| July 20, 2021 
 Theirs was a bond built during early morning weight workouts and beneath bright stadium lights. They were former high school football teammates and close friends with parents who worried about them, who tried to protect them, who wanted to see what they might become. Saturday, Dawson Brown, Richie Mays Jr. and Kole Sova died, likely of carbon monoxide exposure, in a camper at a Lenawee County campground, where they were staying for the Faster Horses country music festival at Michigan International Speedway. Brown and Mays were 20. Sova was 19. “The really hard, saddest thing out of this is just what’s not going to happen for these boys whose futures were so bright,” Kole’s father Jerry Sova said. READ MORE ►'You shine down on us.' Family honors Ann Arbor woman who died in Grand Canyon National Park flood  Small businesses were hit hard by the pandemic, and the Paycheck Protection Program was key to keeping many afloat, business leaders say. Of all government aid programs that aimed to help businesses survive the pandemic, the PPP’s forgivable loans were – by far – the best, said Brian Calley, president of the Small Business Association of Michigan. “It was a lifeline for many, many businesses,” Calley said. Nationwide, businesses received nearly 12 million PPP loans adding up to almost $800 billion. Michigan businesses accounted for about 300,000 loans for more than $24 billion, per federal data. READ  If you listened to the debut episode of our new investigative podcast, Mandatory, you have probably been waiting all week to hear more. Now is your chance. If you haven't discovered it yet, now you have two episodes of Mandatory to dig into. The first episode introduced listeners to a mail solicitation network run by three brothers. The second episode gets into what we know about the brothers themselves. Find out more and listen right here: CHECK IT OUT ►Listen to Part 1 of Mandatory here
 Michigan’s hockey program will make history Friday night. Last season, the Wolverines boasted one of the most talented freshman classes ever assembled by an NCAA team. Now three members of that class are expected to hear their names called early in the first round of the NHL draft. The first round begins 8 p.m. Friday with the following six rounds taking place Saturday. Add in three incoming freshmen who also are expected to be drafted early, and Michigan is in position to break records. Defenseman Owen Power is widely considered to be the top pick by the Buffalo Sabres, while forward Matty Beniers is projected to go No. 2 overall to the Seattle Kraken. READ MORE  Interested in what's going on in the sky? Here's what MLive Chief Meteorologist Mark Torregrossa has to say: "If you caught a sunrise or sunset in the past few days, you know it looked different and was spectacular. How long will these great dusks and dawns last here in Michigan? The reason for the fantastic sunsets is wildfire smoke floating through our sky. The wildfires in Oregon, Washington and western Canada are producing a lot of smoke. The upper-air flow is perfect for that smoke to blow into the sky over the Great Lakes. The smoke filters out some of the colors in the sun, and makes for a very enjoyable scene." READ MORE Get your local news 24/7 Connect with MLive
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