Michigan vaccine waivers up slightly; higher rate in private schools hat  Last fall, as the nation was dealing with a nationwide measles outbreak, the number of vaccination waivers in Michigan increased. We've put together an interactive map and a database with a county-by-county breakdown of school vaccine waiver rates. Here's an interesting data point: 8.5% of private-school kindergartners had vaccine waivers compared to 4.2% in public schools. MORE ►Column: No, the measles vaccine is not worse than measles

  

State officials preparing for government shutdown   Will our state lawmakers agree on a 2020 budget in time to avoid a government shutdown? Good question. They have until Oct. 1, but the road to a compromise seems riddled with potholes. As a precaution, state officials sent notifications out Monday to the nearly 50,000 state employees about what happens if there is a shutdown. MORE ►What would close, stay open during a government shutdown

Let's rank the top 50 prep football teams in the state hat  Here we are already three weeks in to the season. And, lo, a bunch of 3-0 teams stand atop our weekly rankings. That makes sense. However, here's the thing, a handful of the state's top teams are sporting 1-2 records. They made this ranking, too. We just don't see the point of knocking a team for embracing tough scheduling practices. MORE ►Big Ten power rankings ►College Division II poll

  

Watch the transition from bare walls to Bright Walls   Another successful Bright Walls Mural Festival in concluded last week. There now are 21 new murals gracing the once bare walls of downtown Jackson buildings. We've put together a really cool video capturing the transition of these wonderful works of art. MORE ►Video: Time lapse transition of Bright Walls ►Our favorite 30 photos from Bright Walls