Michigan in Focus: Recent Episodes
Michigan in Focus
A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week, commentary from Regional Editor Bruce Walker & Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen. Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/michigan-in-focus/support
Michigan’s U.S. Senate candidates are running on their records regarding labor and economic policy, but they are opposed on the role of electric vehicles. Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s approach to labor policy focuses primarily on supporting domestic manufacturing. Republican former Representative Mike Roger’s approach to labor policy focuses primarily on encouraging innovation and reducing government regulation, particularly for small businesses.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_d15bd68e-6639-11ef-a0d1-4fc2f1f80dab.html
New data released from Michigan's Department of Education reveals mixed student progress in 2024, with some grades scoring higher on standardized tests than last year and others performing their lowest in years. Math, English language arts and science scores were gathered through the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, or M-STEP, for grades three through seven, while scores for older students came from PSAT and SAT results. Eleventh-graders had the worst overall decline, scoring lower than last year in all three subjects, with a drop of 3.6 percentage points in math.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_67cfbb6a-660f-11ef-92f3-4f55af16ff42.html
Detroit’s Election Commission is facing a lawsuit for selecting a disproportionately high number of Democrat poll workers in the August primaries, a possible violation of Michigan election law. The commission appointed about 2,337 Democrat poll workers and about 310 Republican poll workers, an imbalance of more than 7 to 1. Poll workers, also known as election inspectors, assist voters and manage ballot counting. They also identify and report any irregularities or issues that arise during the election process. The state’s election law requires the board of election commissioners “shall appoint an equal number, as nearly as possible, of election inspectors in each election precinct from each major political party,” to help ensure election transparency and fairness.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_bf209fc0-634d-11ef-815e-cf0fedd7cf77.html
Republican lawmakers are not the only ones raising concerns about Michigan’s minimum wage changes. Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a motion with the state’s Supreme Court, asking for guidance on how to implement inflation adjustments. Nessel specifically pointed out how the court’s broad language in its July ruling could lead to five possible options for when and how to adjust the minimum wage over time, with the state Department of Treasury’s approach and the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity’s approach also at odds with each other.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_2392c5f2-60b8-11ef-849d-c7d19f4e90d5.html
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Enbridge Energy’s request for the Line 5 lawsuit Nessel v. Enbridge to receive a rehearing in federal court, returning the case to state court. The court Enbridge had missed the 30-day deadline after Nessel filed the lawsuit in June 2019 to appeal moving the case to federal court, and that it relied on improper arguments when doing so. The Canadian company had proposed boring a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac to house the pipeline more than five years ago. Nessel’s case seeks to void a 1953 exception to environmental rules which allowed that section of the pipeline to operate, arguing the environmental risks posed by the pipeline are too great.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_ffa2e8fa-5e39-11ef-ad84-b3ce178284da.html
Michigan has made progress addressing teacher shortages in hard-to-fill subjects and specialties within the past five years, the State Board of Education announced. Since the 2017-18 school year, the number of certified teachers teaching math jumped 60%, 31% for science, and 53% for English as a Second Language and bilingual education. The number of early childhood education teachers increased by 171%.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_4cd8ecfe-5b2f-11ef-86c7-971f392b7983.html
Michigan's health department is taking applicants for a new “Michigan Racial Health Equity Think Tank.” The forum group is one part of the fiscal year 2025 state budget’s $35 million in Racial Disparities Task Force recommendations. The MDHHS website describes MiRHETT as a part of the Social Determinants of Health program, first implemented in 2022. The forum series will gather statewide leaders to “address and improve disparity gaps for racial minorities.” They will discuss final reports from the Black Leadership Advisory Council, the Michigan Coronavirus Racial Disparities Task Force, the Michigan Poverty Tax Force and the Health Equity Plan.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_5609f796-5689-11ef-9254-db5e73ef42b3.html
After recent filings revealed electric battery producer Gotion receives subsidies from the Chinese Communist Party, state Sen. Lana Theis called on Michigan government officials to cease subsidizing the company’s $2.4 billion dollar project in central Michigan. Gotion CEO Chuck Thelen had previously maintained the Chinese government was not involved in the American wing of the company. But in July, the company admitted in a Foreign Agents Registration Act filing to receiving funding subsidies from the CCP.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_7ff4c0d6-5995-11ef-82ba-834e3aaea5b8.html
Michigan’s local governments have until Aug. 12 to request funds from the $1.2 billion National Kroger Settlement on opioid abuse. The Great Lakes state is expected to receive $42 million over the course of 11 years. Eligible communities, at the city or county level, can apply for the funding to be used toward drug abuse treatment. Agreements are expected to be effective by early fall. Michigan previously received more than $1.6 billion in settlement funds from Allergan Pharmaceutical, CVS, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, McKinsey & Co., Publicis, Teva Pharmaceutical, Walgreens and Walmart.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_c118cca4-55be-11ef-9444-5f3465fd5010.html
U.S. Customs and Border Protection field operatives seized 266 pounds of cocaine last week from a tractor-trailer entering the country outbound from Canada, the agency revealed Tuesday. Alerted by K-9s, CPB field operatives found 100 bricks of narcotics stacked behind a false wall in the trailer trying to cross at the Blue Water Bridge port of entry. Agents arrested the driver, a Canadian citizen, once testing confirmed the drugs were cocaine.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_a2e20bc8-54ca-11ef-ba81-c3d8427de8b6.html
Democrat Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin and former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers were confirmed Tuesday night as party nominees for the U.S. Senate as Michigan held its primary election. Current U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-MI, will retire after finishing her current term. Stabenow joined Slotkin on stage after the race was called, and offered her endorsement. Slotkin beat actor Hill Harper with more than 76% percent of the vote, and ogers defeated former U.S. Rep. Justin Amash and physician Dr. Sherry O’Donnell with 63.3% of the vote.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_a1ea2662-542d-11ef-b009-b7784e666d09.html
Michigan's Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Wednesday the state's Republican-led legislature in 2018 acted unconstitutionally when it changed the language of a petition that would raise the state’s minimum wage immediately before it became law. The minimum wage in Michigan is currently $10.33 per hour for non-tipped workers and $3.93 per hour for tipped workers. Following the court’s decision, the minimum wage will rise to at least $12 an hour starting Feb. 21. Tipped workers will receive the same minimum wage as non-tipped by 2029.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_36d202a4-4f5b-11ef-a25a-a7a8f6b279e4.html
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel recently highlighted the need for the state government and the media to work together in combating election misinformation, as public trust in the media has hit an all-time low. Nessel also emphasized her department’s work to address voter or poll worker intimidation, set up a hotline for voters to report suspicious election-related activities, and prosecute election fraud and other crimes.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_ac01f9da-4e9d-11ef-ab57-d3431c45436f.html
Candidates in Michigan's U.S. Senate race disagree on issues ranging from electric vehicles to crime, but most recently, they've clashed over foreign policy. U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich, is facing former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers. Republicans hope to flip the seat as incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow is not running for reelection. Slotkin criticized Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent address to Congress, saying he “continues to play politics.”
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_071f2706-4dc8-11ef-9731-53211e5092dd.html
Michigan has a new way to address its EMT shortage. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a law that would extend temporary EMT and paramedic licenses from 120 days to a year. House Bills 4613 and 4614 were sponsored by state Rep. Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_064371d0-4ab6-11ef-b890-e35831d24bf7.html
Nearly six months after the Michigan Legislature repealed Right to Work laws, more groups of workers are taking action against what they say are coercive measures of some unions to collect fees. Mechanics from Brown Motors in Petoskey and drivers from MV Transportation in Ypsilanti successfully voted recently to remove their union officials' powers to collect union dues from nonunion members. The Brown Motors mechanics voted by 75% against the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, National Right to Work Foundation Legal Defense Foundation said. The Teamsters also faces a new lawsuit filed by nurses at Ascension Genesys Hospital in Grand Blanc Township, who say union bosses threatened to fire them if they didn’t pay union fees.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_56611d58-45ec-11ef-8e72-233cf799e918.html
Trump supporters in Michigan expressed varied but mostly positive opinions about his vice-presidential pick from Ohio, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, during street interviews with The Center Square. At the Saturday Trump rally in Grand Rapids, the first featuring Vance, many people interviewed knew little about him, but those who did expressed positive opinions. Katie from Grand Rapids, who works in finance and declined to give her last name, said she thinks Vance is a great pick, especially because of his youth.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/national/article_bf055e6a-4843-11ef-a606-afd743c0d877.html
Michigan's governor, secretary of state and three other officials are facing a lawsuit filed by the Trump campaign this week over granting some government offices the power to conduct voter registration. Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order in December meant to designate certain state offices, including the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to act as voter registration agencies. The governor said this would make it easier for Michiganders to obtain election information and register to vote and provide a much-needed update to the list of Michigan’s voter registration agencies after 30 years.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_c8300346-44fb-11ef-8566-1b0d887635c0.html
A recent report on Michigan’s Child Protection Agency shows organizational issues that have been going on for at least six years. An audit completed in 2018 revealed a failure to conduct background checks, major delays in abuse investigations, failure to meet with some victims, and a lack of safety plans for identified victims. The updated report, conducted by the nonpartisan Office of the Auditor General, reveals these issues have not been addressed.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_d45040de-438c-11ef-aab6-d38c74fc5d58.html
Michigan politicians from both sides of the aisle took to social media this weekend to show support for former President Donald Trump following an attempted assassination at a campaign rally. Trump’s upper ear was pierced by a rifle’s bullet during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on Saturday, narrowly missing his forehead. Since then, many voices have come forward to condemn the murder attempt, including Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan GOP Chairman Pete Hoekstra.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_895dad98-42db-11ef-8153-8bcaf5881a7b.html
Four weeks out from Michigan’s Primary Election Day, more than 1.5 million of the state’s voters have requested or received an absentee ballot, breaking records set in 2020. More than 178,000 of those voters have already submitted a completed ballot.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_043034da-3f9b-11ef-8c4c-0b03daed14ce.html
For multiple years, the deer population in southern Michigan has been out of control. Cars and crops have suffered alike from a deer surplus, but local conservationists say relaxed hunting regulations could solve the issue. Last year alone, deer were involved in 58,000 car wrecks, killing 19 people. Herds cause millions in crop damage per year. The problem is only exacerbated by declining hunting rates, which were down by 10% last year according to the state Department of Natural Resources.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_e7c168e2-3e27-11ef-8a9c-8bb404e522bc.html
Consumers Energy, the largest Michigan utility company, made a commitment Monday to install 1,500 public electric vehicle chargers by 2030 across the state. The decision would make transportation history yet again in the home of the automobile. Consumer’s goal, as a part of the new Transportation Electrification Plan, would nearly double the number of publicly accessible electric charging stations in the state. The plan builds on DTE Energy’s goal to create 620 public fast chargers by 2028.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_967c8b4c-3e22-11ef-a923-2b84ed797e57.html
As a part of the new statewide budget for the 2025 fiscal year, bipartisan support was given toward opioid addiction services. About $48.2 million will be allocated to fighting the opioid epidemic. Statistics show one Michigan resident dies from an opioid overdose every four hours. All funding comes from a settlement reached with opioid companies at the end of 2023.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_198d8a8e-389e-11ef-bf55-d33c943cb52e.html
After denying any interest in replacing President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination this fall, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined a team of fellow Democratic governors at a White House meeting Wednesday. It’s currently unknown what the meeting entailed, but Biden was also scheduled to have lunch with Vice President Kamala Harris. Whitmer said on social media Monday the president can still be reelected in her state, following rumors of her doubting his chances after last week’s debate.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_469c5bb6-3972-11ef-bb62-ffc7fd0934b0.html
Michigan’s $82.5 billion budget for fiscal year 2025 passed in the House at 4 a.m. on Thursday following hours of debate over spending. With a surplus this past year, the House Democratic majority focused on urban community projects, affordable housing, free community college and a new firearm injury grant. House Republicans argue the budget does not emphasize rural communities, infrastructure or small businesses enough, prioritizing instead corporate programming and liberal policies.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_8ed53436-34b1-11ef-a4e4-cb225538bb03.html
Two years after Roe v. Wade was overturned, a Michigan court blocked the state’s required 24-hour waiting period before an abortion. Michigan Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel ruled the requirement infringes on the state’s constitutional right to abortion, which was approved by voters in November 2022. The ruling also stops the state from mandating certain information be given before the procedure, saying it can be coercive.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_0cbc7078-33e3-11ef-ae6a-b7b13545110f.html
In an effort to boost voter turnout, the state of Michigan plans to bring politics to schools, workplaces and social media. Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson played host to a roundtable earlier this week to discuss solutions to voter turnout gaps among young Michiganders. Compared to the rest of the nation, Michigan boasted a higher turnout of voters aged 18-29 in the 2022 midterm election. Yet, nearly 60% of active registered voters in that age group did not cast a ballot in 2022, according to Michigan Department of State data and national surveys on youth voter turnout.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_d3e49e4e-3318-11ef-8272-8732290edf38.html
The Michigan House of Representatives is set to vote on legislation that supporters say will protect the state’s elections from bad actors. House Bill 5551, sponsored by Rep. Noah Arbit, D-West Bloomfield, would amend the Michigan Election Law to prohibit individuals convicted of election-related crimes from serving on the board of state or county canvassers, which certify the election results. Michigan Election Law already prohibits those convicted of election crimes from serving as election inspectors at precincts.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_e7339666-2fef-11ef-b063-db5816b1ef09.html
SOAR is taking a fall against House Republican scrutiny, with numerous amendments preventing the package from leaving the House Economic Development Committee. The Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund, first introduced in 2021 as a means of keeping business in Michigan, has faced recent backlash from both sides of the aisle for its high spending and lack of results. Governor Gretchen Whitmer is looking to right these wrongs with a rebranding of SOAR to the Make it in Michigan Fund, which would use $250 million toward “community investments.” Some Democrats want more extensive changes, as seen with pending House bills 5768-5770, which focus on public transport, housing, and an additional mobility trust fund.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_b90c08d4-2f24-11ef-a030-97312f7dc92c.html
Michigan farms affected by the rise in bird flu cases are now eligible for financial assistance but at a cost. The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has determined 20 Michigan dairy farms are eligible for up to $28,000 each, so long as they assist in researching the H5N1 avian influenza virus. Since first detected in March, 24 cow herds have been infected, alongside three Michigan farmers, making it the state with the highest cattle and human cases in the country.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_f9236440-2e65-11ef-a218-07163a12e104.html
Two bills looking to fight against deed fraud have passed the Michigan House with bipartisan support. If successful in a Senate vote, HB 5598 and 5599 would enforce a new 10-year felony for anyone who tries to falsify information on a property deed, such as ownership or a forged signature. The bills would also allow registrar employees to submit fraudulent documents to a county prosecutor for analysis.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_fad2df32-2cd5-11ef-905a-532d59404901.html
In what Republicans are calling a win for election integrity, the Michigan Court of Claims ruled election clerks cannot initially presume voter signatures are valid. The decision struck down Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s second attempt in 2023 to adjust signature verification requirements, even after the court ruled in 2021 that those changes were invalid. The December 2023 guidance manual issued by Benson to help polling clerks stated “voter signatures are entitled to an initial presumption of validity.”
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_c86c40e6-2a5b-11ef-b273-23b5b6471458.html
Southwestern Michigan impacted by recent storms might be given a federal disaster declaration. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants President Joe Biden to issue a Major Disaster Declaration for four Michigan counties after the multiple tornadoes earlier this month. While Branch, Cass, Kalamazoo and St. Joseph counties have all received state disaster support, and preliminary estimates suggest a need for federal financial assistance.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_d60ad364-26b1-11ef-a2c8-f79d9ee1a178.html
A small group of Michigan lawmakers want to crack down on illegal immigration. The Michigan House Freedom Caucus introduced a five-bill package and a resolution recently seeking to criminalize inaction on illegal immigration. State Reps. Neil Friske, R-Charlevoix; Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers; Matt Maddock, R-Milford and James DeSana, R-Ash Township announced the package.
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Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_4826e29a-24fe-11ef-b5d8-f7a938f7199f.html
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced a new “PitchMI” competition, where startups will compete for $100,000 in the style of the television show “Shark Tank.” The state will partner with other organizations to award the best pitch on improving transportation. Details on applying are expected soon. The competition is timely, since the state is nearing the close of a five-year, $3.5 billion bond issued in 2019 for highway reconstruction. With more electric vehicles driving, and many roads remaining in disrepair, it raises the question of if traditional gas taxes will be enough to sustain construction.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_758b96de-2299-11ef-bc2a-87578e1eefcd.html
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One Fair Wage isn't giving up on a higher minimum wage in Michigan, despite an October ruling that ended a chance to get the question before voters in 2024. Instead, the group is banking on a court case and lawmakers to push the state's non-tipped minimum wage eventually to $15 an hour. A 2024 ballot proposal to raise Michigan’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2027, circulated by One Fair Wage, had collected more than 360,000 signatures. But the Republican-led Board of State Canvassers ruled in October the language of the petition varied from what was originally approved, accusing One Fair Wage of misleading voters.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_e29315f4-228f-11ef-a0c3-931b4556252f.html
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A bipartisan group of Michigan state representatives want to stop local delivery drivers from paying taxes twice. Reps. Alabas Farhat, D-Dearborn; Jimmie Wilson, D-Ypsilanti; Graham Filler, R-Duplain Township; and Jasper Martus, D-Flushing introduced HB 5745 and 5746 to eliminate a double sales tax on delivery companies like Instacart and Shipt. Under current Michigan law, local delivery companies pay a sales tax both when buying the product from the retailer and when they deliver to the consumer.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_7832abee-1d1b-11ef-a9e0-fb83b33aefb6.html
With border exposure and natural ports, Michigan Republicans want to change state law to make human smuggling illegal and criminalize harboring and transporting people who are or have entered the country illegally. There are no state-level criminal penalties for human smuggling. State Reps. Cam Cavitt, R-Cheboygan, and Gina Johnsen, R-Lake Odessa, recently introduced legislation that would criminalize bringing unauthorized people into Michigan. Harboring and transporting people living in or who have entered the country illegally would also become a state crime.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_9976b486-1900-11ef-a316-b3a58d2713b7.html
After a recent Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference, tensions remain between the Michigan Legislature and Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. In February, the governor proposed an $80.7 billion budget for the 2025 fiscal year. Since then, both the House and Senate have passed their own. After the CREC, a final vote in both chambers is necessary to finalize the budget before the July 1 deadline.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_5bb74142-186f-11ef-91f4-73977fe5cf9c.html
Insurance coverage for mental health and substance abuse treatments is now law in Michigan after Republicans and Democrats came together on legislation. Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 27 on Tuesday, requiring insurance companies to cover both issues to the same degree as medical coverage. Inpatient, outpatient and emergency services, and prescribed medication all fall under the bill’s classification of treatment.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_128aff76-17b7-11ef-985d-97ee4806f551.html
A Michigan lawmaker wants to restore what he calls a fur harvester licensed hunter’s right to hunt coyotes all year. State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock recently introduced House Bill 5721 that he says would give that right back to hunters. The bill was created by a group of house Republicans after the Michigan Natural Resources Commission voted 4-2 to end the coyote hunting season from mid-April to mid-July, after it had been year-round from 2016 to 2020.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_858efc2c-11f7-11ef-b0ac-fbb80f7e99d0.html
Michigan House Democrats passed budget bills totaling nearly $81 billion – larger than Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recommendation. Republicans in the minority for the first time in 40 years decried the spending proposals as wasteful as Democrats said the budget would invest in all Michiganders. House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, welcomed the proposed budget.
Full story:
https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_62bede3c-0e0b-11ef-a747-abd578eaf622.html
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The Michigan Supreme Court declined to say whether the government can use drones to spy on people without a warrant. The unanimous Friday ruling follows a 17-year dispute between residents Todd and Heather Maxon and Long Lake township officials who say the 5-acre residential property is being used as an illegal junkyard. The 18-page ruling written by Judge Brian Zahra affirmed the Court of Appeals ruling and remanded the case to the trial court for further proceeding.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_432391cc-0c75-11ef-9415-637b8d09f9a4.html
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed two bills requiring high school coaches to maintain valid certification for CPR and automated external defibrillators in case of cardiac arrest. The legislation requires schools to have a cardiac emergency response plan if a student-athlete collapses on the field because of a cardiac issue. House Bill 5527, sponsored by state Rep. John Fitzgerald, requires schools to activate a cardiac emergency response plan for the governing body of a school. HB 5528, sponsored by state Rep. Tyrone Carter, amends the Revised School Code to require any individual who serves as an athletic coach at a public or private high school to maintain a valid certification in CPR and use of an AED.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_6ee93d78-0632-11ef-81bf-7326151e4302.html
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Michigan’s top business group says “we can’t get” to the 100% clean energy standard by 2040 without nuclear energy. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, bipartisan lawmakers and organized labor support restarting the 800-megawatt Palisades nuclear plant on Lake Michigan’s Eastern shore, expected to return online in 2025. Edward Kee, CEO and founder of the Nuclear Economics Consulting Group, said nuclear energy could help decarbonize the electricity industry.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_89a8ea7a-029d-11ef-adab-9b879c80cb9d.html
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The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Michigan $159 million in solar subsidies for low-income households. The Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will be administered through the MI Solar for All program, which aims to increase access to affordable solar energy for eligible families. The Michigan Department of Environment, great lakes, and energy will invest 159 million dollars to accelerate the deployment of rooftop solar, community solar and energy storage.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_8ae79510-0169-11ef-9d7c-cb2f9bad3471.html
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A new report found Michigan school districts spent their COVID-19 funds similarly to their general budget, with nearly half spent on employee compensation and benefits. A Mackinac Center for Public Policy report shows how school districts have spent $2.5 billion of the $6 billion in federal pandemic aid between the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. To help address the challenges of the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress distributed unprecedented amounts of money to public schools across the country from March 2020 to March 2021. Michigan schools received $6 billion total, with each district receiving varying amounts, ranging from about $500 extra per student to as much as $50,000 per pupil.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_a01ec0ce-fb48-11ee-9019-476766d550ed.html
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced 13 felony charges against former House Speaker Lee Chatfield, 35, accusing him of stealing political funds for personal use. The state accused Lee of illegally taking political money for personal use from the 501(c)(4) Peninsula Fund, his own electoral political action committees, The Chatfield Majority Fund, The Chatfield Majority Fund 2 and the state House budget. Lee is accused of conducting a criminal enterprise, a 20-year felony; embezzlement from a non-profit organization less than $20,000, a felony punishable by 10 years in prison and/or a $15,000 fine; embezzlement by a public officer over $50, a felony punishable by 10 years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine; conspiracy to commit embezzlement from a non-profit organization less than $20,000, a felony punishable by 10 years in prison and/or a $15,000 fine and an additional $10,000 fine.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_de59951e-fcb3-11ee-bdb4-6bf7842d5eac.html
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The Department of Justice has weighed into the Line 5 pipeline dispute, saying Enbridge Energy has been trespassing for more than 10 years. The 70-page brief filed in the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals says about 12 miles of Line 5 crosses the Reservation of the Bad River Band in northern Wisconsin. The 645-mile pipeline stretching from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Canada, pumps about 540,000 gallons of hydrocarbons daily across the lakebed of Lake Michigan.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_da16e7e2-f75c-11ee-9dd5-47e3ff66e257.html
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Michigan Republicans are calling for accountability within the Michigan Economic Development Corp. after taxpayers reportedly bought an $11,000 flight to Budapest and a $4,500 coffee maker. Metro Detroit businesswoman and MEDC executive committee member Fay Beydoun received a $20 million grant for her company Global Link International to attract international business. The Detroit News reported that money paid for a flight to a conference in Budapest and a Jura coffee maker.
