The Trump administration wants to cut the number of waterways protected under the Clean Water Act.

Some business owners and developers say the move would help them operate better because it would change which wetlands and streams legally count as an “official water of the United States.”

Those designations are covered by the Clean Air Act, which was originally written in part by the late Michigan Congressman John Dingell.

His wife, current U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, says protecting streams and wetlands helps stop pollution from flowing to large bodies of water like the Great Lakes.

The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.

U.S. Rep Debbie Dingell: People that are seasoned, like myself, know what our waters used to look like. And John Dingell was really the significant author of the Clean Water Act, along with the late former U.S. Sen. Ed Muskie. And he did it because the Rouge River caught on fire. Now, the consequences of what this administration is going to do would undermine the strong protections that have kept our water safe and healthy and have cleaned them up. So I’m very concerned that we not go backwards. We see the Great Lakes and our Detroit water system is significantly improved from where it was 30 years ago, 40 years ago. But we have to keep cleaning it up. And taking away those safeguards endangers our water.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: Some environmental groups often raise concerns about runoff from farmland into waterways or companies dumping there illegally at times. Now they say this change proposed by the Trump administration could increase the chance of those types of activities happening. Do you agree with those kinds of concerns?

DD: I’m very, very concerned about what this means and what the real consequences are. Lake Erie has seen very significant experiences of algae blooms. People have actually been told not to drink tap water. So I think it’s very important that we make every effort to continue to clean up our water, protect our waters. And the administration’s announcement that they were going to roll back Clean Water Act regulations worries me greatly.

QK: On the other side, some business owners and farmers, among others, have said that they think the change will help them. It’ll limit the costs and regulatory red tape, they say, of having to check if a stream or other waterway on their property is covered under the Clean Water Act. They say it should be something that states regulate more than the federal government. What’s your reaction to those comments?

DD: We need to have federal regulation. Because here’s the reality. Water doesn’t say, “oops, I’m at a state line.” Do you think Lake Erie or the Detroit River know when they’ve crossed a state border? I think we should all be working together to keep our water safe. But when water runoff is going into major tributaries like the Huron River, the Rouge River, then goes into the Detroit River, which goes into the Great Lakes, there are consequences when there are things in those waters that are not safe. Things the public needs to be protected from. I want to reduce regulation. I want to look at how we can simplify. But undermining the goal of clean water is something that worries me greatly and something I will always fight for.

Pontiac launches new Down Payment Assistance Program

The City of Pontiac unveiled its Down Payment Assistance Program this week, an initiative aimed at expanding homeownership opportunities for first-time buyers and encouraging wealth and investment in Pontiac neighborhoods. City leaders are inviting renters to apply for this first-of-its-kind program.

To qualify:

• Your prospective home must be in Pontiac.
• Applicants must be first-time homebuyers or individuals who have not acquired a home in the past three years.
• You must complete a homebuyer education session through the organization National Faith Homebuyers and receive a certificate.
• You must work with the homebuyer organization to meet HUD and program requirements.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 313-255-9500.

Additional headlines for Friday, November 21, 2025

Detroit breaks ground on new affordable housing near Brewster Wheeler

The City of Detroit broke ground this month on four new buildings that will bring 211 units of affordable and permanent supportive housing to long-vacant land next to the Brewster Wheeler Recreation Center.

The units will have rents based on 30 to 80 percent of the area median household income.

Three of the buildings will include 53 units that received 9 percent Low-Income Housing Tax Credits from the State of Michigan. They will offer a mix of one- and two-bedroom units starting at less than $500 a month.

The fourth building will be a 52-unit permanent supportive housing development, with each unit supported by project-based vouchers that keep residents paying no more than 30 percent of their income for rent.

Completion of all projects is scheduled for 2027.
More information: https://detroitmi.gov/news/work-begins-80m-development-bringing-211-new-units-affordable-permanent-supportive-housing-brush 

Sports

NFL
The Detroit Lions face the New York Giants on Sunday as they try to bounce back from a tough loss to the Eagles. The Lions are currently third in the NFC North. The game will be held at Ford Field, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m.

NBA
The Pistons have won 11 games in a row. They’ll look to keep the streak alive as they face the Bucs at the Fiserv Forum. Tipoff is Saturday at 8:00 p.m.

NHL
The Red Wings sit at the top of the Atlantic Division as they prepare to face the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. at Little Caesars Arena.

