WATZ Today's Country

Tuesday News Summary 11-15-22
Thu, 17 Nov 2022 10:43:03 EST

(Stories Courtesy of Michigan News Radio)

APPRENTICESHIP WEEK
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has declared November 14-20 as Michigan
Apprenticeship Week. The week highlights the important role registered
apprenticeships play in supporting both employers who need skilled talent and
Michigans workers who gain skills toward rewarding, high-wage and in-demand
careers. Apprentices gain paid work experience, related classroom instruction and a
national industry-recognized credential upon program completion. The Governor says
Michigan ranks fifth nationally in active apprentices, and has created 10,000 new
registered apprenticeship opportunities since 2019.

MONROE SCHOOL BUSES
Monroe Public Schools is canceling two of its bus routes for the rest of the week.
School officials say its because bus drivers are calling out sick-- and there's a shortage
of substitutes. Routes 36 and 75 are affected. They service students at Monroe High,
Monroe Middle and Rainsville Elementary. Parents whose children use those routes
will have to have their kids picked up from school today and should arrange
transportation for the rest of the week. School officials say they will continue to keep
families updated and notify them if anything changes.

GOOGLE SETTLEMENT
The State of Michigan has reached a settlement with a giant tech company. Michigan
Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Michigan -- and 39 other states --
reached settlement of over 300-MILLION dollars with Google over it's location tracking
practices. It's the largest multistate Attorney General privacy settlement in U-S history.
Michigan is set to receive 12-MILLION dollars from the settlement. The settlement
requires Google to transparent with users. According to the settlement, Google must
show information to users whenever they enable a location setting.

UM TUNNELGATE
The Washtenaw County prosecutors office has started it's review of last month's "Brawl
in the Big House," following the Michigan - Michigan State football game. An
investigative report from the University of Michigan Police Department into the October
ELLEY sah-VITT .
Following Michigans 29-7 win over Michigan State, two Wolverine players defensive
jah-MONN JAY-den McBurrows were involved in
physical altercations with multiple Spartan football players, eight of whom have been
indefinitely suspended as a result of the incident. Savit's office saying they have no
time table for an announcement of POSSIBLE charges.

TRIBAL DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE
The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Police are investigating a deadly domestic disturbance
on tribal land. Police say early Sunday morning, they were called to a report of a
domestic dispute with shots fired in Chippewa Township within the Isabella Reservation
boundaries. When they arrived, they said they found the suspect deceased from a selfinflicted gunshot wound. Police say there were three other victims, one of whom died
from their injuries. The two others are still recovering from their injuries.

INMATE DEATH
The Michigan State Police is releasing some details surrounding the death of an inmate
in the Grand Traverse County Jail. 34-year-old Michael Smith died by suspected
suicide around 4:30 p.m. November 9, according to the Grand Traverse County
Sheriff's Office. Michigan State Police took over the death investigation and said that
Smith did receive a mental health screening. Smith was alone in his cell at the time,
according to investigators. Police said an autopsy is being performed and police are
awaiting the full report to finish the investigation. The jail does have security cameras in
place, but the sheriff's office has not released any details regarding camera placement.

DEMOCRATIC BUILDING GRAFFITI
The Kent County Democratic Party returned to headquarters Monday morning to antisemitic graffiti vandalizing the building. The party members notified the police after the
discovery on the Fuller Avenue building in Grand Rapids. The Michigan Democratic
Jewish Caucus called on everyone from both parties to come together against this type
of violence. Michigan Democrats saw overwhelming support from voters in the midterm
election, which was less than a week before the vandalism. All Saints Catholic middle
and high school in Bay City is asking for help with donations to light the Oxford
community with love on November 30th.

OXFORD LIGHTS
Teachers and students are asking for Christmas lights to help students at Oxford wrap
the entire building in lights. A post on the All Saints Catholic facebook page says the
donated lights will be delivered to Oxford by the student council. On November 30th, an
event is planned by the non-profit "All For Oxford" which plans to light houses and
streets with luminaries it is providing to the community in honor of the four students
shot and killed a year ago the same day.

