With pandemic safety mandates lifted as of July 1, Independence Day could be wild this year. Here’s what you need to know before you light those firecrackers.
Last year’s crush of visitors stunned businesses and this summer promises a sequel: from sold-out campgrounds to heavy demand for boats, kayak and bikes and, likely, more novice hikers needing to be rescued from state and national parks.
Office clothes are staples at Michigan’s dry cleaners, which saw revenues crater when workers stayed home during COVID. As offices now reopen, a 70-year-plus family business has new hopes for survival.
The state’s bars and restaurants will be allowed to stay open later and serve more customers regardless of size. The relaxed rules come as Michigan also surpasses 60 percent of residents getting their first vaccine dose.
Fewer gyms, virtual workouts and lingering pandemic concerns all signal changes for the state’s fitness industry as it reopens to 50 percent capacity Tuesday, said Michael Stack, owner of Applied Fitness Solutions.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s nursing home policies have been under scrutiny for months. Now, a review shows more may have died in the facilities than initially known.
Michigan missed a deadline to spend $3.7 billion in federal aid, and lawmakers have spent days debating whether schools should teach critical race theory or allow transgender athletes from competing.
If you’re above ground only once every 17 years, there are worse places to emerge than Ann Arbor, expected to be the hot spot for insect song and sex this summer.
