Karl Manke has been cutting hair since 1961. In March, he closed his Owosso barbershop, located about 40 miles northeast of Lansing, when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer ordered a statewide lockdown closing all "non-essential" businesses.

When Whitmer extended that order to May 28, Manke decided he could not comply and opened anyway.

"I had no income," said Manke, who wears a protective mask while cutting patrons' hair.

The 77-year-old barber was cited twice and had his licence revoked. But this week a judge refused a request from the Michigan Attorney General's Office to shut down Manke's barbershop.

"(The attorney general) has not presented any studies underlying the doctor's conclusion. (The attorney general) has not shown any nexus between the cutting of hair and an increased risk of transmission," the judge wrote in his opinion. "(The attorney general's) filings rest more on general facts about COVID-19 than specific practices or conditions at (Manke's) business."