A report calls for improving the system to protect children from abuse. The YWCA of Kalamazoo announces its annual Women of Achievement Awards. Bernie Sanders brings his Presidential campaign to Michigan and other Midwestern states.
(MPRN) A recent report says improvements are needed to the state’s system that protects children from abuse and neglect. The report comes from the state Legislature’s Auditor General. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services is not disputing the findings. State lawmakers are developing plans to improve the system. Officials with the Health and Human Services Department say their plans include modernizing the system for determining whether children are at risk in a foster home. The Legislature just wrapped up hearings on the report.
The YWCA of Kalamazoo has announced its annual Women of Achievement Awards. The Lifetime Woman of Achievement Award goes to Pamela Ensen, partner at Warner, Norcross and Judd. The YWCA says Enslen’s leadership in the legal profession and commitment to the community have been evident throughout her career. The Dorothy I. Height Social Justice Innovation Award is being presented to retired Kalamazoo County Human Resources Director Josephine Brown. Other Women of Achievement Award recipients include community volunteer Shirley Lampman Johnson, Legal Services of South Central Michigan Managing Attorney Alisa Parker, community volunteer Lisa Rodriguez, Retired Kalamazoo County Area Agency on Aging Director Judy Sivak and Wellspring Cori Terry and Dancers Founder and Artistic Director Cori Terry. The YWCA’s 35th Annual Women of Achievement Awards Celebration will be held May 9th at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Kalamazoo.
(WDET) Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders completes a campaign swing through Midwestern battleground states today that included a stop in Michigan over the weekend. Sanders told a crowd at a rally in Warren that President Trump is failing to deliver on his promises to working-class voters. Trump flipped Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania red in large part by pledging to bring back outsourced manufacturing jobs. But Sanders told a crowd at Macomb Community College that the President’s trade policies are driving jobs away from the U.S. Sanders says his ideas were once seen as radical…but have since been adopted by almost every Democrat running for president.
State health officials reduced Michigan’s count of measles cases on Friday. The Department of Health and Human Services saysfurther testing of two cases previously identified as part of the outbreak were determined not to be measles. However, the department also announced a separate case of measles in Washtenaw County related to international travel.
(WCMU) Industry experts say Michigan could lose out on the space race. The Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association has been pushing for a satellite launch site to be built in the state, saying it will give Michigan access to a trillion dollar industry. Governor Gretchen Whitmer in February scrapped two million dollars in funding to survey Michigan for a potential satellite launch site. That move leaves the project in limbo. Gavin Brown with the Michigan Aerospace Manufacturers Association says the state would be in a position to get both commercial and Department of Defense contracts. But, he says, the state needs to invest the funding to determine a suitable site. A spokesperson for the Governor’s office says Whitmer is focused on solving real problems for all Michigan residents including fixing the roads and cleaning up drinking water.