95.3 / 88.5 FM Grand Rapids and 95.3 FM Muskegon
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

State drops license suspension of defiant Michigan barber

Karl Manke photo
Associated Press

The state of Michigan has lifted the suspension of a barber's license, but he still faces a hearing in July for cutting hair while shops and salons were closed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. An administrative law judge on Tuesday granted the state's request to lift Karl Manke's suspension. Regulators said an "imminent threat" to public health no longer exists at the Owosso barbershop. The 77-year-old Manke reopened his shop on May 4 in defiance of Whitmer's order to keep barbershops and salons closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Manke's barber and business licenses were subsequently suspended but he still kept cutting hair.