A movement to protest outside a Tesla showroom near Grand Rapids appears to be gaining steam after a second week.

On Monday afternoon, about three dozen people stood outside the showroom on 29th Avenue in Kentwood to protest Tesla CEO Elon Musk. It was not a huge crowd, but it was the second week in a row for protesters. And now there are plans to continue the demonstration on the coming Mondays.

Elizabeth Jenkins said she accidentally became the organizer of the protest after looking into protests at other Tesla dealerships nationwide, and deciding that West Michigan should have its own protests.

“Last week I told my mom, ‘I accidentally signed up to make a protest, do you want to come with me?’ And I thought it was just her and me.”

Instead, dozens showed up. And since there was interest to do it again, Jenkins said she planned a second event, with more to come after this week.

Jenkins’ mom, Eileen, said she didn’t expect the small protest to make a big difference, but it’s important for her to make a statement.

“I don’t think that it will affect Elon Musk very much,” Eileen Jenkins said. “I think he looks at us as minor. But I do think that money is the only thing he understands, and this is the only way we can — I don’t know — make a money statement.”

Protesters have been making statements at Tesla showrooms around the nation in recent weeks, including regular protests at the Tesla showroom in Ann Arbor.

They oppose deep cuts made by a new government agency known as DOGE, spearheaded by Musk. Eileen Jenkins said Musk had taken the purse strings from the government by slashing programs without oversight from Congress.

The protests at the showroom just outside Grand Rapids started later than others around the nation, and so far have been smaller than some seen in other cities.

But Monday’s demonstration drew some who’ve not been part of protests in the past.

Tom Northway said he was a former Republican who hadn’t gone to a protest since he protested against the Vietnam War.

He said he’s been increasingly alarmed by both Trump and Elon Musk, and he was inspired watching an interview with Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa, a journalist in the Philippines whose outlet, Rappler, pushed back against the administration of Rodrigo Duterte, despite facing prosecution. Still, Northway said initially he wasn’t sure if he wanted to join Monday’s protest. He followed along with the event plans on social media.

“I looked up and saw there was only five people, and I thought, ‘Eh I don’t think I’m going to do that,’” Northway said. “And then there were 10 last Saturday night, and then yesterday afternoon I looked and it was 140. I said ‘Okay, I got a couple hours that I can spare and I got nothing else to do.’”

On Monday, he stood across the street from the Tesla showroom with his dog Jagger and held a sign that said, “Elon Musk is a Nazi,” a statement he said he felt comfortable with after seeing Musk give a gesture that appeared to some to be similar to a Nazi salute following a speech in Washington D.C.

“I have no problems carrying this and thinking I’m correct,” Northway said. “If somebody doesn’t stand up and say this is wrong, if everybody sits back on their couches, then nothing gets done.”

A Kentwood police officer at the front of the showroom said staff did not wish to comment on the protest.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Garlin Gilchrist II, a Democrat from Detroit who is Michigan’s first Black lieutenant governor, announced he’s jumping into the crowded 2026 race for governor on Tuesday.

A software engineer by trade, Gilchrist vaulted from relative political obscurity in 2018 to run alongside Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and his profile has been bolstered over the past six years by working closely with one of the nation’s most high-profile Democrats.

“When you have a problem, an engineer can fix that problem,” Gilchrist said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of his announcement, saying he’s built up relationships in each of the state’s 83 counties. “That’s a story that I’m going to tell.”

As governor, he said he’ll focus on expanding affordable housing and improving access to health care, particularly mental health services.

He recognized that voters sent President Donald Trump back to the White House in part because of frustration with a “status quo that wasn’t serving them.” Trump notched a 1.5-point victory in Michigan last fall.

“That anger comes from not having results, from things not working,” said Gilchrist. He described moving to Washington state to work for Microsoft after graduating from the University of Michigan, but says that as governor, he’ll make sure residents can “be their best self here.”

“I want us to make good choices today so that the people of Michigan know that they can take their next step here,” he said. “They can build their careers and their families and their futures here.”

Still, Gilchrist will have to balance that narrative with his role near the top of the Democratic Party, which held full control of state government from 2022 to 2024. Gilchrist in his AP interview did not break from Whitmer, calling her an ally and said they have “laid a really good foundation for the future of the state of Michigan.”

Gilchrist is seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party. His hometown Detroit is the state’s largest Democratic stronghold and nearly 80% Black, bolstering his appeal. If elected, Gilchrist would be the first Black governor of the state. However, before joining Whitmer on the Democratic ticket, he ran for Detroit City Clerk in 2017 and narrowly lost to incumbent Janice Winfrey.

Lieutenant governors also don’t have a good track record in Michigan when trying to ascend to the governor’s office, with the most recent example being Republican Brian Calley, who was trounced in the party’s primary in 2018.

Gilchrist joins Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson in the 2026 Democratic primary. Whitmer has said she won’t endorse any candidate.

The primary winner could face an uphill battle in the general election. Along with a Republican opponent — Republican Senate Leader Aric Nesbitt is seen as the leading candidate currently — they may also contend with Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan, a former Democrat now running for governor as an independent.

–Reporting by Joey Cappelletti, Associated Press

The Ontario government announced it’s charging an extra 25% on all electricity exports to the U.S. Monday.

The provincial government says that’ll impact 1.5 million homes spread across Michigan, Minnesota, and New York. Ontario said that could cost up to $400,000 each day the surcharge is in place, blaming tariffs from the Trump Administration for the move.

Despite Ontario naming Michigan in its announcement, state regulators expect the move could more likely be felt on a regional scale.

“While the vast majority of Michigan’s electricity is either produced by the electric utilities or purchased under long-term power contracts, the imposition of these tariffs could have some impact on prices in the regional energy markets, though the ultimate impact on Michigan customers is likely to be small,” a written statement from the Michigan Public Service Commission read.

The agency cast doubt on whether any utilities in the state actually purchase electricity from Canada to begin with.

In a written statement, DTE Energy, one of the state’s largest utility companies, said it was prepared to mitigate any pricing concerns.

“DTE continues to monitor the evolving tariff policies with Canada.We self-generate the majority of electricity required to serve our customers’ needs, with the small amount that we do purchase coming from the United States.” DTE Energy said.

The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) said “the vast majority” of the state’s electricity is produced by the state’s utilities themselves or through long term contracts.

The MPSC is warning, however, that Michigan’s electric grid is tied to several other states and one Canadian province, Manitoba. It said Michigan’s regional operator and Ontario’s regional operator coordinate that flow of electricity.

“Any action to limit or disrupt these flows would remove a layer of protection and make all of us – Canadians and Americans alike – more vulnerable to grid-scale outages,” the MSPC statement said.

Brandon D. Morris is with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, which operates Michigan’s electric grid.

“MISO is still reviewing Ontario’s recent decision to apply an export tax on electricity, which will be collected on the Canadian side of the border,” Morris said in a statement.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) issued an advisory this week warning people of a possible travel ban by the Trump administration for Arab, Muslim-majority countries and others.

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The advisory says nationals from Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Venezuela or Yemen should not leave the U.S.

If people need to travel, they should check with an immigration attorney before traveling. The advisory also says individuals living or traveling in one of those countries should return to the U.S. immediately, saying U.S. citizens may be able to reenter but may undergo a vetting process.

People can contact ADC’s legal intake hotline at 844-ADC-9955 for further assistance.

Other headlines for Monday, March 10, 2025:

• A Detroit Youth Mobility Summit is planned from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. March 22 at Newlab, Michigan Central.
• The Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) is looking for volunteers to join a network that collects and shares surface water quality data throughout Michigan.
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says nearly 60,000 students are receiving the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, saving families $252 million in tuition costs.
• The charity organization Mercy-USA for Aid and Development is hosting its second annual book drive, Lanterns for Literacy. Last year, 8,000 books were donated to families in Detroit through the program. The organization is looking for book donations, volunteers or financial gifts to create literacy kits.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

This week on Liner Notes, we step into the sonic universe of “Songs from the Big Chair,” the 1985 masterpiece from Tears for Fears that captured the complexities of human emotion, social unrest, and the shifting tides of the 1980s.

Formed by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, Tears for Fears emerged from the UK’s post-punk scene with an intellectual and emotionally raw take on pop music. Their debut album, The Hurting, introduced audiences to their psychologically introspective lyricism and synth-driven sound, but it was their sophomore effort, Songs from the Big Chair, that launched them into global superstardom. Drawing from Arthur Janov’s primal therapy theories and weaving in grand, cinematic production, the album blended new wave, pop, and progressive rock into anthems that defined a generation. Let’s dive in.

We begin with an anthem—both personal and political.

Track 1: “Shout”

Shout is more than a chorus-friendly singalong; it’s a primal call to arms against oppression and stagnation. Written by Orzabal, the track was initially about primal therapy, but it evolved into a broader message of resistance. That massive drumbeat? A mix of live drums and a LinnDrum machine, creating an industrial thunder that propels the track forward. Released as a single, Shout became a global phenomenon, cementing Tears for Fears as master songsmiths of cathartic pop. 

As Shout fades, we descend into “The Working Hour,” a track drenched in melancholic grandeur.

Track 2: “The Working Hour”

With a sultry saxophone intro by Mel Collins (of King Crimson fame) and dreamy piano chords, “The Working Hour” meditates on the soul-draining nature of corporate life. Orzabal’s soaring vocals, coupled with the track’s progressive structure, create an almost hypnotic journey.

Fun fact: This was one of the first tracks recorded for the album, setting the tone for its sophisticated sonic textures. 

Track 3: “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”

What happens when existential dread meets the perfect pop hook? “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” — an instant classic.

The song almost didn’t make the album, but producer Chris Hughes pushed for its inclusion. Its shuffle beat and shimmering guitar riff make it one of the most instantly recognizable songs of the 1980s. Beneath its breezy sound, the lyrics reflect Cold War anxieties, political greed, and the insatiable thirst for power. The song hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remains an enduring cultural touchstone, appearing in countless films, shows and even video games. 

Now, we shift gears into the percussive urgency of “Mothers Talk.”

Track 4: “Mothers Talk”

Inspired by the UK government’s Cold War-era “Protect and Survive” campaign, “Mothers Talk” is a jittery, high-energy warning of nuclear threats. Featuring unconventional vocal effects and layered synth textures, it was Tears for Fears at their most experimental. The track was actually released as a single a year before the album dropped, with a reworked version later appearing on the U.S. release.

After the storm of that track, we arrive at one of the album’s most intimate moments.

Track 5: “I Believe”

“I Believe” strips away the dense production for a raw, emotionally rich ballad, showcasing Orzabal’s love for jazz legend Robert Wyatt. The minimalist arrangement allows the vocals to shine, a stark contrast to the grandiosity of the album’s other tracks. It’s a moment of vulnerability in an otherwise epic album, proving that sometimes, simplicity is the most powerful tool. 

Now we move into the shortest track on the album. 

Track 6: “Broken”

“Broken” is a sonic bridge between past and present. Originally written during “The Hurting” sessions, it serves as an instrumental prelude to the next track, with pulsating synths and haunting guitar lines setting an ominous tone. This seamless transition showcases the band’s ability to weave interconnected narratives within their albums.  

We now get into a defining moment of “Songs from the Big Chair” — “Head Over Heels,” an emotional whirlwind wrapped in cinematic production. Lyrically, it’s a story of obsession, desire, and longing, played out over grand piano chords and layered harmonies. The track’s soaring chorus and dramatic structure made it an instant fan favorite, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

Track 7: Head Over Heels / Broken (Live Reprise)

Released on Feb. 25, 1985, Songs from the Big Chair was a commercial and critical triumph. It topped the U.S. Billboard 200, went multi-platinum, and spawned some of the most iconic tracks of the decade. But beyond the accolades, the album stands as a testament to Tears for Fears’ ambition, artistry, and ability to translate deep psychological themes into universally relatable music.

With its fusion of introspection and anthemic power, “Songs from the Big Chair” didn’t just define the sound of 1985 — it became a timeless reflection of human nature, the struggle for control, and the search for meaning in an ever-changing world. Even today, its themes resonate, making it a cornerstone of both new wave and pop history.

We close with Listen, an atmospheric, meditative piece that dissolves the boundaries of traditional song structure.

Track 8: “Listen”

Ethereal synths, ghostly vocals, and an almost cinematic feel give “Listen” a haunting beauty. Lyrically sparse but emotionally charged, it leaves the listener in a state of reflection — a fitting finale to an album that explored the depths of human emotion and societal tension.

If you love deep musical dives like this one, tune in to The Progressive Underground every Saturday evening at 6 p.m. on 101.9 WDET.

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Charles Mauldin was near the front of a line of voting rights marchers walking in pairs across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama on March 7, 1965.

The marchers were protesting white officials’ refusal to allow Black Alabamians to register to vote, as well as the killing days earlier of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a minister and voting rights organizer who was shot by a state trooper in nearby Marion.

At the apex of the span over the Alabama River, they saw what awaited them: a line of state troopers, deputies and men on horseback. They kept going. After they approached, law enforcement gave a two-minute warning to disperse and then unleashed violence.

“Within about a minute or a half, they took their billy clubs, holding it on both ends, began to push us back to back us in, and then they began to beat men, women and children, and tear gas men, women and children, and cattle prod men, women and children viciously,” said Mauldin, who was 17 at the time.

Selma on Sunday marked the 60th anniversary of the clash that became known as Bloody Sunday. The attack shocked the nation and galvanized support for the U.S. Voting Rights Act of 1965. The annual commemoration pays homage to those who fought to secure voting rights for Black Americans and brought calls to recommit to the fight for equality.

For those gathered in Selma, the celebration comes amid concerns about new voting restrictions and the Trump administration’s effort to remake federal agencies they said helped make America a democracy for all

Speaking at the pulpit of the city’s historic Tabernacle Baptist Church, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said what happened in Selma changed the nation. He said the 60th anniversary comes at a time when there is “trouble all around” and some “want to whitewash our history.” But he said like the marchers of Bloody Sunday, they must keep going.

“At this moment, faced with trouble on every side, we’ve got to press on,” Jeffries said to the crowd that included the Rev. Jesse Jackson, multiple members of Congress and others gathered for the commemoration.

Members of Congress joined with Bloody Sunday marchers to lead a march of several thousand people across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. They stopped to pray at the site where marchers were beaten in 1965.

“We gather here on the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday when our country is in chaos,” said U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama.

Sewell, a Selma native, noted the number of voting restrictions introduced since the U.S. Supreme Court effectively abolished a key part of the Voting Rights Act that required jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination to clear new voting laws with the Justice Department. Other speakers noted the Trump administration’s push to end diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and a rollback of equal opportunity executive orders that have been on the books since the 1960s.

In 1965, the Bloody Sunday marchers led by John Lewis and Hosea Williams walked in pairs across the Selma bridge headed toward Montgomery.

“We had steeled our nerves to a point where we were so determined that we were willing to confront. It was past being courageous. We were determined, and we were indignant,” Mauldin recalled.

He said the “country was not a democracy for Black folks” until voting rights. “And we’re still constantly fighting to make that a more concrete reality for ourselves.”

Kirk Carrington was just 13 on Bloody Sunday and was chased through the city by a man on a horse wielding a stick. “When we started marching, we did not know the impact we would have in America,” he said.

Dr. Verdell Lett Dawson, who grew up in Selma, remembers a time when she was expected to lower her gaze if she passed a white person on the street to avoid making eye contact.

Dawson and Mauldin said they are concerned about the potential dismantling of the Department of Education and other changes to federal agencies.

Support from the federal government “is how Black Americans have been able to get justice, to get some semblance of equality, because left to states’ rights, it is going to be the white majority that’s going to rule,” Dawson said.

“That that’s a tragedy of 60 years later: what we are looking at now is a return to the 1950s,” Dawson said.

Reporting by Kim Chandler and Safiyah Riddle, Associated Press

Former Detroit Police Chief James Craig is filing paperwork to run for mayor in this year’s election.

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He filed a “Chief James Craig for Mayor” candidate committee on Monday, allowing him to collect donations for the August primary.

Craig was appointed as the 42nd Chief of Police in 2013. Serving in the role during the 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstrations, the department was scrutinized for excessive force against protestors — accused of using tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, mass arrests and more without probable cause. The protestors ended up filing a lawsuit which resulted in a $1 million settlement with the city.

Craig retired as Detroit’s chief of police in 2021 and then ran for governor in 2022 on the Republican ticket, but was taken off because of alleged fraudulent signatures on his nominating petitions.

Craig joins a seemingly ever-growing list of candidates, including Mega-church pastor Solomon Kinloch Jr., City Council President Mary Sheffield, City Councilman Fred Durhal III, former Michigan House Speaker Joe Tate, nonprofit CEO Saunteel Jenkins, Joel Haashiim and Jonathan Barlow, who are both local businessmen, and attorney Todd Perkins.

Other headlines for Friday, March 7, 2025:

• The Detroit Fire Department is looking to educate residents on fire safety at an upcoming Safety Series Webinar, taking place virtually at 6 p.m. March 12.
• Women in Robotics Michigan is hosting an informal gathering of women interested in robotics at 10 a.m. Sunday, March 16, at Michigan Central. Organizers say it’s an opportunity to network, share ideas, and learn from others in a relaxed setting.
• Next Thursday, March 13, is 313 Day, and there are a ton of events planned to celebrate.
• WDET launched its 2025 Spring Fundraiser on Thursday. All new members who make a gift during the Spring Fundraiser, which ends Sunday, March 15, will also receive a limited edition WDET skyline water bottle.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

There are 10,000 kids in Michigan’s foster care system. About half of them are placed with a relative, known as kinship care. 

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) recently piloted a program with 16 kinship care support workers, or caseworkers, across nine counties: Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Genesee, Kalamazoo, Muskegon, Grand Traverse, Lenawee and Ingham. 

MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel says when children are not able to stay with their parents safely, the state prioritizes placing them with a relative. 

“We’ve been able to create some specialized programs and positions to work with family members to make sure that they have all the supports and resources that they need to feel comfortable to take that child in on behalf of their relative,” she said.

Hertel met with kinship caregivers, advisory council members, and support staff this week at the MDHHS South Central Wayne Office in Detroit to discuss the state’s commitment toward children and kinship caregivers.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed a $24.4 million budget to expand a pilot kinship care support program next year. 

The expansion would provide 70 additional kinship care support workers and family resources, Hertel said.

“Outside of just the concrete physical supports, the emotional and behavioral health supports as well,” she said. “So if children are needing therapy sessions or psychiatry, that we work to make sure that we’re connecting services to the family, not just the child, but everyone involved.”

The next step is expanding the pilot statewide. 

