Michigan to count lottery wins against welfare

After twice finding out lottery winners continued to use food stamps after collecting the jackpot, Michigan lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to legislation aimed at making sure it doesn't happen again. Bills headed to Republican Gov. Rick Snyder for his signature would require lottery officials to notify the state's Department of Human Services about winners of $1,000 or more. The legislation also would put into law a requirement for asset tests to help determine eligibility for some public assistance programs in the state, and lottery winnings would factor into those tests. The asset tests provision drew the most opposition from lawmakers Thursday, although some asset tests already are used in Michigan through state department policy.

Read the full story here!

Midland man arrested on insurance fraud charges

Michigan State Police troopers from the Mount Pleasant post arrested a 43-year-old Midland man on a seven county felony warrant. Authorities said an investigation was launched after representatives from Auto-Owners Insurance of Michigan found an employee had been adding items to legitimate customer insurance claims and converting those items to his own use. The investigation revealed that the total amount fraudulently obtained exceeded $100,000. Troopers said search warrants were served on the subject's home where many items were seized. Approximately $19,500 worth of stolen property was recovered.

Read the full story here!

Dow Says U.S. Gas Shouldn’t Be Exported Indiscriminately

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW), the largest U.S. chemical maker, said domestic supplies of natural gas shouldn’t be exported “indiscriminately” because the industry is counting on continued low prices to justify factory investments. Gas exports and U.S. government incentives to encourage its use in vehicles may undermine chemical makers’ confidence that prices will remain low, Jim Fitterling, executive vice president for energy and feedstocks at Midland, Michigan-based Dow, said today in a speech at the IHS World Petrochemical Conference in Houston.

Read the full story here!

Midland's Maxwell in line to start at QB for MSU

Andrew Maxwell dropped back, rolled out to his right and tossed a short, crisp pass to Dion Sims. Spring practice has begun at Michigan State, and Maxwell has the crucial task of replacing Kirk Cousins at quarterback. Tuesday was Maxwell's first chance to take over as the leader of the offense, and it was an unusual feeling. “It was different. It was weird,” he said. “It's a challenge I've been waiting for.” Cousins led the Spartans to 11-win seasons as a junior and senior, and his departure leaves both a leadership void and a hole to fill in the team's passing game. Maxwell, who will be a junior in the fall, has attempted 51 passes in his college career and hasn't played much in non-blowouts.

Read the full story here!

To Give and To Get: Why a Congressman can’t order his aide to give his wife a Jewish divorce.

Rep. Dave Camp, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, is Roman Catholic, and he represents a district, the Michigan 4th, with few Jews. But as anyone with access to Twitter, Facebook, or the rest of the Internet can learn, Rep. Camp has a big Jewish problem. And it’s one he may be powerless to solve. The congressman is under attack because of his aide, Aharon Friedman, an Orthodox Jewish graduate of Harvard Law School. Friedman has been legally divorced from another Orthodox Jew, Tamar Epstein, since 2010—but has refused to give his ex-wife a get. In Orthodox Judaism, this is the document that a man must give to his wife in order for a religious divorce to go into effect. So long as Friedman refuses to give a get, Epstein cannot remarry within the faith and is considered an agunah, or chained wife.

Read the full story here!

Midland Country Club to host 2012 Michigan PGA Match Play Championship

The Midland Country Club will host the 2012 PGA Match Play Championship, the PGA Michigan Section has announced. The 16-player event will take place Sept. 10-11. The winner will take home $4,000. Players qualify for the event through five qualifying tournaments. Visit michiganpgagolf.com to register. The Midland Country Club completed a three-year, $30 million upgrade last year.

Read the full story here!

Dow Chemical plans to invest in Saudi Arabia plant

Dow Chemical Co. plans to invest an undisclosed amount in a new manufacturing plant in Saudi Arabia that will make coating materials for use in that country and for export to markets worldwide. The biggest U.S. chemical maker said that the facility will be located at the Jubail Industrial City. "By investing in a new coatings facility in Saudi Arabia, we are moving closer to our regional customers, and realizing our regional business objectives in a key growth market for Dow," Jerome Peribere, executive vice president of Dow Chemical and president and CEO of the Dow Advanced Materials unit, said in a statement on Sunday.

Read the full story here!