The Rink at Campus Martius opens for the season

The holiday season brings the return of The Rink at Campus Martius Park, which opens to the public starting tomorrow. From November 22 through March 1, visitors can experience what USA Today named the No. 1 Best Ice Skating Rink in the country in its 2024 ranking.

For hours and additional details, visit: https://downtowndetroit.org/experience-downtown/things-to-do/the-rink/

Local shopping for Black Friday and Small Business Saturday

DER will be off for Thanksgiving and Black Friday, but local businesses will be out in force for the holiday shopping weekend. Online tourism site Visit Detroit has compiled a list of local shops to explore, including sneaker boutiques, floral shops, art galleries, and more.

To see the full list, visit: https://visitdetroit.com

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Michigan lawmakers are working on bipartisan approaches to ensure crimes are accounted for and increase privacy for lawmakers.

WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben talk with State Senator Stephanie Chang and State Representative Sarah Lightner. They discuss the Violent Crime Clearance Act, shielding of addresses for certain public officials, and more. 

Murder-solve rate in Michigan

According to a Michigan State Police report, the murder-solve rate is at 31.7% as of March of 2025. State Rep. Lightner said there could be more done to help law enforcement solve crimes.

She says a bill she introduced with State Senator Stephanie Chang will, “allow more for technical assistance for forensics or more people to investigate. [This bill] would help utilize those dollars better and have better access to labs.” 

Privacy for public officials

Another proposal both lawmakers were unified on was a bill that shields the addresses of certain public officials. Due to the increased climate of political violence over the past several years, both legislators want to help ensure safety for lawmakers.

State Sen. Chang said, “We are in a different time with the heightened risk of political violence. The judicial protection act was spurred by the killing of a judge’s son. Having personal identifying information puts everyone at further risk.” 

State Sen. Chang said now that the state budget is done, these bills have a better change of being addressed  

More MichMash

Alzheimer’s research has come a long way in recent years. Blood tests to identify an abnormal protein called ptau217 can mean diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease before symptoms like memory loss show up.

Early intervention is key, says Dr. Rany Aburashed, a neurologist and CEO of Neurogen Biomarking.

“The whole game now is determining as early as possible if you have these plaques developing in the brain. The earlier we know, before the symptoms are significant, the more we can interact and actually change the disease itself.”

The blood tests identify sticky amyloid plaques and tangled fibers, which are the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease.

Diagnosing Alzheimer’s based on biology instead of symptoms means early interventions could reduce progression or severity of Alzheimer’s symptoms later in life.

“Just because you have a genetic predisposition, it does not mean you’re going to progress to dementia […] but you can only change that if you’re in front of it,” says Dr. Aburashed.

Some people have genetic predispositions, and lifestyle factors in 40’s, 50’s and 60’s can trigger the disease, especially drinking alcohol and smoking, adds Dr. Aburashed.

The FDA approved several new tests for Alzheimer’s diagnosis this year.

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More stories from The Metro

The recent pause in SNAP benefits has pushed hunger back into the headlines. Families who were already stretching every dollar suddenly had to stretch the impossible. At the same time, grocery stores, stadiums, airports, and restaurants were still throwing away food that could have fed them.

Jasmine Crowe-Houston has spent years thinking about that contradiction, and she built her company, Goodr, to close the gap. 

The idea is simple but radical: hunger is not about having too little food. Instead, it is about wasting too much of it, and failing to get it to the people who need it.

Goodr is her answer. It is a tech-driven system that turns surplus food into meals, waste streams into climate wins, and food access into something dignified. 

What started in her one-bedroom apartment in Atlanta has now grown into a national model that keeps millions of pounds of food out of landfills and puts millions of meals on dinner tables.

Jasmine Crowe-Houston joined Robyn Vincent to discuss how the SNAP pause has magnified the urgency of feeding Americans—and what scaling the system she has built really looks like in American cities.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

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More stories from The Metro

The days may be getting shorter, but Detroit knows how to make the most of wintery weather. From finding the perfect gift during Small Business Saturday, to strolling through breathtaking light displays with a loved one, here’s how to kick off your holiday season in metro Detroit.

Plus, indoor entertainment to keep you warm. Read on to learn more. 

Upcoming events

Wayne County Lightfest

Hines Drive

  Thursday, Nov. 20 – Wednesday, Dec. 24

  $5-50 cash, depending on vehicle 

Every Wednesday through Sunday from 6-10 p.m. Hines Drive goes full winter-wonderland with miraculous light displays! En route there’s also food trucks, hot chocolate, and plenty of opportunities to snap the perfect photo. 