Full story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_bd198ccc-f71a-11ee-b214-436639f5bf60.html
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Twenty-five Michigan lawmakers oppose President Joe Biden administration's electric vehicle mandate through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA rules for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles phased in from 2027 through 2032 will require about 67% of new car sales to be electric by 2032. Republican lawmakers said the mandate will destroy auto jobs in Michigan responsible for 19% of U.S. automotive production. Producing EVs requires 30% less human labor.
This story: https://www.thecentersquare.com/michigan/article_44bb13d2-f0d9-11ee-8f99-c3be7ce3ba49.html
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed nine bills into law to legalize surrogacy contracts. Michigan is the last state to legalize surrogacy contracts. Democrats say that nine bills, House Bills 5207, 5208, 5209, 5210, 5211, 5212, 5213, 5214, and 5215, will help more people get children born through surrogacy or in vitro fertilization. The bills will regulate surrogacy, ensure surrogates are fairly compensated, have legal representation and are screened by medical professionals.
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The federal government will give a $1.5 billion loan to restart the Palisades nuclear plant. The loan follows Michigan shuttering coal plants at a record pace while chasing a 100% renewable energy standard by 2040. In 2022, renewables comprised 12% of Michigan's electricity net generation, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
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New analysis shows Michigan school districts are underperforming against districts in other states. Launch Michigan, a nonprofit public education organization, released a dashboard showing how Michigan school districts compare to similar districts in top-performing states in reading and math proficiency, graduation rate, and other metrics.
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Rep. Mike Harris, a retired police sergeant, opposes bills that aim to allow murderers, rapists and other violent offenders to reduce their prison sentences. The House Criminal Justice Committee held a hearing on House Bills 4556, 4557, 4558, 4559, and 4560. The “Second Look Sentencing Act” aims to allow sentence reconsideration for eligible prisoners who have served at least ten years of a sentence.
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A company taking $715 million of taxpayer subsidies is suing the local government for revoking vital water infrastructure for its electric vehicle plant. In October 2023, the Green Charter Township board approved the water line for Gotion, which bought 270 actors of land in Mecosta County in August 2023. In November, voters ousted the entire board, claiming it signed non-disclosure agreements to give Gotion taxpayer dollars to build the $2.4 billion electric vehicle plant without telling the local community.
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Michigan officials traveled to Austin, Texas to speak at the SXSW festival's Midwest House. Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II is featured on a Tuesday panel while Michigan Chief Mobility Officer Justine Johnson will discuss “The Future of Air Travel: Innovation From the Ground Up.” It’s unclear if the Michigan Economic Development Corp. or taxpayers are funding the trip and how much the trip will cost. The Center Square has filed a records request seeking the total cost.
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House Republican Leader Matt Hall urged House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, to pass reform to records requests during Sunshine Week, which celebrates government transparency. Sunshine Week, observed this year from March 10-16, highlights the need for transparency and accountability at all levels of government. The letter from the Richland Township Repubican said House Republicans in the minority are ready to pass 55 bills, including House Bills 5422, 5423, 5424, 5425, 5426, and 5427.
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Repubican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida wants to stop China from flooding the automobile market via state subsidiaries, slave labor and property theft. The Center Square reported Chinese automaker BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, wants to build a factory in Mexico for a 2.5% tariff instead of a 27.5% tariff. The new factory follows BYD releasing a $14,000 EV in February that some in the industry say could “demolish” domestic EVs, often $40,000 more expensive.
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Michigan Democratic lawmakers want mass transit between Grand Rapids, Detroit and Ann Arbor but don’t know how to pay for it. State Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, majority caucus chair & Education Committee chair, posted on social media that mass transit would prevent young people from leaving the state. Polehanki’s office hasn’t yet responded to additional questions about the funding source, the mode or the the timing of mass transit – whether it would be funded before or after Michigan fixes its roads, ranked as worse than the national average.
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An Alliance for American Manufacturing report called for tariffs to protect the U.S. electric vehicle market from an “extinction-level event” caused by Chinese competitors. The report follows Chinese EV maker BYD, the world’s largest EV maker, releasing a $14,000 EV in February that could “demolish” domestic EVs, often $40,000 more expensive. The report says China uses Mexico's trade relationship with the United States to avoid high tariffs. The Institute for Energy Research says BYD will dodge a 27.5% tariff from China by building a factory in Mexico where tariffs are 2.5%.
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Former President Donald Trump defeated former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in Michigan’s Republican presidential primary while President Joe Biden cruised to an easy victory on the Democrats' side. The races were called within an hour of polls closing, with the GOP primary determined with about 80% of the vote counted. Biden received more than 126,000 votes while the “uncommitted” spot received more than 23,000 votes, a vote protesting the Israel-Hamas conflict and the U.S’s continual funding of the war.
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The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Sidney Powell, a lawyer aligned with former President Donald Trump who challenged the 2020 presidential election results in Michigan. The nation’s top court included no comment with the Tuesday rejection. In 2021, a court levied $175,000 of sanctions against Powell and attorney Lin Wood for submitting court documents based on “theories, conjecture, and speculation..." U.S. District Judge Linda Parker of Michigan's Eastern District Parker wrote.
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Detroit placed the U.S. on wheels but if Motor City wants to go electric it faces fierce global competition. Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD outsold Tesla in the fourth quarter of 2023. The foreign automaker said it produced more than 3 million new energy vehicles in 2023 compared to Tesla’s 1.8 million. The Wall Street Journal reported BYD wants to build a factory in Mexico to avoid high tariffs and gain a foothold near the United States market. If successful, BYD would likely provide a much cheaper EV than domestic-made ones costing around $65,000.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says the proposed 2025 budget wouldn't raise taxes but it would dump a 1,200% increase in trash fees onto local taxpayers. The budget aims to raise the landfill tipping fee rate for state landfills from 36 cents to $5 per ton – a 1,288% increase. Whitmer posted on social media: “Have you heard? Our new balanced budget does a whole lot. But it doesn't raise taxes.”
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House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, stripped Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, of his committee and office allocation for a social media post. The post claimed that an orchestrated effort called “the great replacement theory” aims to replace White people with people of color through mass illegal immigration. Tate’s spokesperson Amber McCann said Schriver's staff will be reassigned and the $132,000 office allotment will be withheld from Schriver.
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A Southfield-based electric vehicle project will receive $60 million of federal funding for battery research seeking wide-scale EV adoption. The United States Advanced Battery Consortium LLC, a collaboration between General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., and Stellantis N.V., will focus on boosting the performance and manufacturing capabilities of batteries. The funding aims to extend the range of EVs – a barrier to adoption along with a sparse charging network and expensive upfront cost, opponents say.
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House Republican Leader Matt Hall called on Democrat House Speaker Joe Tate of Detroit to “address major issues” including criminalizing fertility fraud. The Richland Township lawmaker called for “balanced committees” to vet bills and claimed the speaker reneged on promised actions on five bills in October. Hall claimed Democrats “rejected” collaboration proposals after adjourning in November.
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The Michigan Court of Appeals will decide the Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s lawsuit challenging an income tax rate increase by March 11. Any appeal to that decision would be due to the Michigan Supreme Court by March 25. The lawsuit challenges the Michigan Department of Treasury’s decision to raise the personal income tax rate back to 4.25% in 2024. The rate was lowered to 4.05% last year triggered by a 2015 law.
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A letter urges an investigation into suppliers of a Ford electric vehicle plant in Marshall, Michigan. Republican U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisconsin, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, signed the letter. Lawmakers urge an investigation into four companies allegedly supplying goods and services to the People’s Liberation Army, the government of North Korea, China’s Ministry of Public Security, companies engaged in the genocide of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang and companies already on the Commerce Entity List.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer targeted lowering household costs for Michiganders in her sixth State of The State address. Whitmer called on lawmakers to offer free preschool for all 4-year-olds, two years of free community college for all high school graduates and an Innovation Fund to subsidize Michigan companies. “Every single Michigander can count on a free public education from pre-K through community college,” Whitmer said. “Let’s get it done.”
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Michigan’s Growing Together Council was funded partly by private groups – a detail omitted in the final report which one lawmaker called an “abuse of the public trust.” State Rep. John Roth, R-Interlochen, told The Center Square in an email Republican concerns continue to grow. “The governor chose to keep over $900,000 in non-profit payments hidden even after strong-arming $2 million in taxpayer funding through the Legislature,” Roth said. “This abuse of the public trust is yet another example of negligence from a governor that has shown no willingness to operate out in the open. Republicans had concerns about the council’s report before, and this lack of transparency is the final nail in the coffin.”
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Days of freezing temperatures and falling snow have knocked out power for more than 150,000 Michiganders and canceled school at multiple districts. The Detroit Public Schools, Livonia Schools, Plymouth-Canton Community Schools and many other districts canceled school on Tuesday and Wednesday. The storm tested Michigan’s infrastructure that is ranked worse than the national average.
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School districts in Detroit, Lansing and Pontiac will each receive $5.9 million in federal funding to buy 15 clean-powered school buses apiece. The funding flows from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Clean School Bus Program grants. Funding through third-party multi-state grantees First Student Inc. and Highland CSB 1 will help buy electric buses in five additional Michigan public school systems – 10 buses in Flint; five in Redford Union No. 1 near Detroit; and two each in Mason County, Brimley, and the West Shore Educational Service District in Ludington.
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Over the weekend, the Michigan GOP State Committee said it voted to expel its chair Kristen Karamo. Karamo, elected in February of 2023, posted on social media Saturday the meeting was "illegitimate." Last week, eight of 13 GOP congressional chairs called for her to resign.
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Applications are open until Jan. 21 to fill 30 seats on the new MI Healthy Climate Corps program. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Office of Climate and Energy program will field 30 AmeriCorps members to help communities fight climate change in March 2024. Projects will be specific to the community, but could include connecting residents to clean energy or energy-efficient programs, helping access clean public transit and bicycle-friendly infrastructure, and researching and assessing opportunities to advance “environmental justice.”
