| September 29, 2020 
 Earlier this month, Steve Miskelley's son died by suicide. Ian Miskelley was entering his junior year at the University Michigan, where he was a member of the swim team. Steve says it would have been difficult for most to notice his son was dealing with an inner battle, since Ian had so much going for him. “You wouldn’t know there was this demon lurking under the surface,” Steve said. But Ian had been struggling with anxiety and depression since his pre-teen years. Now Steve wants to keep a discussion going about Ian's life and his death, to help bring awareness and fight the stigma around depression. He hopes the discussion will help others battling the same demons.READ MORE  Since the fall semester began at the University of Michigan, the campus has seen striking workers, picketing students and an increasing number of coronavirus cases. Reopening amid COVID-19 restrictions has challenged and divided the university in ways no one could have imagined six months ago, according to students and faculty. “As one of my colleagues put it, it seems like there’s outright rebellion now among just about everybody outside of the administration,” said Kentaro Toyama, a professor in UM’s School of Information. MORE ►Coronavirus forces University of Michigan to cancel winter study abroad programs  The Michigan House recently passed a package of bills that would give local municipalities the power to decide if bars in their communities could stay open until 4 a.m. It would mean businesses that have on-premises liquor licenses could apply for a special permit to serve alcohol for an extra two hours beyond the current mandated time of 2 a.m. While industry insiders say the move would be nice, it doesn't necessarily help during a pandemic. “It doesn’t do us any good until we’re back to normal,” said Scott Ellis, executive director of the Michigan Licensed Beverage Association.MORE ►Igloos, heated tents among ideas for Michigan restaurants anxious of looming cold weather
 Do you want to know the difference in absentee ballots requested in Michigan so far for the November general election, compared to 2016? Four times more Michigan voters have requested mail-in ballots for this year's presidential election. It isn't a huge surprise, after the coronavirus pandemic led to a sharp increase in absentee ballot requests for the August election. But it is a concern for clerks, who are worried about counting all of the returned ballots in a timely fashion. Are you curious how many voters have requested absentee ballots in your community? We have that info: MORE  Do you love the Mackinac Bridge? If you live in the central Lower Peninsula and don't have time for a trip up to the Mighty Mac, how about wandering over to the Mini Mac? Located off M-46 in St. Louis at a storage facility, you can check out a little tribute to the state's biggest bridge. It's probably not surprising that the roadside oddity attracts people from all over the state who want to take pictures and walk across the tribute bridge. "It’s unbelievably popular, especially on a nice summer day," said Mini Mac Storage owner Kory Edgar. Now that those summer days are gone, this might be a good chance to beat the crowds. MORE Get your local news 24/7 Connect with MLive
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