WUPM News

Michigan is joining a tentative multi-state deal with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma over the company’s role in the opioid epidemic.

Roughly half of the states are participating, while the other half reject the terms as insufficient. Michigan’s AG she respects fellow Democratic attorneys general who have opted out of settlement discussions, but she must pursue the course that’s most beneficial to Michigan. The deal may be worth up to $12 billion. The company is expected to file for bankruptcy protection

Governor Gretchen Whitmer is praising President Trump’s remarks regarding his plan to move forward on a national ban on flavored vaping products.

Michigan became the first state in the country to make that move this month, and Whitmer predicted at the time that other states would likely follow. She issued a statement saying she’s glad the Trump administration “is doing the right thing,” calling it great news for overall public health. Six deaths nationwide have been linked to the use of electronic cigarettes.

Warning labels on marijuana…

Aimed at pregnant women and nursing mothers the labels would be added to marijuana sold in retail locations under bills overwhelmingly passed by the state House. Representative Tom Albert of Lowell is the main sponsor of the package and called it “shocking” that women are continuing to put their unborn children and babies at risk of complications from the drug. The legislation now heads to the state Senate.

New ownership is coming for Michigan’s most iconic vacation spot.

Mackinac Island’s Grand Hotel is being sold by longtime owners the Musser family, which has owned the hotel since 1979, to KSL Capital Partners, a private equity firm. Dan Musser the Third will remain on the job as the chairman, and the new owners are not planning any cuts to staffing levels. The Grand Hotel will be under the umbrella of Pivot Hotels and Resorts.

Legislative leaders and Governor Whitmer are promising to reach a deal before the deadline to enact a new state budget, but it will not include long-term funding to fix the state’s roads.

The governor’s office announced the agreement with Monday morning. Whitmer says her goal of finding two-and-a-half billion dollars a year for roadwork remains her priority and goal, but she and the GOP leaders also knew they needed to make sure state government didn’t shut down on October 1.

Meijer is calling on its gun-toting customers to not open carry weapons in any of its stores across the Midwest.

The Michigan based retailer put out the request on Twitter, saying the safety of customers and team members is their top priority. Meijer officials add having people openly carrying guns in the store “can create an environment that makes our customers and team members feel unsafe.” Walmart also has asked customers to not carry guns in their stores.

The Eagle Mine will continue operating into 2025 with the discovery of a two-point-three-million metric ton mineral reserve.

The reserve is three-point-two-percent nickel and two-point-six-percent copper according to the company. The Marquette Mining Journal reports the announcement means jobs will be preserved for roughly 400 employees and local contractors in the Marquette area for another six years.

Michigan’s average gas price is up slightly after a drop over the Labor Day holiday.

According to Triple-A Michigan, the average price is up five-cents a gallon to two-dollars-66-cents, which is down 27-cents from this time last year. The state’s highest prices are hovering around two-73, while two-38 is the lowest. Locally fuel is averaging 2.68 a gallon.

Michigan officials say more than 270,000 enrollees in the state’s Medicaid expansion program may have to meet work or related requirements to keep qualifying for their government insurance coverage.

The state Department of Health and Human Services began sending notification letters to those beneficiaries this past week. They comprise 42% of the 650,000 lower-income adults participating in the Healthy Michigan Plan. Starting in January, abled-bodied adults ages 19 through 61 who want to maintain their benefit will, on a monthly basis, have to show workforce engagement averaging 80 hours a month — through work, school, job training or vocational training, an internship, substance abuse treatment or community service.

The second year of the National Park Service’s wolf relocation project has kicked off with a capture of a wolf on Michigan’s mainland and a flight to Isle Royale.

Mlive reports the 70-pound male that’s believed to be about three years old was captured this week. The wolf that was flown by seaplane joins 14 others already on island. Officials hope to ultimately bring as many as 30 new wolves to the island that’s been overrun by more than 2,000 moose.