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Ann Arbor News - Thursday, April 27

Ann Arbor News - Thursday, April 27

The annual Gallup Park Livery boat auction, top MBA programs in Michigan, new Amtrak train cars, new legislature mandating filtered drinking water in schools, and Emoni Bates to go pro

April 27, 2023

Morning, Ann Arbor! Busy weekend ahead. Here's what's to come:

The NFL draft starts tonight (Lions pick 6th and 18th overall)
U of M's graduation is Saturday
EMU's graduation is Sunday
Huron High School's Rat Race fundraiser is Sunday
Rainn Wilson (The Office's Dwight Schrute) is talking about his new book at the Michigan Theatre on Sunday

Congrats to any readers graduating this weekend. Let's hope you never have to pull an all-nighter again.

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ANN ARBORITES SHOULD KNOW

City of Ann Arbor

🛶 Gallup Park Livery Boat Auction: The City of Ann Arbor will be hosting a public auction of used and damaged boats at Gallup Park this Saturday. An annual tradition, this year’s auction will feature 25 kayaks, 5 standup paddleboards, and 4 canoes. Park staff expect the used boats to sell for $50 - $150 each. While the auction starts at noon, the public can begin inspecting the boats at 11:30 am.

🏀 Emoni Bates To Go Pro: Emoni Bates, the Ypsi-native previously considered the next great basketball prodigy (who made the cover of Sports Illustrated at 15), has decided to leave EMU and opt into June’s NBA draft. While once considered a lottery pick (a top 14 pick in the draft), Bates’ past few years have been plagued by poor development, off-the-court incidents, and untimely injuries. Experts are undecided if the once-top player in his class will be selected by an NBA team.

🩺 Genetic Screening Pilot Program: A handful of Corewell Health East offices are offering existing patients free screens for 167 genes linked to cancer, heart disease, and other conditions. With an at-home saliva test, patients are able to detect future diseases and work with their doctor to put a preventative plan in place decades before symptoms would appear. Since starting in June 2022, the pilot program has tested over 500 patients and found actionable results in 20% of participants.

🚂 Wolverine’s New Train Cars: The Wolverine, Amtrak’s Chicago to Detroit route, is phasing in new coach cars. The new train cars are a popular European design with wider aisles, larger bathrooms, free Wi-Fi antennas, power USB ports, reading lamps, and more luggage storage space.

MICHIGANDERS SHOULD KNOW

Shutterstock

🎈 Ban on Balloons: Newly proposed Senate Bill 294 would ban most intentional balloon releases in the state. Proponents of the bill argue mass balloon releases leave behind latex debris that lands in state lakes and can be highly fatal to seabirds. If signed into law, Michigan would join 10 other states limiting or outright banning outdoor balloon releases.

💧 Cleaner School Drinking Water: Under the recently passed “Clean Drinking Water Access Act” (Senate Bills 88 and 89), all schools and childcare centers in Michigan have 15 months to convert to filtered drinking water. By preemptively embracing filtered faucets and filtered water-bottle stations, the act is striving to protect Michiganders from aging infrastructure. A state fund will reimburse schools and childcare centers for any water filtration system expenses.

🪑 Whitmer to Co-Chair POTUS Campaign: Governor Gretchen Whitmer will serve as co-chair of President Joe Biden's recently announced re-election campaign. Having previously been considered for the 2020 Vice President seat and having served as co-chair of Biden's inauguration committee, Whitmer's appointment keeps her in the national spotlight for the Democratic party.

📚 Top MBAs in Michigan: According to the latest U.S. News and World Report rankings, 3 MBA programs in the state cracked the list of top 100 programs in the country. Representing the mitten: