Michigan News

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University is moving to change the name of a campus building after learning that it’s named for a man who belonged to the Ku Klux Klan. Stephen Nisbet’s membership card from the 1920s was discovered at a library at Central Michigan University. MSU's human resources building is named for Nisbet, who was a member of the school’s governing board from 1962-70. Nisbet worked in education and private business and was chairman of the 1961 convention that produced Michigan’s constitution. He died in 1986.

The State of Michigan has announced that for the first time in 2020, a person in the state has been diagnosed with West Nile. 

After Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed orders allowing organized sports, the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) announced that the fall football season is being reinstated. 

(You can read the MHSAA release below.)  

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Sept. 3 – The Fall 2020 football season has been reinstated today by the Representative Council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association after Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Executive Order 176 lifted restrictions that previously did not allow the sport to be played.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has signed orders to allow gyms and pools to reopen. Additionally, organized sports may resume with restrictions in place. Whitmer says contact sports are still not recommended.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Former Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder is backing Joe Biden for president, becoming the latest high-profile Republican to support the Democratic nominee over President Donald Trump. Snyder said Thursday that Biden "is a man of deep faith and commitment to family, decency and integrity." He says Biden can help heal America and put society back on a positive path. The announcement comes in conjunction with the launch of Republicans and Independents for Biden.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan has crossed the threshold of 100,000 cases of the coronavirus confirmed since March. The state health department says deaths related to COVID-19 reached 6,446 after six more were recorded Friday. Most people recover from the virus. But for older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause pneumonia and lead to death. Meanwhile, the state Education Department says 86% of public school districts are offering in-person instruction for the new year, even if it’s just two to three days per week.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge has dismissed a lawsuit challenging the secretary of state’s mailing of absentee ballot applications to millions of voters who did not request one, ruling that Jocelyn Benson had “clear and broad” authority to do so. State Court of Claim Judge Cynthia Stephens’ decision Wednesday had been signaled after she rejected a request for a preliminary injunction in June.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is urging Michigan residents to get the flu vaccine to ease the load on the health system if there is a surge of coronavirus cases during the fall and winter influenza season. She announced Tuesday that the state wants at least 1 million more people vaccinated. Whitmer received a flu shot during a news conference to “show how easy it is.” More than 3.2 million of Michigan’s 10 million residents were vaccinated against the flu last season. The state’s goal is to increase that number by a third, to 4.3 million.

YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — Eastern Michigan University says students cannot move into dorms on campus for at least three weeks and classes will remain online during that period to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The school said in a news release Monday that residence halls will remain closed through Sept. 17. Classes are set to begin Aug. 31 but will be online through Sept. 20. Eastern Michigan president James Smith says the health, safety and well-being of the campus community were paramount in the decision to restrict campus activities. Eastern Michigan has about 18,000 students. 

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — A federal judge won't block a requirement that Michigan farm workers get tested for the coronavirus, rejecting claims that it violates the rights of Hispanics. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a handful of workers as well as some fruit producers. But farm worker advocates are in favor of the tests. Compliance starts Monday under an order from the state health department. Federal Judge Paul Maloney says the order is neutral, noting it doesn't mention Hispanics or any other race.

MONROE, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a magnitude 3.2 earthquake occurred Friday night near Monroe in the southeastern corner of Michigan. The U.S. Geological Survey says the depth was about 5.7 miles. The earthquake was felt in Ohio, which is just minutes from Monroe. It happened around 7 p.m. Earthquakes of that magnitude aren't considered major, although people say they felt it. Vicki LaVelle of Temperance says there was a "loud boom" and her "entire house shook." Earthquakes of 3.2 magnitude aren't considered major. State police had no reports of damage.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's appeals court says Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency declarations and orders to curb the coronavirus clearly fall within the scope of her legal powers. The court on Friday rejected Republican lawmakers' contention that she cannot indefinitely act without their approval. Republicans vowed to appeal the 2-1 ruling to the state Supreme Court. The appeals court denied GOP lawmakers’ contention that a 1945 law only lets a governor indefinitely extend emergencies that are local, not statewide, in nature.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan has applied for federal funding to provide an additional $300 a week in unemployment benefits. It's less than the $600 boost that expired last month but still more than the maximum $362 weekly payment Michigan dispenses. President Donald Trump this month signed an order extending the added weekly benefit after he and Congress were unable to agree to a broader new coronavirus relief plan. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says the program will provide much-needed support but is a short-term “Band-Aid” that falls short of what's needed.

