The United Farm Workers Foundation (UFW), which advocates for farm workers and immigrants in the U.S., recently released a survey finding most farmworkers expressed increased worry about detention and deportation stemming from the Trump administration’s latest immigration crackdown.
Anna Hill Galendez is the managing attorney at the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC). She leads the farmworker and immigrant worker rights team, providing legal services to farmworkers throughout Michigan.
“While we haven’t seen large-scale raids at agricultural sites in Michigan during this administration, the constant threat or potential threat of that enforcement has really created a chilling effect and climate of fear for farmworkers in Michigan,” she says.
The survey found people are also afraid of seeking medical help, shopping, or using social media.
Many have been working in the U.S. for more than 10 years.
The survey finds half of the agricultural workforce is made up by undocumented workers.
Galendez says more than one-third of Michigan’s agricultural crops depend on labor intensive practices.
“We’re seeing a huge growth in the use of the H-2A temporary visa program, and it’s grown more than 45 times larger since 2012. Last year, Michigan had nearly 16,000 H-2A positions certified for temporary visa workers to come,” she says.
Galendez says the fear of detention and deportation also impacts employment conditions for farm workers with some employers delaying payment and wages.
While migrants have an increased fear of immigration enforcement, Galendez says that MIRC is seeing more local law enforcement helping federal agencies.
“Sometimes in what look to be pretextual types of traffic stops… questioning people and then calling ICE or CBP, sometimes engaging in unlawful practices such as demanding passengers provide their identification,” she explains.
The survey found raids and deportations affect employment, health, and family separation for many people who have lived in the U.S. for 10 years or longer.
The UFW Foundation research surveyed 2,250 farm workers in 12 states, including Michigan.
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Documentary photographer Syed Yaqeen is the founder of the American Muslim Experience documentary project. He created the project to preserve the stories of American Muslims through visual storytelling and conversations.
“It’s just everyday lives of folks going through their struggles, kids going to school, people going to their work, and all of that is what the one thing that connects. And they happen to be Muslims,” he says.
Yaqeen began American Muslim Experience as a passion project around 2017. The multimedia platform became a nonprofit in December 2025.
Coming to Michigan
This week, the Pennsylvania-based photographer is visiting Hamtramck, Detroit, and Dearborn to gather pictures of people.
“Michigan is so interesting because you can go in a half-mile drive radius and have every different ethnic background Muslims and their specific areas where there are specific people from parts of the world, but also in between you have the local and long term Black Muslim community, which are such a historic community, ” he shares.
Yaqeen says he was inspired to begin this project after noticing that American Muslims are portrayed negatively in the public eye.
“When you think of a Muslim in America or a Muslim, who that person can be, and you might not imagine the person you’re seeing right now as what you think a Muslim is,” he says.
Syed Yaqeen is a documentary photographer and visual storyteller.
A diverse religious community
He says American Muslims are among the most diverse Muslim communities in the world.
Yaqeen, who has two sons, says he also wanted to create positive representation of everyday Muslims for his kids, and others.
“It’s definitely a learning process for myself, and I want to share that with the rest of the community, with everyone,” he says.
Yaqeen says the American Muslim Experience project is a way for Americans to learn about Muslims, but also for Muslims to see themselves in the public.
“Even inside the Muslim community, it’s such a needed visual representation,” he says.
Yaqeen previously worked on the Muslims for American Progress by the Institute for Social Policy and Understanding (ISPU), which featured Muslims from all walks of life. He says he got a taste of what this work could look like long-term.
“A lot of this misunderstanding comes from a point of where whoever has that negative idea so often, if not almost always, has never actually met someone who’s Muslim or don’t know anyone who is Muslim,” he explains.
“They just have this stereotypical idea in their head, and they go with it. So all of this work, I think ISPU’s work, and what I’m trying to do, comes back to that point that… get to know the folks.”
Contemporary archive in the making
American Muslim Experience is now a nonprofit. Yaqeen says the work will expand to include educational programming and community conversations.
“We’re hoping for it to be a place where a lot of different storytelling and… community events and all that stuff is housed in one place, so it’s easy to access,” he says.
Yaqeen says this work is important for years to come.
“Not just a Muslim community, because you hear such negative talks most of the time. But then, when you’re on the ground with the people, you realize there is so much going on. They’re doing amazing work. They’re building community,” he elaborates.
He says American Muslims have played an important role in the country.
“We’re very much part of the history of this country, but also we plan to be part of this country going forward. So to you know have that documented, recorded, and preserved going forward, I think will be very important,” he says.
Yaqeen is collecting photographs and interviews this week. You can find him on Instagram @americanmuslimexperience to schedule a session.
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Michigan is reporting the first two fatalities among people suffering from the disease cyclosporiasis. Officials say medical records indicate the people had significant underlying health conditions. Officials add the disease, which can cause cramps and explosive diarrhea, is generally non-life-threatening. Deaths from it are uncommon in the U.S.
The state reports more than 11,000 cases since June, although it’s not clear how many of those people may have already recovered from the disease.
Documentary photographer and visual storyteller Syed Yaqeen is visiting Michigan this week as part of the American Muslim Experience— a documentary project to preserve the stories of American Muslims through visual storytelling and conversations.
He says he began the project to document stories of everyday Muslims to counter negative stereotypes and showcase what it means to be Muslim in America.
“Like the complicated lives of everyday people who again happen to be Muslim. So for them to be able to see themselves as young kids, students going to school, getting jobs, first job, learning how to drive-you know-all these little simple things that people tend not to think of when they are, I guess, put in a specific group.”
Yaqeen says his focus is on documenting the present-day lives of American Muslims to preserve that for the future.
He is taking pictures in Hamtramck, Detroit and Dearborn.
The city of Detroit has failed to translate information in emergencies as required through an ordinance created last year to translate public service announcements, says the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center.
Bridge Detroit reports that includes hazardous smoke and extreme heat warnings. City officials say they will make improvements to provide Detroiters whose first language is not English access to resources or information.
Meanwhile Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield has tasked the Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity (CRIO), Office of Immigrant Affairs, and Media Services departments to improve language access in the city.
BridgeDetroit found much emergency-based information was only posted in English on the city’s website or Facebook.
The city hopes to provide translated information in Spanish, Bengali, Arabic, and French. Meanwhile, residents can use Detroit’s alert system and choose a language of their choice to access the city’s website.
Detroit has spent more than $362,000 on language access services in the past year.
Blood donations at extreme low
The American Red Cross has issued an emergency appeal for blood donations.
Sydney Henry is with the Michigan region of the American Red Cross. She says blood donations typically drop in the summer, but this summer is worse than usual.
That’s likely because of the extreme heat events and wildfire smoke that choked some states, especially Michigan.
Henry says the Red Cross has less than a day’s supply of type O positive blood. That blood can be given to most people in an emergency.
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FEMA has awarded a total of $15.8 million dollars in reimbursements to several Michigan entities as part of the recovery stemming from theMarch 2025 winter storms in northern Michigan.
The money goes toward repairing critical public safety communications infrastructure, debris removal and power restoration efforts. The funding comes from FEMA’s Public Assistance program.
The Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget was awarded $383,000.
Laura Wotruba is the Director of Communications for the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget. She says the money will be used to reimburse the state for costs to repair damaged communication towers and clean storm debris around the towers.
The Office of Michigan’s Public Safety Communications System is housed in the department. It maintains the second largest trunked communication system in the world, connecting local, state, federal and tribal communications with first responders. The network includes more than 2,600 agencies and 165,000 radios to aid emergency response in all Michigan counties. The system also includes some parts of Ohio and Indiana.
The remaining funds include $14.7 million reimbursed Presque Isle Electric & Gas for power restoration and $642,000 to Charlevoix County Road Commission for labor and equipment.
Additional headlines for Monday, July 27, 2027
Gordie Howe opens
The Gordie Howe International Bridge opened for car and truck traffic today after 8 years of construction and recent political tension.
That came to a head when President Trump imposed new tariffs against Canada, which responded by disinviting American officials to last Friday’s ribbon cutting ceremony in Windsor.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford says the Gordie Howe Bridge highlights the bond between the two countries despite tension with the White House.
“We’ll not back down… and we’ll negotiate from a position of strength as a top trading partner… because I know that both Canadians and Americans are better off when we work together instead of standing apart.”
Canada will use toll revenue to pay the bridge’s operating expenses.
If there’s any profit left over, it will split that money with the U.S., which will put its half into an economic development fund. The 15 year agreement also gives the U.S. some control over toll changes.
