State News

The fog is clearing in Lansing around Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s 147 line-item vetoes in the state budget. Whitmer released the full list of x’d-out items late this morning. Along with most of the extra money the Republican-led House and Senate earmarked for repair of four downstate highway bridges, the cuts …

Backers of a petition drive to enact a ban on one type of abortion in Michigan say they’re more than halfway to their signature goal. The Michigan Values Life coalition includes Right to Life of Michigan, the Michigan Catholic Conference and several other anti-abortion groups. They want to outlaw the …

Michigan has a budget for the 2019-2020 fiscal year, but there are a lot of big, black lines on it.  Governor Gretchen Whitmer used her line item veto 147 times to scratch nearly a billion dollars out of the plan sent to her by the Republican-led legislature. The biggest deletion …

State employees have been told to report to work as usual Tuesday morning. The memo issued by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer late Friday is an indication that she will not issue wholesale vetoes of the state budget bills that were passed by the Republican-led House and Senate, and have all …

The company that owns the controversial Line Five pipeline is planning to add some additional supports to a small portion of its run through the Straits of Mackinac. Enbridge says the Army Corps of Engineers has given it a permit to place 54 steel supports along a 75-foot area to …

The state legislature has passed all of the bills needed for the 2019-2020 fiscal year budget, and sent them on to Governor Gretchen Whitmer for review. The budget totals $59-billion. Most of the 14 bills passed on party line votes. The only ones that garnered significant bipartisan support were those …

The Republican-led state legislature hopes to have completed state budget bills forwarded to Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer late this week. At the GOP’s retreat on Mackinac Island over the weekend, Senate leader Mike Shirkey told reporters that the plan to complete the document with minimal input from the governor is …

The body of a 29-year-old Oakland County man has been found at a remote campsite in Alger County. Michigan State Police received a report that the man was missing Sunday evening. Search parties located his car at the Big Island Lake Trailhead. In heavy rain, conservation officers canoed through four …

Most K-12 school districts in Michigan would see a three percent increase in state funding, under an educational budget bill that was passed yesterday by the House and Senate. The compromise bill would mean an extra $240 per student in most areas, including the Copper Country. The measure passed easily …

Michigan’s emergency rules banning flavored nicotine vaping products have been released. The rules become effective immediately. Retailers and resellers – including online sellers – have 14 days to comply. Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued the emergency declaration September 4th, accusing e-cigarette companies of “getting our kids hooked on nicotine by marketing …