For the first time in decades, Kent County is luring more residents from Chicago than it is losing. That helps explain why it’s one of few areas of Michigan that is gaining population.

Critics question interview of firm with GOP ties and a history of defending legislatures accused of drawing illegal districts to a citizens’ panel created to end gerrymandering.

The massive storms that ripped through southeast Michigan this summer are likely the state’s new normal, but our aging infrastructure was designed for the climate of the past.

The state prison recidivism rate has fallen sharply over two decades, attributed to policy reforms, falling crime and more intensive job training. But many former inmates still struggle for jobs and housing and wind up back behind bars.

Michigan doesn’t plan a vaccine mandate, said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief medical executive, as she joined the mother of a dead child and others to call on Michiganders to think of others when it comes to safety practices and vaccines.

The U.S. Census is releasing population data on Thursday, so now the 13-member panel can get down to business after months of challenges and administrative work.

As pressure increases on businesses, schools and universities and governments to take stronger action, Friday’s crowd in Lansing said vaccine mandates go too far.

Maintain the car you have, experts say. Production slowdowns are picking up this summer as the global microchip shortage keeps squeezing the auto industry.

Cases remain low compared to pandemic peaks, but their uptick has returned many counties to higher risk levels and placed most Michigan residents under indoor masking recommendations and an eviction moratorium.

On August 31, Bridge Michigan health reporter Robin Erb will moderate a Zoom discussion with three experts on the impact of COVID-19 on youth mental health and opportunities to better serve youth experiencing mental health issues.

The list of needs is long — mental health services, blight, sewers — as counties and municipalities begin debating how to spend their share of $4.37 billion as part of federal COVID stimulus.

Washington stepped in again this week to extend a ban on evictions during COVID. But the latest extension is confined to areas with “high or substantial” infection, a status that is likely to shift week to week, from one geographic area to another.