-Reporting by Alex McLenon
Election board allows money-out-of-politics initiative to move forward
Voters could decide this fall whether to ban political action committees from making donations on behalf of utilities and some public contractors.
The Board of State Canvassers says organizers gathered enough valid petition signatures to send the proposal to the Legislature. If lawmakers don’t approve it, the measure will appear on the November ballot.
Attorney Gary Gordon represents a business group that opposes the ban. He claims the campaign did a sloppy job of signature gathering and didn’t give the state enough time to check their work.
“The staff review of these petitions was truncated by the petitioners gaming the system. They gamed the system by filing way more than the number of signatures they required, thereby increasing the burden on the staff, and they waited until the last minute.”
Canvassers rejected that argument. The group could go to court to keep the measure off the November ballot.
– Reporting by Rick Pluta
Zaman International ED
Zaman International is a Michigan-based nonprofit that works to break cycles of poverty for women and children. Zaman announced their first Executive Director, Mariam Jalloul will be added to the team this year during the organization’s 30th anniversary.
Jalloul will lead the strategic direction to expand Zaman’s work.
She previously served as the Chief Strategy Officer for the City of Dearborn and held leadership positions in the U.S. Congress.
Najah Bazzy is the founder and CEO of Zaman. She will focus on guiding Zaman’s vision, philanthropy and serve as an ambassador for the nonprofit.
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In this episode of CuriosiD, listener Fatema Haque asks the question:
Who is playing cricket in Detroit?
The short answer
Cricket is a British sport that had a stint in Michigan in the 1800s and 1950s. It recently became popularized again in the early 2000s when Bangladeshi community members advocated for a cricket field in Detroit.
The Michigan Cricket Association began with 4 teams in 2001. It now has 106 teams and over 2,000 players. Matches are played in several cities, including Detroit at Belle Isle, Lasky Recreation’s Cricket Field and Jayne Field in the Banglatown neighborhood.
An international sport played in Detroit
Fatema Haque, a lecturer at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, wanted to know about people playing the sport of cricket in Detroit.
Haque grew up in Bangladesh, and later in Detroit, where her family still resides.
“One of the things that I’ve been noticing is over the last few years is that during the summer there’s these group of folks who are playing cricket at Jayne Field, they’re in the full cricket regalia, and I’m wondering how this got started and who all participates in this sports activity,” she asks.
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Haque says she’s surprised the sport has sprung up in popularity the U.S.
“I grew up in Bangladesh, and so I saw it everywhere, but while growing up in the US, I did not see it anywhere. So to suddenly see it emerge and have a piece of my culture just out and about made me really curious about who’s organizing, who’s playing, who all is supporting this,” she says.
Out on the field
Cricket players for the Michigan Cheetahs and Warren Flames at a practice game at the Lasky Recreation Center’s cricket field.
A batsman hits the cricket ball as folks cheer on the field, kicking off the first practice of the season at the Lasky Cricket Field on Detroit’s east side.
Saiyed Ahmed works for the Michigan Youth Cricket Academy as a coach. He’s been playing cricket since he was a kid. Ahmed moved from Bangladesh to Detroit in 2002. He wanted to continue playing the sport.
“I always used to pass by the park and see these baseball fields just sitting empty, and no one utilizing them, then, but on the other hand, for us who come in from Bangladesh, and it’s a big crowd here. We want to play our sports, but we don’t have a field to play,” he shares.
Sayied Ahmed advocated for a cricket field in Detroit as a teenager. He’s now a coach for the Michigan Youth Cricket Academy.
He and his friends would play in the parking lot at the Detroit Library at Conant and Davison, scraping their knees during the games.
But one day he noticed city officials passing through the area and he approached them to open a cricket field. He was put in touch with Detroit City Councilmember Scott Benson who represents District 3.
Benson says he was on board.
“We had the old disc golf field, and no one was using it. And members of the cricket community approached me and said, “Well, what do you think about a cricket pitch? I said, “Well, why not? Let’s do it. So I approached the city, I advocated, talked to the Parks and Rec department at the time, talked to Mayor Duggan,” she says.
The city opened Lasky Cricket Field in 2017, after three years of community advocacy.
