4/22/2025

ARBOR VITAE - A fire in the chimney chase area above the firebox of a fireplace in a home in Arbor Vitae is thought to the cause of a blaze that damaged the roof and attic of a house over the weekend. Arbor Vitae Fire Rescue in a post on social media said the call came in just after 1 am this past Friday morning. Heavy smoke and fire in the roof area of the home were seen. Crews from all around the area arrived on scene and began aggressively attacking the blaze but had to retreat once part of the roof collapsed. The occupants of the home escaped safely, and no injuries were reported. The residents of the home said they had started a fire in the fireplace shortly before the fire was discovered.

4/22/2025

UPPER MICHIGAN - Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has requested an extension of the major disaster declaration connected to the ice storm that devastated communities in the lower and upper peninsulas. The extension from FEMA will allow local municipalities and jurisdictions to finish response activities and assess the impact and damages from the storm. Most communities are just finishing restoration efforts, there are still communities without power, local damage assessments are also being finished, so now preliminary damage assessments can now begin. Whitmer said that the state would continue coordinating closely with first-responders, local communities, federal partners, and Michiganders on the ground.

4/22/2025

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens has launched her U.S. Senate campaign in Michigan in what will undoubtedly be an expensive and competitive race. The Democratic congresswoman representing a Detroit suburb is a fourth-term representative. Before that, she served on President Obama's auto task force during the 2008 financial crisis. Her first campaign video says President Donald Trump’s tariffs are putting tens of thousands of Michigan jobs at risk. Stevens will compete against state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary. On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is trying again for the Senate.