State officials are urging residents to return ballots to clerks or in drop boxes if they want them to count by Tuesday.

In a season of intense scrutiny over the security of voting, Bridge Michigan is presenting a step-by-step process for counting in-person and absentee ballots.

Joe Biden has a significant lead in Michigan polls. But so did Hillary Clinton in 2016. Democrats warn the race may be closer than it appears, but also hope Biden can help candidates down the ballot.

President Donald Trump is down in the polls in the runup to Michigan’s must-win presidential election, but he’s been here before. Four years after his win here, Trump is barnstorming the state in an attempt to re-create the magic. Don’t count him out, experts say.

Bridge’s bimonthly book club discusses Mary Doria Russell’s “The Women of the Copper Country” on Wednesday. Join us.

The Detroit Financial Review Commission voted Monday to release the Detroit Public Schools Community District from state financial oversight until the end of 2021, a crucial step in the district’s efforts to control its budget and finances.

There are outbreaks in 99 Michigan school buildings, and more than 4,400 cases on college campuses. Still, there were signs the spread was slowing or receding in the past week.

Called “peer pressure in an envelope,” mailings to people of color, young voters and others intend to increase turnout. Some voters find the messages “creepy,” and clerks are inundated with complaints. But the mailings continue because they work, organizers say.

A new ad from the Paul Junge campaign attacks U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s record on stimulus and payroll tax. It’s built on two indisputable facts but could give viewers the false impression the Holly Democrat did little to help the state during the COVID-19 crisis.

It’s been a hard year for stores and restaurants. Now they head into winter amid worry that a second wave of COVID-19 will hinder sales during the critical holiday season.

Two of the state’s largest health care systems bumped minimum wages to $15 an hour amid competition for entry-level workers. Nursing home employees in 14 southeast Michigan nursing homes also are on their way to pay increases.

Tourists flooded onto the iconic Michigan landmark during the second half of the summer. Somehow, the island escaped large COVID-19 outbreaks. That has now changed.