WATZ Today's Country

Wednesday News Summary 08-03-22
Wed, 03 Aug 2022 08:56:49 EDT

(Stories Courtesy of Michigan News Radio)

SOME STATE HOUSE & SENATE
More results in the state house...Republican State Senator Ed McBroom won his primary. Republican David Prestin won his primary and will face democrat Chris Lopez. Jenn Hill won her democratic primary and Melody Wagner won in the republican primary for state house . They will face each other in the fall.

GIBBS BEATS MEIJER
An incumbent congressman, Peter Meijer is out in west Michigan as he loses his primary to John Gibbs , who had the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. You may recall the republican Meijer voted to impeach former President Trump shortly after he took office after the riot at the U.S. capitol. John Gibbs worked in the Trump administration and says Meijer betrayed his voters. Meijer congratulated Gibbs in a statement. Gibbs believes he can win in November when he faces democratic nominee Hillary Scholten...an immigration lawyer.

CONGRESS-SE MI
IN congressional races in southeast Michigan. Incumbent Rashida Tlaib has won the Democratic race in the newly drawn 12th Congressional District that includes parts of Detroit, Oakland County, and western Wayne County. She'll face Republican Steven Elliott in November. We are still waiting more results to determine a winner in the 13th Congressional District. State lawmaker Shri Thanedar was leading State Senator Adam Hollier (ohlee-ay) by about three thousand votes with about 32-percent of the vote counted. In the 10th Congressional District, Former Macomb County prosecutor and Judge Carl Marlinga beat out four challengers and will face businessman John James. Two other incumbent U.S. representatives Lisa McClain and Tim Walberg, who were facing challenges, survived and will be on the ballot in November.

HOUSE SEATS -W MI
In west Michigan, Democrat Phil Skaggs is projected to win over Lily Cheng-Schulting for a state house seat. Skaggs faces republican Jeffrey Johnson in November. In the 82nd House District, the Democratic candidates are Salim Al-Shatel, Kristian Grant and Robert Womack. Republican candidate Ryan Malinoski is projected to win over William Alexander. In the 86th House District on the Republican side of the ballot, Nancy DeBoer is projected to win over Seth Getz.

HALEY STEVENS WINS
After Michigan lost a Congressional seat following the 2020 Census, the states 11th District turned into a race between two incumbents. Haley Stevens, of Waterford Township, has won that race over fellow Democratic Congressman Andy Levin of Bloomfield Hills.

HOLLAND BROADBAND
A proposal to bring high speed internet to more residents in Holland has been approved. It will expand broadband internet by funding the building of a fiber network.

OFFICER INVOLVED SHOOTING-DETROIT
Tues . Police say officers spotted what they said was a known gang member who was armed. Officers attempted to stop the suspect, and that's when the man began to flee ... running behind a house and climbing over a fence -- then he points a gun at officers, leading one of the 4th Precinct officers to shoot the man. The suspect was transported to a local hospital and is listed in critical condition.

DIXON WINS
It will be DIXON versus Whitmer in the governor's race in November. Republican Tudor Dixon -- who was recently endorsed by former President Donald Trump -- has WON her primary race over her opponents in the GOP primary. In a statement -- the campaign for Governor Gretchen Whitmer says Dixon would -quote- "drag Michigan backwards."

MCC ATHLETIC PROMOTION
Al Perry, Mott Community College Athletic Director, has been named the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XII Mens Division Director. Perry will be serving in this capacity for the NJCAA in addition to his full time role at MCC. The Men's Division Region Director helps the Region XII Commissioner in all Region business that pertains male sports. He presides at all meetings, appoints and assists sports chairs, and sits on committees at the national level. Perry, who became the MCC athletic director in 2016, earned his Bachelors Degree for the University of Michigan-Flint and has a Masters in Public Administration.

MECOSTA COUNTY UNDERSHERIFF
The Mecosta County Sheriff's Office and Sheriff Brian Miller have announced the appointment of Gary Green as Undersheriff. Green had served as the Assistant Director of the Ferris State University Department of Public Safety. Prior to that he had served with the Michigan State Police for 28 years. During him time with the MSP, he came up through the ranks, working in the area as a Trooper, Sergeant, Detective Sergeant and Assistant Post Commander, among having other roles and leadership responsibilities in and outside of law enforcement.

MOUNT PLEASANT SCHOOL OFFICER
Mount Pleasant Public Schools hopes to take another step to keep students and staff safe. The school district has one youth service police officer working out of the high school, but now they want to add a second one. The additional officer would work out of Mount Pleasant Middle School. Mount Pleasant Public Schools says they have the money and help from grants to pay for the second officer. But the decision is ultimately up to Mount Pleasant City Commissioners. They would have to agree to go into a contract with the school district.

