Community Calendar Report for Friday, October 10th, 2025. First some news… Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill to eliminate Michigan’s state tax on Social Security, tips, and overtime pay. • The changes aim to reduce the financial burden for seniors and working families. • The bill also expands the Working Families Tax Credit and continues […]
Community Calendar Report for Thursday, October 9th, 2025. First some news… This is Fire Prevention Week across Michigan, and safety experts are sounding the alarm. In 2024, nearly 150 Michiganders lost their lives to fires — one of the deadliest years in a decade. Fire officials urge everyone to be vigilant and test their smoke […]
Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed Michigan’s new $81 billion state budget, ending months of political wrangling in Lansing. The bipartisan plan boosts road funding, continues free school meals, and sets record per-pupil spending. It also creates a new 24-percent wholesale marijuana tax to help fund repairs. Business subsidies were cut, but leaders say a new […]
First, a heads up for those flying across today that the Charlevoix Municipal Airport is holding a planned emergency drill with fire, police, and EMS agencies. The two-hour exercise will not affect flights or airport operations, but you may see some unusual activity going on at the airport. Across the really big drink, Storm […]
Now that the dust has settled on Michigan’s late-passed budget, here’s a look at winners and losers in the battle to get it done. Winners include the roads—with more than a billion dollars in new funding and long-term revenue plans, plus schools, which keep free meals for all students and see record per-pupil funding. Earmarks […]
Two days past the deadline, Michigan’s Legislature finally approved a bipartisan, roughly $80 billion state budget. The Senate Appropriations chair—acknowledged deep disagreements with the Republican-led House, saying they “got there,” but “it took too long.” The new budget holds funding steady, bumps K-12 support, cuts some economic development incentives, maintains free school meals, dedicates fuel […]
Northern Michigan schools are feeling the pinch from Lansing’s budget delays. With state aid payments due October 20, some districts warn they may need short-term loans just to make payroll. Petoskey and Boyne City schools have already pledged to cover free meal programs out of their own budgets until the state comes through. On the […]
Community Calendar Report for Wednesday, October 1st, 2025. First some news… (summary of a 9 and 10 news story by Sheldon Krause) Facing a budget stalemate, Michigan’s government entered a partial shutdown, yet Governor Whitmer said state services would keep operating normally while lawmakers finalize an agreement. The funding plan includes $1.5 billion extra annually for […]
D-N-R officials were on Beaver Island yesterday for a community meeting on the D-N-R’s forest management plan. The proposal includes seven timber harvest projects across 240 acres of state land with a goal of boosting tree diversity and improving wildlife habitat. The D-N-R has also proposed deer management changes for the island, including extending the […]
Grand Blanc Community Schools are closed today after yesterday’s deadly attack at a Latter-day Saints church there. Authorities say four people were killed and eight injured when a gunman rammed his car into the church, set it on fire, and opened fire with a rifle before being shot by police. The closure affects all 13 […]