Monday News Summary 09-26-22
Mon, 26 Sep 2022 12:13:45 EDT


(Stories Courtesy of Michigan News Radio)


VETERAN SUICIDE PREVENTION
Governor Gretchen Whitmer announcing a $1.2 MILLION dollar investment in veteran suicide prevention programs -- aiming to improve the health and well-being of Michigan's more than half a million military veterans and their families. Her office says this represents the largest investment in veteran suicide prevention outreach since at least the year 2000 -- and likely the largest in Michigan history. According to the latest available data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs -- 704 Michigan veterans died by suicide between 2016 and 2019, an average of 176 per year.

DIXON JOKES ABOUT KIDNAPPING
Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon making light of the 2020 plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer at a campaign event Friday by comparing the plot to Whitmer's handling of businesses during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dixon during her Troy speech in-part saying For someone so worried about being kidnapped, Gretchen Whitmer sure is good at taking business hostage and holding it for ransom. Whitmer's office denouncing the comments, saying threats of violence to any official regardless of party are no laughing matter. Last month, a federal jury convicting two men, Adam Fox and Barry Croft, accused of orchestrating the plan.

GM WORK PLAN
General Motors announcing Friday that all employees working remotely must return to their office at least three days a week beginning later this year. The new work model is designed to give workers flexibility to attend to personal commitments, while also saying the COVID situation has improved, according to a GM spokeswoman. The move will bring thousands of GM employees back to the company's largest office at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, which has been sitting largely empty over the last two-and-a-half years.

EMU PROFESSORS
Professors at Eastern Michigan University have approved a new contract that will give some four-thousand dollar raises. The Eastern Michigan chapter of the American Association of University Professors says 96-percent of the faculty voted in favor of the four-year agreement that includes the pay raises or four percent pay increases in the first year as well as 3.25-percent pay raises in the second and third year of the agreement. More than 500 professors are covered by the deal. They conducted a three day strike earlier this month after negotiations stalled. The EMU board of regents still has to approve the contract.

BATTLE CREEK SUSPECTS
Battle Creek police say they've arrested three teens in connection with a drive-by shooting that killed a 2-year-old boy . Kai Rowan Turner was shot once in the head around 2:20 a.m. Tuesday when someone fired multiple shots into a home. Detective Sgt. Chris Rabbitt says the suspects all are in their mid to late teens. One was arrested late Thursday in the Detroit area. The other two were arrested in Battle Creek on Wednesday and Thursday. Each was being held Friday. Rabbitt says open murder and firearms charges for all three suspects will be submitted to the Calhoun County Prosecutor's Office for review.

ANN ARBOR ELECTIONS
City officials in Ann Arbor are looking to make it easier to find information about voting in the upcoming November election. In addition to the Ann Arbor City Clerks office at City Hall -- two satellite city clerks offices are opening on the University of Michigan campus in advance of election day. One will be at the U of M Museum of Art along State Street, which will open at noon on Tuesday. The other is on north campus at the Duderstadt Center, and will open later, on Wednesday, October 12th at noon. The city says each location can assist residents and students ages 18 and up with voter registration, issue and receive absentee ballots and ballot applications, and answer elections questions.

MET DEADLINE
Michigan Education Trust enrollment ends September 30. Don't miss the opportunity to open a new MET prepaid tuition savings program to take advatage of 2022 pricing. Check the MET website for college savings events prior to the end of the enrollment period. You can also schedule a virtual one-on-one with an MET staff member at 1-800-638-4543.

CELEBRATE US-31
The Michigan Department of Transportation will be hosting a public celebration on US-31, recognizing the long-awaited connection of US-31 to I-94 in Benton Township, Berrien County. The public is invited to walk, run, or bike any or all of the 2.5-mile loop on US-31 from Britain Avenue to the redesigned interchange with I-94 then back to Britain Avenue. Only non-motorized bicycles are allowed for safety, and guests will be parking on the northbound lanes of US-31 north of Napier Avenue. The Napier Avenue ramp to northbound US-31 will open at 2:30 p.m. with the event scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

SPILLED MILK
A milk truck carrying around 42-THOUSAND gallons of milk overturned. on Murner Rd from M-32 in Otsego County -- west of Gaylord -- Saturday AFTERNOON. M-S-P shared a picture on twitter showing milk all over the road. Officials say that there were NO injuries or other cars involved in the turnover....

OPIOID MONEY
Michigan is slated to receive nearly 37 million in federal funding to combat the opioid crisis. The money is to improve access to drug addiction treatment, public health interventions and recovery support services such as 24-7 opioid treatment programs. The state has reported 588 overdose deaths from January to the end of March this year.