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Since the pandemic began, Michigan has embarked on an "unsustainable" spending spree, says James Hohman, the Director of Fiscal Policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Hohman said Michigan's five newly created agencies since 2020 aren’t as consequential as the "sheer spending."
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The Capital Area Transportation Authority wants to use zero-emission vehicles by 2035, following a statewide effort to use 100% renewable energy by 2040. The group hopes to start driving its first 40-feet, battery-electric, fixed-route bus the board approved April 20, 2022 around 2024-2025 in the city of Lansing since the current lead time for order and delivery is between 20 to 24 months. In August 2021, CATA was awarded a $2.4 million grant, $1,971,211 federal, and $492,803 state funds it will use to purchase electric buses.
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A fifth and final audit of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency found the agency “undercounted fraud penalties by at least 49.4%” because it didn’t fix programming issues with the Michigan Integrated Data Automated System. The audit from the Office of Auditor General Doug Ringler marked two “material conditions” – the most severe rating finding that the agency didn't protect agency funds.
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When the city of East Lansing excluded someone from a farmer’s market because of his religious beliefs, they violated his right to free speech and freedom of religion. The exclusion of Country Mill Farms owner Stephen Tennes from the farmers market because he refused to play host to same-sex wedding ceremonies at his farm, detailed in a 2017 lawsuit, will cost East Lansing $825,000 in damages and attorney fees. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan Judge Paul Maloney said the city can enforce vendor guidelines against Tennes but can’t ban him from participating in the farmer’s market because of his religious beliefs on same-sex marriages.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed $625M of supplemental bills clearing some school debt, funding colleges and universities and her secondary education department. Whitmer signed House Bill 4292 and Senate Bill 174 to fund capital outlay projects from the Fiscal Year 2024 state budget, which was a record $82 billion.
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Michigan will give a nearly 2-year-old company a $10 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant to support a facility for Scout Motors expected to employ 200 people. Scout Motors, a Volkswagen-backed, independent American auto manufacturer headquartered in Virginia, is establishing a new research and development facility in Novi with support from the Michigan Strategic Fund.
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced arrests from two investigations into alleged criminal rings operating in the metro-Detroit area. Three Chilean nationals -Jeremy Martinez, 19, Ignacio Ruiz-Saldias, 29, and Tamara Ruiz-Saldias, 36, allegedly targeted expensive homes in Oakland, Wayne, and Kent Counties. They each face eight counts of second-degree home invasion, a 15-year felony, and one count of conducting a criminal enterprise.
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A farmer who co-owns Soil Friends Hard Cider Co. is suing Comstock Township alleging constitutional and civil rights violations after local officials shut down a new barn “instrumental” to its business. The local government shut down the 22-acre farm during peak season for selling Christmas trees, pumpkins, squash and hard cider “with no warning and no chance for correction,” co-owner Ben Martin told The Center Square in a phone interview. The 12-count complaint filed in the United States Western District of Michigan against Comstock Township alleges First Amendment retaliation, violation of due process, regulatory takings, civil conspiracy, defamation, violation of Michigan’s Open Meetings Act, violations of due process, unconstitutional conditions, conspiracy to interfere with civil rights, tortious interference with a business relationship, intentional infliction of emotional distress under state law, state law preemption by Michigan Liquor Control code and state law preemption by Michigan Right to Farm Act.
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After the Michigan Public Service Commission approved the permit for Enbridge Energy to move the Line 5 oil pipeline into an underground tunnel, Republicans welcomed the decision. The MPSC found “there is a public need for Line 5 products and a public need for the replacement project to protect the resources of the Great Lakes.” Enbridge’s Line 5, a 645-mile oil pipeline, runs 4.5 miles across the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac that connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
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After 11 weeks on strike, the United Auto Workers announced a tentative agreement with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network. The agreement includes the reduction of the wage progression from 22 years to five, significant general wage increases, a $6,500 ratification bonus for Blue Cross Blue Shield workers, a $5,000 ratification bonus for Blue Care Network workers, and inflation protection bonuses of $1,000 each year of the contract. Negotiators secured stronger contractual language to protect worker jobs from being outsourced during the agreement.
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Michigan state Rep. Steve Carra, R-Three Rivers, says he will introduce a bill next year aiming to prohibit legislators from signing non-disclosure agreements. The plan follows a Detroit News report revealing that nearly one in five Michigan lawmakers have signed “secrecy pacts” gagging them from sharing their knowledge of taxpayer-funded projects. Carra encourages economic expansion but says the government picking winners and losers behind closed doors isn’t the right solution.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills into law that ban those convicted of domestic violence from buying, owning or transporting firearms for eight years after sentencing. House Bill 4945 updates the sentencing guidelines to prohibit those convicted of domestic violence from buying or owning a gun or ammunition for eight years. Senate Bill 471 prohibits the possession or use of firearms and ammunition by persons convicted of a misdemeanor involving domestic violence. Senate Bill 528 defines additional domestic violence offenses that result in disqualification.
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Ford Motor Co. will slash 800 jobs from its planned electric vehicle plant in Marshall subsidized by more than $1.7 billion of taxpayer money. Ford said it is "re-timing and resizing" the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan in Marshall.” The news brought bipartisan criticism from Michigan lawmakers. Ford originally announced the plant as worth $3.5B and estimated it would employ 2,500 workers.
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Michigan announced that three companies will receive $178,000 in total funding through the Michigan Mobility Funding Platform to deploy mobility projects. The projects aim to deliver life-saving medications, maximize environmentally-conscious travel experiences, and create more walkable, bikeable and accessible streets. The funding will flow to three companies – $90,000 to Bedestrian in Dearborn, $8,000 to Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in Copper Harbor and $80,000 to Numina in Corktown, Detroit.
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Michigan House Republicans introduced House Concurrent Resolution 9 aiming for lawmakers to adjourn in late December. The resolution notes, according to session schedule, that House lawmakers are to meet until Dec. 21 and the Senate is scheduled to meet until at least Dec. 14. The plan follows as the Democratic majority in the House and Senate plan to stop legislative business and break for the year on Nov. 14 instead of adjourning in late December. The early adjournment is because last week, the Michigan House deadlocked 54-54 until a special session is called after two Democratic lawmakers won mayoral races in Warren and Westland.
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As Michigan aims for 100% clean energy by 2040, a new plan aims to ensure that child slaves aren’t mining the rare earth minerals and assembling the solar panels. Michigan House Republicans proposed a package aiming to stop taxpayer money from funding projects using child or forced labor for solar panels and electric vehicle battery parts. Phil Green, R-Millington, and others sponsored House Bills 5322, 5323, 5324, and 5325 and House Resolution 168.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bipartisan legislation to support the victims of crime by expanding access to support services for domestic and sexual violence survivors and adding privacy protections. Whitmer said the bills will "protect people's privacy and safety while ensuring swift prosecutions for those who commit these crimes.”
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At 2 p.m. Wednesday, all new faces will be sworn into the Green Township Board after voters recalled five board members for supporting the Gotion electric vehicle battery plant that’s acted as a flashpoint to locals. The $2.4 billion EV plant has divided locals. Some welcomed the estimated 2,350 jobs created over 10 years in a county fighting population and job loss, while others questioned the $715 million taxpayer funding to Gotion Inc., a North American company in California that is a subsidiary of Gotion High-Tech in Shanghai. Funding includes a $125 million grant for job creation, a 30-year Renaissance Zone to Mecosta County valued at $540 million, and a $50 million performance-based grant.
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While the United Auto Worker union auto strike might soon end, Detroit's casino strikes are ongoing. The three casinos remain open but 3,700 members from five unions have been on strike since Oct. 17 seeking better pay and benefits affecting MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino and Hollywood Casino at Greektown. In 2020, workers agreed to a three-year contract extension with minimal wage increases to help the industry reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. Striking members say they need raises to compensate for high inflation in Detroit and that the gaming industry is reaping record benefits but aren’t passing them down to workers.
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The United Auto Workers Union and General Motors have reached a tentative agreement to end the auto strike, a report says, marking the possible end of a 45-day historic strike against the Big Three Automakers. Bloomberg News first reported the deal. The UAW hasn’t publicly released contract details yet. The deal follows days after the UAW and Stellantis reached a tentative deal after six weeks of the Stand Up Strike, a strategy in which the union strikes select factories against the Big Three - Stellantis, Ford, and GM.
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The Michigan Court of Claims ruled Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office must either rescind or revise a May 2022 Manual for election poll challengers. The 15-page ruling analyzed four restrictions on poll challengers, including the credential form requirement, the requirement that communication only is with the “Challenger Liaison”, the prohibition on recording “impermissible challenges,” and the prohibition on electronic devices in the Absent Voter Counting Board. The court found the rules should have been promulgated through the Administrative Procedures Act.
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A new bill aims to help Michigan students with dyslexia learn to read and write. Rep. Kathy Schmaltz, R-Jackson, introduced the plan. House Bill 5135 aims to ensure all Michigan school districts have at least one teacher trained in the Orton-Gillingham method, a well-established and effective approach to teaching students with dyslexia that breaks reading and spelling down into smaller skills involving letters and sounds, according to supporters.
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On the 41st day on strike, the United Auto Workers Union reached a tentative deal with Ford Motor Co. About 20,000 Ford workers at the Kentucky Truck Plant, Chicago Assembly Plant and Fort Wayne Assembly Plant will return to work while the agreement goes through the ratification process, with the UAW National Ford Council convening in Detroit to review the agreement.
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A Farmington Hills man was sentenced to 128 days in jail and two years probation for organized retail fraud by Judge Cheryl Matthews in the 6th Circuit Court in Oakland. In September, Brian Roussey, 31, pled guilty to three counts for operating a theft and resale scheme of KitchenAid brand stand mixers from metro Detroit Target stores. He was ordered to pay $20,108 in restitution to Target.
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The Michigan Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday about whether the government can use drones to surveil private property without a warrant and use that evidence in court for zoning disputes. For two years, Long Lake Township zoning officials flew a drone over Todd and Heather Maxon’s property in northern Michigan near Traverse City, taking photographs and videos as part of a zoning dispute that he was running an illegal junkyard. The Institute for Justice, a public interest law firm, is defending the Maxons.
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About 3,700 casino workers in Detroit walked out on strike at noon Tuesday after failing to reach a new contract. The strike affects operations at the MGM Grand Detroit, MotorCity Casino and Hollywood Casino at Greektown and workers including dealers, cleaning staff, food and beverage workers, valets, engineers, and more. Workers represented by the Detroit Casino Council are seeking higher pay and better benefits.
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Despite receiving federal COVID funds, Michigan's financial condition worsened in 2022. A new report found every Michigander must pay $12,100 to bail the state out of debt. Financial watchdog Truth in Accounting released its 14th annual Financial State of the States report, which provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of all 50 states based on the latest available data. The report found Michigan ranked 38 out of 50 for finances because it has $47.4 billion but $88 billion worth of bills – a $40.7 billion deficit.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. unveiled “You Can in Michigan” — a new talent attraction marketing campaign launching nationally. The campaign follows reports of population loss and an estimated more than 270,000 more people will leave the state by 2050. Michigan has lost more than 40,000 residents since 2020. The $20 million campaign showcases Michigan via new television commercials, radio spots, print placements, social channels and themichiganlife.org, a new website for job seekers to explore the state.