Sunset: A Cyber-Lament

  Andy Arts in Detroit

  Thursday, Nov. 20 through Tuesday, Nov. 25

  $11.63–$64.15

A music-driven work inspired by medieval retellings of the Orpheus myth and our collective internet-driven madness. The production weaves technologies old and new to mythologize our relationship with technology and how it has changed and shaped our imagination. This performance runs approximately 80 minutes with no intermission.

Art for the Holidays

  Detroit Artists Market

  Friday, Nov. 14 through Saturday, Dec. 20

  Free

Detroit Artists Market’s Art for the Holidays exhibition is open Tuesday-Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Peruse and purchase unique pieces from almost 100 local artists, perfect for the gift-giving season! 

Detroit Tree Lighting

Campus Martius 

  Friday, Nov. 21

  Free

The 22nd annual tree lighting will be accompanied by live entertainment, holiday shopping, food trucks, and giveaways. It’s a great time to watch professional ice skaters hit the ice and make a visit to Santa! 

Light Up Beacon Park

 City Bird and Nest

  Friday, Nov. 21

  Free

Watch as Beacon Park brings a massive White Fir to life with ornaments and listen to carolers as the park lights up with festive cheer. Beacon Park celebrates the start of the holiday season from 5-9 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 21. 

Black Friday and Small Business Saturday

City Bird and Nest

  Friday, Nov. 28 and Saturday, Nov. 29

  Free

Visit City Bird and Nest for special deals and events during extended hours from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Free gifts will be available, as well a DJ set, a locally crafted photo-op and Midtown Holiday Bingo. For those unable to attend in person, a coupon code is available from Friday to Cyber Monday. 

CatVideoFest 2025

Detroit Film Theatre

  Friday, Nov. 28 through Sunday, Nov. 30

General Admission $11.50, Senior/Student/DIA Member $9.50

Cat videos are a long-standing gem of the internet era, and the Detroit Film Theatre invites you to enjoy the cutest and goofiest of them on the big screen. There are 4 showings over the weekend of this 80 minute compilation. The DFT recommends purchasing tickets in advance. A part of the proceeds will be donated to local shelters. 

Detroit held a grand opening for the Violet T. Lewis Village senior apartment complex on Wednesday. It sits on the site of Michigan’s first and only historically Black college. The school was founded by a Black woman named Violet T Lewis. 

The Lewis College of Business offered courses in typewriting, bookkeeping, stenography, penmanship and office management. It was closed in 2013 amid Detroit’s bankruptcy and was re-opened as the Pensole Lewise College of Design and Business in partnership with the College for Creative Studies. 

Dr. Violet Ponders is Lewis’s granddaughter. She tells the story of how her grandmother started the school. 

“When she got out of school, she found it difficult to get the kind of job that she wanted. Then once she began to go and do some other things, she then found out that there were there was nobody that looked like her in offices doing office work. So, you know, she kept saying, we got to do something. We got to do something. So she did something. She founded the college in 1928. She was an educator, but yet she touched the souls of people in a different kind of way.

“One of the things she started was the March of Dimes fashion extravaganza, a group of community women here in Detroit raising money for polio. Everybody called her mommy TV. Those of us who were in the family, there was a certain place on the stairwell … where she stopped being mommy TV, and she became Doctor Lewis. And we would ebb and flow that way all of the time.” 

Violet T. Lewis was also one of the founders of the Gamma Phi Delta sorority. 

Fashioned in the sorority’s iconic baby blue and pink Dr Contessa Bell, the 14th president and CEO of Gamma Phi Delta says Violet T. Lewis’s impact echoed far beyond her lifetime. 

“She helped build a sisterhood rooted in service, leadership, business excellence, and empowerment through Lewis College of Business. She opened doors that many believed were locked. She championed education when it seemed like it was impossible, and during her time when it wasn’t easy, and especially for women.” 

Detroit City Council person Angela Whitfield Calloway is a member of the Gamma Phi Delta Sorority and has proposed more affordable housing in the city since taking office in 2021. 

She says Lewis had done more in the city than simply opening an HBCU. 

“She owned that property over there on John R and Ferry when Black folks were restricted from owning properties over there because of the restrictive covenants in the deeds. But she worked around that and opened that school.” 

