WATZ Today's Country

Thursday News Summary 06-30-22
Thu, 30 Jun 2022 07:07:09 EDT

(Stories Courtesy of Michigan News Radio)

MONKEYPOX IN MICHIGAN
The first probable case of Monkeypox related to the ongoing worldwide outbreak has been found in Michigan. The state Health Department says the case was identified in Oakland County and officials are awaiting final test results from the CDC in order to confirm the case. The patient is currently isolating and does not pose a risk to the public. There have been more than 55-HUNDRED confirmed cases worldwide, with just one death. More than 300 cases have been confirmed in the US.

FIREWORKS WARNING
A warning from Grand Rapids Public Safety. A growing number of residents are lighting consumer grade fireworks as part of their annual holiday celebrations. For everyones safety, the Citys fire and police departments urge users to be aware of fireworks regulations and safety tips before lighting up the sky. The Citys fireworks ordinance, limiting the use of them within Grand Rapids, reflects state law governing the use of consumer-grade fireworks. It sets a civil fine of $1,000 for each violation of the fireworks ordinance. The ordinance also sets the times and dates when fireworks may be set off throughout the year. For the Fourth of July holiday, fireworks can be set off from11:00am to 11:45pm on July 4. According to Fire Marshal Ric Dokter of the GRFD Fire Prevention Division, fireworks hurt hundreds of people every year many of them children.

FERRIS STATE RENAMES UNIVERSITY CENTER
The Ferris State University Board of Trustees has voted to rename the University Center building the David L. Eisler Center in honor of current President David L. Eisler, who is retiring after more than 19 years with the university. Eisler first started as the 18th Ferris State University President in July 2003, and will be finishing his presidency today. He championed university philanthropic efforts, including a comprehensive campaign that went beyond its initial goal of $80 million and raised more than $125 million.

BUILDING TRADES HOME
Charlevoix Public Schools is accepting bids for its 2022-23 building trades home. Each year, students in the district build a house to gain skills in the workforce and build relationships. After the house is complete, it goes up for auction and is transported to the winning bidder on the property they choose. The buyer will be responsible for transportation costs, depending on distance and route. This year, the starting bid for the house is $90,000 which is the same amount of money that was spent on materials to build the house.

MUNSON HEALTH AWARD
Munson Medical Center is being recognized nationally for the care they give to stroke patients. The American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association are awarding Munson Medical Center for the 9th year in a row. Munson earned the Stroke Gold Plus Award, the highest award a hospital can receive when it comes to stroke care. They also were awarded the Target Stroke Honor Roll Elite Award. Munson was selected over hundreds of hospitals nationwide for the care they provide.

BLUE ANGELS SCHEDULE
The Blue Angels have started arriving for the National Cherry Festival. Blue Angel Number 7 touched down just after 3:30 p.m., Tuesday afternoon. The rest of the crew is set to land Thursday at noon. Once they all arrive, they'll start practicing. The Blue Angels practice airshow starts at 1 p.m. on Friday, July 1. Both festival airshows start at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. There will also be boating restrictions for the Fourth of July firework show.

GROWING MI BUSINESS GRANTS
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has awarded more than $105 million to 2,600 Michigan businesses for economic growth as a part of the Growing MI Business Grant Program. Under the Growing MI Business Grant Program, eligible businesses in operation before Oct. 1, 2019, could receive a grant up to $5 million to hire additional staff to fill open positions, renovate or expand their business, or improve operations as they emerged out of the pandemic. Eligible businesses that began operating between Oct. 1, 2019, and May 31, 2020, could receive a grant equal to 25% of certain specified costs.

DAIRY TOGETHER COALITION
The Michigan Farmers Union, in collaboration with the Dairy Together coalition, will host a meeting on the future of dairy farming. Farmers, industry stakeholders and others are invited to join the conversation about how to reform dairy markets and ensure the next generation of dairy farmers are diverse and resilient. The event is part of a nationwide movement that aims to educate and rally farmers around potential dairy policy reform that could be achieved in the 2023 Farm Bill. The event will take place on Wednesday, July 6 in St. Johns.