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A federal judge has found the owner of the Edenville Dam responsible for widespread flooding in May 2020, that together with heavy rain, forced the evacuation of more than 10,000 people from 3,500 homes in mid-Michigan. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Maloney granted Attorney General Dana Nessel a summary judgment against Boyce Hydro. Nessel had filed the motion on behalf of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and the Department of Natural Resources.
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Michigan House Republicans want an investigation into potential conflicts of interests for House Appropriations Committee Chair Angela Witwer, who was instrumental in forming the state’s record $82 billion budget. On Sept. 5, a Detroit News report disclosed Witwer’s business connections involving a company she co-founded in 2007, Lansing-based public relations firm Edge Partnerships. Witwer was mentioned as an owner of the firm in a social media post in 2021. Company clientele include the Michigan Department of Education, Farm Bureau Insurance and the Michigan Chamber of Commerce.
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel moved to dismiss an August lawsuit arguing the state's income tax drop from 4.25% to 4.05% should be permanent. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy sued State Treasurer Rachael Eubanks over an interpretation of a 2015 law requiring the individual income tax rate to decrease automatically if year-over-year state general fund revenues increase at a greater rate than inflation. The group represents the Associated Builders and Contractors of Michigan, National Federation of Independent Business, Inc., Sen. Ed McBroom, Rep. Dale Zorn and six individual taxpayers.
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Eleven Michigan Republican lawmakers filed a federal lawsuit challenging election changes voters approved in 2018 and 2022. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, the plaintiffs say election officials violated state legislators’ rights because the U.S. Constitution and the Michigan Constitution require state legislatures to regulate the times, places, and manner of federal elections. The lawsuit says Proposal 2 of 2022 and Proposal 3 of 2018, constitutional amendments regulating the times, places, and manner of federal elections, are legally null and void.
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A day after Ford Motor Co. said it would pause construction on its $3.5 billion Marshall electric vehicle battery plant subsidized by $1.7 billion, the state of Michigan allocated the site another $65 million. The Michigan Strategic Fund approved a $65 million Strategic Site Readiness Program Grant to the Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance for land acquisition, site studies and water and wastewater upgrades. On top of that, lawmakers approved $750 million for site readiness.
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A group called on the Democrat-dominated Michigan Legislature to boost electric vehicle incentives so the state can reach 2 million registered statewide by 2030. Illinois leads the Midwest race to register EVs with nearly 80,000 EVs, while Minnesota has 41,417 and Michigan has 34,380. For Michigan to reach its EV goal, it must register 280,803 EVs each year until mid-2030, which would require registering 23,400 EVs every month for seven years. The Clean Cars 2030 coalition called for Michigan to offer more EV incentives, citing a study from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy that ranked Michigan 26th nationwide for EV incentives.
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The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Office of The Inspector General will receive $749,987 to reduce food stamp fraud. The grant funds innovative concepts and best practices over the next three years to detect, investigate and prevent the misuse of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program program Benefits, which security experts say is a “national problem.” The award will support program integrity efforts including computer forensic examiner software and hardware to assist in cybercrimes associated with SNAP.
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More than $553 million in funding to underinvested pensions will flow to 120 Michigan communities. The Protect MI Pension grant program, a $750 million appropriation included in the fiscal year 2022-23 budget, allows local municipal units with pension plans funded below 60% as of December 2021 to receive state funds.
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Michigan lawmakers are frustrated after the Federal Emergency Management Agency rejected a request for financial aid to fix damages from flooding in the Upper Peninsula between April and May. State Reps. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock, and Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River said the flooding caused millions in damages to the UP. The request for a major disaster declaration would have brought public assistance and hazard mitigation to the Upper Peninsula to assist people who were directly impacted by the flooding – whether that be health, home, business, a broken road or more.
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United Auto Worker Union President Shawn Fain gave the Big Three Detroit Automakers a noon deadline on Friday to strike a deal or more workers will walk out of factories. It’s the first UAW strike in history hitting Ford, Stellantis and General Motors simultaneously. But this time, the strikes target specific plants, dubbed the “stand-up strike,” in which they’re striking about 12,700 of their workers.
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A Michigan lawmaker wants Auditor General Doug Ringler to investigate state prison staffing practices. Rep. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, sent a letter to Ringler requesting a review of staffing shortages and alleged violations of federal and state labor regulations within the Michigan Department of Corrections. The MDOC has more than 13,000-full time positions as of fiscal year 2023. Lightner represents Jackson County, home to several state prisons and a large population of corrections employees.
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Some Republicans and Democrats agree Michigan's Freedom of Information Act should be reformed and will propose legislation later this year. Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Southfield Democrat, called FOIA reform a “good government” issue. A 2015 report gave Michigan an ‘F’ grade for government transparency and accountability.
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sued the Gerald R. Ford International Airport Authority over alleged PFAS contamination. The lawsuit claims the airport authority is liable for previous releases of PFAS-containing firefighting material known as aqueous film-forming foams, under Part 201 of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, as well as for violations of its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, PFAS are man-made chemicals often used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1940s, including in nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing, stain-resistant fabrics and carpets and some cosmetics.
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When Michigan voters passed Proposal 1 in November 2022, they required the governor, the lieutenant governor, the attorney general, the secretary of state and each lawmaker to file an annual financial disclosure report with the Department of State. The report must disclose assets, income sources, liabilities, positions held, gifts received, and more, a House Fiscal analysis says. But the Legislature must enact the provisions. If not enacted by Dec. 31, a Michigan resident could sue the Legislature and the governor in the Michigan Supreme Court to enforce the provisions.
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 19 states and the District of Columbia by filing an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing Title IX exemptions established by the Trump Administration hurt gay and transgender students. The brief is part of Hunter v. U.S. Department of Education. The case began in response to Trump Administration exemptions to Title IX, Other groups, such as Christian universities, argue the legal exemption is necessary under the First Amendment.
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A new bill aims to protect public access to government communications under the Freedom of Information Act by preventing the government from speaking in code to thwart records requests. State Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township, introduced the legislation after a lawsuit claimed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration used encrypted Greek letters to discuss the Benton Harbor water lead crisis to avoid public scrutiny.
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Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed enacting a paid family leave program, a 100% clean energy standard and codifying the Affordable Care Act in her "What's Next" speech that outlined the fall agenda Wednesday. The second-term Democratic governor outlined her priorities as state Democrats control the governor's office, House and Senate in Michigan for the first time in 40 years.
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Michigan will spend $5 million to survey replacing the state’s waning gas tax revenue with a miles-traveled tax as more electric vehicles drive on roads but pay less to fix them relative to gas- and diesel-fueled vehicles. The newly signed $82 billion 2024 budget directs state officials to apply for grant funding “under the national motor vehicle per-mile user fee pilot program” under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Upon awarded grant funding, Michigan must establish a pilot program to determine the feasibility of road usage charges to replace motor fuel taxes for transportation funding.
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has said it’s too early to determine whether Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s new education agency is legal or not.On Aug. 8, the State Department of Education requested an attorney general legal opinion regarding the constitutionality of Whitmer’s executive order creating the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential. Nessel responded in a letter, saying: “At this point, the EO is not yet effective and therefore has not been implemented by MiLEAP. And the Board acknowledges that, at this point, there is only the potential for overlap in the future, and no specific set of facts was provided for review.”
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Three different Michigan Department of Transportation projects began this week with funding coming from the Rebuilding Michigan $3.5 billion endowment, as well as the $5 billion Building Michigan Together Plan. Construction will be completed along I-75, M-55 and M-96.
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Michigan lawmakers and the State Board of Education are questioning if the creation of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s second education department is legal. Rep. Angela Rigas, R-Caledonia, called on Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel to block the department's creation. Last week, the board voted unanimously to ask Nessel for her opinion on whether Whitmer's recently unveiled Michigan Department of Lifelong, Education, Advancement and Potential is legal.
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Michigan plans to spend $17 million funding drone aerial infrastructure projects via the 2024 $82 billion budget. About $10 million will fund advanced aerial mobility projects including vertiports, drone hubs and ports and last-mile delivery. Another $7 million will fund a drone park at Battle Creek Unlimited called MICH-AIR, an advanced air mobility park at the Battle Creek Executive Airport that includes about 200 acres of land available for development.
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The way vehicles look has changed drastically since the early 1900s, but roads haven’t changed as much in regard to safety features. Vehicle technology now includes blind-spot motion-sensors, automatic braking and better airbags, but for the most part, roads don’t include safety features. One company says they can make roads with sensors that give real-time updates to first responders, the Michigan Department of Transportation and other drivers with advanced cars, which would make the state’s highways more safe and less congested.
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Michigan taxpayers will pay $506,000 to five private boating companies and one university to demonstrate electric boating potential on the Great Lakes, including shore-side charging stations. The funds support six entities: Arc Boat Company, Aqua superPower,Hercules Electric Mobility, Lilypad Labs, Michigan Technological University, and Voltaic Marine, Inc.
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Multiple times in 2021, Michigan’s utilities left more than 100,000 people in the dark after powerful storms uprooted trees and left inches of ice coating power lines – more than its Midwest neighbors, according to federal data. The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s annual 2021 electric power report says Michiganders faced more than 800 minutes of electric interruptions in 2021 that lasted longer than five minutes – nearly double the national total and more than its Midwest neighbors.
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The city of Flint has repeatedly made media lists for being among the most dangerous cities in America, and its been under a gun violence emergency since June 2021. The federal government and a non-profit have pitched in with millions of dollars to boost funding for the city’s police department. Flint’s police have been one of the most-funded operations in the city, costing almost twice as much as any other department.
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Michigan's charter school association is citing a national study that showed it was one of 10 states or regions in the country that performed better than its peer students in traditional public schools. The Michigan Association of Public School Academies cited the 2023 CREDO study that stated Michigan had learning gains in reading and math that were statistically larger than traditional public schools. The study used data from 2014 to 2019 as measured by state achievement tests.
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Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill funding 45 outdoor recreation projects with $23.3 million in Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund grants. House Bill 4437 approves funding for the 45 development projects and land purchases recommended by the board. The Trust Fund board recommends funding to state and local agencies for development projects and land acquisitions that it believes will increase the quality and quantity of public outdoor recreation opportunities.
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Plymouth Township trustees have yet to say if Michigan taxpayers will shell out $25 million to move a horse racetrack 4.5 miles. When the Northville Downs horse racetrack closes at this year's end, it might move to Plymouth Township. Established in 1944, Northville Downs is Michigan’s oldest and only nighttime harness racing track.
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A Detroit sibling pair along with two others are accused of stealing $3.5 million from taxpayers via an unemployment fraud scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic, announced U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison. Charged are Kenny Lee Howard III, 30, Keila Lanae Howard, 34, David Christopher Davis, 25, and Stevenvan Eugene Ware, 30. Court records say the Howards and the two other defendants filed over 700 unemployment insurance claims in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, California, New York, Kansas, Maryland, Tennessee, Hawaii, and Guam.
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A federal indictment unsealed this week accused seven people of stealing $11 million from 50 victims in West Michigan and nationwide, most of whom were elderly people. U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten welcomed the charges targeting an international crime ring.