“We’ve been really lucky that we’ve had such support from the governor and from the legislature that they believe that this program is effective, and I’m really optimistic that we’ll be able to see an expansion next year,” Hertel said.

The money will also go toward kinship care support resource centers.

According to the MDHHS’s website, kinship care can include biological relatives or family friends caring for children through a placement by MDHHS’s foster care program, or arrangements made outside the welfare system. 

Hertel says the resource centers support all families. 

“We also support kinship care resources so that other families who may not be involved in the system have a place to reach out to,” she said, such as the Kinship Care Resource Center (KCRC) at Michigan State University.

Hertel says these caseworkers are specialized to work with families who take in foster youth who are placed with relatives.  

“In places where we have seen implementing this pilot, we are seeing an increase in some of those areas, in placements with family members,” she said.

Hertel says it’s a priority to place kids in the foster care system with next of kin whenever possible. She says this usually reduces trauma, provides more stability for children, and reduces the time they are in foster care.

The funding is part of a larger proposed $90 million budget going toward helping kids stay safe. 

A voter citizenship proposal that aims to have voters show proof of citizenship in Michigan was presented at a committee hearing in the state House this week. On the latest episode of MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben discuss the partisan divide this proposal has caused.

Plus, Michigan Secretary of State and 2026 gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson stops by to share her concerns about the proposal and why she decided to run for governor of Michigan.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• Proof of citizenship for Michigan voters draws partisan divides
• Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s take on the proposal
• Benson’s gubernatorial run

Speaking with Roth and Kasben, Benson clarified that she isn’t opposed to the idea that voters must show proof of citizenship before casting a ballot — and in fact, as she pointed out, Michigan already requires it — but noted how excessive requirements can be burdensome on many.

“…additional requirements, especially the onerous ones in the Save Act that, among other things, would require the name on a resident’s birth certificate to match the name on a voter registration form – that, to me, is not a reasonable requirement,” she said.

The proposal at the federal level, known as the SAVE Act, would require voters to register in person with either their birth certificate, a U.S. passport, or naturalization certificate. Other documents like a Michigan driver’s license, state ID, or military ID would not meet the requirements of the proposed bill, nor would a Michigan REAL ID.

Additionally, voters would lose their ability to register to vote by mail or online, overwhelming local election clerks and making elections much harder and more expensive to administer, according to the Michigan Secretary of State’s office.

Benson also noted that the proposed legislation could jeopardize the voting rights of more than 2.2 million women in Michigan whose married names don’t match what’s on their birth certificate.

More from WDET:

• Republican campaign finance complaint filed against Secretary Benson
• The Metro: 60 years since Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Non-US citizen faces felony charges after allegedly voting in Ann Arbor

State House Republicans without advance notice Thursday muscled through a $20 billion dollar bare-bones budget, touching off a rancorous floor fight and setting up a showdown with the Senate Democratic majority.

GOP leaders said the two-bill package for education and other government functions would serve as a stop-gap spending plan if spending negotiations bog down heading into the summer or fall.

“This is a government shutdown prevention plan,” said House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) Hall said the package would ensure funding for per-pupil spending, corrections and other critical programs even if future budget negotiations stall.

“This is the beginning of the process, said Rep. Ann Bollin (R-Brighton), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, who noted the budget would increase state per-student funding.

“This is what we absolutely have to provide. We don’t want our kids starving. We want to make sure they’re safe in school, educated and they have the resources. That’s what’s in this budget bill,” she said. “It’s not a budget bill. It’s a prevention plan.”

Democrats opposed the measures as a ploy to gain the upper hand in budget negotiations months ahead of the deadline.

“This is setting the stage for a government shutdown,” said House Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton). “Like, let’s not beat around the bush here. That’s what’s happening here. There’s a reason some level of critical services were kept to just make it easier for him to drag this budget out, to get political wins.”

The sudden unveiling left many lawmakers with little time to examine the details. State Rep. Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) said the stripped-down budget left out critical programs that would be subject to future negotiations.

“They cut at-risk funding,” she said. “They cut school meals. They cut rural transportation equity with no conversation with the stakeholders. They are just adding to chaos when what Michiganders want is thoughtful, measured negotiation.”

The bills’ prospects are not promising in the state Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.

“Is Speaker Hall anticipating his own failure to get a budget done? We haven’t seen a government shutdown in a long time, and there’s no good reason why he should be predicting one now unless he wants it to happen,” said Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids).

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office declined to weigh in on the controversy. The spending bills are also linked to a measure Whitmer needs to close the books on the previous fiscal year.

WDET kicked off its 2025 Spring Fundraiser on Thursday, and our hosts, reporters and staff have some extra special incentives planned to encourage listeners to make a gift of support to Detroit public radio.

As a member-funded, nonprofit radio station, everything we do — from our fact-based, community-focused reporting to our diverse music programming — is made possible because of listeners who become members.

Located in the heart of Midtown Detroit, WDET has been deeply rooted in Detroit for over 75 years. If you are someone who appreciates the work we do, please consider supporting it.

Listeners who make a gift to the station can choose from an array of thank you gifts, ranging from exclusive WDET swag to one-of-a-kind experiences.

All new members who make a gift during the Spring Fundraiser, which ends Sunday, March 15, will also receive a limited edition WDET skyline water bottle.

Additionally, gifts made during specific shows and programs throughout fundraiser will be entered into “chance to win” drawings.

Listen daily, visit wdet.org, check your email, and follow @wdetdetroit on Instagram to find out during which shows your donation will act as an automatic entry to win the following prizes:

• Weekend passes to Movement Festival 2025, held over Memorial Day weekend
• JaZZ PAZZ bundle to the Detroit Jazz Festival, held over Labor Day weekend
• Wristbands for the Hamtramck Blowout, held March 20-22
• Vinyl records pressed at the iconic Third Man Record store and pressing plant in Detroit
• Vinyl records handpicked and bundled at Found Sound in Ferndale by Modern Music host, Jon Moshier
• Detroit Historic Society “Streets of Detroit” tour with take-home Detroit Monopoly game
• The Vault Package
• Achatz Pies on Pi Day March 14
• Gift card to Basan in District Detroit
• Suite tickets to a Pistons game, with parking and Players Club passes
• One-year digital subscription to the Washington Post or the New York Times
• And more!

Membership has its benefits, too!

Members power WDET and receive benefits throughout the year, including invitations to members-only events and offers such as pre-sale tickets, discounts, and opportunities to attend special events.

