Author

Anna Gustafson is a former assistant editor at Michigan Advance, where her beats included economic justice, health care and immigration. Previously the founder of the Muskegon Times and the editor at Rapid Growth Media in Grand Rapids, Anna has worked as an editor and reporter for news outlets across the country.
Michigan health officials drop K-12 schools masking recommendation
By: Anna Gustafson and Jennifer Shutt - February 17, 2022
State health officials announced Wednesday that they are no longer recommending masking in K-12 schools and other indoor public spaces because people have access to vaccines and COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are decreasing — although they remain far higher than they were at this point last year when the shots were just being rolled out. […]
Michigan reports 4,271 new COVID-19 cases since Monday
By: Anna Gustafson - February 16, 2022
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported Wednesday that a total of 2,042,013 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 and 31,271 have died from the virus — an additional 4,271 cases and 312 deaths since Monday. The new numbers combine Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s recorded cases and deaths, with an average of 2,136 […]
‘We seem to let our guard down too quickly, and the virus comes roaring back’
By: Anna Gustafson - February 16, 2022
After going through “far and away the biggest outbreak we’ve seen,” Michigan’s COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have begun to drop following a months-long surge. That’s because vaccination rates continue to increase and the omicron variant has infected such a large swath of the population that it now has far fewer people to find as hosts, […]
State reports 56 new COVID-19 school outbreaks in last week
By: Anna Gustafson - February 14, 2022
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported Monday that a total of 2,037,742 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 and 30,959 have died from the virus — an additional 5,380 cases and 60 deaths since Friday. The new numbers combine Saturday’s, Sunday’s and Monday’s recorded cases and deaths, with an average of […]
Michigan reports 5,716 new COVID-19 cases since Wednesday
By: Anna Gustafson - February 11, 2022
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported Friday that a total of 2,032,362 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 and 30,899 have died from the virus — an additional 5,716 cases and 152 deaths since Wednesday. The new numbers combine Thursday’s and Friday’s recorded cases and deaths, with an average of 2,858 […]
Benson asks police, AG to investigate reports of election equipment tampering in N. Michigan
By: Anna Gustafson - February 11, 2022
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced Thursday evening that she asked state police and Attorney General Dana Nessel to investigate “multiple credible allegations” her office received this week that at least one unauthorized third party illegally tampered with voting equipment in northern Michigan’s Roscommon County and Richfield Township. The party reportedly “gained inappropriate access to […]
$1.2B spending bill would provide COVID tests, relief for hospitals and schools
By: Anna Gustafson - February 10, 2022
After sitting on billions of dollars in federal funding for nearly a year, the Republican-led Michigan Legislature passed a $1.2 billion supplemental bill this week that health care leaders said will provide critically needed funds to recruit and retain employees at hospitals that have been hemorrhaging workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. House Bill 5523, introduced […]
Michigan reports 7,527 new COVID-19 cases since Monday
By: Anna Gustafson - February 9, 2022
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported Wednesday that a total of 2,026,646 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 and 30,747 have died from the virus — an additional 7,527 cases and 330 deaths since Monday. The new numbers combine Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s recorded cases and deaths, with an average of 3,764 […]
More than 30K Michiganders have now died from COVID-19
By: Anna Gustafson - February 2, 2022
Michigan hit a grim milestone Wednesday, with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reporting that the state has surpassed 30,000 COVID-19 deaths. The DHHS said Wednesday that 30,170 Michiganders have died from the virus, and a total of 1,999,416 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19. Those numbers represent an additional 327 deaths and […]
Yusef Salaam of the ‘Central Park Five’ headlines MSU’s ‘Slavery to Freedom’ lectures
By: Anna Gustafson - February 2, 2022
When Yusef Salaam — who will be speaking as part of Michigan State’s upcoming “Slavery to Freedom” lecture series — was 15, he and four other Black and Latino boys were wrongfully convicted for sexually assaulting a female jogger in New York City’s Central Park in 1989. The boys, all between 14 and 16, went […]
State reports 126 new COVID-19 school outbreaks in last week
By: Anna Gustafson - January 31, 2022
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported Monday that a total of 1,980,613 Michiganders have tested positive for COVID-19 and 29,843 have died from the virus — an additional 21,242 cases and 65 deaths since Friday. The new numbers combine Saturday’s, Sunday’s and Monday’s recorded cases and deaths, with an average of […]
New constitutional amendment could nullify GOP-led efforts to restrict voting
By: Anna Gustafson - January 31, 2022
A new ballot initiative filed with the Michigan Secretary of State Monday could nullify Republican-led efforts to restrict voting and enshrine a series of voting rights — including barring partisan interference in future elections — in the state’s constitution, election experts said Monday. The “Promote the Vote 2022” ballot initiative would amend the state constitution […]