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More than a decade after the state of Michigan took over the city of Flint due to financial debt, the city of Flint is facing the same financial problems. The state of Michigan took over the city of Flint's finances in December 2011 when then-Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, appointed an emergency manager. The state took over because Flint was in a financial mess with an underfunded pension system and debt-ridden budgets. Flint experienced a consistent deficit in the general fund as well as other budget issues and unfunded liabilities in the pension system. In June 2009, the city's pension system was funded at 68%.
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Detroit taxpayers forked over $56 million in police settlement payouts between 2020 and four months of 2023. Those payouts are a record amount in recent history, but public officials won’t explain why. That’s an increase of $38 million compared to the Detroit Police Department’s settlement payouts from 2018-2020, which totaled $18 million, according to documents obtained through records requests.
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Despite an injection of millions of federal stimulus money, the city of Flint had a deficit in 2021-22 and is projecting more red ink for its general fund through 2024-25. The city of Flint had a $3.8 million general fund deficit in 2021-22 and estimates it will finish 2022-23 with a $14.4 million deficit, according to budget documents.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order establishing the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, or MiLEAP. MiLEAP is meant to improve education outcomes from preschool through postsecondary by establishing clear metrics, collaborating with cross-sector leaders at the local, regional, and state level, and developing a shared action plan.
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Michigan lawmakers have introduced bills they assert are “totally different” than Michigan’s past film incentive program, which was spiked by former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder in 2015. The recently introduced Multimedia Jobs Act aims to give a 30% tax credit to Michigan companies that hire Michiganders. The bill sets a base 25% tax credit for in-state spending with an extra 5% awarded for including the words "filmed in Michigan," "Pure Michigan," "Michigan Film & Digital Media Office," and the MiFIA logo.
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Detroit’s Midtown Cultural Center will receive $12 million from Michigan taxpayers if, as anticipated, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signs the 2024 budget passed last week by legislators. The money will supplement the anticipated $38 million first phase of multiple projects to renovate a number of landmarks, among them the Midtown Cultural Center that includes the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Detroit Public Library, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, and the Detroit Science Center.
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A Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency report shows in fiscal year 2017-18, adjusted total appropriations equaled $55.8 billion. From fiscal year 2017-24, spending ballooned to $82 billion – a spending increase of $26 billion, or 47%. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2024 budget alone adds 899 government workers.
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The Michigan Senate is poised to pass bills that would make intimidating speech a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Critics say the bills would criminalize speech protected by the First Amendment. House Bills 4474, 4475, 4476, and 4477 aim to prohibit hate crimes, institutional desecration and crime of ethnic intimidation. The House already passed the bills.
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Michigan’s record $82 billion budget for 2024 will add 899 government employees and will increase spending by about $8 billion – Republicans equate these measures to an unsustainable spending spree. Michigan’s 2022 budget was stuffed with $146M in pork barrel spending. This year, that number climbed closer to $1 billion, with taxpayers shelling out millions of dollars for splash pads, union grants, and solar panels.
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The Michigan Department of Education is set to receive a 54% increase in funding in the 2023-24 budget despite lagging student test scores. The proposed budget increases funding for the MDE from $420.6 million in the current budget to $647.4 million in 2023-24. That’s a $226 million increase from the previous fiscal year.
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Michigan Governor Whitmer awarding $25 million in spending to hire school resource officers in Michigan schools reflects a shift in the Governor's tone around policing. Previously the Governor stated that she supported the spirit of defunding the police.
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The Michigan House approved six bills to boost union membership that critics say would prioritize union politics before the quality of education. House Bill 4357 aims to allow school districts to deduct automatically union dues from teacher salaries. Rep. Brad Paquette, R-Niles, said if the bill becomes law, it could push teachers out of the profession. He said when he was starting as a teacher, he made $34,000 annually.
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Democratic Michigan State Senator Stephanie Chang introduces a bill in Michigan that would eliminate job performance from impacting pay raises for teachers. This proposed change would only impact a small portion of teachers in Michigan.
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Detroit’s school board approved a $1.1 billion budget for this school year that cut about $37 million in recurring costs and 300 positions to balance the budget. The board voted 6-1 to approve the budget, which includes eliminating over 300 positions to ratchet down spending but shifting many of those employees to another position. The cuts affect office administrators and school-based employees including assistant principals, college transition advisers, school culture facilitators, and para-educators. However, those positions could be funded at the school level.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed into law three distracted driving bills requiring hands-free cellphone use. The bills provide exceptions such as hands-free use, emergency use, using a device’s navigation feature as long as the information isn’t entered by hand, or using a single button press, tap, or swipe to activate or deactivate a device or to select a name or phone number.
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After a 10-year hiatus, the city of Detroit must resume its $149 million annual pension payment from its 2013 bankruptcy. Stephanie Davis, communications manager with the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, said the city will resume legacy pension payments by July 1 when fiscal year 2024 starts.
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A Michigan bill aims to allow a misdemeanor punishable by a $500 fine levied against those who send unsolicited naked pictures to people who don’t want them. If the bill passes both chambers and is signed into law, House Bill 4535 would apply to those 18 years or older who knowingly transmit electronically to another legal adult a sexually explicit video or image if the recipient doesn’t consent to receive the item.
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Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a joint amicus brief alongside 21 other attorneys general to support the federal government’s prohibition of handguns and ammunition to those 21 and older. The attorneys general filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit. The amicus brief is written “on the merits,” making arguments on how the Court should have ruled on a case it already agreed to hear. The coalition argues that the Second Amendment allows for governmental regulations, such as the federal age requirement to purchase handguns and ammunition. The federal handgun restriction law is currently followed in 19 states, including Michigan.
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Increased nickel demand for electric vehicle batteries hasn’t decreased environmental concerns over the potential dangers of mining the critical mineral. Eleven percent of the world’s nickel is used for lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles. Extracting the metal, however, raises alarms over sulfide pollutants that are a byproduct of nickel mining.
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Former Downtown Development Director Kiaira May a public servant allegedly ran up a $4,302 tab on a city government credit card for “extravagant and unnecessary indulgences.” The City of Flint says Downtown Development Director Kiaira May resigned effective May 12.
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Two students sued Michigan State University officials in federal court after a professor required them to pay $99 to advance progressive political causes that conflict with the students' beliefs. The lawsuit, brought by Alliance Defending Freedom on behalf of students Nathan Barbieri and Nolan Radomski, claims that marketing professor Amy Wisner compelled each of her 600 students to pay a $99 membership fee to join a progressive political advocacy organization.
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The Female Athletics Integrity of Records Act was introduced last week in the Michigan House of Representatives. Otherwise known as House Bill 4546, the FAIR Act aims to require the categorization of sporting event awards, rankings, and records with each competitor’s biological sex. If signed into law, the law would apply to any publicly-funded event with clearly designated male and female competitions. Rep. Jaime Greene, R-Richmond, introduced the bill, which she sponsored along with 28 other Republican legislators.
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Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley appears to drive a city-issued vehicle that city council members say isn’t in his contract. After city council members raised the issue last Wednesday, Flint gave The Center Square the following statement: “The City of Flint Police Department has identified credible threats and has assigned a vehicle to the Mayor’s Office to secure the safety of staff when traveling to and from events. The Flint Police Department makes it a standard practice to not discuss the details of security measures. "Publication of this information has the potential to compromise the safety of City of Flint employees.
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How can Michigan tread a path to prosperity after 50 years of population loss and another 270,000 residents projected to leave the state over the next 30 years? A new report from the Citizen’s Research Council of Michigan and Altarum says Michigan’s competitiveness with other states is in jeopardy. The state has an eroding tax base, fewer workers and more retirees, and a weak workforce to attract new employers.
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The Democrat-dominated Michigan House passed multiple budget bills for the fiscal 2023-24 year, sparking outcry from Republicans who say the roughly $80 billion budget - the most expensive in state history- is full of wasteful spending.
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In Michigan, local school district evaluations stated that there were only 165 teachers out of the 115,910 evaluated in 2021-22 that were found to be "inefficient." Statistically, that translated to 0%. In fact, 99% of all Michigan public school teachers last year were rated either as "highly efficient" or "efficient," the highest two of four evaluation categories.
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How hard is it to get public information out of government establishments in Michigan? Might be harder than you think. Join The Center Square's Scott McClallen and Tom Gantert on this episode of Michigan in Focus.
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The Michigan House of Representatives is in favor of legislation making cocktails-to-go permanent. In a 102-5 nod of approval, the legislation would eliminate a Jan. 1, 2026 sunset date of current law enacted in response to COVID-19 closures and impact on the economy.
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The Michigan Economic Development Corporation told The Center Square it would charge $16,537 for more than 45,000 pages of documents about the planned Gotion plant in Mecosta County. A Freedom of Information Act request from The Center Square fielded a response for 45,891 pages of possible related documents, which the MEDC estimated would take 406 hours to extract from its records.
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Two Michigan students sued their school district for viewpoint discrimination after they were banned from wearing apparel implicitly critical of President Joe Biden. In February 2022, two Tri County Middle School students wore sweatshirts to school with the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon,” a political slogan critical of Biden with origins in a more profane chant.
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The state of Michigan Legislature has introduced three bills that would prohibit people from holding or using a mobile electronic device while operating a motor vehicle. House Bills 4250, 4251, 4252 were approved Wednesday by the Michigan House Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure Committee. The bills would next be voted on by the House and then, if passed, be sent to the Senate for a vote.
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On a narrow 10-9 vote, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday approved the transfer of $175 million of Michigan’s Strategic Outreach Attraction Reserve fund to the Gotion Inc. electric vehicle battery parts manufacturing facility in Mecosta County. Six Republican senators and three Democrat senators voted against the transfer.
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Developers want taxpayers to pony up to 82% of the cost of a proposed mixed-use facility in Grand Rapids called Factory Yards, located at Godfrey Avenue SW south of Market Avenue SW. The project could qualify for $103 million in Transformational Brownfield Credits and $20 million in traditional brownfield credits out of the estimated $150 million total development cost for the project, which would involve renovating existing buildings and constructing new buildings over about 15.5 acres.
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A new report from the Education Law Center and the Michigan Education Association says Michigan needs $4.5 billion annually so students can achieve state academic standards. School funding adequacy refers to the funding necessary to provide students with reasonable opportunities to achieve state standards.
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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced new proposed federal vehicle emissions standards critics claim will “effectively ban gasoline and diesel vehicles” while making the U.S. dependent on China. The EPA proposal of light and heavy-duty vehicle greenhouse gas emission standards is for model years 2027-2032. The EPA projects that its proposal could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 56% by 2032 and help increase electric vehicle light-duty sales by 67% by 2032.
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The city of Detroit plans to spend $45 million of one-time money to bridge the digital divide in the Motor City while employing more residents in technology work through training, internship, and certification. Within her first 45 days at work, Christine Burkette, Detroit's new digital equity director, plans to use data-driven numbers and community engagement to connect many of the 635,000 Detroiters to affordable internet access by 2026 when federal American Rescue Plan funds must be depleted.
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Big Rapids’ residents were undeterred after Gotion changed a town hall style meeting to online. Instead, protestors took to the streets in front of the Ferris State University building where the meeting was to take place, showing opposition to the proposed electric vehicle battery plant the company with Chinese ties plans to build.
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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments later this month in a case determining whether government has the right to keep all the proceeds from foreclosed properties.