Just two years later, another cricket field was inaugurated at Jayne Park in Banglatown, as part of the city’s beautification and revitalization efforts. It also gave a nod to the growing presence of the city’s Bangladeshi community in the Detroit area.
A British sport, with international and local expansion
Cricket is a British sport that has been played in England since the 16th century. It was later organized with rules in the 18th century.
By the late 20th Century, the sport became popularized due to televised coverage and international matches, bringing more countries to the playing field, including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Back on the field, Ahmed describes how the sport works.
“So the two guys that start standing, that they’re called batters, so they will be two batters each time, and then the field, the fielding team has 11 players. So basically, just like baseball, baseball says catchers, but in cricket it says keepers; they will be behind the stump and behind that batsman, but depending on if it’s a fast bowler, he will stay back,” he explains.
Tayefur Rahman runs the Michigan Cricket Association, which has 106 teams and over 2,000 active players.
Tayefur Rahman is an electrical engineer. He moved to Hamtramck in 2010. Like Ahmed, he was looking for a community of cricket players when he moved to Michigan. He now lives in Sterling Heights.
“This is for our community base, because by the time we see our community, people are growing in Hamtramck, Warren, and Sterling Heights area, so they were thinking, why shouldn’t we do some community-based cricket, like Bangladesh cricket community,” he says.
Rahman says the international sport has expanded in Southeast Michigan.
Practices are held on weekdays, but games are played on the weekends.
“Sunday we play at least 27 to 33. (It) depends on how grounds availability,” he says.
Beyond the field
Cricket has become more than just a sport, it’s a way for people to bond and even get job opportunities.
The games are now livestreamed in Michigan.
Rahman says cricket has become a way to connect beyond the field, creating friendships and even leading to job opportunities.
“Because of cricket, these communities are bonding really good,” he expresses.
Afser Hussain is a cricket bowler who plays for the Macomb Cricket Club.
“I led this team for seven years, you know, we have several championships,” he says.
Cricket had a stint in Michigan in the late 1800s, mid 1950s, and in the early 2000s in Detroit.
Hussain says cricket has come a long way since those days.
“You can take cricket as a profession in Michigan—you have the coaches, you have the infrastructure, you have indoor nets. So, yeah, it’s a different cricket than 2006,” he shares.
The excitement for cricket has also expanded to nearby cities like Warren, which recently allocated a cricket field at Shaw Park, and Troy, which opened a new cricket field at Boulan Park for $900,000 in May.
Many of the cricket games take place at fields across Southeast Michigan.
So next time you’re out and about in Detroit or nearby cities, you may just catch a glimpse of this international sport in your American backyard.
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The Detroit Health Department says people should continue to plan for poor air quality from Canadian wildfires. Yesterday, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy put out a statewide Air Quality Alert. Smoke is likely to linger this week.
In Detroit, the air quality is in the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups” range.
Detroit Health Department Director Ali Abazeed says residents should check current conditions and adjust outdoor activity. He says residents will be notified if air quality worsens.
People should avoid strenuous outdoor activities, take frequent breaks and keep quick relief medications, such as inhalers, nearby. People should also keep their windows closed and run AC units and filters.
Residents should monitor health conditions such as coughing, wheezing, chest tightness or irritation of eyes or throat. Anyone who is having trouble breathing should contact a healthcare provider.
Detroit Disability Power and DanceAbility are hosting several dance parties to get groovy this summer. Join six Zoom sessions online or in-person workshops. Cara Graninger will facilitate. People can also join in person for three sessions with local musicians. ASL interpretation is available upon request.
The first in-person event takes place July 21 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Valade Shed on the Detroit Riverfront.
Wright Museum hosts Golf Classic
The Charles H. Wright Museum’s Women’s Committee is hosting a golfing event next month. The Golf Classic is an annual fundraising event to raise money for the museum. Named in honor of Roberta Hughes Wright—an award-winning author, humanitarian and the late wife of Dr. Charles H. Wright, the founder of the museum—the event also hopes to explore African American history and culture.
Proceeds will go toward the museum’s unrestricted operating budget and children’s educational programs at the museum.
The Golf Classic takes place Thursday, August 6 at the Lakes of Taylor Golf Course from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Register at thewright.org/events.
