MARQUETTE — The Marquette Marathon will take place in a virtual format this year.

Race director Forrest Karr, also director of athletics at Northern Michigan University, made the announcement on Tuesday on behalf of the Marquette Marathon Organizing Committee.

“After reviewing the Michigan Safe Start Plan and talking with various health care providers, we have decided that the 2020 Marquette Marathon and affiliated events planned for Sept. 4-5 will not be held in the traditional format this year due to COVID-19 pandemic-related health and safety concerns for participants, volunteers, staff and other community members,” Karr said in the announcement.

There will be an opportunity for runners to take part in a virtual marathon or half marathon from Sept. 3-11. The cost to register is $35, with participants to receive a shirt and finisher’s medal. For both races, participants can run their races on their own courses, with a social media campaign taking place during the events.

Sign-up is available at https://runsignup.com/Race/MI/Marquette/MarquetteMarathon, with details soon to come.

The next Marquette Marathon, Half Marathon, 5K and kids’ one-mile fun run are scheduled for Sept. 3-4, 2021.

Grants available

Michigan’s small businesses and nonprofits working to recover from the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 virus can now apply for grants of up to $20,000 through the Michigan Small Business Restart Program, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced on Wednesday.

The program will provide $100 million in economic assistance to Michigan’s small businesses and nonprofits, and support workers and their families facing economic uncertainty during the outbreak.

Information on how to apply as well as eligibility criteria and program guidelines are available at michiganbusiness.org/restart.

InvestUP, a local economic development organization, has approximately $4.5 million to cover the Upper Peninsula.

To qualify for grant support, businesses must meet the following criteria, based on statutory requirements for the program:

≤ Is a business or nonprofit with fewer than 50 employees that can demonstrate it is affected by the COVID-19 emergency;

≤ Needs working capital to support eligible expenses; and

≤ Demonstrates an income loss as a result of the COVID-19 emergency

Farm aid available

The application process is now open for $15 million in grants for Michigan farms and agricultural processors to mitigate risks of the COVID-19 virus across the state’s food production industry, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development announced on Wednesday.

The application, along with more information and eligibility criteria, can be found at michiganbusiness.org/agsafety.

Pharmacy training to continue

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday signed Executive Order 2020-152 extending a provision of her earlier COVID-19 emergency order on pharmacies that allows student pharmacists to continue training under remote supervision.

The order also scales back other provisions of that order that waived aspects of the Public Health Code in order to give pharmacies more flexibility and operational capacity to cope with the enhanced demands of COVID-19.

Funding given

The Michigan Community Service Commission announced on Wednesday that it will receive $2,222,811 over three years from the Corporation for National and Community Service to support volunteerism in Michigan. The funding will support organizations in their response to COVID-19 by identifying resources and collaborating regionally to meet compelling needs.

Also, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission has directed a $10,000 donation from the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association to the Food Bank Council of Michigan to provide much-needed food assistance to residents in the wake of the pandemic.

The NABCA made $10,000 donations to each of its 17 member states and jurisdictions, including the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.