Michigan, Midland jobless rates rise in January

via Midland Daily News

Michigan officials say that seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates have increased in all 17 major labor markets, though manufacturing layoffs were less evident as rebounding car companies maintained production. The January figures were released Thursday. They show rates rose everywhere, with the Detroit region and the northeastern Lower Peninsula showing the highest jumps from December to January. Officials say the increases are typical, with seasonal job cuts occurring in most industries. Statewide, the non-adjusted jobless rate was 9.7 percent, up from 9 percent in December but down from 11.6 in January 2011.

Read the full story here!

Midland native set to climb Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for breast cancer awareness

 

Every day, 26-year-old Midland native Andrea Towlerton works to solve the on-going problem and challenge of cancer. Her involvement and appreciation of the power cancer holds has helped push her towards her own personal challenge, one that would help in the fight and raise awareness of the disease. After landing a job at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and moving from Midland to Seattle, Wash. in April 2010, Towlerton has devoted her life trying to help curb the disease and raise awareness. In July, as part of the Climb to Fight Breast Cancer team, she'll scale Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to help raise money for breast cancer awareness. The climb should take seven days. Mount Kilimanjaro is 19,341 feet above sea level.

Read the full story here!

Great Lakes Loons season preview, with roster predictions

The Great Lakes Loons' season officially begins April 6, with the roster officially expected to be announced April 1. But truebluela.com has published its Great Lakes Loons predictions, complete with an expected roster to begin the 2012 season. Some of the names are familiar, including outfielder Joc Pederson, pitcher Derek Cone and pitcher Gustavo Gomez. All played at some point with the Loons during the 2011 season. The strength of the team appears to be the outfield, which features Pederson and top prospect James Baldwin.

Read the full story here!

Great Lakes Loons get early start on Dow Diamond preparations thanks to weather

 

The Great Lakes Loons begin their season on April 6 at Lansing, with a doubleheader April 7, also at Lansing. After a day off for Easter, the Loons kick off the home portion of their schedule on Monday, April 9. And, thanks to the warm weather, crews are well ahead of schedule preparing Dow Diamond for the 6:05 p.m. home opener. The Opening Day festivities will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a parade on Main Street in Midland, beginning at Gordon Street and ending at Dow Diamond. The parade will include players, bands and grant recipients, along with Midland businesses and organizations. Free hot dogs and bottled water are available during the parade at the corner of Main and McDonald.

Read the full story here!

Midland author Jeff Vande Zande wins award for 'American Poet'

Writing “American Poet,” Midland author Jeff Vande Zande hoped he could bring attention to the Roethke House in Saginaw and the dedicated group of people determined to preserve Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Theodore Roethke’s boyhood home. But the tale of young poet Denver and his struggle to find his place in the world as he tries to save Roethke’s home won Vande Zande the Stuart and Vernice Gross Literature Award from Saginaw Valley State University. Vande Zande will sign copies of his novel, published by Bottom Dog Press, at a reception Thursday, March 22, at the Roethke House, 1805 Gratiot in Saginaw. It begins at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments and a chance to meet the author, followed at 7:30 p.m. with a reading from “American Poet” and the book signing.

Read the full story here!

Dave Camp against proposed cuts to Air National Guard

 

Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, today is expressing concern over the Air Force's 2013 budget request and cuts proposed for the Air National Guard. Camp joined the Michigan delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives, each of whom signed a letter sharing their concerns with the House and Senate Armed Services Committees. “Everyone understands the need to find savings in the military budget, but we must do so in a safe and responsible manner," Camp said in a release. "The disproportionate cuts proposed in the Air Force budget would degrade the Air National Guard’s readiness and severely diminish its capabilities for homeland defense, disaster recovery, and other state missions."

Read the full story here!

Eat for a cause: Five Midland Subway restaurants to host fundraiser for St. Judes

If you're still looking for lunch plans, five Midland Subway restaurants today are raising money to find cures and save children by hosting a fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Brad LaPoe, owner of Bradley R. Investments and the Midland Subway restaurants, will be hosting a Pay-What-You-Wish Event, during which customers can get one free 6-inch sandwich. In return, they are asking guests to Pay-What-You-Wish with the proceeds going directly to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The Subway's at 1900 N. Saginaw, 983 S. Saginaw, 309 Jerome, 910 Joe Mann inside the Walmart, and 6800 Eastman inside the Midland Mall, are participating in the event.

Read the full story here!

