Business & Economy

Michigan Capitol first to deploy AI gun detection

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ZEROEYES: Michigan’s State Capitol is the first in the nation to deploy a gun detection system using artificial intelligence for security. The system, ZeroEyes, supplements the recently installed metal detectors that lawmakers, state staff and hundreds of thousands of visitors pass through each year. We learn more from the State Capitol Commission’s executive director andt he Michigan Coalition For Responsible Gun Owners director for Southwest Michigan. By Kelsey Lester. FOR LANSING CITY PULSE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HOLLAND AND ALL POINTS.

News
The “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign is intended to deter drunken and drugged driving during the holiday season

State gives cold reminder during National Impaired Driving Prevention Month

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DRUNKEN DRIVING: The Office of Highway Safety Planning, State Police and other agencies are raising awareness of the dangers of drunken and drugged driving during the winter holiday season. In 2022, the state registered 9,331 alcohol-involved crashes, with 322 fatalities, according to the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. December is National Impaired Driving Prevention Month. By Kayte Marshall. FOR ALL POINTS.

Elections & Politics
Chief Eric Winstrom has overseen the implementation of drones by Grand Rapids police.

Drones used in law enforcement raise privacy concerns 

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POLICE DRONES: The expanded use of drones by law enforcement agencies raises privacy concerns. Police agencies say drones are valuable tools in documenting crime scenes, finding fleeing felons and locating missing people, but critics worry about them threatening First Amendment and Fourth Amendment rights. The ACLU, a University of Detroit Mercy law professor, the Association of Chiefs of Police and Grand Rapids police chief discuss. By Liz Nass. FOR WKTV, LANSING CITY PULSE, GREENVILLE, DETROIT AND ALL POINTS.

Environment
Michigan communities with the highest rates ofpPrimary and secondary syphilis

Health experts worry about rising syphilis rates

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SYPHILIS: Syphilis rates are on the rise in Michigan, especially among women, and that worries state health officials. Detroit has the highest rate, followed by Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Washtenaw and Genesee counties. There is a significant difference in rates between Black and white men. A new CDC study traces five cases of Southwest Michigan women infected after having sex with the same man. We talk to the state medical executive and a Kalamazoo County health official. By Kenzie Terpstra. FOR DETROIT, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS, HOLLAND, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.

Business & Economy

Drug testing could hinder driver shortage progress

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DRUG TEST: Mandatory drug testing for bus drivers, including testing for legal medical and recreational marijuana, makes it harder for public transit agencies to recruit and retain drivers. It’s a matter of public safety, but causes problems when many local transit need more drivers. We talk to the Michigan Public Transit Association, the Ionia director of transportation and Harbor Transit in Harbor Springs. By Brandy Muz. FOR IONIA, GREENVILLE, HARBOR SPRINGS, PETOSKEY AND ALL POINTS.

East Lansing

East Lansing residents seek changes to neighborhood speeding concerns

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City residents advocated for change in regard to neighborhood speeding concerns at the Transportation Commission Meeting on Nov. 6.  Public comments to the commission calling for better traffic regulation come less than 24 hours after a fatal hit-and-run near Michigan State University’s campus. While a suspect was arrested in connection to the crash, which killed a 20-year-old Oxford man, it is just one of many road safety concerns, according to the city residents. The residents’ focus? The children.

Education
Crosswalk outside of Chippewa Middle School.

Residents concerned after multiple car accidents outside Okemos Schools

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After two car accidents involving children occurred outside of Okemos schools at the start of the school year, parents reached out to the school board to voice their concerns. 

The first accident on Sept. 15, outside of Chippewa Middle School on Kinewa Drive, left one student in a wheelchair with a broken ankle and concussion. The second accident on Oct. 4 involved a child walking at the intersection of Kinawa Drive and Okemos Road. This prompted Superintendent John Hood to send out an email to parents reminding them about street safety. 

“It’s really disappointing because myself and some others in the room have spent a lot of hours and effort into putting together recommendations that would make it safer for our students to walk and bike to school, and it’s just going nowhere,” said Tim Potter while addressing the school board during its Oct.

Health
A carbon monoxide poisoning detector.

State urges residents to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning

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Wayne State University/Michigan Poison & Drug Information CenterA carbon monoxide poisoning detector. By KAYTE MARSHALLCapital News Service 

LANSING – The Department of Health and Human Services is pushing Michigan residents to install carbon monoxide detectors in their homes to prevent deaths. Carbon monoxide, otherwise known by its chemical formula CO, is a gas that forms when fuel burns. Its presence can’t be identified by taste, sight or smell, giving it its nickname of “the silent killer.”

According to the department, 452 people were hospitalized for CO poisoning in Michigan from 2016 to 2019. Annually, roughly 100,000 people nationwide seek emergency department care due to accidental CO poisoning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

The department reported 672 emergency department visits for CO poisoning in Michigan in 2020, the latest figures available.

Health
Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

Law enforcement agencies watching new fentanyl overdose treatment 

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ANTI-OVERDOSE DRUG: The Oakland County Sheriff’s Department is the country’s first to stock a new anti-overdose drug called Opvee as an alternative to the most commonly used Narcan. Other agencies, including the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department, are taking a-wait-and-see approach, in part because of costs. Amid an opioid crisis, we hear from the state’s chief medical executive, Michigan Sheriffs’ Association and the Detroit chapter of Families Against Narcotics. By Liz Nass. FOR DETROIT, LANSING CITY PULSE AND ALL POINTS.