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☀️ Today's weather: Sunny with a high of 66 and a low of 44.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Paul Jaskowski!

🗳️ Election reminder: Today is the last day to register online to vote ahead of the Nov. 3 election.

• Miss the deadline? You can still register in person at your local clerk's office through Election Day — just bring proof of residency.

Today’s newsletter is 986 words — a 3.5-minute read.

Early signs suggest flu season is starting sooner than in recent years.

Why it matters: Michigan is coming off a 2025-26 flu season that resulted in more than 8,400 hospital admissions, according to state data covering about 90% of hospitals.

By the numbers: About 3.6% of flu tests came back positive in early October, compared with just 0.6% at the same point last year, according to CDC data.

• The fine print: CDC's published methodology shows no change in flu test positivity calculations.

Zoom in: Flu activity in Michigan remains very low but is showing signs of picking up, according to CDC data for the week ending Oct. 10.

• Wastewater testing shows very low levels of influenza A, while flu-related emergency room visits remain low but are increasing.

Zoom out: Additional data, including outpatient reports, suggest flu activity is on the rise.

• The highest percentages of medical visits for flu-like illness are in children.
• RSV activity remains very low in most of the country, while COVID activity is still elevated in some regions but declining nationally, per the CDC.

What they're saying: "'Get your flu shot now' is my best advice," Trish Perl, a professor of infectious diseases and epidemiology at UT Southwestern, tells Axios.

• It generally takes up to two weeks after vaccination for the immune system to develop maximum immune response.

The intrigue: This season, the new U.S.-approved mRNA flu vaccine is available to adults 50 and older.

• The move comes as the Trump administration has reshaped federal vaccine policy and put greater emphasis on vaccine safety and injury reporting.
• Yes, but: Serious reactions caused by vaccines are rare, and a health problem reported after vaccination does not necessarily mean the vaccine caused it, CDC has said.

The bottom line: The early rise in flu positivity is worth watching, but it does not yet tell us how severe the "reliably unreliable" flu season — as Perl describes it — will be.

Michigan voters will choose a new attorney general and secretary of state Nov. 3, filling two powerful offices that help shape everything from election rules to consumer protections.

⚖️ Attorney general: The state's top legal officer represents Michigan in court, enforces consumer protection laws and can challenge federal policies.

• Eli Savit (D): Washtenaw County prosecutor since 2021. He's pursued progressive criminal justice reforms and vows to protect civil rights and hold corporations accountable.
• Doug Lloyd (R): Longtime Eaton County prosecutor who favors a more traditional approach to criminal justice. He's criticized Attorney General Dana Nessel for what he considers politically motivated prosecutions and lawsuits.
• Go deeper: The Free Press pressed both candidates on major issues.

🗳️ Secretary of state: Michigan's chief election official also oversees driver's licenses, vehicle registrations and campaign finance disclosures.

• Garlin Gilchrist II (D): Michigan's lieutenant governor and a former software engineer. He wants to protect elections from federal interference, expand voter participation and strengthen campaign finance disclosure.
• Anthony Forlini (R): Macomb County clerk and former state lawmaker. He's focused on maintaining accurate voter rolls and making election records more accessible to the public.
• Go deeper: Votebeat Michigan interviewed both candidates.

Context: Both offices are open because Nessel and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson are term-limited.

• Catch up on our 1-minute guides to the governor's race and U.S. Senate contest.

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🍖 Sign of the Beefcarver, a classic American restaurant that's been on Woodward Avenue in Royal Oak for 70 years, will close next week. Ownership cited rising beef prices and financial difficulties going back to the pandemic. (Detroit News)

🎽 Marathon winners: Ferndale's Andrew Bowman won his third straight Detroit Free Press Marathon yesterday and broke a 46-year-old record with a finishing time of 2 hours, 12 minutes and 11 seconds.

• Allison Sherman, of Lake Orion, won the women's marathon in 2 hours, 43 minutes and 31 seconds. (WXYZ)

🏗️ The new Canfield Park Apartments opened in Detroit's Woodbridge neighborhood with 60 one- and two-bedroom apartments, with rents ranging from $550 to $1,468. (Crain's 🔒)

The people, places and traditions around you make this community home. Our reporting helps you stay connected to them and understand what's changing.

📍 Become a member today and help sustain local journalism for everyone in your community.

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Baseball's wackiest traveling circus is returning to Detroit next summer, bringing dancing players, trick plays and plenty of surprises to the Tigers' ballpark.

Driving the news: The 2027 Banana Ball schedule includes two games at Fifth Third Park (formerly Comerica Park) on June 25-26, featuring the Party Animals against the Indianapolis Clowns.

• Both games start at 7pm.

🍌 Wait, what's Banana Ball? Think baseball meets the Harlem Globetrotters. The Savannah Bananas created a faster, sillier version of the sport, complete with choreographed dances, a two-hour time limit and a rule allowing fans to record outs by catching foul balls.

• The Bananas themselves aren't coming, but both visiting teams belong to their six-team league.

Flashback: Detroit hosted two sold-out Banana Ball games in September.

🎟️ How to go: Tickets start at $35, but you'll need some luck. Enter the free ticket lottery by Oct. 31 at 11:59pm ET for a chance to purchase seats.

• Winners will be selected through a random drawing. Entering doesn't guarantee tickets.

Our picks:

🍎 Joe is experimenting with stovetop simmer pots to freshen his house. Apples, oranges, cinnamon sticks and cloves were a good start. Any other combos he should try?

📆 Annalise is off.

Edited by Larry Graham.