DEQ seeks public comment on Dow Chemical's Midland dioxin cleanup plan, will hold public meeting April 17

 

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is seeking opinions on the dioxin soil cleanup in the city of Midland. The DEQ’s public comment period on the cleanup plain is open through April 25. The DEQ is hosting a public meeting at 7 p.m. at the Grace A. Dow Memorial Library Auditorium, 1710 West St. Andrews in Midland. People can submit oral or written comments, and DEQ and Dow representatives will be available to answer questions at 6:30 p.m. Residents can submit public comments at informal meetings from 4 p.m. to 8 pm. March 28 and March 29 at Dow Chemical Co.’s Midland Resolution Center, 1008 Jefferson in Midland.

Read the full story here!

Midland youths to join Kick Butts Day Initiative

via Midland Daily News

Young people from groups around Midland are joining thousands of youths across the country to take part in Kick Butts Day, a nationwide initiative that helps kids become leaders in the effort to prevent youth tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke. As part of the Kick Butts Day campaign, teens will collect cigarette butts from seven playgrounds in Midland to measure the amount and then prepare follow-up presentations to advocate for tobacco free zones in children’s play areas. Throughout the year, teen volunteers take part in a variety of activities to protect kids from tobacco, including having displays at Kids Day at the Mall and Midland’s Riverdays and a week-long effort at the Midland County Fair in August.

Read the full story here!

Chippewa Nature Center hosting blowout Maple Syrup Day event Saturday

Despite a mild winter, the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland was able to drain sap from its batch of maple trees.
To celebrate the start of spring and maple syrup, the Chippewa Nature Center, 400 S. Badour, is hosting a Maple Syrup Day on Saturday, March 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Some of the highlighted events include a boiling demonstration, tree-tapping activities, maple syrup-themed music and a pancake meal. Arts and crafts, demonstrations and other activities are also set for Saturday.
Admission is free for members and $4 for nonmembers that are 18 or older. Nonmembers under the age of 18 also will be admitted for free.
The pancake meal is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is $7 for nonmembers 13 or older.

Read the full story here

Home News MDOT: Roundabout to have positive impact on safety

via Midland Daily News

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is proposing a $1.3 million roundabout project in Midland County that officials say will have a long-term positive impact on safety in the area.
The project is located in the city of Midland just east of Washington Street along M-20/U.S.-10 Business Route (BR) at the Patrick Road crossover. The roundabout is scheduled for construction in 2014 and will take approximately three to four months to build.
Construction of the roundabout is expected to provide better traffic flow through the crossover to Saginaw Road from eastbound and westbound US-10 BR. It also will accommodate increased traffic due to a projected growth in local industries over the next 20 years.
Speed limit studies taken three years before through three years after a 55-to-70 mph change in the area speed limit showed no change in crashes per year at the intersection.

Read the full story here

Fire at Northeast Middle School being called an arson, reward being offered

Midland Police are now calling a Wednesday morning fire at Northeast Middle School, 1305 E. Sugnet in Midland, a case of arson.
The Midland Daily News is reporting that the Midland Police are saying a suspect broke a window and entered into a classroom where the fire was started.
A poster from the Michigan Arson Prevention Committee is offering a reward of up to $5,000 to anyone with information leading up to the arrest or conviction.
The fire started about 6 a.m. Wednesday morning and was contained by firefighters about one hour after the flames first started.
One classroom was damaged by the flames, however several other rooms, lockers and hallways were damaged by smoke.


Read the full story here

Storm damage reported in Midland County

via Midland Daily News

A strong thunderstorm that traveled through northwest Midland County Monday night uprooted trees and knocked out power in the area.
The storm damage was located between Coleman and North Bradley north of Saginaw Road. The storm hit about 7 p.m. and brought strong winds and large hail.

Witnesses said they did not see a tornado, but did hear winds that sounded like a jet engine as the storm hit.
Two barns were blown over by the high winds.
Consumers Energy workers and local law enforcement officers were in the area, but it is not known how many homes lost power.
There were no reports of trees falling on homes or other property, but a number of trees were uprooted by the high winds.

Read the full story here

City names parks with non-compliant equipment

via Midland Daily News

The neighborhood parks in Midland with non-compliant playground equipment have been identified and the city will seek public input on recommendations to fix the problems.

Karen Murphy, director of public services, said 16 parks have non-compliant equipment based on the national guidelines and 16 have compliant equipment but need additional fall protection zones.

The compliance issues vary from old slides that don't meet ladder and platform requirements to possible lead paint and damaged supports.

A public hearing is planned for the commission's next meeting to gather input from residents on the recommendations. The meeting will take place at 7 p.m. May 1 at Midland City Hall, 333 W. Ellsworth St. (There is no April meeting because of spring break at Midland Public Schools).

Read the full story here

Sen. Moolenaar announces office hours in Midland, Gladwin

Sen. John Moolenaar, R-Midland, this month will conduct office hours in Midland and Gladwin. Office hours are open to residents who want to express their opinions or concerns about state government, or to request assistance with a state issue. Midland office hours will take place from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. March 26, in conference room B of the Grace A Dow Memorial Library, 1710 W. St. Andrews in Midland. Gladwin office hours are set for 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. March 19, in the Commissioners' Chamber in the Gladwin County Building, 401 W. Cedar.

Read the full story here!

Obama’s Corporate Framework May Create Double Tax, Camp Says

President Barack Obama’s suggestion that businesses reporting income on individual returns could be taxed more like corporations amounts to a “double tax,” House Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp said. Camp, a Michigan Republican, made the comments today at a committee hearing in Washington that focused on how closely held businesses should be treated in a U.S. tax code overhaul. These firms pass through their income to the owner’s individual tax return, allowing them to pay taxes on that income at the individual rate instead of the corporate rate. In Obama’s proposed corporate tax revisions, which the administration released on Feb. 22, he said large companies are “increasingly avoiding corporate tax liability by organizing themselves as pass-through businesses.” Republicans maintain that such businesses are often small and should be protected. The tax treatment of these businesses will be an important element of any tax code overhaul in Congress.

Read the full story here!

Dow's new direction

When Mr. McGuire told Dustin Hoffman's Benjamin in The Graduate that "I just want to say one word to you," and that word was "plastics," he could have been recommending a career at Dow Chemical. It was advice that Andrew Liveris, a new chemical-engineering graduate from Darwin, Australia, followed in 1976, when he joined Dow (DOW). The company produced mainly petrochemicals and the plastics created from them, and it was a good business. But by the time Liveris became Dow's CEO in 2004, that commodity chemical strategy no longer made sense. That's why Liveris, 57, has been turning Dow in a new direction, focusing on unique, innovative, high-margin products, such as recently introduced solar shingles. Dow makes them in Michigan, underscoring another of Liveris's major themes, the importance of U.S. manufacturing.

Read the full story here!

Michigan State's Andrew Maxwell adjusting to life as Spartans' quarterback

Andrew Maxwell took the perspective of the ball when writing the 2008-09 Midland High School basketball preview for the student newspaper. "We had a young team," Maxwell explained. "So I was like, 'I'm going to have a lot of new hands on me this year. They're going to have to be careful, because if you don't take care of me, it's going the other way for a dunk.'" The article won a statewide award (though the Midland basketball team was less successful). Three years later, Michigan State's next starting quarterback might want to consider taking a similar approach in his own journal (not that he keeps one).

Read the full story here!

Fire at Northeast Middle School contained, classes cancelled

A fire at Northeast Middle School, 1305 E. Sugnet, that started around 6 a.m. has been contained. Smoke was coming from the building when the fire department arrived at the scene. Fire crews extinguished the flames about an hour after the blaze started. Investigators said the fire started in one of the classrooms. Wednesday classes for Northeast Middle School are canceled.

Read the full story here!

Bill Schuette to appeal overturn of law sponsored by Rep. John Moolenaar of Midland allowing qualified contractors to bid on public contracts

Attorney General Bill Schuette and Senator John Moolenaar (R-Midland) announced today that the State of Michigan will appeal a ruling by a federal court that overturned the Michigan Fair and Open Competition and in Governmental Construction Act. Schuette said the law, signed by Gov. Rick Snyder on July 19, 2011, increases competition and lowers costs to taxpayers by allowing all contractors, regardless of union or non-union affiliation, to have equal access to competitively bid for public construction project contracts.

Read the full story here!

Mount Pleasant man, Daily News employee, arraigned

via Midland Daily News

Midland Daily News weekend editor Ian Patrick Gray, 42, was arraigned this afternoon on four counts of criminal sexual conduct involving a minor. Gray, who lives in Mount Pleasant, was arrested Saturday evening at the Daily News office and is currently in custody at the Isabella County Jail. At the arraignment, Isabella County Judge William Rush formally read Gray the charges filed against him by the Isabella County Prosecutor’s Office: One count each of first-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor under the age of 13, second-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor under the age of 13, third-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor between the ages of 13 and 15, and fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct involving a minor between the ages of 13 and 16. Charging documents state the offenses occurred from 2009 to November 2011.

