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SCHOOL SHOOTING-MICHIGAN

Oxford High School reopens nearly 2 months after shooting

OXFORD, Mich. (AP) — The Michigan high school where four students were fatally shot has reopened for the first time since the Nov. 30 tragedy. More than 90% of students were at Oxford High School on Monday, greeted by dozens of therapy dogs and even puppies. Superintendent Tim Throne calls it a “strong return.” The students had been attending classes at other buildings since Jan. 10. Four students were killed and others were injured in the November shooting. Ethan Crumbley is charged with murder and other crimes. His parents also are facing charges. Oxford Principal Steve Wolf said in a video that “we are reclaiming our high school back.”

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MICHIGAN

6th Michigan hospital to get federal medical team amid surge

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A sixth Michigan hospital will receive staffing assistance from a federal medical team to help treat COVID-19 patients during the latest surge. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, where 96% of beds were occupied a week ago, will be supported by as many as 25 additional personnel for 30 days starting Feb. 7. Michigan’s coronavirus-related hospitalizations hit new highs two weeks ago before beginning to dip last week. State health officials project that infections and hospitalizations may peak by month’s end. More hospitals are reporting critical staff shortages than at any point of the pandemic.

SCHOOL-EMBEZZLEMENT

School tech chief pleads no contest to embezzlement

GRAND HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — A school official accused of stealing more than $900,000 in western Michigan has pleaded no contest to embezzlement. Brian Wheeler was technology director at the Grand Haven district in Ottawa County. Investigators said he created bills, picked up checks and deposited the money in his accounts as far back as 2014. District staff discovered in November that bond money for the technology department was missing. Wheeler was fired after failing to appear for interviews. The Holland Sentinel reports that Wheeler, who was paid more than $100,000 a year, typically received glowing reviews from his bosses.

UPPER PENINSULA SNOWMOBILE FATALITY

Wisconsin man dies in Upper Peninsula snowmobile crash

Authorities say a 73-year-old Wisconsin man was killed when the snowmobile he was riding with his wife missed a corner on a snowmobile trail and struck a tree in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Michigan conservation officers investigating the crash said Richard Reesman of Burlington, Wisconsin, was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash occurred about 1:45 p.m. Sunday along Snowmobile Trail No. 160, near Lookout Mountain in Ironwood Township. Reesman’s 71-year-old wife, Kathy reported the crash to Ashland County, Wisconsin, dispatchers via cellphone. She was hospitalized for shoulder pain.

BALLOT DRIVE LAW

Court strikes Michigan law to make petition drives harder

DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has struck down an effort by Republicans to make it harder to change state law through petition drives. The court threw out a 15% geographic cap on the number of signatures to get an issue on the statewide ballot. It would have placed a burden on petition circulators by forcing them to be aware of where they were gathering signatures.But the Supreme Court says it violates with the Michigan Constitution. The changes were made by the Republican-controlled Legislature in 2018 and signed by Gov. Rick Snyder before he left office.

MISSING TEEN

Cousin accused of lying in missing teen investigation

EASTPOINTE, Mich. (AP) — A young man has been charged with lying to police in an investigation of a missing Detroit-area teenager. The man is a cousin of Zion Foster, a 17-year-old from Eastpointe. Zion was wearing her Detroit Wing Company food uniform when she was last seen three weeks ago. District Court Judge Kathleen Galen, noting the investigation, set the man’s bond at $250,000. James Royster says his daughter is a high school senior who wouldn’t simply disappear. Royster says Zion had been talking about graduation and going to college. He says, “There was a lot going on.”

TAX CREDIT-WHITMER

Whitmer to propose tripling tax credit for low-wage workers

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will ask lawmakers to triple Michigan’s tax credit for low- and moderate-income workers, putting on average an extra $350 a year into their pockets. The proposal is to be unveiled in the Democratic governor’s State of the State address Wednesday. It would restore the state earned income tax credit to 20% of the federal credit. It was scaled back to 6% a decade ago as part of a Republican-written law that slashed business taxes. The refundable credit helps more than 730,000 families a year. They get an average credit of $150, which would rise to roughly $500 under Whitmer’s plan.

SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL-2ND CHANCE

Sundance doc looks at man behind the modern bulletproof vest

Richard Davis was a bankrupt pizzeria owner when he got the idea for a bulletproof vest in 1969 Michigan. Body armor was nothing new, of course, but Davis had an inkling that he could make something lighter that could be worn, undetected, under clothes. Kevlar, he’d discover, was the answer. And to prove that his invention actually worked, Davis, a born showman, went to some extraordinary lengths: He shot himself over 190 times. Somehow, that’s not even the wildest part of his story, which is chronicled in the lively documentary “2nd Chance,” which premiered this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-MASK VOTE

School district makes masks mandatory after community vote

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (AP) — Masks are mandatory in a southwestern Michigan school district, starting Monday, after officials set the policy in an unusual way: They took a vote of the people. Parents, guardians and staff in the Pennfield district voted for masks. There were 1,041 votes, and about 58% were in favor. Classes have been online in Pennfield since Jan. 14. The district has had at least six COVID-19 outbreaks, according to the Calhoun County health department. Interim Superintendent Don Myers believes masks were favored because the community is “tired of students being quarantined all the time.”

MISSING STUDENT

MSU Police: Body is that of man missing since visit to MSU

EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Police say a body found Friday in the Red Cedar has been confirmed as that of an 18-year-old man who vanished in October while visiting the Michigan State University campus. MLive.com reports that Michigan State University Police Inspector Chris Rozman says a medical examiner positively identified Brendan Santo’s body based on dental records. Santo’s body was found about 1 1/2 miles from where he was last seen Oct. 29 leaving an MSU residence hall during a campus visit ahead of a football game between MSU and Michigan. Santo was a student at Grand Valley State University. He was from the Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills.