WUPM News

I-75 Business Spur Work Starts Monday In Sault Ste. Marie

The Michigan Department of Transportation is restarting work on the Interstate 75 Business Spur project in Sault Ste. Marie on Monday. They suspended the storm sewer work for the winter in November, and crews started it back in May. The over eleven-million dollar project includes rebuilding over two miles of roads and turning the intersections of Three Mile Road/Mackinac Trail and I-75 Business Spur/Mackinac Trail into a roundabout.

Bills to create Governor Whitmer’s proposed scholarship program for community college will soon be up for debate in the House and Senate.

The legislation has sponsors from both parties along with the support of the Small Business Association of Michigan, the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, and the Michigan Education Association. People over the age of 25 and qualifying, graduating high school seniors would be eligible for scholarships to cover their tuition and fees for two years of community college. For the high schoolers, their families cannot make more than 80-thousand dollars a year, and they need to have at least a three-point-zero grade point average.

Michigan’s monthly unemployment rate remains steady at four-point-zero percent for March.

The Department of Technology, Management and Budget says the jobless rate in the state has been at that same level for six consecutive months. Total employment in March was higher by seven-thousand compared to February, and the number of unemployed rose by three-thousand. The state’s unemployment rate is two-tenths of a percent higher than the national rate.

Governor Whitmer is moving ahead with improving the state’s criminal justice system.

Whitmer signed an executive order Wednesday creating the Michigan Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration. Crime in the state is at a 50-year low according to Whitmer’s office, but jail populations have tripled in the last 35 years. Her executive order has the support of both Republicans and democrats.

The National Hockey League is headed to the U.P.

A preseason game between the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues will be played at Calumet Colosseum on September 26th as the result of the arena on the Keweenaw Peninsula winning this year’s Kraft Hockeyville sweepstakes. Calumet Colosseum is the oldest continually used indoor ice arena in the world, dating back to 1913.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel expects the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade…

At a Planned Parenthood of Michigan conference in Lansing yesterday, the Democrat added if or when that happens, she will not prosecute abortion cases and won’t enforce a state abortion ban. Governor Whitmer, in a separate speech, vowed to veto any attempt to place restrictions on abortions if they pass the Legislature.

Combining auto insurance reform with a plan to raise enough money for long-term road repairs is something Governor Whitmer says she’s open to discuss.

Whitmer says the budget is her first priority, along with raising two-point-five billion dollars for roads. Whitmer added she can see a scenario where she signs the budget and seconds later puts pen to paper to overhaul auto insurance as well. House Speaker Lee Chatfield, however, shot down the idea as he remains firmly opposed to her plan to hike gas taxes by 45-cents a gallon to pay for the road work.

The state is being sued Over Same-Sex Adoption Rules…

St. Vincent Catholic Charities is suing the state of Michigan over a rule mandating religious groups contracted with the state provide foster care and adoption services to lesbian and gay couples. The federal lawsuit was filed by a Washington DC-based firm which specializes in religious freedom cases. The charity says being required to work with same-sex couples will force it to close its child placement program instead of complying and result in adoptive families not having access to their services.

Gas prices in the state are up nine-cents a gallon in the past week according to Triple-A Michigan.

The auto club puts the statewide average at two-dollars-92-cents after a 14-cent spike in three days last week pushed the average to two-93 on Friday, which was a new high for the year. The lowest price in the state is two-88 per gallon in Traverse City. Locally you can find fuel for (2.79) a gallon in Ironwood. Triple-A says prices will keep rising with some fluctuations through Memorial Day weekend, when they tend to hit their peak for the year.

DNR Unveils New Off-Road State Forest Map…

Off-road vehicle enthusiasts have a new map available from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to help find new forest roads. The DNR map details over 63-hundred miles of state forest roads open for ORV use in northern Michigan. The process to map all the roads began three years ago, and wrapped up at the end of last year. The maps can be found online at Michigan.gov/ForestRoads.