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Morning Briefing

MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2024

In today’s newsletter, new May forecast, observations from Michigan State’s final spring scrimmage and driver crashes into Monroe County birthday party.

Small town quarrel makes big impression

Our top story from over the weekend is from Northern Michigan.

The owners of The Gold & Silver Exchange in downtown Manistee say they are leaving the city after 13 years because of an ordinance banning bird feeders near their store.

Co-Owner Nikki Bromley says she doesn’t want to leave the city, but after a bird-feeder ban in the downtown area was approved in February, her business was eventually fined $500 for leaving their feeder in place. After fighting the ticket in court, the fine was reduced to $125, but Bromley says they can’t afford daily fines.

Curated by Jamie Rewerts

Sara Taylor Eggleston poses with the first novelty candy she collected in front of a display wall showcasing more than 380 pieces from her collection of more than 1,000 pieces at her home in Scio Township on Wednesday, April 17, 2024.

(Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com)

See which Michigan communities have the most work zone crashes

The data: At least 20 individuals were killed in Michigan work zones last year. That’s more than the 10-year average of 17.7 fatalities per year. In total, the state reported 7,237 work zone vehicle crashes in 2023, resulting in 1,896 injuries. Here’s a map of Michigan’s 2022 work zone crash data.

To know: The Michigan Department of Transportation has more than 40 road projects that will close at least one lane of traffic during the week.

On the water: Cross-Lake Michigan car ferry the S.S. Badger will begin sailing on June 1 – two weeks earlier than previously expected. The historic ship could begin sailing even earlier, officials said, advising customers to check their website and Facebook for updates.

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New May forecast has Michigan in bullseye of balminess

🌸: This next week will be at times on the cold side. The cold won’t last long. The weather pattern by late next week really looks like May. The newest extended forecast into May starts to look a touch like summer.

As temperatures warm, gardeners across the state are digging out bulbs and organizing seed packets for another season of growing. But not all flowers and plants grow well in certain regions. A big factor in where certain things grow best is your area’s cold season. Here’s why Michigan’s gardening season is getting longer by the year.

Popping up: Michigan’s earliest wildflowers are beginning to emerge in wetlands and woodlands statewide, heralding the shift in seasons. These tiny, dainty, fairy-land looking wonders are the spring ephemerals — native plants that, as their name suggests, exist only briefly before fading away.

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2 siblings killed, 15 others injured after driver crashes into Monroe County birthday party

“Horrific incident”: A pair of siblings died and fifteen other people were injured when a vehicle struck a Monroe County building where a children’s birthday party was taking place. The 8-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy were pronounced dead on scene after a woman drove a vehicle into a Monroe County boat club around 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 20.

“The scene was described by the first responders as extremely chaotic, with high level of emotions of those directly involved and those who witnessed this horrific incident,” said county Sheriff Troy Goodnough.

Last week: A young woman who was on life support after a crash gave birth to a healthy baby boy before she died. “I just kept saying, I wish they were able to meet,” the dad, Tyler Roden, said. “She knew him like I will never know him.” Roden, 28, brought their baby, Bryer, home on April 18.

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Takeaways, observations from Michigan State’s final spring scrimmage

Looking at the new era: The Spartans had their 15th and final practice of the semester. Although it wasn’t a traditional spring game, the format featured offense versus defense in four 10-minute quarters of scrimmaging with a running clock. The final score – a 31-24 win for the offense  – is irrelevant but the same can’t be said for what happened on the field.

In Ann Arbor: The public’s first look at the Sherrone Moore-coached Michigan football team went about as you’d expect. A defense that returns five starters looked miles ahead of an offense still in progress, evident by the final score of Saturday’s spring game, a 17-7 win for the Maize team.

Speaking of the Wolverines: On Saturday, Jim Harbaugh followed through on a promise he made back in October, to get a ‘15-0′ tattoo on his shoulder to commemorate the undefeated season.

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Northern Michigan city named among the ‘10 best small town food scenes’ in the US

Yum: Traverse City has just been recognized as having one of the top 10 food scenes in the entire country, ranking No. 8 on USA Today’s 10Best list of the 10 Best Small Town Food Scenes in the U.S. for 2024.

Sneaking around for a snack: A hungry black bear entered Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate near Sleeping Bear Dunes and stole a bag of sugar, which they enjoyed in the garden. You can see it for yourself as the bear opening their door was caught on video.

Own a pizza of Michigan history: Buddy’s Pizza, a Detroit original, will auction not one, but five, authentic Buddy’s custom square pans from locations in Detroit, Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor.

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Welcome to a new week

Thank you for joining me today on this edition of the Morning Briefing.

As always, you can find the latest Michigan news at MLive.com. If you value the work of our journalists, consider becoming a subscriber.

Have a nice day!

— Jamie Rewerts

OTHER TOP STORIES

• Michigan medical examiner warns about 6 apparent drug overdoses in 11 days

• Michigan 8-year-old shot self in head with gun found in home, police say

• ‘Extreme surge’ of people tried buying Meijer Gardens summer concert tickets
• Some fear housing changes will attract Wall Street landlords, but city says that’s unlikely
• South Haven to host city’s first official LGBTQ+ Pride event

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TOP NEWS

Ohtani passes Matsui for most HRs by Japanese-born MLB player

With a 423-foot no-doubter for his 176th career long ball, Shohei Ohtani broke a tie with Hideki Matsui for the most MLB home runs among players born in Japan.

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MUST-SEE PLAY

Noot today! Lars Nootbaar thought he had a homer, but Blake Perkins had other ideas.

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STAFF PICKS

MLB.com‘s Mark Feinsand asked more than a dozen front-office executives whether Aaron Judge or Juan Soto matters more to the Yankees, and the final tally was close.

With triple-digit heat and a devastating slider among the five pitches he deploys to dominate hitters, top Pirates prospect Paul Skenes could be coming soon to an MLB stadium near you.

Juan Soto and the Yankees host the A’s in a 1:05 p.m. ET matinee at Yankee Stadium for MLB.TV’s Free Game of the Day presented by WM.

A pair of Central division showdowns and a rematch of the 1995 World Series are among the most intriguing series on tap for the coming week.

The Marlins continued their annual tradition of asking rookies to fetch coffee, sending them on a trek through Wrigleyville in which they interacted with bemused fans.

MLB Network brings you around the league with live look-ins, highlights, expert analysis and more throughout the night starting at 6 p.m. ET.

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