On Michigan State University's website an announcement has been made indicating that the fall semester will now be online. 

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has touted Joe Biden’s work to rescue the auto industry and says he would rally the country to fight the coronavirus and not deny it like President Donald Trump has. The governor spoke on the opening night of Democrats’ virtual nominating convention Monday. She addressed a national audience from a United Auto Workers hall in Lansing. Whitmer reminded viewers of the country’s last economic crisis — the Great Recession — and credited Biden for helping save the auto sector with a federal bailout.

PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) — The National Weather Service has extended swimming advisories for parts of Lake Michigan as forecasters predict high waves and strong currents. The beach hazard statements were issued Sunday and now run into Tuesday evening and that officials are urging people to stay out of the water. Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties in Indiana are under advisories. So are Cook and Lake counties in Illinois and Michigan's Berrien County.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — A white nationalist group and counter-protesters clashed violently Saturday afternoon in western Michigan, resulting in arrests. The confrontation occurred at a planned rally in Kalamazoo by a group known as the Proud Boys. Assistant Chief Vernon Coakley of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety said a few people were arrested, but didn’t know exactly how many. The Proud Boys scheduled a rally while counter-protesters staged their own event in the area, reporters on the scene said. When the Proud Boys arrived, the confrontation ensued.

Officials with the Michigan High School Athletic Assn. announced that the fall 2020 football season will not be played.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says 4 million masks will be distributed to residents — free of charge — to help combat the coronavirus pandemic. The face coverings will go to low-income residents, seniors, schools and homeless shelters through a partnership among the state, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Ford Motor Co. FEMA is supplying 2.5 million of the masks, including 1.5 million that the state has already sent to social service agencies. Ford is paying for 1.5 million masks.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan reports more than 1,100 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, the highest number recorded in one day in nearly three months. The state health department on Thursday also recorded 16 deaths, including nine that occurred days or weeks earlier following a review of death certificates. The 1,121 daily confirmed cases of coronavirus are the most since May 14 except for July 26, when a spike was attributed to cases that should have been reflected in the previous day’s count.

LANSING, Mic. (AP) — Michigan will mail postcards telling 4.4 million registered voters they can vote from home in November’s presidential election, and it will spend $2 million to reimburse local governments that provide pre-paid postage on absentee ballot return envelopes. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson says the moves are needed to ensure safety. She pointed Thursday to the record number of absentee ballots cast in last week’s primary.

The Michigan National Guard has announced it will be offering COVID-19 testing in Three Rivers. 

The Mid-American Conference has become the first league at college football's highest level to cancel its fall season because of COVID-19. MAC schools rely heavily on revenue from road games against power conference teams. Most of those games were canceled when the Power Five went to exclusively or mostly conference schedules. Without them, the strain became too much of trying to keep players and staff safe during a pandemic.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Joe Biden recently talked with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who traveled to Delaware to meet with Biden as he neared the announcement of his vice presidential choice. That is according to two high-ranking Michigan Democrats. The officials, who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, say Whitmer visited Biden last Sunday. It's his first confirmed in-person meeting with a potential pick. Whitmer, the first-term governor of a battleground state, has long been on his short list of possible running mates.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has extended Michigan's coronavirus emergency through Sept. 4, enabling her to keep in place restrictions designed to curb COVID-19. The Democratic governor on Friday pointed to an uptick in cases. Since nearly two months ago, the seven-day statewide average is up six-fold, to about 700, per an Associated Press analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. The rate of positive tests also has trended higher since early June.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has extended her mask requirement to include many children who attend day care and camps, saying the step is necessary to ensure the facilities remain open during the pandemic. Previously, day care centers and camps were exempt from her order to wear a face covering inside enclosed public spaces and crowded outdoor places. The new directive applies to children ages 2 and up when they're on a school bus and those ages 4 and older when they're in indoor hallways and common areas.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Democratic senator says he is launching an investigation into changes at the U.S. Postal Service that are causing delays in deliveries across the country. Democrats say the delays will be especially bad because of an expected big volume increase for mail-in ballots ahead of the November election. A plan imposed by Louis DeJoy, a Republican fundraiser who took over the top job at the Postal Service in June, eliminates overtime for hundreds of thousands of postal workers and orders that mail be kept until the next day if distribution centers are running late.