Get Out to Vote Block Party
The city of Detroit’s Department of Elections and Detroit Votes 2026 is hosting a Get Out to Vote block party this weekend. The event takes place Saturday, July 25 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 2978 West Grand Blvd. outside of the Department of Elections Office. There will be community resources, entertainment and kids activities.
Organizations offer tools to beautify city
Several Detroit organizations are coming together to provide community resources for clean-up and beautification efforts in the city. The tool kits are accessible to residents, community groups, and nonprofits. Tools include small construction tools and safety equipment for snow removal and lawn and landscaping.
The tools can be picked up from the Bailey Park NDC, the E. Warren Tool Library, or the Premier Group Associates in Detroit.
Visit the Department of Neighborhoods ondetroitmi.gov.
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Dean Dr. Ahmed Radwan of the College of Health Professions at the University of Detroit Mercy is hoping to bring more first-generation students to the private university.
“First gen students need extra care… if you are a first gen, this means that you’re on your own. So we, as a university and as a college have to replace the extra support at home and offer it here for the students,” he says.
Ties to immigrant experience
Radwan was born and raised in Cairo. He moved to the United States about 20 years ago. He previously served as s a professor of physical therapy, and later the the Dean of Health Professions at the Utica University in New York.
He joined the University of Detroit Mercy in 2024.
Radwan says that although he was not a first-generation student in the U.S., he felt similar experiences when he moved to the U.S.
“Everything was new. I had to teach myself how to advise my own children at school, because I have not attended school here in the States… I realized how important it is to offer the extra help that is needed at the University for first gen, if we truly care about them and about their success,” he shares.
UDM makes plans to help first gen students
He says UDM provides extra help to students. That includes providing students with a faculty advisor, success coaches, and assistance from the Office of Student Support. He says there’s also a peer educator system.
“I think the student has multiple levels of support, not just one or two,” he says, noting that its not only his passion to support first gen students, but also the university’s mission.
He says the university provides summer camps, starting in middle school, to expose them to different career fields.
First gen students add to campus diversity
Radwan says there are several first-gen students and diverse students on campus.
“I think it depends on the program, but in certain majors, you will be surprised that diversity represents more than 60% of the class,” he shares.
Offering options
Radwan says many minority families expect their first-gen children to pursue specific careers, but he says there are more options.
“Families, especially families coming from the Middle East, they have a preference towards their children being physicians, engineers, lawyers, but there are other health professions that could be even more successful as a career,” he says.
One of those fields is nursing, due to the national shortage.
He says the College of Health Professions and Catherine McAuley School of Nursing offers several programs. It’s an option for students who want to shift another field, “and quickly help them a career shift to nursing to become nurse,” he says.
Radwan explains that these programs are also designed for foreign-born students who need to transfer their skills and work credentials.
The program is offered at the Novi campus, and will be offered in Grand Rapids, in collaboration with Aquinas College campus.
Radwan says the Catholic university welcomes people of diverse faith traditions.
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Dr. Amy Shah is a double board-certified MD and nutrition expert. She recently wrote the book “Hormone Havoc” about how to eat, sleep, and think better for perimenopause and menopause.
She says perimenopause can be a confusing time for people and doctors, who aren’t trained to treat it.
“Most doctors don’t even know perimenopause exists. So I felt like there was a need to clarify what is happening during that time, and the simple things that are science-backed that we could be doing during that time,” she says.
Shah says prior to the 1990s, women were largely left out of medical studies.
She says more conversations are happening about the topics due to increased awareness through social media.
“The social circle conversations were all done in silos, but now the social conversation happens in these formats, where you can see, oh my god, everyone around the world, women are all experiencing this, and I think that’s really kind of driven more requests for content, requests for medical advice, requests for research on this topic,” she says.
Some common symptoms include feeling tired, and things like itchy skin, carpal tunnel syndrome or frozen shoulder.
“Estrogen receptors are present in our body, and so when there’s shifts in the estrogen, there’s going to be symptoms that sound like they have completely nothing to do with menopause, but they are related,” she explains.
30-30-3
To help women during perimenopause and menopause, Shah developed the 30-30-3 framework.
“I thought, let me take all the research that we have in nutrition and for women in perimenopause and try to dilute it down to the very simple basics, and what I realized that is that there’s a three step protocol,” she expresses. “It’s 30 grams of protein in your first meal, 30 grams of fiber throughout the day, and three servings of probiotic foods every single day.”