JULY 4 CONSTRUCTION HIATUS
Drivers will be getting a break this holiday weekend. MDOT says the orange barrels will be pulled aside on 100 road projects, starting at 3pm Friday. The construction will be halted through 6am Tuesday. That leaves just over 60 road projects that will still be in place across the state.

JULY 4 FOOD COSTS
Inflation means that Holiday cookout will cost quite a bit more this July 4th. The American Farm Bureau Survey estimates that feeding a party of 10 will cost just under $70 this year, or about $7 per person. That's about $10 more than last year.

ERIC SMITH
Former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith will report to federal prison today to begin serving time on an obstruction of justice charge. Smith was sentenced to 21 months in prison in February after he pleaded guilty to trying to get two staff members to lie to the FBI during a corruption investigation. Smith is awaiting trial on charges of embezzlement for allegedly stealing $600-thousand in drug case forfeiture funds. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

ALLEGED POACHER
A Kent County man is facing several poaching-related charges for allegedly driving around at night and shooting deer. Investigators with the DNR say that 29-year-old Edward Trout of Cedar Springs told them that driving around at night and shooting deer from his truck relieved his frustration. Police say text messages show that Trout has been doing it since 2020. He's also accused of poaching snapping turtles, often spearing them and leaving them dead on the shore. If found guilty, Trout could face jail, as well as losing his hunting and fishing licenses.

DOCTOR FACES FELONY
A Grand Rapids doctor is now facing a felony after continuing to practice despite a summary suspension order against him.Husam Thamin Abed, M.D., 52, of Sterling Heights, has been charged in Kent Countys 61st District Court with one count of unauthorized practice of a health profession, a four-year felony. Dr. Abed has practiced the specialty of urogynecology out of his clinic in the City of Grand Rapids. An administrative complaint alleged negligence, incompetence, and lack of good moral character. Based upon the allegations in the administrative complaint, LARA executed a summary suspension of Dr. Abeds license to practice medicine on May 23 and it was served the following day.

LONG COVID
Some people are more likely to develop long COVID after contracting the virus. Women, Hispanics and those with lower incomes, less than 50-thousand dollars a year, are more likely to have long term covid symptoms according to the Michigan COVID-19 Recovery Surveillance Study. The report also finds those with a Body Mass Index or BMI over 30 are also more likely to have long COVID. Long COVIDis defined as prolonged or persistent symptoms lasting at least 90 days following the onset of COVID-19. Symptoms include fatigue, shortness of breath and impaired cognitive or physical function.

PRIDE FLAG HATE CRIME
Police in Lansing are asking for the public's help in solving a hate crime. A young man in a short-sleeved t-shirt and a ballcap was captured on Surveillance video setting fire to a pride flag Tuesday. They've put a still image of the suspect on the Lansing Police Facebook.

GM DEADLINE
Some workers with ties to General Motors could go out on strike this morning. Subsidiary workers at four plants have set a strike deadline for ten o'clock this morning. They've been without a contract for three years. The plants are Orion Assembly, Factory Zero in Hamtramck--which is idled this week, Flint Assembly and the Lansing Grand River Assembly. One union leader tells the Free Press if there is a strike production could be shutdown in a few hours. A GM spokesman says the automaker is continuing to negotiate in good faith.

SNYDER IN COURT
Former Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.. expected in an Ann Arbor courtroom today. He is reportedly going to invoke the 5th in a civil lawsuit tied to the Flint water crisis. Jurors are hearing the case.. which was filed before the criminal case. That case was thrown into jeapordy this week after the state supreme court found the indictments were improperly handed down. Snyder is one of five trial witnesses in the civil case.