The Violet T. Lewis Village is a senior apartment complex, with rents based on income starting as low as $427 for a one bedroom. To find out more about availability call 313-270-9150 or pvm.org.

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

A moody mix to match the weather with a ton of throwbacks, starting with James Brown, Massive Attack, Deftones covering the Cars and lots of moody morsels in between. Plus, giving our flowers to Stone Roses bass player Gary “Mani” Mounfield, who has died at the age of 63.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for November 20, 2025

• “The Payback” – James Brown
• “Protection” – Massive Attack
• “Drive” – Deftones
• “Ritual Union (Maya Jane Coles Remix)” – Little Dragon
• “Who’s Gonna Save My Soul” – Gnarls Barkley
• “Kiss Me On The Neck” – Erykah Badu
• “Uno Punto Uno” – Women In Jazz & Rosa Brunello
• “Underwater Love” – Smoke City
• “The Truth (feat. Roisin & J-Live)” – Handsome Boy Modeling School
• “Pride May Put Me To Rest” – Louise Walker
• “Speak To Me” – Julian Lage
• “Fall Again (feat. Lil Silva)” – Duval Timothy & Melanie Faye
• “Africa” – Bill Laurance & Michael League
• “Baltimore” – Nina Simone
• “Hey Now (When I Give You All My Lovin’)” – Romare
• “I Can’t Hardly Stand It” – The Cramps
• “No News Is Good News” – Pops Staples
• “I Walk On Guilded Splinters” – Dr. John
• “Exuma, The Obeah Man” – Exuma
• “Carried Away” – H.E.R.
• “T.I.B.W.F.” – The Budos Band
• “Lo Life” – Antibalas
• “Let Go” – NewDad
• “2020” – SUUNS
• “The Equalizer” – Clinic
• “Lebanese Blonde” – Thievery Corporation
• “Dream Of You” – Lionlimb, Angel Olsen
• “Brown Paper Bag” – DIIV
• “Weird Fishes/ Arpeggi” – Friko
• “I Am the Resurrection” – The Stone Roses
• “Fools Gold” – The Stone Roses

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

Movies are a window into a different world. They can take us from our lived reality and submerge us into the point of view of a people or a time that may be different from our own. But, if the mainstream lens through which stories are told only focuses on a handful of perspectives, how do we uplift and nurture the stories from communities that have are often left out? 

Detroit Narrative Agency is a local organization that makes a point to highlight compelling storytelling from people of color.

Through its Emerging Filmmaker Fellowship, Detroit Narrative Agency selects four filmmakers to receive mentorship, funding, professional development workshops, and networking opportunities to support the creation of a short film. 

In Sequence — A Premiere Showcase of the Detroit Narrative Agency ’24-25 Fellowship Films debuted at Senate theater. 

Ashley Calhoun is Interim executive director of Detroit Narrative Agency and Lindsay Robillard is a Director of Development at Detroit Mercy and a volunteer with Senate Theater. They joined the show to talk more about supporting Metro Detroit’s film community. 

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on demand.

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More stories from The Metro

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

This past spring, the city of Rochester became home to a ‘micro forest,’ a dense grove of trees and shrubs planted in an area as small as 1,000 square feet. 

The micro forestry concept began in Japan and aims to support birds, insects, and other pollinators in heavily urbanized communities. Specifically helping to remediate degraded soil caused by human development. 

Rochester City Council member Marilyn Trent spearheaded the project with the help of volunteers, arborists, and city officials. 

“The response from the community was absolutely phenomenal,” she says. 

Trent based Rochester’s micro forest on the famous Miyawaki method of planting native plants, trees and shrubs thirty times as dense as usual, a very different method of helping water mitigation, pollinator species support, and carbon capture than re-foresting or rewilding land. “We’re not trying to replicate a forest,” Trent adds.  

Trent says other cities in metro Detroit have reached out with interest in replicating the project in their communities. With one growing season successfully over, she says the biggest lesson so far is be prepared to water, water, water. 

“Keep it watered…that is one thing. And thank goodness for the DPW [Department of Public Works] when the drought starts coming in July or August, you have to keep it watered,” she says.

This story is a part of WDET’s Detroit Tree Canopy Project

It’s been over a week since Democrats showed up to the polls and secured big wins in places like Virginia, Maine, and New York City. Turnout—especially in the Big Apple—was high.

Was it the messaging of affordability that drove turnout… or was it raging against the Trump Administration?

Detroiter Branden Snyder is the state director for the Working Families Party.

Snyder talked with WDET’s Russ McNamara. 

The transcript below has been edited for length and clarity.

Russ McNamara, WDET: What is the platform for the Working Families Party?

Branden Snyder, Working Families Party: The Working Families Party, or WFP, is a national organization that is working to build political power for the multi racial working class. And so in some states, like in New York, it’s an actual party, where it has a party line where people are able to vote for candidates who are WFP endorsed candidates, as well as candidates who are Democrats, through the system that’s called fusion voting.

In states like Michigan and Ohio and Wisconsin, the Working Families Party is a community labor coalition where we take action in primary elections, and in non-partisan city council races like we just had last week. And so what we’re trying to build here in Michigan is a political system that works for the many and not the few, and that means being able to recruit and advocate for candidates who are working for the many and not the few, working on economic justice and social justice issues, and being able to actually champion them both from the starting point all the way to the finish line.

RM: The WFP endorsed two candidates: Gabriela Santiago-Romero and Denzel McCampbell. Both were elected to Detroit City Council. What made them worthy of the endorsement?

BS: Well, a number of things. I think. The first is that both Gabby and Denzel are community leaders. Gabby and Denzel, come from working class households and working class communities. I think the things that may us champion them for is their pledge to not take corporate corporate PAC dollars to their commitment to being able to pass economic justice and affordability policy at the city level.

And then [they have] a commitment to co-govern. So co-governance is really this fancy sort of political science term of this idea that we want to govern with the community – the idea that they will take direction and leadership from community organizations, from regular people, and not just billionaires and party elites. They are the ones who…actually want to be able to engage with working class people, working class communities, community organizations, labor unions, etc. So those issues and those stances and values really set them to the top of the heap for us.

And I think the other thing that we want to do was we wanted to be able to throw a punch at what we call corporate Democrats.

RM: Should I read too much into there not being an endorsement in the mayor’s race?

BS: No. In my in my previous life, I was the executive director of Detroit Action, which is a community organization that works really closely with [now mayor-elect] Sheffield on housing issues. We worked to be able to help pass and promote the people’s agenda for Detroit City Charter commission in 2021. I was on the industry standards board for arena workers with Mary Sheffield over this past year to be able to produce, produce policy for arena workers. So our endorsement didn’t reflect policy or values.

Her win is actually a historic coalition between community, labor, and faith.

RM: Zoran Mamdani, the mayor elect of New York City, has drawn a lot of attention for his Muslim faith, but maybe even more than that, was his platform is steadfastly to the left of the current Democratic Party mainstream. Is this a one off thing, or is there a distinct leftward turn in democratic politics?

BS: We’ve been working for years to build leftward momentum in Democratic politics. Part of the Working Families Party is in for lack of a better term, to pull the party towards the left and actually using that energy and that gravity to bring in folks who are MAGA voters, working class people who are feeling the impacts of SNAP cuts or the impacts of the government shutdown. So we’ve been doing a lot of work to bring in people into this sort of larger coalition that can actually win on economic justice. I think that Mandami is win in New York. It’s also a win for economic justice.

RM: There seems to be a disconnect right now between the people that showed up at the polls last Tuesday and then what happened over the weekend, where eight Democratic senators broke away from the party to end the shutdown. That move pissed a lot of people off in Democratic circles. Does the Democratic Party have an authenticity problem?

BS: I think there needs to be a changing of the guard. There’s a lot of millennials and Gen Z and even some Gen Xers who’ve been waiting in the wings to be able to showcase and be able to display power, and be able to lead from the front and lead with community.

There’s also a real desire to have candidates who will fight for people and actually fight for policy and on values.

Ford Motor Company is moving into its new world headquarters in Dearborn. Called “The Hub,” it’s a seven story tall, 2.1 million square foot facility with four floors.

The building replaces the manufacturer’s outgoing HQ along Michigan Avenue near the Southfield Freeway. Ford Land Chair and CEO Jim Dobleske says, for years, that building has presented challenges when it came to collaborating.

“They had to get in a car,” says Dobleske, “drive five minutes, park, walk into the building, get set up. So it was about a half hour venture before they could really get together.”

But that won’t be an issue for The Hub, where everyone from finance to the design teams will be in the same place. Project architects say the building’s wide-open rooms, sweeping staircases and collaborative areas put a focus on movement.