LOTTERY WINNER
A Lapeer County man kept calm after winning a $100,000 Powerball prize from the
Michigan Lottery. 60-year-old Michael Raab, of Lapeer, matched the four white balls
and the Powerball 03-06-11-17-22 PB:11 in the Oct. 10 drawing to win a $50,000
prize. Thanks to the Power Play, the prize was multiplied to $100,000. He bought his
winning ticket at M&K Smoke Plus, located at 38381 Dodge Park in Sterling Heights.
Raab recently visited Lottery headquarters to claim his prize. He plans to save his
winnings.

HUNT DRAWING
The Pure Michigan Hunt drawing is only two months away. You could walk away with a
prize package worth thousands, as well as licenses to hunt elk, bear, spring and fall
turkey, and antlerless deer, plus first pick at a managed waterfowl area for a reserved
hunt. If you're getting your deer license now, it's better to pick it up at a retail location so
you don't have to wait for your tags to arrive in the mail. Plus, you can still get your
Pure Michigan Hunt applications there, too. Each $5 Pure Michigan Hunt application
helps fund Michigan's wildlife habitat restoration and management.

CAMPUS MARTIUS RINK
'Tis the season... The Campus Martius ice skating rink is slated to open for for the
2022-2023 season at 9 PM this Friday following the annual Detroit Tree Lighting. It will
stay open until March 5 2023. The Detroit Downtown Partnership said the 2021 to 2022
season set a new record for the skating rink-- welcoming over 100,000 skaters in that
time period. The family-friendly rink will be sponsored at Campus Martius in downtown
Detroit for at least the next three years-- in partnership with Visit Detroit.

HIGH SCHOOL ARREST
Ferndale Police announcing they have arrested a 16-year-old girl in connection to the
social media threat against Ferndale High School. She is a student of the school. She
is being housed at Oakland County Children's Village. Police said they received
multiple calls around 9-30 Sunday night regarding the threat. They immediately started
investigating. School officials and law enforcement made a decision to close the high
school and middle school Monday out of *an abundance of caution.* The middle and
high school share a building. School is slated to be back in session today with
increased police presence.

LOAN SETBACK
Over a million Michigan residents have been dealt a financial blow. Another setback for
the Biden Administrations student loan relief program. Student loan forgiveness is
basically tied up in the courts. Last week a federal District Court in Texas put a hold on
the program. Now a federal appeals court in St. Louis issued an injunction stopping it
until it can get a closer judicial look. A handful of states Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska, and South Carolina... claim the program threatens their future tax
revenues.
Now its a waiting game for the 1.3 million Michigan residents who are hoping for 10-
thousand dollars in reliefand the 850-thousand Michigan borrowers who were on tap to
receive 20-thousand dollars in forgiveness.

FIREARM DEER SEASON
Today is opening day for Michigan's firearm deer hunting season. The Department of
Natural Resources says hunters can expect excellent conditions this season... but
wants to remind people to follow the laws. New this year.. hunters who take a deer
MUST report it online within 72 hours -- those unable to do so can call the D-N-R for
assistance. Last year... nearly 540 THOUSAND hunters harvested almost 400
THOUSAND deer. The D-N-R asks hunters to treat every gun as if it's loaded and to
wear hunter's orange. Firearm deer season runs until November 30th.

GOP PARTY CHAIR
Republican Attorney General candidate Matt DePerno is running to become the new
chairman of the Michigan Republican Party... less than a week after his defeat to
incumbent Attorney General Dana Nessel. Michigan's current GOP party chair -- Ron
Weiser -- is NOT seeking another term. Over the weekend, Republican gubernatorial
candidate Tudor Dixon said she's considering a run for state GOP party chair... adding
that she will announce her final plans in the coming days.

RETAIL THERAPY
Michiganders spend almost a BILLION dollars a year on retail therapy -- the practice of
buying things with the sole purpose of making yourself feel better. According to a new
report by CouponBirds, 3.7 MILLION Michigan residents spend 806 MILLION dollars on
retail therapy each year. The report also found that each retail therapy session costs
shoppers an average of 212 dollars. With Thanksgiving just over a week away, 1 in 10
Michigan residents also admit they enjoy Black Friday MORE than turkey day.

