Government

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Thursday that she will not cede her authority to issue certain COVID-19 restrictions, calling Republicans’ attempt to hold back federal pandemic relief funding unless she changes course “cruel and reckless.” The Democratic governor urged GOP lawmakers to “shift their perspective to looking forward” and stop “digging in” on their continued opposition to state health department orders …

Police said they solved the murder of a Battle Creek woman more than 30 years later, after a newly discovered blood sample connected a man to the fatal stabbing. But no charges will be filed because Roger Plato was killed in 1988, three days before Gayle Barrus’ body was found by hunters in Calhoun County, prosecutor David Gilbert said. Nonetheless, …

If Michigan could administer 50,000 coronavirus vaccine doses a day, it could hit its goal of inoculating 70% of people age 16 and older by August. At the current rate, about 29,000 per day, it would not finish until a year from now. The issue is limited supplies — something Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and health officials hope can be addressed …

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Monday refused to discuss the circumstances surrounding the abrupt departure of Michigan’s health director during the coronavirus pandemic, including whether she asked for his resignation. The Democratic governor also declined to set a date for the return of youth contact sports, despite growing pressure after her administration extended the ban through Feb. 21, three months after …

Michigan restaurants and bars can reopen for indoor dining at 25% capacity and with a 10 p.m. curfew starting Feb. 1, and concessions can resume at casinos, movie theaters and stadiums, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Friday. The state health department’s coronavirus restrictions were loosened again amid a continued drop in cases and hospitalizations. They will be effective for three weeks, …

A woman has been killed and her husband and five children hurt after the horse pulling their buggy veered in front of a pickup truck in Branch County. Barbara Jo Schwartz, 39, died at an Indiana hospital following the 8:50 a.m. Friday crash in Algansee Township, according to Branch County sheriff’s deputies. The family was thrown from the buggy which struck the fender of …

A 64-year-old man drowned in a Lake Michigan bay when his off-road vehicle hit open water, authorities said. Edward Lester of Garden was at Big Bay De Noc, off Delta County, for ice fishing Thursday. Ice in the area was 4 to 5 inches thick but “recent high winds caused the crack to open,” said Lt. Eugene “Skip” Hagy of …

Sheriff Richard J Behnke reports that deputies of the Cass County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call for help in the 56000 block of White Temple Road in Penn Township on Wednesday. The caller advised the Cass County Dispatch that a dog had fallen through the ice in a pond and was unable to get out. Deputy Taryn Shields responded …

Relief is coming to Michigan businesses after a board last week approved $58.5 million in grants for economic losses due to the coronavirus pandemic that has strained the state’s economy. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer last month signed into law a spending plan to help repair the economic impact from the coronavirus. It included an allocation to the Michigan Strategic Fund under the Michigan …

A small group of gun-toting demonstrators rallied Sunday outside of Michigan’s Capitol building near a sizable presence of law enforcement officers on high alert after this month’s deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol. About a dozen protesters openly carried guns, including some who promoted the anti-government “boogaloo” movement, a slang term adopted by the pro-gun extremist movement that is a reference to …