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Southwest Michigan Today For Monday October 2, 2017

Hearings this week on lowering auto insurance rates in Michigan. The United Way looks to boost third grade reading and high school graduation in Cass and Berrien Counties. Local governments in Michigan consider allowing medical marijuana facilities. 

Hearings are scheduled to being this week on legislation to reduce auto insurance rates in Michigan. The bills would guarantee that premiums are reduced by 20 to 50-percent by allowing drivers to choose levels of coverage. The legislation’s sponsor Representative Laura Theis tells the Detroit Free Press that the current system is broken and unsustainable. Critics of the proposal say it would result in a cost shift to the Medicaid system. Michigan has the highest auto insurance rates in the nation. It’s the only state that offers lifetime coverage for people injured in catastrophic auto accidents.

The United Way of Southwest Michigan wants to increase reading ability among third graders and get more students to graduate high school in Cass and Berrien Counties. The St. Joseph Benton Harbor Herald-Palladium says those goals are part of the United Way’s Community Impact Agenda for Change. The United Way of Southwest Michigan says it wants to boost reading proficiency for third graders by 20% and is aiming for a 10% increase in the high school graduation rate by 2024.

Local governments across Michigan are deciding whether they want to opt in to allowing medical marijuana facilities in their towns. An attorney with a law firm in suburban Detroittells MiBiz that at least 10 cities, townships and villages have approved ordinances that allow a certain number of facilities to grow, process or sell medical marijuana. That includes Marshall. 24 others, including Kalamazoo, are considering similar ordinances. State regulators are working on the rules for medical marijuana facilities. Voters approved allowing marijuana for medicinal purposes in 2008.

In women’s soccer, Western Michigan and Toledo played to a scoreless tie Sunday. It was the Broncos first draw of the season, they have seven wins and three losses. Western will host Ball State on Thursday.