Michigan’s $25 Million Catastrophic Victim Crash Fund Hasn’t Spent a Cent

Not a cent from a $25 million relief fund created four months ago has been spent on medical providers to stabilize a July 45% fee cut for Michigan’s auto accident insurance providers.

DIFS spokeswoman Laura Hall told The Center Square in an email that the agency hasn’t received any complete applications for the Provider Fund as of Dec. 13, noting only one company submitted an incomplete application.

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Five White Farmers Sue over Loan Forgiveness Only for Blacks, Other Minorities

Group of farmers harvesting crops

Christopher Baird owns a dairy farm near Ferryville in southwest Wisconsin, not far from the Mississippi River. He milks about 50 cows and farms approximately 80 acres of pasture.

Like a lot of farmers, Baird has direct loans through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. 

But the dairy farmer isn’t entitled to a new FSA loan-forgiveness program provided as part of COVID-19 relief in the $2 trillion American Rescue Plan Act, legislation touted Wednesday night by President Joe Biden in his address to Congress. 

Baird is white. He joined four other white farmers Thursday in suing federal officials over being left out.

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Legal Expert Criticizes University’s New COVID Violation Reporting App Funded by State’s Relief Fund

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill used money intended for COVID relief to create an app that allows people to report potential safety violations on campus and in the surrounding community.

The “SaferWays” application (right) encourages people to report violations on campus, such as a lack of social distancing and non-mask usage. Because the app updates in real-time, law enforcement or university administrators could use the app to pinpoint where to enforce infractions.

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