MAPS

You can track COVID-19 spread levels and case rates by Michigan county with an interactive map.

KALAMAZOO, MI — The new maps that designate which specific areas of Michigan are grouped together to be represented by elected leaders in the state House of Representatives and Senate have been approved. For voters in Kalamazoo County and across Michigan, it could mean changes in their state representative or senator. For candidates, the newly approved state House and Senate districts could spell opportunity, political experts say.

Pope Francis has marked Epiphany by warning against surrendering to the “tyranny of needs” especially in consumeristic societies

This is the first of what we expect to be several lawsuits arguing the state of Michigan’s new districts violate federal law.

A new analysis comes after months of mapping and arguing and marathon hearings about what Michigan’s voting landscape will look like. The analysis says the maps would break federal law, and if they pass it could effect just about every voter across the state.

Now, the original treasure will shine bright for all to see as it will be part of the University of Michigan’s William L. Clements Library collection.

The process surrounding redrawing Michigan’s political maps has been anything but easy. On Tuesday parties on both sides of the aisle responded.

Researchers at Georgia Tech released a the “COVID-19 Risk Assessment Planning Tool,” a peer-reviewed resource that tells you the risk of being around someone with COVID-19, by the event size, in each U.S. county, in real-time. According to the data, as of Nov. 13, at an event with 10 people, the risk of a person present with COVID-19 is 19% in Wayne County, 30% in Macomb County and 24% in Oakland County. If that event is with 25 people, the risk increases to 41% in Wayne County, 59% in Macomb County and 37% in Oakland County. At an event with 100 people, risk levels in pretty much every Michigan county surpasses 80%, including some at 99%, like Kent and Calhoun counties. New COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to rise in Michigan.

The Michigan Independent Citizens Redistricting Commission is comprised of four Republicans, four Democrats and five independents who were selected at random from a pool of more than 9,000 applicants. The commission is made up of people from most parts of the state, but most come from eastern Michigan and none live in the Upper Peninsula. Three of the 13 are not white, which is roughly in line with the percentage of non-white residents in the state. The commission will begin meeting in the fall and use census data to redraw lines by Nov. 1, 2021. The commission was formed after voters passed a state constitutional amendment in 2018 to allow an independent group of Michigan residents, instead of partisan legislators, to redraw the states electoral boundaries.

DETROIT – The Selfridge Air National Guard Base will conduct a flyover in Metro Detroit on Wednesday afternoon, one day after the U.S. Navy Blue Angels. Residents should view the flyover from their homes and are asked not to travel to see the flyover. Selfridge Air National Guard flyover map. (Selfridge Air National Guard Base.) ALSO SEE: VIDEO: Blue Angels fly over Metro Detroit amid coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic