The Associated Press

Northern Michigan University in the Upper Peninsula has reopened three buildings but turned off drinking fountains while campus officials investigate high lead levels in water.

The school says lead in water samples exceeded the federal action level of 15 parts per billion. The buildings are Thomas Fine Arts, the Learning Resources Center and the Physical Education Instructional Facility - known as PEIF.

Prosecutors are seeking a 14-year prison sentence for a Detroit-area man convicted of dealing diseased body parts for medical training.

Arthur Rathburn is returning to Detroit federal court on Monday, four months after he was convicted of fraud and shipping hazardous material.

The sale of human remains is unusual but mostly legal, especially when body parts are used for medical training. But Rathburn was accused of failing to disclose that the parts had tested positive for diseases.

The National Park Service is seeking public input on how to manage a dramatic increase in visitors to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Lakeshore Superintendent Dave Horne tells the Mining Journal of Marquette that the number of visitors has doubled over the last five years.

National Park Service officials have been hosting open houses and gathering feedback on a proposed lakeshore's visitor use management project.

Michigan will spend $1.7 million to test water supplies around the state for certain kinds of industrial chemical contaminants. The chemicals are known as PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Updated on Friday, May 18 at 4:28 p.m.

Inmates from a county jail and volunteers were filling sand bags along part of the Lake Erie shoreline in southeastern Michigan to help prevent neighborhood flooding from waves bursting through a damaged seawall.

The Monroe News reports that some residents in Frenchtown Township's Grand Beach subdivision and Allen's Cove in Luna Pier were evacuated Friday due to the rising water.

The Monroe County Drain Commission placed storm pumps along the shoreline to help remove lake water from around homes.

More than 100 local units of government in Michigan will be developing plans to ensure retirement benefits they promised employees and retirees are paid in the future.

The state treasury department said Thursday that corrective actions are needed because of underfunded pensions, retirement health care plans, or both.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and First Lady Sue Snyder announced Friday plans for a new 24-hour statewide hotline for sexual assault survivors to call for help, counseling, and resources.

“It’s critically important that all survivors of sexual assault have somewhere safe to turn for help,” Sue Snyder said in a press release. “This hotline will connect survivors with a caring, trained professional who can help provide them with the immediate and long-term support they need to begin their journey toward healing.”

A group of immigrant advocates are walking from Detroit to Lansing to bring attention to deportations that separate families, including an Albanian man seeking sanctuary in a Detroit church.

The 90-mile journey started Monday at Central United Methodist Church in Detroit, where 48-year-old Ded Rranxburgaj has taken refuge since January. Rranxburgaj is facing an order for removal after his legal status expired. His wife has multiple sclerosis and depends on his care.

Michigan's House has passed legislation that lets parents leave their newborns in secured boxes at hospitals, fire departments and police stations in addition to personally surrendering them to emergency services personnel and first responders.

Lawmakers approved the four-bill package Wednesday that amends the Safe Delivery of Newborns Law to allow for use of these baby boxes which the state Department of Health and Human Services would be tasked with regulating. The bill also redefines "newborn" as a child not older than 30 days.

Northern Michigan University has closed three campus buildings as a precautionary measure after initial water tests found inconsistent lead level readings.

The school in Marquette announced Wednesday that the Physical Education and Instructional Facility, or PEIF; Thomas Fine Arts; and the Learning Resources Center will be closed until the school gets expedited results of additional tests.

Those results could come over the weekend. The school will then make a determination of whether additional investigation and testing is required. The school is posting updates online .

Mining companies would be able to modify onsite facilities without an environmental permit amendment under legislation that has passed the Michigan House.

Lawmakers voted 63-45 on Tuesday to advance the bill to grant companies more flexibility in moving and adjusting their mining sites and buildings. The proposed change would allow mining companies to modify the facilities provided they give Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality a 30-day notice and if the changes don't add environmental risk.

A woman who worked for the city of Detroit has pleaded guilty to stealing $265,000.

Masharn Franklin worked in Detroit's audit and payroll department where she was in charge of garnishing money from the paychecks of city employees. The government says she came up with a scheme to embezzle money by issuing checks in the names of her relatives.

The FBI so far has recovered $58,000. Franklin pleaded guilty Tuesday and will get her sentence on August 15.

Public comment is being sought on a draft of a conservation plan expected to help reverse eastern monarch butterfly population declines.

Michigan's Department of Natural Resources says the Mid-America Monarch Conservation Strategy builds on existing efforts by state, federal, and local agencies and private organizations and individuals.

Monarch butterflies found east of the Rocky Mountains have declined by more than 80 percent over the past 20 years primarily due to habitat loss, including reduced milkweed required for reproduction and fewer nectar plants.

A county at the tip of Michigan's Thumb is bucking a trend: It won't join a lawsuit against the makers of opioid drugs.