TRAVERSE CITY BRIDGE
Hammond Road is the site of a project that has taken Grand Traverse County 50 years to start. The estimated $100 million bridge will connect the corridor to Hartman Road. The Grand Traverse County Road Commission approved the bridge that spans across the Boardman River in hopes of calming the growing traffic problems in the county. The next phase is making sure the bridge meets the guidelines in the Federal National Environment Policy Act.

OAKLAND HILLS UPDATE
Nearly six months after a massive fire, demolition crews have torn down what was left of the Oakland Hills Country Club. An excavator is scooping up piles of debris in a fenced off area where the historic clubhouse once stood along Maple Road east of Telegraph in Bloomfield Township. The clubhouse was destroyed by fire last February. Investigators say construction workers using a torch started the fire. Authorities say losses were estimated at 80-million dollars, although it could cost more than that to rebuild.

LAKE ST. CLAIR DROWNING
There's been a drowning in Lake St. Clair. The Macomb County Sheriff's Department says a man in his 40's was found early Tuesday morning by the dive team that was called out after two dogs were found swimming along a 17-foot boat near Harrison Township. The man's personal belongings were in the boat. It's not clear how or why he went into the water. He wasn't wearing a life jacket. The dogs are okay. The investigation is ongoing.

ROBOCALL LITIGATION
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that the State of Michigan is joining a nationwide Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force of 50 attorneys general to investigate and take legal action against the telecommunications companies responsible for bringing a majority of foreign robocalls into the United States. This bipartisan nationwide Task Force has one goal: to cut down on illegal robocalls. The Task Force has issued 20 civil investigative demands to 20 gateway providers and other entities that are allegedly responsible for a majority of foreign robocall traffic. Gateway providers that bring foreign traffic into the U.S. telephone network have a responsibility to ensure the traffic is legal, but these providers are not taking sufficient action to stop robocall traffic. The Task Force will focus on the bad actors throughout the telecommunications industry, to help reduce the number robocalls and benefit the companies that are following the rules.

U.P. INVESTIGATION
Troopers with the Michigan State Police Iron Mountain Post are assisting the Green Bay Police Department with a homicide investigation. MSP says the suspect is considered armed and dangerous. The suspect is believed to have stolen the victim's vehicle and could be in the Upper Peninsula. The vehicle the suspect could be driving is a dark blue, 2013 Ford Fiesta with a Wisconsin registration 207HUH.

LATEST COVID STATS
There's been a jump in the number of confirmed COVID cases over the past week. The State Health Department is reporting just over 20-thousand cases along with 106 deaths in the past seven days. In addition to the higher number of cases, the number of people hospitalized has jumped to more than one-thousand. High transmission of the virus is being reported in Wayne, Macomb, Oakland, Washtenaw and Monroe counties.

JUVENILE JUSTICE
Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an Executive Order which recreates the Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice in the Department of Health and Human Services. The Executive Order abolishes the current Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice and recreates the committee in alignment with the requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. Under the executive order, the committee is tasked with the development and review of the states juvenile justice plan. Following the release of recommendations from governors Juvenile Justice Reform Task Force, the new Michigan Committee on Juvenile Justice will include a tribal representative and increases representation of community-based services and supports for young people.

TORNADOES CONFIRMED
The National Weather Service has confirmed two tornadoes touched down in Michigan's thumb region Monday. Forecasters say the EF-0 twisters were brief and had top winds of 75 to 80 miles per hour. The tornaadoes were from the same thunderstorm that moved through Tuscola County. One Tornado touched down just before two o'clock Monday afternoon and was on the ground for just over two miles near Vassar, which is east of Frankenmuth. The second hit the ground near Caro around 2:15 and traveled a half mile. There were no injuries reported, but several trees were uprooted or damaged.

SEWER CARCINOGENS
A warning from state and Oakland County officials not to touch the water in the Huron River. A leak of several thousand gallons of hexavalent chromium into the sewer system was reported by Tribar Manufacturing in Wixom Monday however the leak may have happened as early as Saturday. Hexavalent chromium is a known carcinogen that can cause a number of adverse health effects through if anyone comes into contact with it or drinks it. The state Health Department is recommending until further notice that everyone and pets avoid contact with the Huron River between Wixom Road and Kensington Road. In addition, people should NOT go in Mill Pond at Island Lake State Park or Kent Lake near Kensington Metropark. Officials say there is NO immediate threat to the drinking water. Monitoring is ongoing.