2/11/2026

MICHIGAN - Last year, Michigan recorded its highest rate of seat belt use since 2019, according to results from a study by Michigan State University.  The study found that the seat belt use rate was 93.2%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the previous year.  SUV occupants had the highest seat belt use rate at 95.5%, followed by vans and minivans at 93.4% and passenger cars at 91.9%. Occupants of pickup trucks had the lowest seat belt use rate at 89.3%.

2/11/2026

DULUTH - Duluth curlers Korey Dropkin and Cory Thiesse took home Olympic silver in mixed doubles curling after falling to Sweden 6-5 in Tuesday’s final.  The duo became Team USA’s first mixed doubles curling team to medal at the Olympics. Thiesse is also the first American woman to win a curling medal.

2/10/2026

UPPER MICHIGAN - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released the final version of its Environmental Impact Statement for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 Tunnel Project under the Straits of Mackinac.  The USACE has been examining the scope, construction and need for Enbridge’s Line 5 project for several months. The proposed project would replace the current Line 5 Pipeline and place it in a tunnel buried underground in a one-foot-thick concrete liner.  The USACE just released its final statement on the environmental impact, which assesses the possible risks to the Great Lakes and the surrounding environment. It also assesses possible alternatives to the proposed project. The review will be used to determine if the permit can be issued.  Several groups and tribes have opposed the project, even filing legal challenges with the Michigan Supreme Court. Flow Water Advocates is one of those groups.  A final permitting decision from the Army Corps of Engineers is expected within 30 days.