Government

Michigan health workers must receive “implicit bias” training tied to their professional licensure under a directive issued Thursday by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who said the mandate will help address the coronavirus pandemic’s disproportionate and deadly impact on people of color. The Democratic governor also said she would soon announce steps to ensure compliance with Michigan’s mask-wearing requirement in indoor public …

Michigan’s confirmed COVID-19 deaths have surpassed 6,000, the state health department said Tuesday. The state said there have been 6,005 deaths and another 246 that are probable. Michigan reported 30 new deaths Tuesday, although 20 were confirmed through a records review and could have occurred weeks ago. Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties and Detroit account for 75% of Michigan’s deaths. …

A man was fatally struck by a boat while swimming in a western Michigan lake over the weekend, police said. The man was hit Sunday afternoon on Gull Lake near Kalamazoo. The man was brought to shore for lifesaving measures but was pronounced dead from his injuries at the scene, according to the Kalamazoo County Sheriff’s Office. The boat operator …

A toll road maintenance worker has died after being struck by an SUV in northern Indiana. Ronald Smith, age 61, was in front of his truck about 1:50 p.m. Thursday sweeping debris from the right shoulder of the toll road in St. Joseph County when the SUV sideswiped the truck and hit him, according to state police. The SUV then …

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday said she was closing indoor seating in bars in parts of the state, including a city with a bar that has been linked to a rising number of infections. Whitmer also signed a bill allowing bars and restaurants to sell to-go cocktails in an effort to help those businesses. Bars won’t have to close …

Indiana will keep capacity limits in place for restaurants, bars and entertainment venues because of worries about a possible increase in coronavirus cases across the state, Gov. Eric Holcomb said Wednesday. The state’s reopening plan had called for those restrictions to be lifted this weekend, but Holcomb said he would keep them in place until at least July 18. The …

The Three Rivers Police Department has released the name of the pedestrian who was struck and killed in a hit-and-run incident last week in the Three Rivers Meijer parking lot. Investigators said Laura Jacobs, 62, a Meijer employee, died after she was struck by a vehicle around 1 p.m. Thursday in the northeast quadrant of the parking lot. Witnesses told …

Both enrichment centers of St. Joseph County Commission on Aging plan to reopen July 1, following adoption of a plan Wednesday by the COA board. Due to safety and health concerns, guests will be asked health-screening questions and have their temperature checked. All seniors and staff members will be required to wear a mask if medically able. Also, class sizes …

Twenty more people have died in Michigan from COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed deaths to 5,843 as the state’s economy continues to reopen, state officials said Saturday. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said that aside from the 5,843 confirmed deaths, the state has also had 244 presumed deaths, in which the individuals’ death certificates listed …

A Battle Creek man has been charged in the March death of a woman who police believe was fatally shot in her home before her body was burned along a remote road. Jose Juarez, 26, was arrested Thursday and charged with open murder, mutilation of a dead body and three other counts in the death of Alison Sargent, a 25-year-old …