Cities and counties across Michigan are suing drug companies and retailers over the consequences of excessive opioid use. They want the companies to reimburse them for the costs of responding to the crisis.

A Detroit man faces child abuse and weapons charges after authorities say his 3-year-old son picked up a loaded gun and accidentally shot and wounded himself.

The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office says 34-year-old Melvin Cooley Cline III is charged with second-degree child abuse, using a firearm during a felony and being a felon in possession of a gun. He's due in court Thursday.

Court records didn't list a lawyer for Cline in the case.

A Michigan inmate named as a suspect in a series of cold-case slayings told police a decade ago about his fondness for teenage girls.

Detroit television station WXYZ reports that Arthur Ream made that and other statements during a videotaped 2008 interview with police investigating the 1986 disappearance of 13-year-old Cindy Zarzycki.

Ream told officers he was "into" teenage girls. He later said Zarzycki's death had been driving him "crazy for 22 years."

Detroit Lions coach Matt Patricia is maintaining his innocence after a 1996 sexual assault allegation against him resurfaced Wednesday night.

The Detroit News reported that Patricia and a friend of his were indicted 22 years ago by a Texas grand jury, on one count each of aggravated sexual assault for an alleged incident involving a woman on South Padre Island. The accuser did not testify and the case was dismissed 10 months later.

Audits show Michigan State University's former athletic director Mark Hollis and former President Lou Anna Simon were repeatedly warned that sports staff members weren't adequately following the school's financial procedures.

The U.S. government has fined Enbridge Inc. more than $1.8 million after accusing the Canadian oil transport company of missing deadlines for pipeline inspections following a gigantic oil spill in southwestern Michigan.

The site of a formerly run-down apartment complex on Flint’s north side may soon become a mixed-residential development.

This week, the Genesee County Land Bank announced it’s working with developers to create 78 units of affordable rental housing for low-income residents.

Kids hoping to get high off laughing gas would have a harder time under a bill headed toward Gov. Rick Snyder's desk.

The Detroit NAACP branch will recognize students from about a half-dozen Detroit-area high schools for their activism, including participation in protests to end gun violence.

The civil rights organization will present the honor during the 63rd Annual Fight For Freedom Fund Dinner on May 6 at Cobo Center in Detroit.

Students also will present a tribute honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his work.

Michigan officials have approved an energy company's request to build two natural-gas-fired turbines outside Detroit.

A federal appeals court appears to be on the side of Michigan prisoners seeking credit for good behavior.

A judge recently struck down a law that retroactively cut off good behavior or discipline credits for prisoners who were convicted of committing murder when they were teens. An appeals court on Wednesday declined the state's request to freeze that decision.

Hiking and bicycling routes that will traverse Michigan have secured $10.5 million in private donations. Gov. Rick Snyder on Tuesday shared the fundraising update on the Iron Belle Trail at an Ann Arbor event. He was joined by philanthropists including officials with the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, which has pledged roughly $5.5 million for trail design and development in Washtenaw County and Detroit. A group has been formed to help raise an additional $155 million in private money.

Ann Arbor is temporarily halting new medical marijuana dispensaries after more than 30 recently applied for permits to operate in the city.

The Ann Arbor News reports that the city council voted unanimously Monday to impose a 60-day moratorium on issuing new permits as it considers limiting the number of dispensaries allowed in the city. Dispensaries that have already received zoning approval or that have applications currently under consideration will be exempt.

Wildlife biologists are worried about how prolonged wintry weather will affect deer in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

State Department of Natural Resources supervisor Terry Minzey says things looked good for the U.P. deer herd a month ago, but the situation has deteriorated as winter has held on.

Deer fitted with radio collars for DNR studies have suffered a 13.5 percent mortality rate so far this winter, with 11 percent of adult female deer dying.

Takata Corp., the Japanese air bag maker embroiled in a massive global recall linked to at least 22 deaths, said Thursday that its president has resigned now that its acquisition by U.S. mobility safety company Key Safety Systems has been completed.

Takata’s president, Shigehisa Takada, said in a statement that as of Wednesday he was succeeded by Yoichiro Nomura, its chief financial officer.

No bans on pit bulls allowed, says the Michigan Senate.

The chamber voted 22-13 on Thursday to prohibit local governments from dictating breed-specific regulations on dogs. The legislation will benefit canines that are perceived as more aggressive - mostly pit bulls, but also Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and Cane Corsos.

About 30 local governments have some form of breed-specific ordinances, which supporters of the bill say encroaches on dog owners' property rights.

The Michigan appeals court has been ordered to take a second look at a lawsuit filed by a woman who said her rights were violated after she encountered a transgender woman in the locker room at a Midland health club.

 The state Supreme Court says the appeals court erred in declining to consider Yvette Cormier's claims under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.