BODY FOUND IN SAGINAW BAY
Authorities in Michigan's Thumb region have recovered the body of a man who disappeared after jumping from a pontoon boat in Saginaw Bay. Bay County Sheriff Troy Cunningham says a fisherman spotted the body of 58-year-old Timothy Wallschlager of Carrollton Township floating in the bay and notified the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Wallschlager went underwater Sunday afternoon near Bay City State Park. He and five others were on a pontoon boat and he leaped into the water and began struggling against the waves.

GAS STATION CANDY UPDATE
The owners of a Grand Rapids BP gas station is apologizing after a mother found prescription drugs in a bag of candy she bought. Station owner Tony Singh aplogized to the kids' mother and the community, but said it was an accident. He also said he fired the employee responsible, who had only worked there a couple of months. He and police say the clerk knocked over a bottle of his diabetes medicine and some of the pills were mixed in with the candy. There was a demonstration outside the gas station on Tuesday.

STOLEN FIREWORKS-MACOMB COUNTY
Police in Macomb County are looking for the thieves who robbed a roadside fireworks tent. The family that runs Mar's Fireworks, at 15 Mile and Mound in Sterling Heights -- has the crime on surveillance video. The crooks pull in to the Napa Valley parking lot -- and load the inventory into a U-Haul truck. The owners say they were robbed of about 25- THOUSAND dollars in inventory. Sterling Heights police are investigating.

HOLIDAY TRAVEL
High gas prices don't seem to be having much impact on the number of travelers for the upcoming Fourth of July weekend. One-point-seven million Michiganders will travel more than 50 miles away from home this holiday, an increase of almost 10 percent over last year. Some of the top destinations...Traverse City, Mackinaw City and the Eastern Upper Peninsula.

FORMER MSU PLAYER BRIDGES ARRESTED
NBA player and and former Michigan State stand out Miles Bridges .. has been arrested in Los Angeles. According to reports -- it involves a domestic violence incident. The 24 year old Flint native was released from the L-A County Jail on a 130- THOUSAND dollar bond. Bridge is a restricted free agent and former Charlotte Hornet. He's been high on the radar for the Detroit Pistons.

FATAL CRASH -W MI
One man is dead and another is in critical condition after a head-on crash last night in west Michigan's Gaines Township, near Grand Rapids. The Kent County Sheriff's Office says an suv headed southbound crossed over the center line and hit a northbound suv head on. The driver of the southbound vehicle, a 42-year-old man from Caledonia, died at the scene. The other driver, a 29-year-old man had to be extricated from his vehicle and was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

MAN THROWN IN WATER-SW MI
An 86-year-old man was thrown into Diamond Lake in southwest Michigan's Penn Township when there was a boat crash. The man was thrown into the water when a 74- year-old man crashed his boat into a Nitro fishing boat. The Cass County Sheriff's Office says 86-year-old Robert Schmitt, of South Bend, Indiana, was unconscious in the water. Deputies says two men in the Nitro boat pulled his from the water. A Cass County Marine Unit helped get all of the man and boats back to shore. Schmitt was treated for his injuries.

TOYS FOR TOTS THEFT
A Kalkaska man has been found guilty for stealing from Toys for Tots. A Charlevoix County jury found 38-year-old Vincent Ryan guilty of larceny on Wednesday after watching security video showing him taking a collection box from a gas station last November. The prosecutor says Ryan has a lengthy criminal history dating back to 2006. Sentencing is set for August 12th.

SCAM
State Police are warning about a new scam in Otsego County. It involves someone pretending to be from the Office of the Inspector General. Troopers say an elderly person reported they were contacted by a man calling himself a federal officer, telling them a vehicle rented in their name in Texas was used in a drug trafficking operation. He went on to ask the victim for their social security number as part of the investigation.

CHERRY FESTIVAL
The National Cherry Festival kicks off on Saturday. The Navy's Blue Angels perform this weekend. There are concerts, parades, and a cherry farm market. It runs through July 9th.