Officials say about 99% of The Hub is exposed to natural light.

Craig Dykers is founding partner of architecture firm Ford enlisted to design the building, Snøhetta. He says incorporating nature was an important part of the design process.

“Of course it’s important to humans,” says Dykers. “We need fresh air and daylight and access to nature to help us thrive — and so that was an important feature of making this.”

In total, the new building cost Ford around $1.2 billion to construct. But company officials say that price tag is well worth it — as they expect The Hub to serve as the automaker’s HQ for the next hundred years.

Hamtramck’s race for mayor is over—for now.  The Wayne County Board of Canvassers has certified the results of this month’s contest. 

Adam Alharbi has won the election for mayor by just six votes.  The outcome of the contest was controversial, with more than three dozen ballots thrown out after they were found in the office of City Clerk Rana Faraj. 

Losing candidate Muhith Mahmood tells WDET that he will ask for a recount.  He says the 37 ballots should not have been ignored. “Canvassers denied a legitimate 37 votes.  That is concerning, because this is not the 37 people who made a mistake.  Since the race is so close to each other, they could find a way to count this ballot.”   

Incumbent Hamtramck Mayor Amer Ghalib did not seek re-election.  He was nominated by President Trump to become the next U.S. Ambassador to Kuwait. 

Additional headlines from Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Dearborn protests 

Anti-Islamic protesters clashed with Dearborn residents Tuesday. 

Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Anthony Hudson initiated the protests after he called for an end to Sharia law governing Dearborn – even though there is no Sharia law governing Dearborn.  He has since backtracked on this statement.

Muslim residents came out to stand up against anti-Islamic sentiments.  Shouts were exchanged and in some cases there was shoving.   One man reportedly tried to set a Quran on fire. 

At a City Council meeting Tuesday evening, Mayor Abdullah Hammound said there’s room for all faiths to live together peacefully in Dearborn. 

Belle Isle Zoo demolition 

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources is tearing down the remains of the Belle Isle Zoo. 

The zoo was closed in 2002 when the city of Detroit decided it was too costly to operate.  Animal enclosures and other buildings at the site have been empty since then. 

They’ve been overgrown by weeds and vines.  Officials say the remaining structures posed a danger.  The DNR says most of the site will be returned to nature, although some parking spaces for other island attractions will be placed there. 

Muirhead retires 

Long-time public relations expert Georgella Muirhead is retiring.  She currently works at the 98Forward PR firm.  But she worked for years in the administrations of Mayors Coleman Young and Dennis Archer, helping to get their priorities out to the public. 

She left her government office in the late 90s to begin the public relations firm Berg, Muirhead and Associates with famed Coleman Young spokesperson Bob Berg.  They sold the firm in 2016.  Good luck in your retirement, Georgella! 

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

For more than half a century, Helen “Mother” Moore has been a familiar sight at Detroit school board meetings, whether she is at the microphone, in the hallway rallying parents, or being removed by security after a showdown with the board.

Today, at 89, Mother Moore is still at it. She has helped lead court fights over the state’s management of Detroit’s schools, challenged emergency managers and charter expansion, and pushed for literacy to be recognized as a civil right. 

She also helped launch Let’s Read, a volunteer-driven literacy program created with the Detroit school district. Along the way, Moore has mentored generations of parents to also fight against classrooms with broken heat, missing textbooks, and teacher shortages.

Because, as Mother Moore once put it at a school board meeting: “Education is how we get free.”

This weekend, the Dexter-Elmhurst Recreation Center reopens in her honor. The newly renovated Helen Moore Community Center sits in the west side neighborhood where she nurtured her organizing. It is a brick-and-mortar monument to a woman who has spent decades insisting that Black children should not have to leave their communities to find opportunity.

Moore joined Robyn Vincent to discuss the moments that shaped her and why she keeps fighting. 

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Covenant House Michigan has been serving the state’s homeless youth population for nearly 30 years. 

For the past 12 years, the organization has hosted “Sleep Out Detroit”. The annual event is a part of an annual movement held across the globe. It’s also during National Youth Homelessness Month.  

On November 20, more than 100 people will camp out to financially support and bring awareness to youth homelessness.

CEO Megan Dunn and Detroit-based artist and public speaker Phillip Simpson joined The Metro’s Tia Graham to talk more about “Sleep Out Detroit” and the importance of spreading awareness.