SKYBRIDGE MICHIGAN
The worlds longest timber-towered suspension bridge offering panoramic views of the Boyne Valley is set to open to the public Saturday, October 15th in Boyne Falls. The Skybridge Michigan will be a year-round attraction in the northern region of the lower peninsula. The skybridge spans more than the length of three football fields and is suspended 120-feet off the ground. There is a 36-foot span of see-through glass flooring in the middle of the bridge, allowing visitors to see the valley below - or skiers cruising downhill in winter. Tickets are now available at boynemountain.com/skybridgemichigan.

JIM MATTHEWS MURDER-CHESTERFIELD TOWNSHIP
Chesterfield Township detectives are trying to piece together what happened inside a condominium that left a WWJ news anchor dead and four others hospitalized. Jim Matthews, who anchored overnights for WWJ in Detroit and did reports for MNN, was killed Friday at the Hidden Harbor Condominiums . His 35-year-old girlfriend and their two children were injured. A man, who was known to the family, is in custody.

GAS PRICES
Gas prices in Michigan have jumped 17 cents from last week to a statewide average of $3-97 a gallon. The most expensive places to buy gas in the state are Marquette, Metro Detroit, and Ann Arbor. The cheapest are Traverse City, Grand Rapids, and Lansing.

DRIVER GOES OFF BRIDGE-ALLEGAN COUNTY
In West Michigan -- Police have opened an investigation after someone drove off of a bridge in Allegan County Saturday evening. The Allegan Sheriff's Office says that the incident happened on Bridge Road in Trowbridge Township. Police suspect that the car was driving southbound on Bridge Road when it hit the guardrail and went over the bridge...onto an embankment. Police found an SUV on a river bank -- the driver was unconscious. They were sent to the hospital for treatment. Police say that alcohol may have been a factor.

WEST MICHIGAN SHOOTING UPDATE
It was last week that four people were shot an off-campus student housing complex near Grand Valley State University. All four shot in Allendale Township have reportedly been released from the hospital . WOOD TV reports the shootings happened at Townhome at Canvas Apartments around 2:30 in the morning after a home football game. No arrests have been made so far.

REPUBLICAN PARTY OFFICE VANDALIZED-HUDSONVILLE
There was vandalism over the weekend at the Ottawa County Republican Party Office in west Michigan. Interim Ottawa County GOP chairman tells WOOD TV the vandalism happened between Saturday afternoon and Sunday. He says signs had been hacked and the building vandalized in Hudsonville ....about $300-dollars in damage.

CAR THIEVES-FLAT ROCK
A group of thieves continues to steal cars from a storage lot at the Flat Rock Assembly Plant -- but they've been unsuccessful at finding a way to keep them. According to police, there have been nine reported thefts of new high-end vehicles at the plant since 2016. The last was September 13th -- when thieves made away with seven brand-new Mustangs. Six of those seven cars have been recovered -- mostly because they barely had enough gas to make it out of the lot. The Flat Rock lot is guarded around the clock -- but has no video surveillance. Police and Ford continue to search for answers on how the thieves continue to access the lot.

FLU SEASON
Flu season is here and the state health department is hoping to vaccinate some four million Michiganders this Fall. During the pandemic flu rates were down because many people were masked up and practicing social distancing. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says it's important to get the flu shot this season, especially those 65 and over.

LOTTERY TICKET UNCLAIMED
A lottery ticket worth just over two million dollars that was purchased in Warren has gone unclaimed and is going to expire in a matter of hours. According to the Michigan Lottery, the draw date of the ticket was September of last year. It was purchased at Shoppers Market Plus in Warren. The winning numbers of the Lotto 47 ticket are 7-12-22-24-30-37. The winner has until the end of the day today to redeem the ticket before it expires.

DELAWARE MINE DIVE
IN the western U-P, divers explored the Delaware Mine In Mohawk on Saturday, the first dive since 2013. The mine closed in 1887 and divers reportedly took more pictures and artifacts for the mine's museum. Diver John Janzen tells W-L-U-C that the wood, the structures, stairways and railings are just as they were many years ago when the mine closed. He says it's like a time capsule, that it looks beautiful, just like it was when it was in service.

TC SENIOR CENTER
In Grand Traverse County, on the heels of a recent announcement that the state is allocating severn million dollars to rebuild the Traverse Senior Center, city commissioners tonight will review and updated site plan for the new facility and a projected timeline for building construction to start next summer.

BOYNE HIGHLANDS SKI LIFT
Boyne Highlands is planning to install the first six person bubble chairlift in the midwest . The Harbor Springs resort plans to start construction next Spring and have it open for the 23-24 ski season. Boyne officials claim it will be the most kid friendly and safety lift ever built.


   

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