State News

The State of Michigan has instituted new testing and disclosure rules for marijuana-based vaping products. Emergency rules posted Friday by the Marijuana Regulatory Agency come in response to 55 cases of lung injuries in Michigan. 88 percent of the victims reported that they had used vaping products that included THC. …

For the first time in six years, the number of drug overdose deaths in Michigan fell slightly in 2018. A report released Friday by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services indicated 2,599 Michiganders died from overdoses last year – a drop of slightly more than three percent. More …

All eggs produced in Michigan will eventually come from cage-free farms. The bill signed into law yesterday by Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist will also require that all eggs sold in the state come from cage-free farms, even if they’re brought in from another state. The new rules take effect in …

Forty-three Michigan counties have been declared natural disaster areas because of bad farming weather this year. The designation came this week from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Most of the counties are downstate, but Delta, Dickinson, Iron, Marquette and Schoolcraft Counties in the Upper Peninsula made the list. Michigan agriculture …

250,000 Michigan voters will be receiving applications to serve on the Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission. A random name draw was held yesterday in Lansing. It’s part of the process established when voters approved the independent redistricting process last November. The law actually requires that only 10,000 random applications be released. …

Michigan’s first recreational marijuana licenses have been issued. Tuesday, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency awarded license number one to Exclusive Brands of Ann Arbor. Exclusive Brands already produces marijuana for the medical market. Its new licenses will allow it to grow up to 1,500 plants, and process marijuana into other products, …

Governor Gretchen Whitmer is spending the week in Israel, hoping to strengthen Michigan’s ties with that nation. Whitmer will visit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Bethlehem. Her schedule includes meetings with governmental and economic leaders, stops at General Motors and Ford Motor Company facilities, and an appearance at the Water Technology …

Michigan is ramping up its war on illegal robocalls. Attorney General Dana Nessel and a group of public and private partners announced the effort Friday. Nessel says the state will provide additional education to consumers about how to protect themselves. New legislation to limit robocalls will be introduced, and enforcement …

Could charging tolls on some Michigan roadways and bridges help resolve our highway funding problem? The state Senate Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure recently forwarded a bill that would require an investigation. MDOT senior policy analyst Aarne Frobom doesn’t doubt that the tolls could bring in money… Speaking on the …

Flags at Michigan government facilities will fly at half-staff again tomorrow, to honor another serviceman who gave his life for our country many years ago. Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued the order on behalf of Army Private Connie Cagle. Cagle was killed on the island of New Guinea in 1942. His …