ST. JOSEPH PEDESTRIAN
An investigation continues this morning after a deadly pedestrian crash over the
weekend in southwest Michigan. On Sunday evening just before 7 o'clock, a pedestrian
was hit by a car on Niles Road in St. Joseph Township. Police say the victim -- who
hasn't been named -- was wearing dark colored clothing at the time of the crash... dying
on the scene. The name of the driver hasn't been released. The investigation is
ongoing.

CRAFT BEER MONTH
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed November as Michigan Craft Beverage
Month. Michigans craft beer, wine, and cider industry contributes directly to the state's
economy -- with 300 breweries, 200 winery tasting rooms, 100 distillers, and 90 hard
cider producers across the state. Michigan has the sixth most craft breweries in the US... and is the top producer of hard ciders nationwide.

GRAND RAPIDS DEATH IDENTIFICATION
Grand Rapids police have identified a man found dead under a bridge last week. On
Friday morning just after 7 o'clock, a fisherman called 9-1-1 to report he saw a body in
the water underneath the Bridge Street bridge. Police recovered the body of 41-yearold Scott Hardy... who was dead at the scene. Police are awaiting the results of an
autopsy. An investigation continues today.

HAMILTON
Hamilton returns to Detroit today. The first show starts at 8 p.m. tonight at the Fisher
Theatre on West Grand Boulevard in Detroit. The musical follows the story of founding
father Alexander Hamilton. The broadway musical will run every Tuesday through
Saturday at 8 p.m. or during a matinee on Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. The last day
to catch Hamilton on broadway in Detroit will be December 4th.

CLASSES CANCELED FOR TWO COUNTIES
Classes across Jackson and Hillsdale counties are canceled for the second day in a
row... as public school officials work with law enforcement -- including the FBI -- to
resolve issues stemming from a ransomware attack. The incident happened over the
weekend... forcing district officials to take technology systems offline to contain the
attack. Public schools in Jackson and Hillsdale counties belong to a technology
consortium that shares services. Officials say the system outage impacts everything
from heating and cooling... to phones and classroom technology.

AMBASSADOR BRIDGE BIRTHDAY
The Ambassador Bridge in Detroit opened to traffic 92 years ago today on November
15th, 1929... connecting U-S and Canadian travelers.
Over 1 point 6 million cars traveled on the bridge during it's first year.. and millions of
cars still travel over the bridge today. A Detroit native -- Joseph A. Bower -- funded the
project costing over 23-MILLION dollars. The company that engineered the bridge also
built the Golden Gate Bridge in California.

DEARBORN BOOKS REMOVED
Parents packing the Dearborn Public Schools board meeting Monday night as officials
gave an update on the first books to be reviewed under the district's revamped
"Guidelines for the Selection and Review of Media Materials" process. Martin says the
initial weeding of the more than 300-thousand books in the district's collection did result
in some books being taken off the shelves.

OAKLAND UNIVERSITY UPDATE
There's new information this morning about an hours-long lockdown at Oakland
University yesterday. Police are STILL looking for the two armed suspects caught on
camera leaving campus in a gray S-U-V. The suspects were allegedly involved in a
shoot-out at a car lot in Flint. They also allegedly stole 3 cars -- one being a 2022
Mustang that crashed on Southbound I-75 near Joslyn in Auburn Hills. The suspects
were then spotted on Oakland University's East Campus early yesterday morning...
triggering a shelter-in-place and delay of campus activities.

FIREARM DEER SEASON
Today is opening day for Michigan's firearm deer hunting season. The Department of
Natural Resources says hunters can expect excellent conditions this season... but
wants to remind people to follow the laws. New this year.. hunters who take a deer
MUST report it online within 72 hours -- those unable to do so can call the D-N-R for
assistance. Last year... nearly 540 THOUSAND hunters harvested almost 400
THOUSAND deer. The D-N-R asks hunters to treat every gun as if it's loaded and to
wear hunter's orange. Firearm deer season runs until November 30th.

GOOGLE SETTLEMENT
The State of Michigan has reached a settlement with a giant tech company. Michigan
Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that Michigan -- and 39 other states --
reached settlement of over 300-MILLION dollars with Google over it's location tracking
practices. It's the largest multistate Attorney General privacy settlement in U-S history.
Michigan is set to receive 12-MILLION dollars from the settlement. The settlement
requires Google to transparent with users. According to the settlement, Google must
show information to users whenever they enable a location setting.