WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The U.S. Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol issued the following news: The Michigan Wing has answered the call to help transport COVID-19 test kits and related supplies from Lansing to locations in the state's Upper Peninsula. The State Emergency Operations Center asked Civil Air Patrol to facilitate COVID-19 testing in remote areas of Michigan faster than traditional ground transport would allow. Aircrews from the Michigan Wing are flying the kits and supplies to and f  more

BATTLE CREEK, Michigan, May 21 -- The U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Logistics Agency issued the following news: Many government and health care agencies continue receiving medical supplies needed to support the COVID-19 response from a Defense Department team that manages the military's excess equipment. Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services' global workforce screens excess medical property turned in by military units and earmarks usable supplies that are in short supply nationw  more

DETROIT, Michigan, May 21 -- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued the following news release: Menard, Inc., which operates over 300 Menards home improvement stores in 14 states, violated federal law by subjecting female employees to sexual harassment at its Wixom, Mich., location, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed. According to the EEOC's lawsuit, a hardware department manager received a complaint that his assistant manager was sen  more

DETROIT, Michigan, May 21 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant of $1,834,555 to the Alliance of Rouge Communities (ARC) for habitat restoration projects at Colonial Park and Venoy Dorsey Park along the Lower Rouge River in Wayne County, Michigan. The Rouge River has been identified as an Area of Concern (AOC), one of 43 areas experiencing severe envir  more

HOUGHTON, Michigan, May 19 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has awarded a Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grant of $854,977 to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to test projects that could revitalize the population of benthic (bottom-dwelling) organisms in Torch Lake, located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The lake has been identified by the United States and Ca  more

CHARLEVOIX, Michigan, May 21 -- The Environmental Protection Agency issued the following news release: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its interim Record of Decision (ROD) to clean up groundwater, soil, and soil gas contamination and resolve vapor intrusion issues at the Charlevoix Municipal Well Superfund Site. Volatile organic compounds from local industrial facilities and commercial operations may have contaminated the soil and groundwater at the site. "EPA is worki  more

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release: Following is a summary of key federal disaster aid programs that are available under President Donald J. Trump's emergency disaster declaration issued for the state of Michigan. Assistance for the State and Affected Local Governments Can Include as Required: * FEMA is authorized to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized und  more

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release: FEMA announced that federal emergency aid has been made available to the state of Michigan to supplement state and local response efforts to the emergency conditions in the area affected by severe storms and flooding beginning May 16, 2020, and continuing. The President's action authorizes FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts to alleviate the hardshi  more

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The U.S. Department of Energy's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued the following statement on May 21 by Commissioner Bernard L. McNamee on a docket (No. CP19-471-000): Today's order issues Bluewater Gas Storage, LLC (Bluewater) a certificate of public convenience and necessity for authorization to construct and operate a new 11,150 horsepower compressor station in Macomb County, Michigan (Project)./1 Bluewater proposes the Project to restore its delivery capacity  more

WASHINGTON, May 19 -- The U.S. Department of Labor issued the following news release on May 15: As part of its new firm-fixed price approach to procuring Job Corps center operations, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that it has awarded contracts to operate four centers in Michigan, Wyoming, and New Hampshire. Administered by the Department's Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Job Corps is a national residential training and employment program designed to address the multiple ba  more

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency - Michigan Field Office issued the following news release: USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) will broaden the use of the Disaster Set-Aside (DSA) loan provision, normally used in the wake of natural disasters, to allow farmers with USDA farm loans who are affected by COVID-19, and are determined eligible, to have their next payment set aside. In some cases, FSA may also set aside a second payment for farmers who have   more

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency - Michigan Field Office issued the following news release: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced this week that the March 2020 income over feed cost margin was $9.15 per hundredweight (cwt.), triggering the first payment of 2020 for dairy producers who purchased the appropriate level of coverage under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program. "This payment comes at a critical time f  more

EAST LANSING, Michigan, May 22 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service - Great Lakes Regional Field Office issued the following news release: Dairy herds in Michigan produced 965 million pounds of milk during April, up 1.6 percent from a year ago, according to Marlo Johnson, Regional Director of USDA, NASS, Great Lakes Regional Office. Production per cow in Michigan averaged 2,255 pounds for April, 20 pounds above April 2019. The dairy herd was estimate  more

WASHINGTON, May 19 -- The National Academy of Engineering issued the following news release: The National Academy of Engineering has elected a chair, home secretary and four members to its governing Council. All terms begin July 1, 2020. Donald C. Winter, independent consultant and professor of engineering practice at the University of Michigan, will become the Academy's twelfth chair, elected for a two-year term. The chair works with the NAE president to promote the Academy and its policies t  more

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The White House issued the following news release: President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the State of Michigan and ordered Federal assistance to supplement State and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from severe storms and flooding beginning on May 16, 2020, and continuing. The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster rel  more

WASHINGTON, May 22 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Service Agency - Michigan Field Office issued the following news release: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America's farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to this direct support to farmers and ranchers, USDA's Farmers to Families Food Box program  more

WASHINGTON, May 21 -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the following news release: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced that households in 13 new states - Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Virginia - will soon be able to purchase food online with their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Once operational, online purchasing will be available in 36 sta  more