Government

The Branch-Hillsdale-St. Joseph Community Health Agency is reporting that on Feb. 25, the CDC updated guidance for the general population regarding wearing masks indoors, as well as the requirement for facemasks on school buses and vans. These changes come as a result of the drop in COVID-19 cases in the country. Masks are no longer required on buses or vans …

A Three Rivers man, convicted of stealing catalytic converters in Hillsdale County in 2021, was sentenced to prison Monday in Hillsdale County Judicial Circuit Court. Yutthaphoom Khamphaeng, 34, pleaded guilty to receiving and concealing stolen property valued at more than $1,000, following his arrest in December 2021 on a warrant charging him with the crime and possession with intent to …

Republicans who control the Michigan Legislature agreed Tuesday on a plan to cut taxes by $2.5 billion annually, advancing a bill that will be vetoed because there is no deal with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The House voted 62-42 to cut the state income tax from 4.25% to 3.9%, lower the age for filers to exempt up to $20,000 individually …

Rep. Fred Upton began airing his first 2022 campaign ad last week, spending more than $200,000 and signaling that the moderate Republican is more likely to seek reelection to a 19th term in Congress. He has not announced whether he will run in the new 4th District in western Michigan. The GOP primary for the Republican-leaning seat that was created …

A Michigan ballot drive that was launched Monday would make it easier to vote, creating more than a week of early voting, letting all voters request an absentee ballot for future elections and requiring prepaid postage on return envelopes. The proposed constitutional amendment also would prohibit legislative or other attempts to “unreasonably” burden the right to vote and would enshrine the duties …

Gyms, movie theaters and other businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic would receive state grants under a $185 million spending bill that won initial legislative approval Thursday. The 96-6 vote in the House came more than a month after the Legislature and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer enacted $409 million in aid for businesses that lost money — funded with federal discretionary COVID-19 aid. …

A semitrailer was left dangling from an Indiana Toll Road overpass for hours Wednesday after it slid off the tollway amid icy, frigid conditions that caused other accidents, state police said. A car traveling in front of the FedEx semitrailer lost its traction and skidded about 9 a.m. Wednesday, prompting the truck’s driver to swerve near Mishawaka, just east of …

Deaths exceeded births in Michigan in 2020, a rare result influenced by COVID-19, statistics show. “We can blame a lot of deaths on COVID,” demographer Kurt Metzger told the Detroit Free Press, “but the fact is the trend of increasing deaths and decreasing births is a problem for Michigan outside of COVID.” Slightly more than 117,000 people died in 2020, while …

Michigan’s attorney general is asking federal prosecutors to open a criminal investigation into 16 Republicans who submitted false certificates stating they were the state’s presidential electors despite Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in 2020. Dana Nessel, a Democrat, disclosed Thursday that her office had been evaluating charges for nearly a year but decided to refer the matter to the U.S. attorney in western …

Authorities have identified two southwest Michigan women who died last week when their car caught fire after apparently getting stuck in heavy snowfall. Electra May Sutfin, 27, of Galien, and Chloe Clink, 28, of Dowagiac died early on Jan. 7 south of Dowagiac, the Cass County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday. The women were identified by the Kalamazoo Medical Examiner’s Office …