Read the full story here!

Dioxin documents: Take a look at Dow Chemical's 2012 Midland cleanup schedule, Q&A

Take a look at documents Dow Chemical Co. handed out at a March 1 community information meeting regarding the company's plans to clean up property in Midland. The Midland-based company will test 1,450 Midland properties for dioxin contamination this summer. About 400 people attended the meeting in Midland, where Dow and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality officials were on hand to explain the process and answer questions. Members of the audience were concerned about the health effects from the toxic chemical byproduct.

Read the full story here!

IOA seeks clarity on Dow Chemical issue

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has sought clarity from the Union Sports Ministry, regarding the stand on Dow Chemical's sponsorship of the London Olympics. In his fourth letter on the subject to the Union Sports Minister, Ajay Maken, the acting president of the IOA, Prof. Vijay Kumar Malhotra, pointed that the Indian stand on the subject had been weakened owing to the fact that a seminar of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), under the Union Agriculture Ministry, had been sponsored by Dow. “IOA has received several queries from abroad on this issue,'' wrote Prof. Malhotra, and added that people wanted to know, “what action Indian government had taken against Dow Chemical's large operation in India.''

Read the full story here!

Dow Gardens opens annual Butterflies in Bloom Exhibit, features butterflies from around the world

The Butterflies in Bloom exhibit opened to the public at 10 a.m. Friday at Dow Gardens, 1809 Eastman in Midland. The exhibit is featuring 140 different butterflies and 8 different moth species from all over the world and is running through April 22. The exhibit is open to the public 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. everyday of the week. Admission for adults is $5, $1 for students with a valid ID, and free for children 5 and younger.

Read the full story here!

Fresh and hot draws raves at Midland's Buffet King

It’s rather fitting in researching Midland’s Buffet King to find people singing its praises in unusual places. Researching other restaurants was Jiong Rui Wu’s approach 10 years ago when he first took over the Chinese buffet, visiting the popular ones and developing his own style. “The main thing I learned was to serve fresh food maintained at the right temperature,” he said in his native Fuzhou, translated through hostess Stella Look. "When we opened, we had the same kind of restaurant but the menu changed. The food was different.”

Read the full story here!

Despite Dow Chemical cleanup, Midland residents concerned about health effects of dioxin

Midland resident AnnaMaria Morgan is pleased Dow Chemical Co. is offering to test nearly 1,500 residential properties for dioxin contamination in the city. She believes, however, the chemical company needs to address possible health effects from dioxins, a toxic chemical byproduct. "If they test the soil, I think it's worth looking into having people tested," said the 17-year Midland resident who lives in the area where Dow will test properties. Working with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Dow will test residential properties near Michigan Operations. The corporation will offer cleanup to owners of properties with levels of dioxin contamination higher than 250 parts per trillion.

Read the full story here!

Trial rescheduled for Sanford woman charged with killing Midland man

The March trial of a Sanford woman prosecutors say fatally gunned-down a man in a fast food restaurant parking lot is not going to proceed as scheduled. Rachel M. Moore's trial is now slated to begin April 9, with previous dates of March 5 and 26 adjourned. Midland County Circuit Judge Jonathan E. Lauderbach is to preside. Staff at Midland County Circuit Court could not provide the reason for the adjournment. Prosecutors allege the 40-year-old woman shot Brian L. Reichow, 67, six times in the Burger King parking lot at 6730 Eastman in Midland about 7:40 p.m. July 18. Moore fled in her 2011 Ford Fusion and was arrested by police around 3 a.m. the following day, police have said.

Read the full story here!

Dave Camp announces constituent hours for March

Rep. Dave Camp, R-Midland, today announced constituent hours for March. His regional representatives will be available across the state to talk with constituents of the state's 4th District.

March 14th
9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
Saginaw Township Hall
4980 Shattuck Road, Saginaw

Read the full story here!

Leap Year Baby: Midland parents say they'll have big birthday bashes every four years for newborn son

The odds of being born on Leap Day are 1 in 1,461, and eight babies at Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw beat them. One of them is newborn Andrew Diegel who arrived on 2:05 a.m. Wednesday at Covenant HealthCare in Saginaw. "It was the only day I didn't want him to be born," said Andrew's mother, Janie Diegel of Midland. "He'll be jipped on his birthday." On the way to the hospital Tuesday night, she and her husband, Taylor Diegel, realized there son would have a rare birthday. "We'll have big bashes every four years," Janie Diegel said.

Read the full story here!