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Muhith Mahmood said he is filing a recount after yesterday’s official election results deemed Adam Alharbi the winner of the Hamtramck mayoral election by only 6 votes. 

The results came two weeks after election day because 120 absentee ballots had to wait on signatures and other small fixes before being counted. 

An additional 37 votes from absentee ballots were excluded from the official count after they were found improperly stored in City Clerk Rana Faraj’s office. 

Faraj was suspended and is now under investigation. 

Mahmood said he isn’t upset by the election results. He said someone has to lose. 

“That’s just what democracy should be,” Mahmood said. “But the way canvassers denied or rejected 37 votes, that is concerning…I think that was not the right thing to do.” 

Mahmood told WDET he is filing for a recount. 

Alharbi told WDET that he’s glad the election is over. He also said he plans on contacting the FBI and DOJ to help remedy the continuous legal issues in the city elections. 

“I plan to bring awareness to people that have that language barrier and tell them not to give out their empty ballot to any candidate or any person,” Alharbi said. “I’m just gonna try to find any way possible to fight voter fraud and ballot harvesting.” 

Alharbi sued Mahmood after the election claiming he doesn’t live in Hamtramck and is ineligible to run for Mayor. 

He also filed for a restraining order that would have prevented the Wayne County Board of Canvassers from certifying Mahmood as the winner. 

On Monday, a judge denied the temporary hold on announcing the election results. 

Mahmood said he does live in Hamtramck. 

Alharbi said he will continue his suit against Mahmood—for now. 

A very busy show today! Diving into a world of new music with Mac DeMarco, pôt-pot, Smerz, Glyders and more. 

We spent some time with Acoustic Cafe’s Rob Reinhart, who had the honor of interviewing Todd Snider over the years. The late singer-songwriter died on November 15 at the age of 59.

Plus, Detroit-based artist Via Mardot stops by to talk about her show at the Lager House on Friday. We play a handful of tracks from her album “Higher Higher Burning Fire,” which you can buy directly from the artist via Bandcamp.

Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.

In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for November 19, 2025

• “Moving Forward” – Bryony Jarman-Pinto
• “Day Dreaming” – Aretha Franklin
• “Cruisin’” – Smokey Robinson
• “I Want You” – Marvin Gaye
• “Parabéns (feat. Marcos Valle) [Quarantine Sessions]” – Tom Misch
• “Be Thankful For What You’ve Got (Live)” – Orgone
• “Holy” – Mac DeMarco
• “Hot Scene” – pôt-pot
• “One Tiny Flower” – Jeff Tweedy
• “Easy (Astrid Sonne EDIT)” – Smerz
• “Sleeping Without You Is a Dragg (feat. Justin Vernon & Jenny Lewis)” – Swamp Dogg
• “Count The Days (feat. Jenny Lewis)” – Swamp Dogg
• “Elderberry Wine” – Wednesday
• “Meet Me In The City” – Junior Kimbrough
• “How Can I Lose” – Shirley Ann Lee
• “Avant Gardener” – Courtney Barnett
• “Conservative, Christian, Right Wing Republican, Straight, White, American Males” – Todd Snider
• “Better Than Ever Blues (Acoustic Cafe Session)” – Todd Snider
• “When I Get To Heaven” – John Prine
• “In Spite of Ourselves (feat. Amy Taylor)” – Viagra Boys
• “Got You” – Amyl and The Sniffers
• “This Is Who I Am” – Celeste
• “Pining” – Via Mardot
• “Flea” – St. Vincent
• “Crosseyed and Painless (feat. Money Mark)” – Chicano Batman
• “Once In A Lifetime” – WITCH
• “Queenless King” – WITCH
• “Stone Shadow” – Glyders
• “Mother’s Son” – Curtis Mayfield

Listen to In the Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.

This week on MI Local, we checked out three new albums by, of course, local artists, including the indie rock trio Idle Ray with “Airports”, Panda House with their self-titled EP coming out on Dec. 12, and indie-singer-songwriter Jesse Shepherd Bates, with “Extra Texture”—the latter has a release party this Saturday at the Lexington!

We also heard some Midwest emo/post-punk rock from the trio known as Marcus the Apex Predator, and the latest from the versatile producer Eddie Logix.

Our in-studio guests included Kristin Lyn from Ladyship Warship! Lyn is the drummer and vocalist from the husband-wife rock duo that also features Eric Myers on guitar, but as we note in our interview, more often than not it’s a Mandocello! Lyn talked about Ladyship Warship’s most recent album, “Lacrimosus Intolerantem,” as well as the two new music videos that they’ll be releasing, with one dropping Thursday ahead of their show on Thanksgiving night, Nov. 27 at the Outer Limits Lounge.

