Michigan
Michigan Flood Inundates Toxic Dow Chemical Sites
It took seven years to settle on a plan for cleaning two rivers and floodplains polluted with dioxins from a Dow Chemical Co. plant in central Michigan. The work itself has lasted nearly twice as long, with plenty still to do.
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Failed Michigan Dam Had Repeated Safety Violations
A hydroelectric dam that failed this week in Michigan was the target of lengthy investigations by federal regulators, who revoked the facility’s license over safety violations two years before the flooding that forced 10,000 people to evacuate their homes.
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Michigan Dams Break: Thousands Evacuated
Rapidly rising water overtook dams and forced the evacuation of about 10,000 people in central Michigan, where the governor said one downtown could be “under approximately 9 feet of water” by Wednesday.
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Michigan Agrees to Settle Detroit Literacy Rights Case
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday announced a settlement to resolve a lawsuit on behalf of children in Detroit that described slum-like conditions in some public school buildings and a general atmosphere that could not competently deliver education to students.
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Nassar-Related Case Dismissed Against Ex-University Chief
A judge dismissed criminal charges Wednesday against former Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon, who was accused of lying to investigators in 2018 as they tried to learn what she knew years earlier about sexual assault complaints involving Larry Nassar.
Read moreGOP v. Michigan
Both houses of the Michigan Legislature sued Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in the Court of Claims, challenging her stay-at-home orders during the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Michigan Congressman Takes Governor to Court Over Stay-at-Home Orders
A Michigan congressman claims in a suit filed Monday that Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “stay-at-home” orders overstep the boundaries of executive authority and deprive Michigan residents of a republican form of government.
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Michigan Republicans at Virtual War With Governor
The Republican-led Michigan Legislature on Thursday refused to extend the state’s coronavirus emergency declaration and voted to authorize a lawsuit challenging Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s authority and actions to combat the pandemic.
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Access to Literacy Is a Fundamental Right, Sixth Circuit Finds
A Sixth Circuit panel ruled Thursday that a “basic minimum education” is a constitutional right and breathed new life into claims brought by a class of Detroit-area students who say they were denied fundamental access to literacy as a result of the city’s crumbling public school system.
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Sixth Circuit OKs Michigan Limits on Out-of-State Wine Retailers
The “restless specter” of the 21st Amendment allows Michigan to impose separate regulations on out-of-state alcohol retailers, including a ban on direct wine shipments to consumers, the Sixth Circuit ruled Tuesday.
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Candidate Wins Injunction Against Michigan Voter Signature Requirements
Candidates for elected office in Michigan need only file half the required number of voter signatures to get their name placed on the state’s primary ballot due to the Covid-19 stay-at-home order, a federal judge ruled.
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Virus Roundup: Navajo Nation Orders All to Wear Masks
The Navajo Nation is ordering all people on the tribe’s sprawling reservation to wear protective masks when out in public to help fight the spread of the coronavirus.
Read moreMichigan Redistricting Commission Greenlit by the Sixth Circuit
A constitutional challenge to eligibility criteria for individuals who wish to serve on Michigan’s Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission was rejected by the Sixth Circuit on Wednesday when a panel affirmed a decision by a federal judge.
Read moreJudge Sues Court
Former Chief Magistrate Judge Bari Blake Wood sued Michigan’s 36th District Court in federal court, claiming she was fired unlawfully for blowing the whistle about search warrants that were approved illegally.
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Trump Picks a Fight With a Swing-State Governor
President Trump’s allies are trying to contain a politically risky election-year fight with Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as he inserts presidential politics with a global pandemic in one of the nation’s important swing states.
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Michigan and Oregon Issue Stay-at-Home Orders, More States to Follow
Governors in Michigan and Oregon ordered residents to stay at home Monday, adding to a growing list of other states locking people down to contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus.
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Direct-to-Consumer Wine Shipments Debated at Sixth Circuit
Michigan argued before the Sixth Circuit on Thursday that a law preventing out-of-state wine merchants from making direct shipments to its residents does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s commerce clause.
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Biden, Sanders Square Off in Crucial Michigan Primary
Michigan primary voters will decide Tuesday between Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden as they choose the Democratic candidate they think has the best chance to unseat the incumbent president in November.
Read moreCory Booker, Kamala Harris Tout Biden on Eve of Michigan Primary
During a speech at Renaissance High School in downtown Detroit, Michigan, Joe Biden made the case that he is the single best person to beat President Donald Trump in November.
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