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An April 5 meeting to discuss a planned Gotion electric vehicle battery plant with $1.1 billion of backing in Mecosta County has been moved online, allegedly because of planned protests and possible threats of violence. Green Township Supervisor Jim Chapman told The Center Square in an email: “Yes it is a go, virtual only because of the huge numbers of protestors that intended to overrun us. Also we received threats of violence that we felt might be credible. A link to the panel will be on our webpage next week along with a link to the questions submitted.”
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Saginaw Township residents might see up to a $460 annual increase in tax bills if voters approve a tax hike to repair school buildings. The Saginaw Township Community Schools Board of Education placed a $243 million bond proposal for 30 years on the May 2, 2023 ballot. With voter approval, the bond would finance school facility improvements, including demolishing three classroom pods and constructing a new 600-seat theater at Heritage High School. The bond proposal would require a 5.75 mill tax increase, or $5.75 on each $1,000 of taxable valuation, which the school says will cost the average Saginaw Township Community School District homeowner in a $100,000 home with a taxable value of $50,000, $287.50 per year, or $23.95 per month.
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The Ann Arbor public school district has a book available in its pre-kindergarten library called “Introducing Teddy: a gentle story about gender and friendship." The book is about a boy's best friend and teddy, Thomas, who is sad because "he wishes he were a girl, not a boy teddy, but what only matters to both of them is that they are friends." School districts across the country purchased books in 2022 that cover controversial topics such as critical race theory, white supremacy and gender dysphoria. The Center Square filed Freedom of Information Act requests with numerous school districts around the country and asked for the books they purchased for their K-12 libraries.
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Jennifer and James Crumbley will face a trial on four counts of involuntary manslaughter for their alleged role in the Oxford School shooting in which four students were gunned down by their son, Ethan. The Michigan Court of Appeals on Thursday upheld District Court Judge Julie A. Nicholson’s ruling last month that a jury could find probable cause the parents could reasonably foresee their son’s violent actions against students and faculty Nov. 30, 2021. In their opinion, Judges Christopher M. Murray, Michael J. Riordan and Christopher P. Yates concurred with Nicholson when she determined the parents’ behavior “increase[d] the foreseeable risk of a particular harm occurring through … a second actor.”
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The U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that a deaf former student can pursue monetary damages against a Michigan school district that allegedly failed to provide an adequate education. Nine-year-old Miguel Perez, the plaintiff, left Mexico with his family and enrolled at Sturgis Public School District in 2004. Perez was assigned to a classroom aide and was never given a sign language interpreter - only aides who were either unqualified or absent. For 12 years, Sturgis allegedly awarded Perez inflated grades and advanced him from grade to grade despite his actual progress, until just months before his anticipated graduation in 2016 when Perez’s parents were informed he was only eligible to earn a certificate of completion rather than a diploma.
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The Detroit Police Department is seeking a $22 million increase to its budget in 2024, citing an increase in violent crime. The budget, proposed by Mayor Mike Duggan, would total $389 million, up from $366 million in fiscal year 2023. Most of that funding increase, about $13.5 million, would fund a bump in salaries and wages, while another $10 million would fund employee benefits. Meanwhile, planned operation costs in 2024 would drop by about $6 million. Chief James White says homicides are up 17% year to date, while they’ve seen a 32% spike in vehicle thefts year-to-date.
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The Democrat-dominated Michigan Senate voted to repeal right-to-work and to reinstate the prevailing wage. The House passed bills to repeal right-to-work last week. If signed into law, the first bill would affect about 9% of Michigan workers. Right-to-work was implemented during a lame-duck session in 2012 under former Republican Gov. Rick Synder and a Republican majority. In short, the 2012 law says that nobody can be required to pay dues or fees to a union to hold a job. “The ability to speak up together with one voice for better pay and benefits and safer workplace conditions is a right that workers deserve,” Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, said in a statement. “By repealing anti-worker laws, we’re making our state a place where people want to come, work hard, and build a life knowing that they will be respected and able to earn a good living. It’s a new era in Lansing and we are taking this historic opportunity to restore workers’ freedom.”
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Michigan lawmakers on Wednesday pressed DTE Energy and Consumer’s Energy officials and others about recent storms that left some without power for up to seven days. House Energy, Communications, and Technology Chairwoman Helena Scott, D-Detroit, said Michiganders demand a reliable grid. “We cannot and will not accept this as the new normal,” Scott said at the beginning of the hearing. “The power grid and associated infrastructure must be reinforced, it must be updated and improved so that Michigan residents are safe, warm, and receive the services that they pay for.”
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
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Three years after COVID struck Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer now admits that many of her early lockdown rules, in retrospect, “don’t make a lot of sense.” “We had to make some decisions, that in retrospect, don’t make a lot of sense,” Whitmer said in a CNN interview clip posted by the Twitter account @Breaking911. When COVID struck, Whitmer shuttered much of the state’s economy. Her rules deemed which careers were “essential” and ordered “nonessential” workers to stay home. Whitmer banned stores larger than 50,000 square feet from selling paint and home-improvement supplies, as well as advertising for “nonessential” goods. Even poperating a motorboat could bring criminal charges, as could traveling to a secondary home. Her lockdown was the longest and most strict in the Midwest.
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The Michigan House approved adding LGBTQ protections to the state’s civil rights law while the Senate repealed a 1931 abortion ban, which already was disarmed by Proposal 3. The House voted 65-45 on House Bill 4003 to expand the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. The act prohibits discriminatory practices, policies, and customs based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or marital status. The Michigan House of Representatives on Wednesday passed a measure to expand firearm background checks to include rifles and shotguns. Fifty-six Democrats voted for the bill, while 53 Republicans voted against it. Michigan’s background check requirements apply only to handguns. The law passed Wednesday by the House will, if approved by the Senate and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as anticipated, expand background checks for long guns that are sold at gun shows or through private transfers.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
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One decade after then-Republicans in the legislative majority and governor’s mansion instated it as the law in Michigan, the current Democrat legislative majority and governor have kicked it to the curb. On Wednesday night, the Michigan House voted 56-53 along party lines to repeal the state’s right-to-work law. That vote tally was echoed on reinstating Michigan’s prevailing wage law. The bills now travel to the Democrat-majority Senate, which could send them to the governor’s desk as early as next week. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat and former State Senator when right-to-work went into effect in March 2013, is expected to sign both bills into law.
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As two train derailments – one in Ohio and one in Michigan – remain national news, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel continue their crusade to shut down the Line 5 pipeline. If successful in their efforts, moving the petroleum products would transition from pipelines to tanker truck and rail transportation, according to experts interviewed by The Center Square. This transition would likely drive up prices for consumers, increase carbon emissions, and prove less safe, they say. Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Reporter Scott McClallan.
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Should Michigan taxpayers foot $700,000 per job created for 2,500 jobs at the new Ford factory that will pay an average wage of $45,136? That’s the question Michigan lawmakers will soon decide for the BlueOval Battery Park in Marshall. The $3.5 billion factory aims to drop the cost of electric vehicles via lithium iron phosphate batteries and pump out 2 million vehicles globally by 2026. The factory will be funded by at least $1 billion in taxpayer funds. The state asked for another $750 million to prep the site, bringing the total taxpayer cost to $1.75 billion. Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Reporter Scott McClallan.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
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Lansing Democrat Elissa Slotkin, representing Michigan’s 7th District in the U.S. House of Representatives, says she plans to run for a U.S. Senate seat in 2024. Democratic U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow has announced she will not run for reelection in 2024. Slotkin defeated Republican state Sen. Tom Barrett last November in the nation’s most expensive U.S. congressional race. The former state congresswoman raised a reported $9.3 million on her way to defeat Barrett, who raised only $2.5 million. Slotkin defeated Barrett after winning 50.8% of the vote to Barrett’s 47.2%.Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Managing Editor Tom Gantert.
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Michigan taxpayers might have to foot the bill for the state’s clean energy goals if DTE Energy is permitted to impose a $622 million rate hike. The utility's request seeks to hike residential rates by 13.9%, commercial rates by 11.5%, and industrial rates by 7%. DTE asked for the new rate hike effective as of Dec. 10 to recover costs of increased investments, carbon reduction plans, and attempting to comply with the state’s clean energy goals. Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Managing Editor Tom Gantert.
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The battle over whether a state of Michigan or federal court will determine the fate of the Line 5 dual pipelines remains in legal limbo for the time being. The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan on Wednesday ruled in favor of granting Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's request to certify the court's August 2022 decision for interlocutory appeal to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Join The Center Square's Bruce Walker and Tom Gantert on this episode of Michigan in Focus.
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The city of Flint's public schools have been the biggest benefactor in Michigan from the federal pandemic funding. The district received $49,996 per pupil in federal pandemic funding and that has allowed it to increase employee pay on average by 35% from 2019 to 2022. By comparison, Goodrich Area School District is within the same county as Flint, but that district received $1,662 per pupil in federal pandemic money. The Flint district received so much federal aid primarily because 96% of its students are "economically disadvantaged," meaning they receive some form of government aid. Join The Center Square's Bruce Walker and Tom Gantert on this episode of Michigan in Focus.
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As many as 676,280 customers in Michigan were without power as of 7:45 a.m. Thursday due to an ice storm that swept through the southern part of the state. Consumers Energy and DTE warned customers on Twitter that downed wires could delay restoration efforts. "Crews are actively working in the field. They are assessing damage and making the public safe due to down wires. Restore efforts will be made when it is safe to do so," DTE tweeted at 4:57 a.m. Thursday. Join The Center Square's Bruce Walker and Tom Gantert on this episode of Michigan in Focus.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker, Managing Editor Tom Gantert, and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss Citizens Research Council of Michigan challenging the conclusions of a toll road feasibility study commissioned by the Michigan Department of Transportation. One day after announcing it would use $1 billion in taxpayer subsidies to build a new electric vehicle battery plant in Michigan, Ford Motor Company on Tuesday halted production of its F-150 Lightning EV pickup because of a potential battery issue.
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--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/michigan-in-focus/support
Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker, Managing Editor Tom Gantert and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss Michigan's online charter public schools have a 20% decrease in spending in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's 2023-24 budget proposal. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed $79 billion budget for fiscal year 2024 aims to require taxpayers subsidize electric vehicles and chargers with $318 million.
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Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/michigan-in-focus/support
Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Managing Editor Tom Gantert as they discuss the lack of transparency in Michigan government and toll roads in the state of Michigan.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
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Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
--- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/michigan-in-focus/support
Join The Center Square's Managing Editor Tom Gantert and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in her State of the State address Wednesday evening proposed seven permanent government expansions. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called for “immediate” relief to some Michiganders from rising prices in her State of the State address Wednesday evening. The Michigan Court of Claims has entered an order certifying the $20 million class-action settlement against the Unemployment Insurance Agency..
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America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker, Managing Editor Tom Gantert and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss that as the number of electric vehicles grows in Michigan, so does the revenue hole from missing gas taxes that fix the damn roads. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday heard testimony related to Perez v. Sturgis Public Schools. Michigan schools are beefing up security with 195 school resource officers, one each for the state's 195 school districts, intermediate school districts, and public-school academies.
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America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Join The Center Square's Managing Editor Tom Gantert and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss that Michigan Democrats while holding a political trifecta aim to regulate charter schools, data from the graduating class of 2021 show that the top eight open-enrollment high schools for college enrollment in Detroit are all charter schools. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer touted a CNBC report Monday naming Michigan a state poised to “dominate” EV battery manufacturing in the United States by 2030.