She says incorporating these changes can help with the gut-hormone-brain-immune connection, which connects the digestive system and central nervous system and impacts one’s health.
Another big indicator of health during perimenopause is sleep.
“We’re finding out more and more that women may be even more susceptible to circadian rhythm disruptions… 70% of people in that perimenopause, menopause transition have disturbances in sleep,” she shares.
Breaking barriers and stigma on perimenopause
Shah, who is Indian American, says South Asians are more susceptible to insulin resistance than the general population. But talking about perimenopause, menopause, and symptoms is often a taboo subject, preventing women from getting adequate care.
“I think that there’s like real barriers there from in that culture about talking about it with your doctor, about actually getting help for it, and even, you know, speaking about it in the community, because there’s just so much kind of taboo around it,” she explains.
But Shah says it’s important to speak up about women’s health.
“Pregnancy is celebrated. There’s lots of conversation about that, but puberty and menopause, there’s like almost no conversation, because it’s very taboo in those cultures. And so I keep a very open dialogue with both my kids, my daughter and my son,” she says.
Shah says people have more control than they think they do.
“A lot of people treat this time of life as downhill or something that they should be worried about or stressed about, that now everything is going to be worse in their life… I tell everyone that you know your 40s, 50s, and beyond can be the best years, and it can be the years that you can actually find your gifts,” she says.
Shah is also the author of the books, “I’m So Effing Hungry” and “I’m So Effing Tired.” You can find her on Instagram here.
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The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy has issued an air quality alert for the state of Michigan. That’s due to smoke from Canadian wildfires.
The air quality can harm those who are unhealthy or sensitive groups… potentially reaching the unhealthy range. EGLE has published a page for resources on how to respond to wildfire smoke.
The state’s health department advises people to limit outdoor activity by monitoring the air quality in their area. They also recommend sheltering indoors with air conditioning — and to find a shelter if it’s too hot at home. People can call 211 to find a local shelter.
Some Michigan lawmakers are backing a joint resolution to have voters decide whether the state’s highest earners should pay more in taxes. The proposal seeks to change an extra 5% tax on annual income above half a million dollars for single filers or a million dollars for joint filers. The extra revenue would go toward health, housing and education.
Democratic State Senator Stephanie Chang says the money could come in handy as economists predict tough years ahead for the state budget. “I think its important that as lawsmakers we keep talking about those priorities and also talk about how if we make the wealthy pay their fair share, we can create another revenue source that can help generate over a billion dollars.”
Republicans and business groups claim the plan increases taxes for small businesses — organizers say that’s not true. It would take supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature to get the measure on the ballot.
Days after severe storms interrupted service for thousands of DTE Energy customers, the head of the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) says the company’s response could have been better. Commission Chairman Dan Scripps says DTE’s own restoration estimates fed into people’s frustrations.
“There were a number of problems with the restoration estimates. They were off… and sometimes significantly. And not just the level of communication that you’d expect from a utility to its customers.”
Scripps spoke with WDET’s Robyn Vincent on The Metro. He says MPSC received higher-than-normal public complaints after the storms.
DTE’s chief executive apologized to customers last week, saying the company will review its response and try to do better.
The Detroit Chinatown Vision Committee is hosting its second annual block party in Detroit on Cass and Peterboro Streets. The event corresponds with the 2023 demolition of the former Chinese Merchants Association Building, which also housed several Chinese organizations. Community members opposed the demolition of Detroit’s Historic Chinatown.
Lisa Yee-Litzenberg is a volunteer member of the committee. She says the block party and commemoration is an effort to create a safe space, a Pan-Asian district in Detroit.
“This is an opportunity for people to celebrate and feel pride about their culture and their history, but also for people from all walks of life to come and learn about the culture, the history of different Asian groups in the Detroit metro area, so that’s a big.”
Yee-Litzenberg says her father Henry Yee was the former unofficial mayor of Detroit’s Chinatown in the 1960s and 1970s.
The free Detroit Chinatown Block Party takes place Saturday, July 25, from noon to 8 p.m. The event will feature historical exhibitions, performances and food from over 50 vendors. There will also be free film screenings at the Masonic Temple featuring the movies “Bad Axe” and “Warren King: King of Cardboard.”