View our latest thank you gifts and become a member today »

Some dairy farmworkers say they’re struggling to get basic resources like PPE, testing, and flu shots needed to protect themselves from possible bird flu infections, even after connecting with their local and state health department.

That’s according to the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC), which issued a press release Thursday describing recent situations in which they say workers tried to get testing, vaccines, and personal protective equipment, but ran into barriers and delays.

While the CDC says the risk of bird flu to the general public is still low, cases have been picking up speed in the past year, with 70 reported human cases in the U.S. so far, including one death. Dairy herds have been the source of infection in 41 of those cases, including two dairy farmworkers in Michigan in May.

In mid-January 2025, a group of 20 dairy farmworkers in the Upper Peninsula “reported being sick with flu-like symptoms,” according to the MIRC release. “The illness spread quickly among the workers.”

On January 22, the local health department (MIRC staff attorneys declined to say which health department, to protect the identity of the workers) said “they did not have H5N1 PPE, tests, treatments, or vaccines readily available, nor do they have the staff and language resources needed to communicate effectively with this vulnerable workforce,” the release said.

“They didn’t have free flu vaccines, and these workers couldn’t afford to pay for flu vaccines,” said Anna Hill Galendez, managing attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.

Seasonal flu vaccines don’t protect against avian influenza, but they’re highly recommended for people with exposure to potentially infected animals, because a co-infection of human seasonal flu and avian flu could theoretically result in a mutation of avian flu that’s better adapted to spreading between humans. (In July, the CDC said it would spend $10 million on preventing bird flu infection in farmworkers, including $5 million for providing seasonal flu shots, Reuters reported.)

The local health department did eventually provide paper masks and COVID testing, and it took about two weeks “before they were able to get access to seven avian flu tests, which wasn’t going to be enough for all of those workers,” Hill Galendez said.

The health department also arranged a testing site for workers, but there was a miscommunication, she said, and the farmworkers weren’t sure whether their employer would allow them to attend.

“Dairy farmworkers often work 12-hour shifts, six or seven days a week,” she said. “There’s a lot of concern for many workers about missing work, for fear of being fired. And so they’re often looking to their employer to facilitate access to these resources, or to feel like they’re being given permission to access these kind of resources. And so it can be really hard to figure out how to get these resources to dairy workers in a way that they can actually take advantage of them. So in this situation, that communication didn’t work out in a way that allowed them to actually get access to that testing.”

An MDHHS spokesperson said it “quickly responded to reports of farmworkers in the Upper Peninsula with symptoms consistent with respiratory illnesses like influenza. To protect their health and safety, MDHHS worked with the farmworkers’ local health department (LHD) to make resources available including translation services, influenza testing, influenza vaccination and personal protective equipment (PPE).”

But MIRC said it took a month for the farmworkers to eventually get PPE. It also provided a written statement from an unnamed U.P. farm worker:

“The reason for sharing what I’m going to say is that we’re workers on a farm and we’ve been affected by a flu/virus, a cough that none of us has been able to avoid,” the statement said in part. “We spent one or two days in bed suffering from a fever and sore throat…We hope that through this communication, there can be protective equipment for the other ranches, since we’ve already gotten PPE at the ranch where we are working…If the protective equipment had arrived faster, we might not all have gotten sick.”

Milk testing and flu shots 

The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) “did go out to test either the farm’s cows or milk within about two weeks of the first reported illness,” Hill Galendez, the MIRC attorney, said. “We weren’t aware of that testing at the time, but later learned that that took place and those tests came back negative.”

A spokesperson for MDARD said the agency “has tested bulk milk on all dairy farms in the U.P. and all have been negative for HPAI.”

CDC guidance recommends testing symptomatic people who’ve been exposed to infected animals, the MDHHS spokesperson said via email Thursday.

“Recent bulk milk testing at Upper Peninsula dairy farms by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) was negative for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), which meant exposure to animals sick with HPAI was not suspected among these farmworkers. MDHHS and the LHD made the decision to offer seasonal influenza testing to these workers, as their illnesses occurred at a time when there was extremely high respiratory virus activity, including seasonal influenza.”

But to date, those U.P. farmworkers still haven’t received their seasonal flu shots, Hill Galendez said. “The emphasis is over and over again on animal health, over human health. And so we see that focus again on the health of animals and consumer safety, over workers and protecting workers.”

The MDHHS spokesperson said seasonal flu shots were offered to the workers, but “I do not believe they took us/the LHD [local health department] up on the offer.”

Getting vaccines to farmworkers 

MIRC also described a dairy worker in Barry County “who noticed her co-workers were sick and wanted to avoid contracting the illness,” and reached out “to the local health clinic [but] was told they didn’t have the avian flu vaccine.” That same worker then contacted her local health department, but staff there didn’t speak Spanish.

An MDHHS outreach worker was able to assist her in communicating with that health department a few days later, but the worker was “disappointed” to learn that avian flu vaccines aren’t currently available in the U.S. (Some countries like Finland have been offering them to farmworkers.)

“It’s important to recognize that there are workers that are looking for these protections and we could be making them available, but we aren’t,” Hill Galendez said. “Dairy workers that understand their risks really [and] are looking for protection for themselves.”

(Last week, Bloomberg News reported the Trump administration has paused a $590 million contract the Biden administration made with Moderna for bird flu shots. It also canceled a key FDA meeting about which strains of flu to target in next year’s flu shot.)

The Barry-Eaton County District Health Department said it was contacted by several farms and farmworkers last year, “and was able to quickly fulfill all PPE requests. However, BEDHD has not been contacted by any farm owners or workers since June 2024.”

And while the department isn’t allocated adult seasonal flu vaccines, they can administer them if a farmworker is unable to get one at a local pharmacy or health care provider. The department also said it can provide flu testing and the flu medication, Tamiflu, for symptomatic farmworkers from farms where highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has been detected.

Asked about how many farmworkers have received seasonal flu vaccines at MDHHS outreach events for farmworkers, a department spokesperson didn’t specify, but said it is working with several partners, including “a CDC project specifically to increase seasonal influenza vaccine coverage in dairy and poultry workers in several Michigan counties…As part of this, we have run some local events where we have administered doses of flu vaccine.”

Farmworkers are especially vulnerable right now, Hill Galendez said, and their employers often aren’t offering the recommended PPE. The challenges of reaching dairy farmworkers means it’s more important than ever to offer mobile testing and flu vaccine clinics, and proactively distribute PPE directly to workers, she said.

“That would all go a long way to make sure that dairy workers actually get access to these resources.”

This week, we’re celebrating 313 Day, International Women’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and the start of WDET’s spring fundraiser! It’s people like you who power this essential service to Detroit, so please consider making a gift of support today. There are tons of fun prizes in it for you if you do, so tune in throughout the week to learn how to win!

Give now »

Plus, other fun stuff like drunken spelling bees, DJ sets at the DIA and more. Read on for details.

Detroit Day

Celebrate 313 Day with a celebration at Valade Park on the Detroir Riverfront on Thursday, March 13. This free, all-ages event features live music, local food and Detroit-centric activities, including trivia and comedy with T. Barb, love letters to Detroit with InsideOut Literary Arts, a 3.13-mile run with We Run 313 and a Detroit vendor market from All Things Marketplace. The event goes from 3:13-8 p.m. and is completely free to attend. For more information, visit their Eventbrite page.

Women’s Day

Celebrate International Women’s Day at Batch Brewing in Corktown on Saturday, March 8. Beginning at 2 p.m., the brewery will have an International Women’s Day Market featuring 13 woman-owned vendors who make and sell things like pottery, candles, vintage clothing, permanent jewelry, art and more. DJ Thornstryker will be spinning tunes from 2-6 p.m. and guests can enjoy a collaborative brew between Detroit Girls Pint Out and the women of Batch Brewing, as well as a collaborative dish with Chef E. For more information, visit batchbrewingcompany.com.

Then the celebration continues in the evening with Best Batch Comedy hosted by local comic Patty Rooney. This International Women’s Day comedy show features some of the city’s funniest women, including Johanna Medranda, Tam White and Melanie Hearn — all of whom have performed at WDET’s “What’s So Funny About Detroit?” comedy show as well. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15 at the show is 18+. For more information, visit their Eventbrite page.

St. Patrick’s Day

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day early with Celtic song, dance and storytelling at Orchestra Hall on Sunday, March 9. Led by conductor and co-creator Ernest Richardson, “Celtic Journey” showcases traditional Irish marches, reels, jigs and ballads performed on authentic Irish instruments accompanied by the DSO. This one-day-only performance starts at 3 p.m. and tickets start at $25. For more information, visit dso.org.

Other fun stuff

Over the next week, WDET is on a mission to put the fun in fundraising. We’ll have celebrity guests, special themed episodes and opportunities to win cool stuff every day. Prizes include weekend passes to Movement, wristbands for the Hamtramck Blowout, vinyl record packages, Pistons suite tickets and more. We’ve even got a new insulated water bottle available exclusively to listeners who have never donated before! Tune in to WDET on 101.9 FM, wdet.org/listen-live or the WDET app to learn more about how to win, and make your first gift of support now at wdet.org/give.

On Friday, March 7, the DIA is hosting an After Dark event featuring DJ Problematic Black Hottie as part of Tiff Massey’s exhibition, “7 Mile + Livernois.” Guests can enjoy dancing, music and a cash bar in Rivera Court from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The exhibition offers a vibrant, inclusive view of Detroit, celebrating collective identity, ancestral flyness and beauty. This event is free to attend with general admission to the museum, which is also free for residents of Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. For more information, visit dia.org.

Friday, March 7 is teacher night at Detroit Shipping Company, featuring drink discounts for educators, music by DJ Heart & Soul and a “Buzzed Bee” for guests to test their spelling skills while under the influence. The event goes from 6-10 p.m. and is hosted by King Jamarr and Sistahaus Community Network. For more information, visit detroitshippingcompany.com.

On Saturday, March 8, Detroit singer, songwriter, artist and storyteller Ideeyah is making their Moondog Café debut. Ideeyah has been active in the city’s music scene for over a decade, working with producers like Theo Parrish, Jon Dixon, De’Sean Jones and WDET’s own Waajeed (host of The Boulevard Wednesdays 8-10 p.m.). To complement the live performance, Detroit DJ and producer Whodat will be on the turntables before and after the show. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the performance begins at 8 p.m. This event is open to all ages, and tickets are pay-what-you-can with a suggested donation of $20. For more information, visit their Eventbrite page.

A new report by the National Poll on Healthy Aging says a third of Michigan adults 50 and older have jobs. The study reveals that working later in life benefits wellbeing but comes with several challenges.

Jeffrey Kullgren, director of the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, shares some key findings from the study.

“We found among working adults age 50 and older, work has positive impacts on physical health, mental health and overall well-being. And interestingly, these outcomes are especially pronounced for working adults age 65 and older,” he says.

Some benefits include giving older adults a chance to have social connections— which is important with loneliness on the rise among older adults—and giving them a sense of purpose.

“People who have a greater sense of purpose in life are likely to have lower levels of things like depression, anxiety. So we think it’s likely that working among older adults can help fulfill some of those needs,” he says. 

Kullgren says people surveyed reported facing barriers such as lack of job training in certain areas, transportation and having chronic health issues.  

“In particular for employers, older adults who face some of these kinds of challenges in their ability to work can be better supported by having access to ample time off to attend healthcare appointments,” he explains. 

Kullgren adds that employers should work to provide trainings that address the needs of older adults, and time off for caregiving responsibilities.

Another way to help older employees is to provide alternative transportation options to help get employees to work, whether its working with public or private services. 

The study also found there are regional differences in Michigan’s older working demographic. There are more older adults working in Southeast Michigan than in the rest of the state.  

Adults with higher levels of education and income reported that they were able to work remotely or in a hybrid format more often, which helps them overcome physical limits. On the other hand, older adults with less education who work in certain sectors that  require in-person attendance will deal with a lack of mobility and other challenges. 

“[We need to] optimize work environments for older adults, to accommodate some of the unique needs people may face as they age,” concludes Kullgren.

– WDET’s Natalie Albrecht contributed to this report.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

WDET and the Detroit Evening Report have collected Black History Month stories from listeners as a part of its Black History Listening Project.

Here are the stories we aired in February 2025:

Wyatt Tate made headlines in 1894

Detroiter Brenda McGadney grew up hearing stories about her great-grandfather.

