VIRUS OUTBREAK-MICHIGAN

Michigan business groups urge Biden to reconsider mandate

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan business groups are urging President Joe Biden to reconsider a plan to require most workers to get vaccinated or regularly tested for COVID-19 but say, if it is enacted, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer should ensure related state rules are no stricter. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce and six local chambers raised a host of concerns and questions over the pending federal mandate Monday. It will apply to all employers with at least 100 employees. Business officials cite the cost and the logistical challenge of checking workers’ vaccination status and test results at a time staffing is limited.

UTILITY WORKER ELECTROCUTED

Utility worker electrocuted after contact with live cable

BRIGHTON, Mich. (AP) — A utility worker has died after being electrocuted near Brighton in Livingston County. WLNS-TV reports that Michigan State Police said the 41-year-old DTE Energy employee from South Lyon was working on live wires in the ground about 10:30 a.m. Sunday. Detroit-based DTE Energy said in a release that the field employee was working to restore power to the utility’s customers in Brighton “when he came into contact with an energized cable and sustained fatal injuries.” The employee’s name and further details about the incident were not immediately released. Brighton is about 44 miles northwest of Detroit.

EDIBLE LANDSCAPE

Free food and healthy, too: Small town grows its own veggies

DURAND, Mich. (AP) — Need a tomato for a sandwich? In one small Michigan community, it’s as easy as picking one from a plant growing downtown. Durand is in Shiawassee County, southwest of Flint. It offers an “edible landscape,” a variety of free fruits and vegetables. The city council recently gave the gardens a vote of confidence by agreeing to spend up to $500 a year. Program leader Michael Nazarian estimates the edible landscape will produce more than 300 pounds of fruits and vegetables this year. Nazarian approached Durand officials last spring. He pitched it as a way to invigorate downtown and promote healthy lifestyles.

AP-US-2020-CENSUS-COLLEGE-TOWNS

College towns plan to challenge results of 2020 census

Some college towns plan to challenge the results of the 2020 census. They claim they were shortchanged because the pandemic forced students to leave campuses. They also complain that the undercount could cost them federal money and prestige. The affected communities include Bloomington, Indiana; Tuscaloosa, Alabama; and State College, Pennsylvania. Dudley Poston is a sociology professor at Texas A&M University. He says off-campus students ran the greatest risk of being missed. An Associated Press review of 75 metro areas with the largest share of residents between 20 and 24 showed that the census results fell well below population estimates in some cases but also exceeded them significantly in others.

MICHIGAN-MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING

Michigan moves to fund mental health like physical health

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Starting this month, 13 mental health and addiction clinics across Michigan will receive the same Medicaid funding as any other health center in an effort to help bridge the stigmatic and funding divide between mental and physical health. The selected Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics meet high standards of care for those in need of mental health and addiction services. They will now be fully reimbursed by Medicaid. That is the same as other health care services and instead of relying on grants to supplement costs.

OBIT-DAN BENISHEK

Former US Rep. Dan Benishek of Michigan dies at age 69

DETROIT (AP) — Dan Benishek, a Michigan surgeon who served three terms in Congress, has died at age 69. In a statement, his family says he died Friday. Details about how he died were not released. The Republican from Crystal Falls represented northern Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula, from 2011 to 2017. In Congress, Benishek served on the Agriculture, Natural Resources and Veterans Affairs committees. He also worked at the Iron Mountain VA Medical Center for two decades as a surgeon. Republican leaders described him as an advocate who fought with passion. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says once funeral arrangements are announced, U.S. and Michigan flags will be lowered in his honor.

FINLANDIA-PRESIDENT

President quitting UP college founded by Finnish immigrants

HANCOCK, Mich. (AP) — A college founded by Finnish immigrants in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will be looking for a new leader. Philip Johnson says he’s resigning as president of Finlandia University in Hancock at the end of 2021-22 school year. He didn’t give a reason. Johnson has been criticized by faculty members, who approved a no-confidence vote in June. In response, the school's governing board said attracting more students was a “top priority.” Finlandia was known as Suomi College when it opened in 1896. It is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. The liberal arts school said it had 430 students in September.

PROPOSED FIREWOOD QUARANTINE-INVASIVE SPECIES

Proposed firewood quarantine to keep pests out of state

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has proposed a quarantine on exterior firewood to help prevent the introduction of unwanted pests and diseases into the state. Under the proposal, firewood shipped into Michigan would have to be certified as heat treated at a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit for at least 60 minutes. Kiln-dried lumber and wood chips smaller than one inch and logs or wood shipped from out-of-state sources directly to mills and other facilities for immediate processing would be exempt. The agency says more than 140 pests and diseases can be moved by firewood, including Asian long-horned beetle, mountain pine beetle and spotted lanternfly.

RESCUE DEVICE

Family whose son drowned in pond donates sonar device

SHEPHERD, Mich. (AP) — A mid-Michigan couple whose 4-year-old son drowned in a pond has donated a sonar device to police to use in similar emergencies. John and Rachel Kenny say they bought the device with money remaining from a GoFundMe account. The AquaEye can scan two acres of water in five minutes. Their son, Spencer, fell through ice and drowned in a pond last December in Isabella County. The Shepherd Tri Township Fire Department says the outcome might have been different with the device, which can identify bodies, especially in murky water.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING-DETROIT

Detroit senior community gets $19.7M in renovations

DETROIT (AP) — Nearly $20 million in renovations to an affordable housing community that’s home to 198 Detroit senior citizens have been completed. The city says rents on the apartments will not go up due to the $19.7 million in upgrades at Parkview Place. The building is just east of Detroit’s downtown. Each apartment received about $41,000 in upgrades, including new appliances, kitchen cabinets, countertops, sinks and faucets, and flooring. The building also received new elevators, a new roof, new windows, new entry doors, a new boiler, new water pumps and new fire suppression system. Renovations and affordability extensions were made possible, in part, through a 9% low-income housing tax credit award by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority.

News from © The Associated Press, 2021