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The City of Dearborn is receiving federal funds to improve its sewer system. FEMA awarded $8.1 million for the upgrades.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud says the project is installing a series of flapgates for flood mitigation efforts.
“Rather than installing a backflow and individual homes, the flap gate is a backflow for a whole neighborhood, and so this will actually help us prevent flooding to a greater degree for about 3,000 homes in a neighborhood in Dearborn,” he says.
The upgrades will be added between Chase Road and Greenfield Avenue. About 6,200 feet of storm sewers will be added.
Hammoud says the goal is to increase the capacity of stormwater management.
“We can handle around three inches of rain every 24 hours of our storm event, and our goal is to try to increase that capacity by 50% increasing that capacity closer to four and a half inches, which will help alleviate the majority of flooding based on the storms that we’re having now,” he says.
But Hammoud says in 2021 there was 7 inches of rain.
He says it would take about $700 million in infrastructure investments in the next 15 to 20 years to meet that capacity.
This work is part of the second phase of a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
The city has installed bioswales and rain gardens, swapped out grass easements to help absorb gallons of water and clearing out sediment and debris from the Colson Palmer line.
He says the city is looking for additional funding for more stormwater mitigation efforts.
This project is expected to be completed by next year.
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Several attorneys general fileda new lawsuit to prevent the U.S. Department of Education from terminating school-based mental health grants. Michigan Attorney Dana Nessel has joined the lawsuit.
The projected cuts equal about $6 million in funding from Michigan schools and universities. Members of Congress allocated $1 billion to address school shootings. The grants are focused on bringing in 14,000 mental health professionals into low-income rural schools. Programs have provided services to over 775,000 students across the U.S.
Nessel’s office says in a statement that grantees were notified in April last year that their grants may be terminated for conflicting with the Trump administration’s priorities or be targeted for perceived DEI initiatives.
A court order last year says the administration should not eliminate programming for mental health care in schools. The department said it would review grants at the 6-month mark and make further funding determinations. However, the department plans to terminate funding by this month, prompting the new lawsuit.
The attorneys general allege that termination of the grants violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the U.S. Constitution. Termination of the grants would also disrupt the pipeline to get more mental health professionals into the field and lay off those who are already working to address the concerns.
Additional headlines from Monday, July 13, 2026
DOJ says it will send poll monitors to Detroit
The Trump administration is questioning how Michigan conducts elections. That includes demanding lists of registered voters and threatening Michigan’s Secretary of State with criminal charges if any non-U.S. citizens cast a ballot. The U.S. Justice Department said it intends to send monitors to polls in Detroit, Lansing and East Lansing. All Democrat-led cities.
Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey says allegations that the city had long lines and a lack of ballots at polls are not true.
Winfrey says Detroit’s election system is transparent and above-board, and she welcomes legal poll monitors watching it in action.
“And transparency strengthens public confidence. So we don’t mind groups coming in to observe… as long as they don’t get in the way of processing voters and the voting process.”
President Trump has often made baseless claims that Detroit’s elections were rigged against him despite investigations finding no evidence of any widespread voting fraud.
-Reporting by Quinn Klinefelter.
Oncology app
There’s a new app for oncology clinical trials. The Barbara Ann Karmonos Cancer Institute has launched a new version of the KCI Clinical Trials App, where clinicians and people can find out updated information about clinical trials for more informed care.
People can use the app to contact specialists for questions about trials and learn about opportunities or referrals. Karmanos offers clinical trials for various kinds of cancers including brain, gastrointestinal, and sarcoma. Visit karmanos.org/clinicaltrails to learn more.
Rising Voices art exhibition
The Asian American advocacy group Rising Voices is hosting an artist exhibition. It will display the art of Michigan Asian American artists Chelsea Koga, Maikue Vang, Navjeet Kaur and Julia Koza. There will also be performances and time for networking.
The “Revolution, Resistance and Joy,” exhibition opening night takes place July 17 from 6-9 p.m. at the Swords Into Plowshares Gallery in Detroit. The event is free with registration.
Sazon Festival
There’s a Latin food festival coming to Detroit. Latin City is hosting this outdoor, family-friendly festival with food and music.
The Sazon Latin Food Festival will showcase flavors from the Caribbean, Central and South America. Space is limited. The event takes place Sunday, July 26 at the Batch Brewing Company from 12-5 p.m. Registration is free but spots are limited.
