Horning said the grant funding is a 50/50 match for projects up to
$250,000 dollars. Horning told the City Council that work was being done
to combine projects from the major and local street improvement plans and
to get current prices from contractors to get close to the $250,000 dollar
total. Horning said the application deadline is April 5th. 
East
Tawas City Officials approved modifications to the city's poverty
exemption standards and guidelines. The changes bring the exemption
language in line with state guidelines. According to the Iosco County News
Herald, the changes also include the elimination of the primary residence
property value requirement. City Manager Brent Barringer said in order to
be eligible for property tax relief due to poverty a resident must apply
on an annual basis. The applicant must be an owner and occupant of the
property as their principal residence and total household income may not
exceed $12,140 dollars for one person, plus $4,320 dollars for each
additional person. The East Tawas City Council voted unanimously to
approve the modifications. 
The
Ogemaw Heights Boys Basketball Coach is no longer on administrative leave.
West Branch Rose City Superintendent Phil Mikulski said that Mike Weiler
is no longer on administrative leave. According to the Ogemaw County
Herald, Mikulski said the district has completed its internal
investigation of Coach Weiler and he is no longer on administrative leave.
Mikulski added that because it is a personal issue, no further comment
would be made. Weiler was placed on administrative leave on February 28th
at which time Mikulski said the district was conducting an internal
investigation and that the accusations against Weiler were not criminal in
nature. Mikulski also confirmed that Weiler is still the Ogemaw Heights
Boys Varsity Basketball Coach. .JPG)
SATURDAY
MARCH 23, 2019
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