North Michigan News

Rep. Triston Cole (R-Mancelona) once again asked Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to make sure communities and law enforcement agencies in northern Michigan aren't forgotten when it comes to federal aid related to the COVID-19 pandemic. When it comes to doling out federal money for the coronavirus response, Cole wanted Whitmer to keep the rural parts of the state in mind, not just state agencies and the state's largest cities.

"I have heard the concerns of our sheriff's departments and others put in harm's way while working to protect us every single day," Cole said in a statement on the Michigan House Republicans website. "COVID-19 doesn't care where you live — it does not recognize geographic boundaries. It does not matter what uniform our law enforcement heroes wear when they put themselves at risk for us."

Cole said he believes all first responders and other emergency personnel should be given hazard pay, or additional compensation, since they've been on the front lines fighting this pandemic all along.

"All communities must share in this emergency federal funding to properly reward the hard work of first responders across our entire state," Cole said on the Michigan House Republicans website. 

The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) Act, which was made a federal law in late March, aims to help states and their residents weather the coronavirus storm and the economic impacts caused by the health crisis. Cole said this legislation put the state in charge of distributing the dollars, and it relies on state leadership to help less-populated areas. So far, only the state and Michigan's five largest municipalities have received money to offer the additional hazard pay to their frontline workers.  

Two months after he first voiced the need for help in rural Michigan in a letter to the Whitmer Administration, Cole has made his stance known again and is hoping for some action for his constituents.