Free Republic

President Joe Biden arrived in Michigan Tuesday to hawk his $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill and the larger budget bill at a union hall. The president landed in Lansing and was greeted by Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is facing a tough re-election fight next year. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist linked up with Biden on-site. Biden visited a branch of the International Union of Operating Engineers in Howell, Michigan, the county seat of Livingston County, which chose former President Donald Trump over Biden by more than 20 points. President Joe Biden arrived in Michigan Tuesday...

The White House announced Wednesday that President Biden will nominate longtime Giffords policy advisor and former ATF agent David Chipman to lead the nation's gun regulatory agency. Chipman, whose bio submitted to Congress in relation to his role in testifying in support of recent gun control measures, details that he has been with Giffords since 2016, having come to that anti-gun group after previously working for Bloomberg-founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Prior to that, he was with the ATF from 1988 to 2012, including running the agency's Asset Forfeiture Program, leading the Detroit Field Division, and serving as "Case agent...

LIVINGSTON COUNTY, Mich. - Livingston County Sheriff Mike Murphy has posted a video discussing why he will not enforce the Executive Orders put in place by the Governor and the Civil Liability associated with them.

LIVINGSTON COUNTY (WXYZ) — There's a debate over sanctuary counties and the second amendment in Livingston County with a resolution to make Livingston County a Second Amendment sanctuary county. The resolution was presented in front of the public safety and infrastructure committee, and it would limit what law enforcement can enforce. It’s a topic that has many people speaking out. People are making their points about why Livingston County should or shouldn't be a Second Amendment county. Some say it’s a good idea while others say no way. ....................... The public safety committee did approve this resolution, it now goes...

COMMERCE TWP., Mich. (FOX 2) - A town hall on gun control featuring Congresswoman Haley Stevens ended early as tempers flared and the arguing turned to shouting Tuesday. It was held at the Multi Lakes Conservation Association and organizers were not transparent as to what the town hall would be about when it was booked at the club. Many of the members did not find out until recently that it would be about guns and gun control.

LANSING, MI -- Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday vetoed a bill that would have created a "choose life" fundraising license plate option for Michigan motorists. Senate Bill 163 would have the state develop and issue a fund-raising license plate with the message "choose life." The funds raised by the purchase of these plates would have gone to the Choose Life Michigan Fund, controlled by anti-abortion group Right to Life Michigan, to fund things like pregnancy centers. It passed 25-11 in the Senate and 65-43 in the House. But it failed to get a signature from Gov. Rick Snyder.

LANSING, MI -- Michiganders would no longer need a concealed pistol license to carry a concealed pistol under legislation approved by the Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday. House bills 4416 through 4419 strike the requirement that a Michigander have a license to carry a concealed weapons. People banned from possessing firearms would be banned from carrying them as well. The bills also reduce penalties for certain infractions relating to carrying a pistol without proper identification or disclosure as well. Rep. Michele Hoitenga, R-Manton, is a sponsor of one of the bills. She and other sponsors refer to the bills...

Lena Epstein, co-chairwoman of Donald Trump's Michigan campaign, has announced her candidacy for U.S. Senate. If Epstein wins the Republican nomination in 2018, she would be up against U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, who first won her Senate seat in 2000 and won easy re-elections in 2006 and 2012. Epstein is the first Republican to declare candidacy for the seat. A 35-year-old Bloomfield Hills resident, Epstein is co-owner of Vesco Oil Co., a distributor of automotive and industrial lubricants. The company has more than 200 employees and annual revenues of $175 million, according to Epstein's personal website. In a press release...

ANN ARBOR, MI - Washtenaw County is sending a strong message to all immigrants to let them know they're welcome here. And they're putting money behind that message. The County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday night, May 17, to give final approval to three resolutions that lay out new county policies related to immigration matters and dedicate taxpayer funds to help immigrants, including those targeted for deportation by the federal government. Regardless of citizenship or immigration status, county officials say, everyone should feel comfortable making contact with county government, including the Sheriff's Office, whether that's to report crimes or access...

Trump Campaign Files Objection to Multi-Million Dollar Taxpayer-Funded 1% Recount LANSING, Mich., Dec. 1, 2016 – Michigan Republican Chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel blasted the Stein campaign, citing the objection filed with the Board of Canvassers challenging the ridiculous petition for recount which will cost taxpayers millions of dollars but not change the outcome of the election to anything different than Donald Trump winning Michigan and Jill Stein coming in fourth place by a margin of more than 2.2 million votes. “Jill Stein’s 1% temper tantrum cannot go unchecked,” said Michigan Republican Party Chairman Ronna Romney McDaniel. “Stein is not an...