Wyatt Tate, a farmer from Alabama, was made infamous after an incident with police arising from an animal being stolen from him while he was away on a business trip. After Tate successfully retrieved the animal, the town sheriff accused him of theft, and during his attempted arrest, Tate killed the sheriff, an assistant and one of the sheriff’s horses. After going on the run and evading police for months, Tate was eventually killed on May 12, 1894. 

Using the internet and genealogical tools for research, McGadney found the story was a very big deal at the time.

“He is documented in more than 80 newspapers in 1894,” she said. “So, it went viral.”

McGadney says growing up, it was important to her mother, Annie Tate McGadney, that they knew of Tate’s story. She had learned it from her own father, Felix Tate, who witnessed the events in 1894.

“My mother brought us up to speak up, not only for yourself, but for other people who are disenfranchised, who you see are being harmed,” she said.

McGadney also found references to Wyatt Tate in Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and in books about Lee who grew up in Monroeville. A cousin, actor and boxer Bill Tate, wrote a fictionalized account, “Little Wyatt Tate: Fiction Based on Fact.”

“When you travel in Africa, the question that Africans ask you, ‘Where do you come from?’” McGadney says, “I tell them that is a very painful question to ask an African American, and they don’t really understand it. We don’t know where we came from.”

McGadney says she has become her family’s griot, holding the stories of both sides of her family.

“This history is rich, and it covers both my mom’s side, which would be the Tates and the Clarks, and my dad’s side, which would be the Baldwins and the Jacksons and the McGadneys,” she said. “You need to be telling your story, and it empowers your children. It empowers our family.”

Iola Corbett witnessed the rise of Detroit’s Muslim community

Iola Corbett, also known as Sister Ameeda, was born and raised in Detroit.

Corbett’s family was a part of the Nation of Islam when she was a child.

Over the years she met Malcolm X, who visited her family’s restaurant in Detroit often.

“My mother was an excellent cook, so he had dinner with my dad every day, so I got to hear him, and I would serve him. He was a big influence in my family’s life,” she said.

Corbett says the Nation of Islam made her a part of something bigger.

“It…gave me a purpose of who I was, who I wanted to be…close with my community,” she explained.

Corbett would go on to become a union leader and to write the book  “Growing Up Muslim and the Journey Continues.”

Carolyn Clifford tells her mom’s story

WXYZ TV reporter and anchor Carolyn Clifford tells the story of her mother often. She says she wants to inspire women dealing with domestic violence to leave, and to prove to children in Detroit that they can succeed despite hardship.

“I always tell Detroiters, especially young kids, when you see me, you see you,” Clifford said. “ So if your mom was on drugs, or your daddy on drugs, or, you know, somebody’s drinking alcohol…don’t be ashamed. There’s always a way out of a crazy situation, as I learned from my own mom.”

“And she would always say, you know, with God on her side, she could do anything.”

Bruce Simpson remembers Barbara-Rose Collins

Bruce Simpson’s grandmother was the first Black woman to represent Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives. Barbara-Rose Collins served in Congress from 1991 to 1997. She also worked in politics at the city and state level.

But Simpson says he wasn’t really aware that Collins was the “distinguished lady from Michigan.”

“I always just looked at her as grandma,” Simpson said.

Simpson has also entered public service. He is the Ombudsman for the City of Detroit.

WDET listeners are invited to share Black history stories about their families, friends and neighbors throughout the year via email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org or by leaving us a voice memo in the WDET mobile app.

A public service announcement featuring late Detroit civil rights attorney Bill Goodman is going viral on social media again.

The video was originally produced in 2021 by the Detroit and Michigan chapters of the National Lawyers Guild. It features Goodman and longtime legal partner Denise Heberle sharing blunt legal advice for protesters, political demonstrators or anyone confronted by law enforcement: to “shut the f*** up” until an attorney is present.

The video is gaining renewed attention on platforms like TikTok as conversations about civil rights rise in response to vast changes to federal policies and agencies take place under President Donald Trump. 

Goodman died in November 2023, after spending decades fighting racial injustice, constitutional violations, and systemic inequities. He co-founded the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice in Detroit and worked on landmark cases, including representing Attica Prison inmates, victims of the Flint water crisis, and those wrongfully convicted in the Central Park jogger case.

Detroit civil rights attorney Jack Schultz was one of many young attorneys mentored by Goodman. He says Goodman “had this way of making things plain, no nonsense, and funny — but always effective.

“I love him a lot, and I just miss him,” he said.

The video, which contains strong language, can be viewed here. 

A Democratic state lawmaker has sponsored a proposal to strike the language of the dormant same-sex marriage ban from the Michigan Constitution.

State Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) said the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 reversal of abortion rights protections shows the conservative majority is willing to revisit foundational decisions, including the Obergefell v. Hodges opinion that cleared the way for him to marry his partner.

“If the Supreme Court were to overturn this protection for marriage equality, it would become illegal again for any same-sex couple to get married in our state,” Morgan told Michigan Public Radio.

The same-sex marriage ban proposal was approved by Michigan voters in 2004 and stood until the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down in a case that included April DeBoer and Jayne Rowse’s appeal of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that rejected their challenge of the Michigan ban. But even though the Supreme Court struck down the amendment as a violation of equal protection and due process rights, the language remains in the Michigan Constitution.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the 5-4 majority decision.

It would require two-thirds majorities in the House and the Senate to put a question on the ballot asking voters to adopt an amendment to strip the language from the Michigan Constitution. An alternative would be a petition campaign to put an amendment proposal on the statewide ballot, a path endorsed by state Senator Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield).

Morgan and Moss both said a proposed non-binding resolution by a small group of House Republicans including Rep. Josh Schriver (R-Oxford) helped make the case for removing the language.

House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) was not pleased with the actions of the right-wing rogue group and assigned the resolution, which would carry no legal weight, to a “graveyard” committee as a signal that will be its final destination.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has issued about 300,000 recalls of cars in recent days, ranging from Kia to Mercedes.

The problems include faulty brakes, software errors and even potentially damaged engines.

But the nonprofit National Safety Council estimates that roughly one out of every five recalled vehicles are never repaired.

Council Program Manager Lonny Haschel told WDET that failing to address a recall can pose a hazard on the roadways.

In cases involving defective air bags, he says, delaying repairs could prove to be a deadly mistake.

