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.

Supporters call it a door-to-door canvass of suspect absentee ballots. Authorities say it verges on voter intimidation.

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.

Trump-loving GOP activists launch a petition drive to force another review of Michigan’s 2020 results. Critics say it is a waste of time and money.

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.

Join us on Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. November 15 for our final Bridge Book Club event of 2021. Author and Michigan native Anissa Gray will join us to discuss her debut novel. Bridge members receive a free e-version of the book.

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.

Detroit gains districts, Republicans could keep control, but new maps also provide a path for far closer elections in the Michigan House.

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.

On October 27, Bridge Michigan reporters Mike Wilkinson, Ron French and Tracie Mauriello will discuss the current state COVID mandates in the state’s K-12 schools, what’s driving them and what the data tells us.