Detroit Free Press LANSING – A state representative from Birmingham says she was shocked and thrilled to be invited to be part of Tuesday's keynote address to the Democratic National Convention.State Rep. Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, is one of 17 Democrats nationwide identified by the party as "rising stars" and "powerful and diverse voices from the next generation of party leaders," who will jointly deliver the keynote.Manoogian, 27, who is in her first term in the state Legislature and is the youngest woman serving in either chamber, said Monday she is proud to represent her...…Detroit Free Press LANSING – A state representative from Birmingham says she was shocked and thrilled to be invited to be part of Tuesday's keynote address to the Democratic National Convention.State Rep. Mari Manoogian, D-Birmingham, is one of 17 Democrats nationwide identified by the party as "rising stars" and "powerful and diverse voices from the next generation of party leaders," who will jointly deliver the keynote.Manoogian, 27, who is in her first term in the state Legislature and is the youngest woman serving in either chamber, said Monday she is proud to represent her...WW…

Detroit Free Press LANSING — This is the prepared text of the speech Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave Monday to the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee.Whitmer was speaking live from a Lansing union hall, UAW Local 652.Hello America.I’m Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Or as Donald Trump calls me, “that woman from Michigan.”Tonight, I’m here at UAW Local 652 in Lansing, Michigan.Auto workers in this union and across our state could have lost their jobs if not for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.In 2009, the Obama-Biden Administration inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.The...…Detroit Free Press LANSING — This is the prepared text of the speech Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave Monday to the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee.Whitmer was speaking live from a Lansing union hall, UAW Local 652.Hello America.I’m Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Or as Donald Trump calls me, “that woman from Michigan.”Tonight, I’m here at UAW Local 652 in Lansing, Michigan.Auto workers in this union and across our state could have lost their jobs if not for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.In 2009, the Obama-Biden Administration inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.The...WW…

Detroit Free Press With the Detroit ban on evictions ending Saturday night, Detroit tenants like Torianna Stevenson are worried. Stevenson, 27, lost her job as a child care provider in March and has been unable to return to work because her day care is closed until September. She had trouble receiving unemployment benefits and is behind on two months of rent and late fees — about $1,500."I have two children and we just moved in here before the pandemic started. I don't have much family in the city of Detroit so if I did get put out, I don't have...…Detroit Free Press With the Detroit ban on evictions ending Saturday night, Detroit tenants like Torianna Stevenson are worried. Stevenson, 27, lost her job as a child care provider in March and has been unable to return to work because her day care is closed until September. She had trouble receiving unemployment benefits and is behind on two months of rent and late fees — about $1,500."I have two children and we just moved in here before the pandemic started. I don't have much family in the city of Detroit so if I did get put out, I don't have...WW…

Mick McCabeSpecial to Detroit Free Press [ For Subscribers: ]There will be no high school football in Michigan this fall.With the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and no vaccine in sight, the representative council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association met Friday and decided to move the 2020 football season to the spring of ’21.[ The Free Press has started a . Here's how you can gain access to . ]“At the end of the day, we did everything we could to find a path forward for football this fall,” MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl said. “But while continuing to...…Mick McCabeSpecial to Detroit Free Press [ For Subscribers: ]There will be no high school football in Michigan this fall.With the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and no vaccine in sight, the representative council of the Michigan High School Athletic Association met Friday and decided to move the 2020 football season to the spring of ’21.[ The Free Press has started a . Here's how you can gain access to . ]“At the end of the day, we did everything we could to find a path forward for football this fall,” MHSAA executive director Mark Uyl said. “But while continuing to...WW…

Detroit Free Press Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday a plan to provide more than 4 million masks to people throughout Michigan, focusing on areas where they are needed the most. The initiative, crafted with the help of Ford and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will send more than 2.5 million masks to Detroit, low-income schools and some COVID-19 testing sites.Despite the state recording an uptick in coronavirus cases on Thursday, the governor and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive for the state health department, agree the spread of the virus in Michigan...…Detroit Free Press Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Friday a plan to provide more than 4 million masks to people throughout Michigan, focusing on areas where they are needed the most. The initiative, crafted with the help of Ford and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will send more than 2.5 million masks to Detroit, low-income schools and some COVID-19 testing sites.Despite the state recording an uptick in coronavirus cases on Thursday, the governor and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, chief medical executive for the state health department, agree the spread of the virus in Michigan...WW…

Detroit Free Press As a Black, openly gay woman, April Anderson said she is no stranger to discrimination. But Anderson, a pastry chef with a national reputation, was taken aback by a recent cake order that came into her Good Cakes and Bakes bakery on Livernois in Detroit's Avenue of Fashion commercial corridor.And, at least at first, she was unsure  how to handle it, worried she could wind up facing a lawsuit.  The customer — who turned out to be an employee of a Ferndale-based, conservative Catholic organization — wanted the cake decorated with a...…Detroit Free Press As a Black, openly gay woman, April Anderson said she is no stranger to discrimination. But Anderson, a pastry chef with a national reputation, was taken aback by a recent cake order that came into her Good Cakes and Bakes bakery on Livernois in Detroit's Avenue of Fashion commercial corridor.And, at least at first, she was unsure  how to handle it, worried she could wind up facing a lawsuit.  The customer — who turned out to be an employee of a Ferndale-based, conservative Catholic organization — wanted the cake decorated with a...WW…

Julie Pace, Dave Eggert and Kathleen RonayneAssociated Press WASHINGTON — Gretchen Whitmer wanted out. The Michigan governor had caught the interest of Joe Biden and his vice presidential vetting committee, who were drawn to her prominence in a crucial battleground state and her aggressive response to the coronavirus outbreak there. But by late spring, the nation was in the midst of a reckoning over race and inequality following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes. Whitmer sent word to...…Julie Pace, Dave Eggert and Kathleen RonayneAssociated Press WASHINGTON — Gretchen Whitmer wanted out. The Michigan governor had caught the interest of Joe Biden and his vice presidential vetting committee, who were drawn to her prominence in a crucial battleground state and her aggressive response to the coronavirus outbreak there. But by late spring, the nation was in the midst of a reckoning over race and inequality following the death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a white police officer pressed his knee into his neck for several minutes. Whitmer sent word to...WW…

Jef RietsmaSturgis Journal A woman who moved from Oakland County to her father's house in south central Michigan brought her cats with her — lots of cats, according to authorities.And once she was settled in, the number of cats multiplied from several dozen to well more than 100, according to St. Joseph County Animal Control officials More than 140 cats were recovered earlier last week from the home in Park Township. Now they say the house may be unfit for humans because of the stench.Doug Kuhlman, zoning administrator for Park Township, and officials from St. Joseph...…Jef RietsmaSturgis Journal A woman who moved from Oakland County to her father's house in south central Michigan brought her cats with her — lots of cats, according to authorities.And once she was settled in, the number of cats multiplied from several dozen to well more than 100, according to St. Joseph County Animal Control officials More than 140 cats were recovered earlier last week from the home in Park Township. Now they say the house may be unfit for humans because of the stench.Doug Kuhlman, zoning administrator for Park Township, and officials from St. Joseph...WW…

William T. PerkinsPetoskey News-Review SUTTON'S BAY — Leelanau County Road Commissioner Tom Eckerle refused to take back comments he made earlier this week, when he  to suggest Detroit residents were responsible for COVID-19 in Michigan.Speaking at his home Friday afternoon, Eckerle initially refused to comment on the situation, indicating that he already "gave my piece" and would not comment further. He then referred the reporter to a note on his counter from a supporter that said, "Let me know if you need any support or backup.""I’ve got a hell of a lot more of that...…William T. PerkinsPetoskey News-Review SUTTON'S BAY — Leelanau County Road Commissioner Tom Eckerle refused to take back comments he made earlier this week, when he  to suggest Detroit residents were responsible for COVID-19 in Michigan.Speaking at his home Friday afternoon, Eckerle initially refused to comment on the situation, indicating that he already "gave my piece" and would not comment further. He then referred the reporter to a note on his counter from a supporter that said, "Let me know if you need any support or backup.""I’ve got a hell of a lot more of that...WW…

Detroit Free Press Some Detroit teachers held a car parade protest Tuesday, arguing that returning to classrooms this fall is too risky because of the coronavirus."The COVID-19 pandemic has already had a devastating impact on Detroit,"  said teacher Ben Royal, who organized the protest. "Detroit still leads the state in COVID deaths."The protest, which attracted about 20 cars near Northwestern High School, came the day before the Detroit Federation of Teachers is scheduled to vote on whether to launch a safety strike against the district, essentially refusing to return to...…Detroit Free Press Some Detroit teachers held a car parade protest Tuesday, arguing that returning to classrooms this fall is too risky because of the coronavirus."The COVID-19 pandemic has already had a devastating impact on Detroit,"  said teacher Ben Royal, who organized the protest. "Detroit still leads the state in COVID deaths."The protest, which attracted about 20 cars near Northwestern High School, came the day before the Detroit Federation of Teachers is scheduled to vote on whether to launch a safety strike against the district, essentially refusing to return to...WW…