David Leins

Nearly all of Michigan is under an extreme heat warning or advisory as we approach Independence Day weekend, with the heat index — what it actually feels like outside— exceeding 105 degrees Fahrenheit in many places. In a heat wave with high humidity, like this one, babies, children and the elderly are at a higher risk of heat-related illness. Knowing the right precautions to take can save lives.

Reported Lyme Disease cases in Michigan nearly quadrupled between 2022 and 2025. Blacklegged ticks (deer ticks), which transmit Lyme Disease hitch rides on hosts like white-tailed deer to migrate across the state. The disease is now endemic across much of southern Michigan, including Southeast Michigan. In areas where Lyme disease is prevalent, it’s estimated up to 50% of adult deer ticks harbor the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease, Borrelia burgdorferi.

Michigan will be enacting a statewide school phone ban for students from kindergarten through 12th grade this fall. Many schools already have some form of phone restriction in place during the school day. Three researchers from the University of Michigan wanted to know what could be learned from different phone ban policies prior to the statewide mandate going into effect.