Bars, restaurants can open Feb. 1 with restrictions

January 23, 2021

LANSING— Michigan restaurants and bars can reopen for indoor dining at 25% capacity and with a 10 p.m. curfew starting Feb. 1, and concessions can resume at casinos, movie theaters and stadiums, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said Friday. The state health department’s coronavirus restrictions were loosened again amid a continued drop in cases and hospitalizations. They will be effective for three weeks, through Feb. 21. The Democratic governor announced last week that restaurants would likely be able to serve dine-in customers beginning Feb. 1 after a two-and-a-half month ban. “While ...

Many school employees in Northeast Michigan turn out for COVID-19 vaccines

January 22, 2021

ALPENA -- Many school employees in Northeast Michigan have already received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, just two weeks after the state health department made vaccines available to them. The state on Jan. 11 expanded the number of people eligible to receive the vaccine, ...

Alpena circuit court expects jam-packed schedule as virus-delayed trials resume

January 22, 2021

ALPENA — March and April are going to be “extraordinarily busy” at Alpena’s 26th Circuit Court, Judge Ed Black warned attorneys on Tuesday. During the court’s regular hearing day, several defendants told the court they weren’t willing to plead guilty and wanted a trial by jury. ...

Infections, deaths still climb, but other stats brighter

January 21, 2021

ALPENA -- Three more Northeast Michiganders have died after being infected with the coronavirus and 19 more are infected, but regional hospitalization rates are improving and hundreds of vaccines are being administered per day, data released today shows. The sixth death reported this week ...

1 new death reported as vaccinations ramp up

January 20, 2021

ALPENA -- Local public health officials couldn’t say today whether recently spoiled coronavirus vaccine shipments would affect upcoming vaccination clinics. State health officials said on Tuesday that 21 shipments of the Moderna vaccine were spoiled en route to Michigan after the shipment ...

Communication, state allotments an issue in vaccine rollout

January 20, 2021

ALPENA — District Health Department No. 4 Health Officer Denise Bryan told her board on Tuesday she has advocated strongly on behalf of Northeast Michiganders so the region can receive its share of the COVID-19 vaccine. Bryan told the county commissioners from Alpena, Montmorency, Presque ...