Business

A rupture released steam at a nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan, forcing a utility to shut down one of the two units. Indiana Michigan Power says the steam was not radioactive but it damaged a wall at the Cook Nuclear Plant Unit 2 early Wednesday in Bridgman. There were no injuries. The utility says there were no other complications …

Volkswagen owners can finally dump their cheatin’ cars, if they want to. The German automaker has agreed to an unprecedented U.S. settlement to make things right after admitting that it programmed about half a million of its diesel cars to cheat on emissions tests. When driven on the road, the vehicles put out levels of nitrous oxide well above U.S. …

Gov. Rick Snyder has vetoed legislation that he says would have increased the cost of auto repairs in Michigan and possibly car insurance, too. The bill won overwhelmingly approval in the Legislature. It would have amended the law to state that when repairing certain parts during the first five years of a vehicle’s warranty, body shops could use only new …

Michigan’s jobless rate dipped in May to 4.7 percent, the lowest since March 2001. The state’s seasonally adjusted rate was one-tenth of a percentage point below the 4.8 percent rate in April, the state reported Wednesday. The 4.7 percent jobless rate matches the national rate. Total employment was unchanged, while the labor force and number of unemployed both declined by …

Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), an operating unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), held a groundbreaking ceremony Wednesday for its first solar power plant in Michigan, on a 35-acre site just east of Watervliet. The Watervliet Solar Power Plant will have more than 50,000 solar panels and generate up to 4.6 megawatts of emission-free energy. The facility is expected to …

The American Red Cross recently recognized SERVPRO®, a cleanup and restoration company, for participation in its Disaster Responder Program1. As a Disaster Responder Program member, SERVPRO pledges a donation to the Red Cross in advance of disasters, allowing the organization to respond quickly and effectively to nearly 66,000 disasters annually, most of which are home fires. SERVPRO is entering their third …

A bill that would affect auto parts at Michigan repair shops is getting different treatment in the House and Senate. The Senate version would force repair shops to use parts from original manufacturers. But the House scrapped that requirement when it approved the bill Tuesday, 86-23. An amendment by Republican Rep. Pete Pettalia of Presque Isle would allow vehicle owners …

The April unemployment rate in St. Joseph County decreased by four-tenths of a percent compared to a month earlier. The monthly labor-market analysis by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget showed St. Joseph County’s 3.4 percent April unemployment rate was less than March’s 3.8 percent. April’s unemployment rate was eight-tenths of a percent less than the same month …

A suburban Detroit police officer stepped in after a pizza delivery driver was injured in a car crash to make sure a still-warm order made it to its destination. Lincoln Park police Cpl. Joe Sparks tells The Detroit News that Monday’s collision sent the Jet’s Pizza driver to a hospital with bruises and a sore head. Sparks spotted an oven …

Nursing homes are increasingly evicting their most challenging residents, testing protections for some of society’s most vulnerable, advocates for the aged and disabled say. Those targeted for eviction are frequently poor and suffering from dementia, with families unsure of what to do, according to residents’ allies. Removing them allows an often stretched-thin staff to avoid the demands of labor-intensive patients …