Michigan families, along with businesses that depend on Canadian visitors, hailed the Biden administration’s announcement that vaccinated Canadians can once again cross into the U.S. beginning in November.
Michigan emergency department visits are up 43 percent, thanks in part to an avalanche of sick people who delayed medical care amid COVID. Some patients wait in hallways for days. Others lose their beds when even sicker patients arrive.
Cases related to outbreaks are down at colleges this fall, but have risen sharply in the state’s K-12 system, where students are far less likely to be vaccinated or required to wear a mask.
Tribal leaders have called upon the Biden administration to make “a serious commitment” to uphold the rights of Michigan tribes and shut down Line 5. Last week, Canada cited a 1977 treaty with the U.S. in hopes of keeping Line 5 open for the Canadian-based company.
The petition’s ban on private donations for elections would also bar churches from providing free space for polling places and severely limit — if not outright prohibit — the use of volunteers in elections work.
Republicans have controlled the Michigan Senate for decades. Three new draft redistricting plans could allow Democrats to at least cut into that advantage.
Eight incumbents would be clustered in districts with at least another representative. The maps now go to the public for hearings before final approval.
