Families are pulling their kids out of class and moving to neighboring districts as they shop for schools that match the face mask policies they prefer.

As Michigan state parks experience a visitor resurgence and the federal government funnels gobs of pandemic relief dollars to the state, parks officials want lawmakers to send some of the windfall their way — lawmakers say they’re listening.

A $70 billion deal is done. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer won’t say if she’ll veto language about vaccine and mask mandates, but it is highly likely.

Some argue the state should shift responsibility of managing care and costs to Michigan’s for-profit insurers; others say money motives of insurance companies would cut into care for the most vulnerable.

The governor on Wednesday announced a plan to combat ‘range anxiety.by making Lake Michigan an electric vehicle-ready highway, and a separate initiative to train Michigan workers for new jobs.

A GOP House bill takes aim at critical race theory; the notion that the legacies of slavery and racism are baked into the nation’s laws and many of its institutions. Opponents contend such measures are an effort to prevent honest classroom discussion about race.

Reducing the costs of child care is a rare point of bipartisan agreement, and many daycares are on the brink of bankruptcy. The deal also gives big boosts to colleges, cities and environmental cleanups.

The funding is unique among Michigan’s resettlement efforts, but activists hope other counties will soon follow. There is a humanitarian and economic motivation to attract new refugees to the region.

Whitmer collected $8.6 million this year, thanks in part to contributions that blew well past the limits for individual donors.

Poll from the Skillman Foundation indicates that voters want more spending on career exposure, job training, mental health resources, child care and expanded learning time.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) usually peaks in a winter, but is hospitalizing very young children this summer. Some theorize that the restrictions that protected kids from COVID may limit their immune response to other viruses.

Children aren’t usually the sickest COVID victims, though cases of child hospitalizations climbed this summer amid the delta variant. The positive clinical trial results provide hope to parents eager to get younger children vaccinated during the school year.