To celebrate the final season of Game of Thrones, HBO and the Red Cross have partnered to ask fans and blood donors to Bleed #ForTheThrone this March. This is the largest blood donation promotional effort by an entertainment company in Red Cross history – with six days of coordinated giving March 7-12 from fans and blood donors at blood drives in 43 states across the U.S., including an immersive blood drive experience at South by Southwest in Austin, Texas.  As part of the partnership, fans who come to donate blood or platelets with the Red Cross now through March 17 will automatically be entered for a chance to win one of five trips to the season 8 world premiere of Game of Thrones. The trip includes travel for two, up to two nights hotel accommodations and a $250 gift card for expenses. Terms and conditions apply and are available at RedCrossBlood.org/HBOGameofThrones.*  Additionally, those who come to donate March 7-12 will also receive exclusive Game of Thrones swag including a T-shirt, stickers to unlock a unique Snapchat filter and other items, while supplies last.  Blood drives are scheduled for March 4 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. at, Anchor Bay High School, 6319 County Line Road in Ira; March 5 from 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. at  Port Huron Northern High School, 1790 Krafft Rd. in Port Huron and March 7 from 8 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. at St. Clair High School at 220 Clinton in St. Clair.

Tax season is underway and to get a read on how Americans feel about filing their taxes — and how and when they plan to complete this annual obligation — Offers.com surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. consumers. So, how are Michigan citizens filing this tax season?

Michigan’s Top Tax Season Trends:

• 52% of Michigan consumers would rather give up Netflix (or Hulu) than pay their taxes this year. 13% are willing to give up sugar and 11% would shave off their eyebrows.
• 44% of Michigan consumers are planning to file their taxes through an accounting firm. 16% will use a paid tax software and a further 13% will file using a free tax software, with 45% voting Intuit TurboTax their preferred brand.
• Let’s talk about spending that refund. 60% will save their tax return or use it to pay off debt, while 11% will use their refund for regular expenses. Only 3% will splurge on a luxury purchase.
• In terms of timing, 43% of Michiganians say they will file their taxes in February, with the majority having filed by March. However, 18% will leave filing their taxes until April.

Note: Offers.com has compared pricing, customer support and key features of this year’s leading e-filing services, including TurboTax, Credit Karma Tax, H&R Block, TaxSlayer and more.
You can see the full writeup on national and state trends here: 2019 Tax Season Survey.

Congressman Paul Mitchell (MI-10) released the following statement Tuesday in response to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ (FCA) announcement that it plans to invest $4.5 billion in five of its existing Michigan plants, as well as build a new assembly plant within Detroit city limits. Sterling Stamping plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan is scheduled to receive a $160 million investment and will add more than 80 new jobs. This is in addition to the $1.48 billion FCA recently invested in the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant to build the next generation of Ram 1500 trucks, creating more than 700 new jobs.  “I was thrilled to hear that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) plans to invest further in its Michigan manufacturing operations, especially at the Sterling Stamping Plant in Michigan’s 10^th Congressional District – currently the world’s largest automobile part stamping plant. FCA’s realignment over the last two years to build more of its new SUVs and Ram trucks in Michigan has added millions of dollars to our economy, and has created hundreds of well-paying jobs for my constituents.”

At Monday night’s Port Huron City Council meeting, council voted to resurface and restripe three of the city’s tennis and basketball courts.  The courts at Sixteenth Street, Optimist Park, and Sanborn Park  will all see an overhaul.  According to Mayor Pro-Tem Sherry Archibald, the money will be put to good use in that it is important to keep our city’s parks in good condition in order to be attractive to our residents and out of town guests, making sure they are clean and inviting to those who wish to participate in activities when the weather calls for outdoor fun.  Also at the meeting Port Huron Chief Joe Platzer presented a plan for buying back guns.  He says in an effort to get guns off the streets the Port Huron Police Department will be accepting and paying for guns with no questions asked.  The price residents will receive, will depend on the gun itself.   The event will be held Saturday, April 6 from 11 to 3 for Port Huron residents.

Marysville is calling all  5^th through 12 grade students interested in participating in Junior and Senior Equestrian teams to attend their first registration day Wednesday, April 24 at 6 p.m. at Goodells County Park.  According to team coach Tanya Pecarich, two shows are scheduled for June with four shows set for September.  Pecarich says if you have your own horse or lease a horse and would like to be part of great team, you can contact her, or the other team coach Jonathan Perkins through email at MarysvilleEquestianTeam@gmail.com.    The purpose of the organization she says is to promote continuous growth in programs fostering horsemanship education, sponsor activities to encourage interscholastic participation and to have cooperative adult-supervised leadership for all students in grades 5 through 12 who desire to participate.  For costs and more information and rules check out the website at mihadistrict12.org

A house fire in Lapeer County in the early hours Tuesday, took the lives of three young children critically injuring four others.  Officials say they suspect that a heating issue was the cause of the blaze. Lapeer County Central Dispatch received a 911 call at shortly after 3:00 a.m. Tuesday, February 26 to the 2000 block of South Almount Avenue for reports of a mobile home on fire.   When the police officer and the Imlay City Fire Department arrived at the scene, half the home was engulfed in flames and a 29-year-old woman reported there were people inside.  The woman was later taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to reports.  Firefighters entered the home and extricated six people.  A 3-year-old girl, 5-year-old boy and 6-year-old boy all died in the fire.  A 1-month-old girl, 18-month-old boy and 42-year-old man were taken to McLaren-Lapeer and transferred to Hurley Medical Center in critical condition. The 1-month-old was later transported to Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor.  The Michigan State Police’s arson investigator has been called to the scene to determine a cause and origin of the fire, however officials believe it was a heating issue as the family are reported to have been having furnace issues.