Sonic Smut, meanwhile, are a “loud” psychedelic rock trio who have a new album out next weekend, “Eye Bleach.” We sampled some of their invigorating new tracks before the trio successfully adapted one of their gnarly/groovy guitar/keyboard based tracks into a pared back acoustic version!

You can see Sonic Smut perform live next Friday, Nov. 28, at the Paris Bar as a part of a dual album release with The Idiot Kids, who are releasing their next album, “Instants.” Idiot Kids, led by Jon-Mikal Bartee, have been in-studio guests on a couple occasions prior; we spun one of their new songs, “Mr. E.”

Full tracklist below! Check it out and listen to the media player above for two weeks after it airs.

• “Memories Burn (Whenever You Dream)” – Idle Ray
• “M.M.M.” – Jesse Shepherd-Bates
• “Overexposure” – Panda House
• “Plenty & Shine” – Marcus the Apex Predator
• “Sun of Elizabeth” – Eddie Logix
• “Death By Nostalgia” – Sonic Smut
• “Freakquency” – Sonic Smut
• “Good Ones” – Ladyship Warship
• “Marks The Spot” – Ladyship Warship
• “The Only Way Out is Through” – Ladyship Warship

The March of Dimes says Detroit has the most premature births among the 100 U.S. cities with the highest birth rates. The study found 1 in 6 babies in Detroit are born before the 37th week of gestation.

The organization points to high rates of chronic illness as one of the reasons for that high rate, as well as disparities in healthcare for Black people.

This summer, the National Institutes of Health canceled a study of premature births in Detroit as part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.  

Additional headlines from Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Wayne County wrongful convictions

A new report released by the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office details ways it can avoid wrongful convictions. 
The study specifically looks at the case of Eric Anderson—a Detroit man convicted of robbery in 2010 who was wrongfully imprisoned for nine years.

The report was conducted through the Wayne County Sentinel Event Review Team which is made up of law enforcement, judges and innocence projects at Michigan State and the University of Pennsylvania.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says the investigation was successful because it sought to find ways to avoid wrongful prosecutions, not hold anyone accountable. 

“This process was not a process that assigned and assessed blame or finger pointing. It was very important to me and I think everybody that that be done, so we can have honest discussions and have honest recommendations and honest vehicles to make these changes.”

The report lists 25 ways for police, prosecutors and judges to improve, including reducing reliance on a single eye-witness and improving funding for public defenders.

So far, 43 people have been released from prison based on the efforts of the Wayne County Sentinel Event Review Team, most of whom were sentenced to mandatory life sentences.  

Riverwalk construction

Part of the Riverwalk between Beaubien and Rivard will be closed Thursday through the spring for utility improvements on 1-375. Pedestrians and cyclists wit be rerouted to Atwater Street until mid-December. After that, they will be directed to Franklin Street.

The Michigan Department of Transportation says a new storm sewer along Schweizer Place down to the river is being installed. MDOT says the updates will support cleaner water being discharged into the Detroit River and relieve pressure on the city’s sewer system. 

Thanksgiving food collection

Midtown coffeeshop Simply Roasted and Mindful Bakery Yumaste are partnering with Gleaners to collect food ahead of Thanksgiving.

They invite the community to drop off unexpired and non-perishable food items at 4240 Cass Avenue through Thanksgiving Day. Canned chicken, tuna, beans, soups, vegetables and fruits as well as oatmeal and cereals are especially needed.

For information on how to give, other organizations collecting food and food distributions visit gcfb.org. 

Train party

Carbon Athletic Club is hosting its annual Holiday Train Party Saturday.

The CPKC Holiday Train starts its 27^th annual trek through Canada and the U.S. Wednesday and makes a stop in Windsor Saturday before passing through Detroit.

The Windsor event will feature live performances by Smash Mouth and JJ Wilde. The train does not stop in Detroit but is expected to roll by the Carbon Athletic Club sometime between 6 and 11 p.m. on Nov. 22.

The Carbon Athletic Club is a members-only social club founded in the Delray neighborhood in 1947. The Holiday Train Party is its biggest fundraiser of the year. Tickets are $10 and available at carbonathleticclub.com or at the door. 

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.