ANN ARBOR, MI — If you don't bring your own reusable bags when you go grocery shopping, it could cost you. Washtenaw County commissioners voted 6-2 Wednesday night to approve a new carryout bag ordinance that imposes a 10-cent fee on consumers for every disposable bag they receive at retail grocery stores in the county. That includes both paper and plastic. The ordinance is intended to eliminate unnecessary waste and incentivize people to be more environmentally conscious. However, there's pending state legislation that could take away the county's ability to impose such regulations. Senate Bill 853 passed through the state...

It is a story that started when one dad asked his three sons who attend Southwest Elementary School in Howell a routine question: How was school today?“My son informed me there was a girl in the bathroom with him and the other kids in his class,” said Matt Stewart.He called the school. He asked why he wasn’t given warning that there was a transgender child in the school, why parents didn’t have a say on school policy, and what the options were to protect the privacy of his son.Stewart didn’t like the answers. He and his wife then decided to...

Ann Arborites often talk about the possibility of commuter rail service between Ann Arbor and Detroit in wistful tones, as if envisioning a beautiful pipe dream. But this November's election will make that vision a very real possibility. The Regional Transit Authority of Southeast Michigan (RTA) will put a millage proposal before voters in Washtenaw, Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties this fall to fund its transit master plan for the region. In Washtenaw County, along with bus rapid transit service from Ann Arbor to Ypsilanti, that plan includes Detroit-to-Ann Arbor commuter rail making eight round trips a day at speeds...

A woman in a minivan is not at all happy with Bethany Campbell’s massive poster, which shows the bloody detached head of a fetus and reads “Choice is Abortion.” “Little kids do not need to see that picture,” the minivan lady shouts over traffic noise at a busy intersection in Ann Arbor. “Yes, they do,” says Campbell, a blonde 25-year-old from Saline who says she’s worked as a nurse, and that while she’s been “pro-life my entire life,” this is her first time actually coming out to a protest against abortion. “For me, this is outside my comfort zone,” Campbell...

LANSING, MI — Michigan House Speaker Kevin Cotter is ordering an investigation into allegations that freshman state Reps. Todd Courser and Cindy Gamrat used their offices and staff in an apparent attempt to cover up a personal relationship. The Detroit News on Friday published raw and transcribed audio recorded by former House aide Ben Graham, who had worked for Courser until he was fired in July, when Gamrat also parted ways with a top aide. Courser, R-Lapeer, reportedly told Graham to send a fake and salacious email about himself to Republican operatives, alleging that the lawmaker had been caught having...

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder confirmed a state review team's finding that Wayne County is operating under a financial emergency. County leaders have until 5 p.m. July 29 to request a hearing on the governor's determination. Should a hearing be requested, it will be held at 10 a.m. July 30, in Lansing, before the state treasurer or his designee. Following the hearing (or if no hearing is requested by the county), the governor can either confirm or revoke his determination that a financial emergency exists. The Wayne County Commission then can choose one of four options to deal with this financial...

LANSING, MI — Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Lon Johnson is stepping down from his post to run for Congress, setting up a potential showdown with incumbent Republican Rep. Dan Benishek. Johnson, who has submitted a letter of resignation to the MDP effective July 11, is expected to formally announce his candidacy for the 1st Congressional District this evening in the Upper Peninsula. State Rep. Brandon Dillon, D-Grand Rapids, is considered a likely candidate to succeed Johnson as party chair when the State Central Committee votes next month. Reports have also placed Oakland County Deputy Clerk Lavora Barnes in the mix....

In a new video released by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, tourists at Yellowstone National Park learned the hard way why you should never approach a black bear sow with her cubs. The video was shot Wednesday night on Highway 212, southeast of Gardiner. FWP Information Officer Vivaca Crowser was driving home with a colleague that night after a meeting in Yellowstone when she saw what's known in Montana as a "bear jam." Dozens of tourists were pulled off on the side of the road for a close-up look of the sow and her three cubs. "People were just trying...

Ann Arbor area voters went to the polls Tuesday morning facing questions about the future of their roads and schools. Ann Arbor Public Schools officials have asked voters to approve a 10-year extension for the district's millage rate, which would raise an additional $33 million for area schools. The millage rate is scheduled to gradually fall off from its current 2.45-mill rate starting next year. If voters pass the ballot proposal it will stay at that rate for an additional decade. The district has said it would use the funds to purchase new classroom furniture, buses and instruments as well...

LANSING, MI — Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder "is running" for president, according to a former U.S. Senator, whose comments at a Republican confab were quickly contradicted by a spokesman for the governor, who said he has not made any decisions of that kind. "I met with Rick Snyder yesterday," former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman told reporters on Saturday morning at the Republican Jewish Coalition's spring meeting, according to the Guardian and other publications. "He's running. He's running." Snyder was in Las Vegas this weekend to attend the RJC meeting as part of what his advisors are calling an economic tour....