A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 56F. Winds light and variable..

A few clouds. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. Low 56F. Winds light and variable.

ALDEN — Alden District Library hosts kids’ activities at 10 a.m. July 7 at Helena Township Community Center. Ages 5 and younger can enjoy stories, and ages 6-12 can participate in a crafting session.

BEULAH — Crystal Lake Community Business Association presents Music in the Streets at 7 p.m. July 7. Streets close at 4 p.m. but restaurants and stores may be open until after the concerts.

Attendees should bring chairs. Benzie Bus runs a free shuttle to and from the Benzie County Government Center. Concerts are free, but donations are collected.

CHEBOYGAN — Jazz string bassist Paul Keller and his At Sundown Quintet perform at 7:30 p.m. July 8 at Cheboygan Opera House. The ensemble plays from the Great American Songbook.

Tickets are $20 per person. Veterans pay $15; students pay $10. Purchase at theoperahouse.org/tickets or call the box office: 231-627-5841.

TRAVERSE CITY — Harper and the Midwest Kind perform at 8 p.m. July 9 at Encore 201. Peter Harper is a blues and roots artist based in Detroit.

Admission is $20 at the door or at MyNorthTickets.com.

WILLIAMSBURG — Archangel Gabriel Orthodox Church hosts an open house from noon to 2 p.m. July 10 at 7111 U.S. 31 North.

Tours and a barbecue are available. Church service begins at 10 a.m. Sundays.

INTERLOCHEN — Friends of Interlochen Public Library seeks donations for the Fall Fundraiser Sale. Bring yarn, paints, canvas, beads, scissors and other items to the library through August.

The sale helps fund library programs. More details: 231-276-6767.

GAYLORD — RISE: Otsego Substance Free Coalition provided the Street Art Workshop Series for youth ages 12-20. Classes ended with the June 21 installation of mural panels at the Gaylord Ramp Park.

The Gaylord Area Council for the Arts and the City of Gaylord partnered on this project with funding coming from the Coalition Support and Community Change Program through Prevention Network. The outdoor park features ramps and obstacles for inline skaters, BMX riders and skateboarders of all levels. https://cityofgaylord.com/category/ramp-park/

CHARLEVOIX — The Charlevoix-Emmet Intermediate School District will receive $20,000 to help with the new Project Based Learning units in local schools. Funds will cover classroom materials needed for the PBL units and teacher stipends for related professional learning.

The grants are an effort of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s MiSTEM Network. They aim to expand freshwater literacy and STEM education.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit many Michigan counties hard, helping fuel population losses statewide in 2020 and 2021, according to U.S. Census estimates released this week.

But for population centers including Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and Washtenaw counties, the bigger driver was simply people leaving for other counties and states, the data shows.

Wayne County’s population fell by about 1 percent overall to 1.77 million.

, and an estimated 15,857 residents left the county for another part of Michigan or the country.

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The estimates reverse what had been slow, steady growth in Michigan, the only state to lose population from 2000 to 2010.

The state crested 10 million again in 2020, but has lost an estimated 26,000 residents since, including nearly 17,000 between July 1, 2020, and July 1, 2021, according to the estimates.

Many of those losses can be attributed to the nearly 13,000 residents who died of COVID-19 in that time, with the pandemic exacerbating the growing imbalance between deaths and births in the state.

In 2019, the last full year before the pandemic, 49 of Michigan’s 83 counties recorded more deaths than births. From 2020 to 2021, 77 counties had more deaths than births.

Still, west and northern Michigan recorded modest gains, as those regions had when the decennial 2020 Census was reported last year.

The state’s fastest growing county, Ottawa, added an estimated 2,370 people, while Livingston County added 1,041. They were the only two counties to add at least 1,000 residents.

In contrast, 44 of the 254 counties in Texas added at least 1,000 people, including 10 that added between 10,800 and 36,000.

In 2019, nine states were losing population nationwide, while Michigan was still growing (albeit slowly, by about 2,800 people).

In 2021, 17 states and the District of Columbia were estimated to be losing population, including Michigan.

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