It's Wednesday already. Short week!

🎧 Sounds like: "Pastime Paradise" by Stevie Wonder.

🌧️ Today's weather: Mostly cloudy then showers and thunderstorms likely, with a high of 86 and a low of 66.

Today's newsletter is 825 words — a 3-minute read.

This year's tick season has been a doozy — and another surge is coming in the fall.

Why it matters: Tick bites can pose serious health risks, transmitting pathogens that cause illnesses including Lyme disease and triggering alpha-gal syndrome, an allergy to red meat.

By the numbers: Nationally, August had the highest rate of emergency department visits for tick bites since the CDC's tracker began in 2017, a major year for ticks.

• The CDC tracked 34 August ER visits for tick bites per 100,000 total ER visits through Aug. 23.
• That came after a record-breaking April for tick bites.

Zoom in: In Michigan, 2,632 Lyme disease cases have been reported so far this year, more than double the 1,114 reported in all of 2022, according to preliminary state surveillance data.

• Those figures are provisional and can decline as cases are investigated. Final confirmed and probable case totals have been lower in recent years.

The big picture: Lyme disease risk is expanding beyond areas of the country where the disease has historically been concentrated.

• A new CDC report found blacklegged ticks and several disease-causing pathogens in western North Carolina, adding evidence that Lyme disease is emerging in southern Appalachia.

What's next: Blacklegged ticks — also known as deer ticks — enter another peak activity period in October and November.

• In Michigan, blacklegged ticks are active from March through November and are found in wooded and brushy areas.

To stay safe, wear long sleeves and long pants in areas with dense tick populations, use insect repellent, and check yourself, children and pets for ticks after spending time outdoors.

• Around the yard, clear brush and tall grass where ticks can live.

💭 Joe's thought bubble: I got my first (known) tick bite this spring after disc golfing. The discovery really freaked me out.

• I was given antibiotics and everything was fine, but "tick checks" are now part of my routine after spending time outdoors.

Go deeper: How to remove a tick.

Stevie Wonder is returning to Detroit for two shows celebrating the 50th anniversary of one of his most acclaimed albums.

Driving the news: Wonder will perform his landmark 1976 album "Songs in the Key of Life" in its entirety at the Fox Theatre on Dec. 8 and 9 as part of a newly announced anniversary tour.

The backstory: The Michigan-born Motown legend performed frequently at the Fox during Motown revues in the 1960s but hasn't played the historic theater since 1995, per the Free Press.

• Wonder previously brought a 40th anniversary tour of "Songs in the Key of Life" to the Palace of Auburn Hills and Joe Louis Arena in 2014 and 2015.

If you go: Both Detroit shows start at 8pm.

• Tickets go on sale at 10am Tuesday.

🐐 Detroit officials seized ducks, a horse and other animals amid an ongoing dispute with Detroit Farm & Cider, which aims to sell its property. (The Detroit News 🔒)

💊 Corruption in health care is a big political campaign target leading up to the midterms, including in Michigan.

• Abdul El-Sayed called Mike Rogers a "pharma lobbyist," prompting Rogers' campaign to send a cease-and-desist letter and threaten legal action. (Axios)

📄 The Detroit Board of Ethics is looking to hire an outside attorney in its probe of top city lawyer Conrad Mallett. (Free Press)

🏈 The MAC is asking the NCAA and College Football Playoff to recognize Western Michigan as the winner of Saturday's controversial loss to U-M, saying replay protocol wasn't properly followed when officials restored one second to the clock. (ESPN)

👋 Annalise here. Did you know that if you take the stairs to the basement of a Midtown office building, you'll end up in an affordable lunch spot?

The vibe: Small World Kitchen serves Indian, Middle Eastern, Italian and other cuisines from a welcoming, cafeteria-like setting. It was bustling with diners at lunchtime on a Wednesday, but not too busy.

• It's in the lower level of the International Institute of Metro Detroit building, near the Detroit Institute of Arts.

The intrigue: Local food influencer Seoung Lee of Chow Down Detroit featured Small World on his channel last year.

• He used to eat there when he attended CCS and it was called the International Cafe.

Dig in: I tried the chicken shawarma ($7) and Mideast Feast with falafel, hummus and tabbouleh ($10).

• They weren't the best shawarma and falafel I've ever had, but felt more than adequate for the price.
• I coveted another customer's chicken curry, which looked tasty and plentiful.

If you go: 111 E. Kirby St.

• 11am-4:30pm Monday-Saturday.

Our picks:

🫤 Joe feels bad for Western Michigan.

🍛 Annalise made veggie curry using a neighbor's giant squash.

Edited by Tyler Buchanan.