Listen to Other ATN Productions:
America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker, Managing Editor Tom Gantert, and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss that after the FBI declared the popular Chinese video app TikTok a national security threat, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer continues to post on the platform. Approximately twice as many Michiganders approve of a right-to-work law than oppose it, according to a statewide poll released Thursday by TargetPoint Consulting on behalf of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Listen to Other ATN Productions:
America in Focus: A weekly feature of the top TheCenterSquare.com stories of the week out of Washington D.C. with commentary from The Center Square editors and more!
America's Talking: An interview podcast hosted by Austin Berg. Guests include professors, journalists, artists, business and nonprofit leaders, authors, and more.
Everyday Economics: Join economist Dr. Orphe Divounguy and Chris Krug as they discuss global markets, inflation, and everything else that will help you understand the economic world around you.
Future of Freedom: Future of Freedom is a bi-weekly podcast highlighting the work of the non-profits which are shaping the future of the freedom movement. Listeners will hear civil, intellectual conversations about why the organizations exist, what their mission is, and how they work to achieve it. Hosted by Scot Bertram.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker, Managing Editor Tom Gantert, and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss the top news stories in the state of Michigan in the year 2022. The alleged ringleader of the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 has been sentenced to 16 years in prison and five years of supervision in federal court. A second alleged ringleader of the plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2020 has been sentenced to 19.5 years in prison and five years of supervision.
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Join The Center Square's Editor Tom Gantert and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss Carhartt to expand in Dearborn with nearly $1M of taxpayer help. Michigan taxpayers footing $57M in private business subsidies. Mom, denied ethnicity and gender class course materials, will appeal judge's FOIA ruling.
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Join The Center Square's Editor Tom Gantert and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss the idea that there is a teacher shortage in Michigan, what a ‘shortage’ really means, and how unions impact the industry.
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Join The Center Square's Managing Editor Tom Gantert and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss a Novi man sentenced for $423,435 unemployment fraud scheme. Businesses Fear Michigan Democrats Repealing Right-To-Work.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker, Managing Editor Tom Gantert, and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss Michigan’s underperforming public schools require state-mandated ‘comprehensive support’. Democratic majorities in Lansing will target public charter schools.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker, Managing Editor Tom Gantert, and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss DOE rejecting funding for Palisades nuclear plant. UIA worker, daughter, two others convicted of $1M COVID fraud scheme. Incoming Michigan Democratic leadership mostly mum on Line 5.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker, Managing Editor Tom Gantert, and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss Michigan Dems want to repeal third grade reading law, reform or repeal standardized testing. Spending at suburban Detroit transit agency grows despite service cuts.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker, Managing Editor Tom Gantert, and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss the political trifecta scored by Michigan Democrats. Whitmer wins second term as Michigan governor.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Big Money, Big Endorsements for Michigan U.S. House Seat. Dixon narrows polling gap with Whitmer, notches significant statewide endorsement. Michigan schools' COVID recovery include support dogs and massage chairs. 'Incredibly disappointed': Wayne County reneges on $32M small business fund.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan governor’s pandemic school-closure claim heavily scrutinized. Line 5: Thorn in Whitmer's side while governor, and in debate against Dixon. Michigan’s latest tax incentive, $526M, harshly criticized.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: State agrees to spend $20 million to settle false unemployment-fraud cases. Lansing Public Schools plans $19M of COVID relief for air conditioners. How Bay County is spending $20 million of COVID relief. Slotkin/Barrett vie for 7th Congressional District U.S. House seat.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan Schools Boost Online, In-Person Security. Detroit to spend COVID relief luring back long-term unemployed. Dearborn Schools sets Thursday meeting over sexually explicit books. National think tank grades Whitmer ‘F’ on fiscal responsibility.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan Election Software CEO Charged With Theft of Poll-Worker Data, Storing It in China. Felony charges dismissed against seven state officials in Flint water crisis. Whitmer, Dixon spar over EV subsidies.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Experts: Michigan home-heating costs will jump significantly this winter. 83-year-old Right to Life of Michigan volunteer shot while canvassing. Michigan mother sues school board over COVID-19 policy ‘retaliation’. Michigan Legislature OKs $1B spending, mostly economic development.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Some Michigan Schools Keep Mum on COVID Relief Spending. Dixon, conservative group campaign for parental rights in kids' education. Seven Midwest states enter hydrogen coalition.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Experts question economic, environmental value of wind power. Expert: Metro Detroit public transit ridership won't recover this decade. Biden stumps for EVs in Detroit.
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Join The Center Square's Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen & Regional Editor Tom Gantert as they discuss: Taxpayer cost of Flint water crisis trial could balloon to $90M. How Detroit Public Schools plans to spend $1.2B of COVID-19 relief. Michigan students' test scores still lagging.
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Join The Center Square's Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen & Regional Editor Tom Gantert as they discuss: Michigan library defunded over LGBTQ books hits $245,000 on GoFundMe. Michigan's K-12 education enrollment fell 25% between 2002 and 2020. How Saginaw Public Schools spent $27M of COVID relief money.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan voters to decide on longer term limits for lawmakers. Michiganders react to Biden canceling some student loan debt. Residents, East Grand Rapids clash over possible $532,000 splash pads.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Gov. Whitmer suggests school sales tax holiday; GOP calls it 'pandering'. Michigan schools, colleges have only spent 44% of federal COVID aid. Debate: Ann Arbor to Traverse City passenger rail feasibility.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Whitmer kidnapping jury selection starts. Oakland County 10-year transit millage on Nov 8 ballot. School choice initiative clears signature hurdle for November ballot.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Tudor Dixon declared victor in Republican primary race. Election 2022: Primaries clear Michigan fields; more will come at conventions. Holland voters approve $30 million broadband proposal.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Detroit City Council OKs $60M tax break for Bedrock's Hudson building. After record funding, Michigan schools seek more money. AAATA seeks 5-year, $21.8M proposal on Aug. 2 ballot.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan expects $110M over 5 years for EV chargers. Gov. Whitmer signs $54B operating budget. Michigan business, restaurant groups react to minimum wage ruling.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Billionaire's project gets $100M from Michigan taxpayers. Ann Arbor police officer retires over 'mob mentality;' police enforcement tumbles. Michigan bill aims to stop gas station price gouging. 36th District Court adjusting use of cash bail for 2-5 years.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: GM got $3.8B in tax credits post 2009 bankruptcy, Analyst: $251M 2023 'economic development' in Michigan won't address taxpayer priorities, Michigan's $77B budget lacks tax relief but bails out pensions, funds roads.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan Supreme Court: judge erred in Flint one-man jury indictments. AG Nessel's office renews pursuit of Flint water charges. California EV fire casts doubt on 'green' energy claims. Nearly 38,000 Michigan child care professionals receive $500, $1,000 bonuses.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Detroit City Council again delays vote on $60M tax break. Critic says November term-limit ballot proposal would be a boon to lobbyists. Experts say new SCOTUS ruling may reverberate in Michigan education system. Governor's lost case sends $200,000 in attorneys fees to policy center's litigation effort
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Gov. Whitmer OKs 17-year-olds serving alcohol, swim-up bars, Michigan House Oversight Committee hears emergency power reform, & Michigan Senate approves $565 million for mental health.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: . Michigan lawmakers advance bill to allow 17-year-olds serve alcohol. Michigan lawmakers OK bill requiring high schoolers take personal finance class. City of Dearborn facing $22 million deficit.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Gov. Whitmer 'seriously looking' at gas tax holiday. Ford to invest $2 billion, create 3,200 jobs in Michigan. Study: Replace gas tax with mileage fees to fix roads.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan bill aims to authorize construction site speeding cameras. Bureau of Elections: 5 GOP gov candidates shouldn't reach Aug 2 ballot. MDOS ejects candidates from Aug. 2 ballot.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan judge's abortion interests called into question. Judge who overturned Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban a longtime abortion advocate. Audit: UIA failed to limit access to sensitive information. Are Michigan agencies able to regain trust?
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan audit: Long-term care advocates didn't visit most homes for 31 months. Gov. Whitmer breaks COVID pay promise. Michigan Legislature OKs term limits, transparency reform for November ballot.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Whitmer will 'fight like hell' to protect abortion access. Michigan GOP's Senate budget eyes $2 billion in tax breaks. Striking similarities between two Michigan FBI undercover plots. $431M waived for UIA in federal pandemic overpayments for 55,000.
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Join The Center Square's Regional Editor Bruce Walker and Michigan Reporter Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan gives $577,400 in grants for electric vehicle programs. Study: Recycling and storing EV batteries will be a 'huge issue'. Michigan inches closer to '23 budget.
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Whitmer admin mum over possible $1.4 million security contract. Economists question Kalamazoo sports organization’s $15.5M boast. Whitmer wants federal funds to keep Palisades nuclear plant open. Michigan panel approves $6.8 billion infrastructure package.
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Governor wants to increase university funding as Michigan enrollment declines. Protestors pack Grand Rapids after fatal police shooting. Jury acquits two in Whitmer kidnapping plot.
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Whitmer vetoes Michigan GOP election bills. GOP lawmaker calls on Whitmer to provide tax relief. Expert says Michigan isn't prioritizing fixing roads.
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Study recommends ‘dynamic upgrades’ to address disparities in Michigan’s per-pupil school funding. Gov. Whitmer signs into law $4.8 billion infrastructure package. Michigan to send $140 million of marijuana tax revenue to local governments, other programs.
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Poll: 59% of Michigan voters would consider a new governor. Michigan electric vehicle battery plant receives $189M state subsidy. Michigan parents demand resignation of school board and administrators.
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Rochester Schools paid $188,750 to settle dossier lawsuit. Michigan lawmakers pitch ethics reform in shadow of Chatfield scandals. SOS Benson touts transparency but hasn't revived transparency website. Ohio Chamber wants Michigan pipeline to remain open.
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House OKs cutting 27-cent gas tax for 6 months. Line 5 closure could cause Midwest transportation costs to jump $5.9B over five years. Whitmer aims to spend $41M to upgrade prison tech.
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Join The Center Square's Bruce Walker and Scott McClallen as they discuss: Michigan bills aim to stop NDAs in private-public deals. Pickleman on hot seat, Reps. Johnson and Brixie spar in Michigan probe and a report that says Detroit requires 77 steps to open a restaurant.
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Redistricting committee gives itself 7% raise despite million-dollar deficit. House Oversight Committee hears testimony alleging MIOSHA abuse of authority. Michigan committees approve $1.7 billion tax break, $1.5 billion for local pension debt. Petition drive aims to limit payday lending APR.
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MIOSHA fined Port Huron $6,300 over a 'general feeling,' city manager says. Whitmer signs $1.2 billion COVID recovery bill. Michigan Senate Oks bill to drop personal, corporate tax rate to 3.9% Lawsuit claims SOS Benson illegally accepted Zuckerberg money to swing 2020 election.
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Whitmer calls on Canada to 'de-escalate' trucker blockade. Michiganders react to 2023 $74B budget proposal. Whitmer's '23 budget focuses on education, infrastructure, economic development. Gov. Whitmer signs into law savings program for ‘first-time’ homebuyers.
Michigan in Focus is a production of America's Talking Network.
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