If you’re a Michigander, you know what Pure Michigan is. Whether you love to hike through the
state’s trails or enjoy the sound of nature, you can now listen to the breeze, run through trees
and much more with a new single by Pure Michigan. Pure Michigan is a branch of the Michigan
Economic Development Corporation that promotes the state through highlighting tourism and all the great features Michigan has to offer. Recently, the organization released its second single in Pure Sounds of Michigan called “Forest Trails”. The first single released by the group is called
“Childhood Memories” that features the sounds of summer in the Great Lake state. To listen to
either of the songs they’re now available for streaming through Apple Music, Spotify, Google
Play, Amazon Music and Sound Cloud.

Before traveling this warm weather season, you should be cautious about those pesky bugs.
The Center for Disease Control is warning travelers to take extra precautions to avoid bug bites
this summer season. Bugs, including mosquitoes, ticks, fleas, and some flies, can spread
diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, Zika, Lyme, all of which have the risk of severe and
lasting consequences. Several diseases like Zika and Lyme disease that are spread by bug
bites cannot be prevented or treated with vaccines or medicine. Some steps you can take to
prevent bug bites include using insect repellent, covering all exposed areas and avoiding bugs
by choosing accommodations wisely while traveling. For more on how to avoid bug bites visit
cdc.gov/travel

Several local law enforcement and first responder agencies were hard at work this weekend for
special training related to active shooter situations. In October 2018, the Office of Community
Oriented Policing Services approved a $24,941.00 grant under the 2018 COPS STOP School
Violence: School Violence Prevention Program to the Port Huron Police Department. This grant
provides funding for area departments to train for Active Killer events. The first training took
place Saturday at Port Huron Schools Early Childhood Center. Agencies participating in the
training included the Port Huron Police and Fire Department, Michigan State Police, U.S. Border Patrol, Tri-Hospital EMS among several others. The Port Huron Police Department will be hosting more first responder training sessions under this grant in 2019 and 2020. Training will provide first responders with information on: how to respond, quickly engaging the
killer/stopping the threat, tactical first aid, working with fire and EMS and more.

Have a Planet Fitness nearby? Rumor has it that from May 15th through September 1st, teens
ages 15-18 years old can work out all summer at over 1,700 Planet Fitness locations nationwide
– completely free! While Planet Fitness has not released any official news on their Teen Summer
Challenge promotion yet, it’s been causing quite a buzz- especially for parents looking for a way
to keep their teens active this summer! Qualifying teens will also have the ability to take
completely free fitness classes offered at least once a day Monday through Friday. Planet Fitness
is expected to make an official announcement in May along with more than 50 opportunities to
win $5,000 scholarships.

The World Health Organization has issued its first-ever guidance for how much screen time
children under five should get. Kids under the age of five old should only be exposed to screens
for an hour each day. The health organization does recommend that less is better when it comes
to screen time. For children under one year of age, the organization says that the child should
receive zero screen time. Guidelines from the World Health Organization are very similar to the
guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics. That group says parents of young children
under two should choose “high-quality programming” with educational value that can be
watched with a parent to help kids understand what they’re seeing.

The City of Port Huron has a unique opportunity to raise funds for a matching grant of up to $250,000 to design and construct a concrete skate park. If the City of Port Huron, along with the community, are able to raise the funds; the Tony Hawk Foundation will match the funds. The skate park will include features such as bowl transitions and ramps, a street section including ledges, stairs, rails, and a potential pump track. The park will be skateboard, scooter, BMX, and rollerblade friendly. The goal is for donations to be raised in full by July 1st of this year. To make a donation you can visit Go Fund Me’s website under “A New Port Huron Skate Park” or make a check out to the City of Port Huron and drop it off at McMorran Place Arena.