Local News

Whatever you think of the way the government has handled the pandemic, there is no doubt that many small businesses have been financially  devastated. Small business has been under pressure for decades.

First, the advent of the mall and the big box stores shuttered many downtowns, which were often the center of the small business community. People old enough can remember the massive sidewalk sales in downtown Port Huron. The demise of that event alone demonstrates the impact of malls and big box stores on small business.

Then came Amazon! As if it were not hard enough already, online shopping took off like a rocket. However, in the next few years,  something amazing started happening. Malls began to lose their appeal and downtowns began to flourish again.  \

Thanks to the hard work and vision of people like the Witt’s and Larry Jones, downtown Port Huron started to come alive. Next came a second wave of revitalization led by Sperry’s Movie House, CityFlats Hotel, SC4’s college dorms ,and a new SC4 Field House. Downtown Port Huron was on a roll!

Then came the coronavirus. Businesses closed up, and people disappeared from the sidewalks.  So where does that leave us? What is our local business recovery plan? Businesses and residents finally need to get serious about shopping and doing business locally. We all talk about it, but the truth is, we don’t always practice what we preach.

Will we recover? How fast will we recover? Part of the answer lies in how we spend the money in our own pocket books and how much we start shopping in our own community!

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

State Fire Marshal Kevin Sehlmeyer urges Michiganders to take a proactive approach towards home fire safety as they spend more time at home. Since January 1, 2020, 55 people have died as a result of a residential fire in Michigan, with 15 in the month of April alone. There has been a 41 percent increase in the number of fire fatalities compared to this time last year.

In 9 of the 15 fatal fires in April, the fires were burning in an area where the occupants could not use the front door to escape, and only three of the fires in April had working smoke alarms.  “Every family needs to talk about what would happen if a fire in their home prevented them from using the front or back door,” said Sehlmeyer.

Here are some tips from the fire marshal:

• Consider how you would escape from every room of your home.
• Consider purchasing an escape ladder to exit through a second story window.
• If a smoke alarm sounds ,everyone needs to exit the home as quickly as possible and meet at a pre-designated meeting spot away from the house.
• Only call 911 after you have exited the home.

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

Michigan Native American tribes own a total of 26 casinos. So far, they have followed the Governor’s executive order that requires casinos to close until the end of May. However, that is about to change.

The Island Resort and Casino in the Upper Peninsula has announced it plans to reopen on Wednesday, May 6th. In a statement, the tribal leader said, “We are excited to see you here at the Island Resort & Casino! As always, we strive to provide superior service and quality entertainment for our guests. To do this in the safest manner, while keeping the health of our guests and employees the number one priority, we have outlined these guidelines and expectations to ensure a healthy return.”

According to their website, each entrance will be equipped with a staff member who will check the temperature of both employees and customers. Anyone who registers a temperature over 100 degrees will be refused entry. The casino will have face masks to hand out to guests if they want to wear one, but that is not a requirement of entry.

The resort is locates 20 miles west of Escanaba in the south-central UP.  It is owned and operated by the Hannahville Indian Community. The tribal leaders say they will soon announce reopening dates for their on-site hotel and golf course.

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

The Fournier Insurance Agency has relocated their office from Pine Grove Avenue in Port Huron to the Arashi Lofts building. Arashi Lofts is located in downtown Port Huron on the Black River at the corner of Quay and Military Streets.

The Fournier Insurance Agency is an exclusive Allstate agency, owned Rusty Fournier. Fournier has been an award-winning Allstate agent for 24 years, and has been in the insurance industry for 37 years in both St. Clair and Macomb counties. The agency staff has been working from home since March 23rd due to the coronavirus statewide shutdown but hopes to return to their new office as soon as permissible.

Allstate agents at the Fournier Agency are gearing up for major changes in auto insurance as a result of insurance reform in Michigan slated to take effect on July 1st. In an effort to reduce auto insurance rates, auto owners will now have the option to choose varying limits of liability. For more information about the Rusty Fournier Allstate Insurance Agency, visit their Facebook page or website.

Reporting for WGRT – Marty Doorn

Initial manufacturing of a COVID-19 vaccine will take place in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the first healthy volunteers in the U.S. and Germany have been injected as part of the clinical trial.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a press release, “This is great news for our families, our neighbors, and those serving on the front lines during this crisis. COVID-19 has shown how vulnerable our country is when it comes to supply chain and much of the lifesaving materials we need are manufactured out of the country. That’s why we are so proud that one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in the world is the Pfizer site right here in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In fact, Michigan has a strong history of vaccine development with the polio and anthrax vaccines. Pfizer is a great partner and the State of Michigan and our strong manufacturing roots stand ready to serve.”

Even though there is limited knowledge about how immunity works with COVID-19, researchers are moving forward using information about other coronaviruses and research on how antibodies neutralize viruses. Pfizer is testing more than one version of the vaccine to determine safety and immune response.

Reporting for WGRT – Jessie Wiegand