Listen: Millions of Michigan drivers riding with danger after avoiding recall repairs

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Lonny Haschel, Program Manager, National Safety Council: Nationwide, our partners at Carfax estimate there are over 57 million vehicles with open safety recalls.  And in Michigan there’s over 1.5 million vehicles with open safety recall. So about one out of every five cars you see on the road or in the parking lot have an open recall of some type.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: And in the Council’s view, that could create dangers for everyone driving on a roadway?

LH: It certainly can. What happens is sometimes people do their own risk assessment. They can learn about a recall from our website, for example, CheckToProtect.org. You can go there, enter your license plate or your vehicle identification number, or you can take a picture of either one and upload it. It’ll tell you if there’s a recall. People may see something like a “canister purge valve,” which to me, that means absolutely nothing. But when the mechanics and the professionals at the dealership start looking at that, it actually can cause a fuel tank to collapse on itself and cause the vehicle to stall or not start again. If you’re out on the Interstate in the afternoon rush hour and you’re in that left lane, that can be a huge safety issue. So we want to make sure that folks are being proactive about their own safety.

QK: Does an owner typically get notified if there’s a recall? Or is it on them to search out the information and find whether their vehicle is under a recall order or not?

LH: If you own a new vehicle, you’re going to have a relationship with the dealership and the manufacturer knows you have that car. If you are like me, who a lot of Americans are, the average age of cars people own in the United States right now is 11 years old. I drive a 15-year-old pickup truck. I’m the fourth owner of that thing. So the manufacturer may not know I have it. If you’re a new car owner, you’re going to absolutely get a notification letter. Many people receive a letter for a vehicle they don’t even own anymore, because it takes a while for that to catch up. Again, by being proactive, going to CheckToProtect.org, you don’t have to sit around and wait on a letter when there could be a safety risk for you or your family. If they hear that their vehicle type might be involved in a recall, they should search it out themselves.

QK: So they should take the initiative?

LH: We work with a lot of drivers’ education programs across the country. We’re trying to instill in everybody that this is a part of regular maintenance. You check your oil, you check your brakes, your windshield wipers, you get your oil changed. You should also take a few minutes and go to CheckToProtect.org to see if maybe there was a recall issued on your car in the three, six months, or whenever it was between oil changes. Because it could happen at any time.

“We’re trying to instill that [checking for recalls] is a part of regular maintenance.” 

–Lonny Haschel, Program Manager, National Safety Council

QK: Typically recall announcements say bring the vehicle in and it will be fixed at the dealers’ expense. But if you are the second, third, fourth owner of the vehicle, can you still have the recalled part fixed at no cost?

LH: The recall repair is absolutely free, regardless of who’s driving it. Let’s say Aunt Susie let you drive her pickup truck because she didn’t need it and you’ve had it for about a year and a half. You can check yourself if the vehicle’s under a recall, even if you don’t necessarily have a relationship with a dealer because it’s your aunt’s car or truck. On our website, if it shows there’s a recall, we have a “Find a Dealer” button so we can connect you with a dealership to set up an appointment and get that repair done for free, regardless if you’re the owner or not.

QK: Does that recall cost-covering ever expire if the vehicle is no longer under warranty?

LH: Even if the vehicle is out of that warranty time frame, if there is a safety recall it will be repaired for free.

QK: When you talk to drivers, owners, et cetera, what kind of reasons do you hear for why they don’t get a recalled vehicle repaired?

LH: A lot of times they just didn’t know it was free. Sometimes we get younger drivers we partner with, like some in the U.S. military, for example, who’ve never been exposed to a vehicle recall because their parent or caregiver always took care of that. They didn’t have to deal with a vehicle safety recall until they bought their first car in their mid to late 20s. So it is a simple lack of awareness. Sometimes they say that it doesn’t seem important because my car is running fine right now… But it’s not a problem until it’s a problem. We want people to get things fixed before anything happens. It is truly a safety issue for both everyone in that vehicle and those on the roadway around them.

In Michigan, 1.5 million vehicles have been recalled but not yet repaired. That includes over 150,00 with Takata airbags. Back 10 years ago, there were more than 60 million of those vehicles recalled because the inflator can come apart and send pieces of metal through the passenger compartment.  There’s been over 400 people injured and over 20 that lost their lives due to this. Some of those vehicles with Takata air bags are under a “Do not drive” warning. If you go to CheckToProtect.org and you see that pull up, it’ll have a warning on there that you’re not supposed to drive the vehicle. You need to call the dealership. Either they will repair it on site or sometimes they’ll send a tow truck out to get it. It’s that serious.

The Trump administration’s purge of federal workers includes layoffs at the National Weather Service.

An NWS spokesperson would not say how many people lost their jobs. NPR reports that the firings raise concerns over the agency’s ability to forecast hurricanes. The cuts could also affect America’s fishing industry.

Detroit area meteorologist Paul Gross says the government’s decision to stop launching weather balloons in western Alaska impacts the rest of the country.

“That upper air data is ingested into the computer models that we use to tell you days ahead of time about a particularly devastating or disruptive storm,” he said.

Gross worked at WDIV-TV for 40 years. He left the station in 2023 and owns a weather consulting firm. He says NWS was already stretched thin and more cuts could endanger the public.

“What if there’s a degradation in the ability to warn people during a tornado outbreak?” he asked. “Every single American should be concerned about this.”

NWS has wide reach

Gross says broadcasters rely on National Weather Service data to produce daily forecasts. That includes networks such as The Weather Channel.

“TV stations all have computer graphics systems,” he said. “But the data that comes into those systems comes from the National Weather Service.”

The same goes for mobile weather apps.

“Where do you think the app gets all the data and all of the computer modeling? It starts with the National Weather Service,” Gross said.

Most Detroit TV stations have their own meteorologists. Many radio stations rely on networks such as AccuWeather. WDET relies entirely on the NWS office in White Lake Township for its weather broadcasts. That includes daily forecasts, seasonal outlooks, and severe weather alerts.

Read more: WDIV’s Paul Gross wraps up TV career

Gross says further cuts could make it harder for broadcasters to warn the public.

“We can certainly tell you about storms,” he says. “But we cannot and do not issue the warnings.”

NWS says cuts won’t compromise safety

WDET asked the National Weather Service how the cuts might affect local forecasting.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesperson Susan Buchanan replied:

“Per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters. NOAA remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research, and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience. We continue to provide weather information, forecasts and warnings pursuant to our public safety mission.”