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Police say a 5-year-old boy was shot in the arm while riding his bicycle in front of his home in northwest Detroit. Investigators say a teenager fired several shots near Fargo-Oakfield Park when a stray bullet hit the boy.
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield says the young victim will recover. She called the shooting senseless gun violence and said children deserve to feel safe in their neighborhoods. She says anyone with information about the shooter should call the police or CrimeStoppers.
-Reporting by Pat Batcheller
Additional headlines for Wednesday, July 8, 2026
Federal monitors in Detroit?
The Justice Department plans to send election monitors to Detroit, Lansing and East Lansing for Michigan’s August primaries. Those are mostly Democratic cities. President Trump has falsely claimed that fraud in Detroit cost him the 2020 election.
Phil Mayor is the deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan. He says the DOJ can, and has, used election monitors before. But he says Trump’s plan is troubling.
“Given this administration’s election denialism and many of the other ways the administration has sought to discourage voting or spread false narratives, we’re certainly concerned. We’ll be watching the conduct of DOJ’s monitors carefully to ensure that they comply with the law, that they don’t interact with or harass voters.”
The chairman of the Michigan Republican Party—and a 2020 election denier—suggested this could be a trial run for placing federal agents at the polls in November.
Faith leaders in the state are calling on legislators to pass a Michigan Voting Rights Act to fight against discrimination and protect access at the polls.
-Reporting by Rick Pluta and Sascha Raiyn
Faith leader training
A new training is available for people who’d like to be Poll Chaplains or Peacekeepers at polling locations.
Poll Chaplains are faith leaders who wear clerical attire at election sites and peacekeepers are religious community leaders. The training teaches both how to maintain peace and de-escalate potential conflict at polling locations to encourage voter participation.
Faiths United to Save Democracy is a nonpartisan, multifaith and multiracial voter protection campaign.
The training will be held on Zoom on Monday July 13 from 7-8:30 p.m. Additional training will be offered on September 28 and October 15. People will receive official credentials upon completion of training.
Wayne County has launched a food truck to increase access to affordable, healthy food options for residents. The Well Wayne Fresh Truck Mobile Market is a “farmers market on wheels.”
It’s an effort to feed people who are facing food insecurity. That’s 1 in 5 people in the county.
The food truck is also a way to reduce barriers to accessing food due to limited transportation and food prices. The food truck is sponsored by a multi-million-dollar investment to address social determinants of health through community work. The mobile food truck accepts SNAP, EBT, Double Up Food Bucks, cash, and credit or debit cards. It will operate across several cities including in Highland Park, Hamtramck and Inkster. Routes will be updated quarterly and based on community feedback.
Grow Talent program starts
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield kicks off the city’s summer jobs program for young people today. Grow Detroit’s Young Talent provides paid positions for about 8,000 teens and young adults. This year the city is adding two weeks of training for each participant in which they’ll learn about professionalism, conflict resolution and other skills.
-Reporting by Pat Batcheller
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Dearborn was named a Tree City USA for the 39th year.
Dearborn Mayor Abdullah Hammoud says its a pride point for the city. “We’re trying to take it an extra step, ensuring that we offer all of our residents a free tree in their easements, and even if they’d like a free treatment for their personal property,” he says.
Benefits
Hammoud says the trees help with flood mitigation in the city.
“The more trees you put in the ground, the more water it can absorb, helping prevent that water from entering your water and sewer system, which helps increase your capacity,” he says.
City reprenstatives have been planting about 1,000 trees a year, he says.
What goes up…
Hammoud says road construction and storms can sometimes lead to some trees coming down.
“Sometimes a tree will be removed if you have major road construction, and you do chop off some of the root system, and then you’d no longer have a tree that can be there safely, where a windstorm, especially if there’s many leaves in the tree, can get picked up along with that windstorm,” he shares.
He says there are efforts to educate residents about the benefit of planting and saving trees. The city has also caught up on a backlog of taking down dead and deceased trees from 1,200-1,300 to about 100 trees.
Setting trees up for success
The city mostly plants trees that are 3-4 years old, and works with the Crimboli Nursery & Landscapes to get their trees.
Every tree comes with a 1-2 year warranty, but residents are asked to water the trees.
“If the wooden stakes are still on the tree that are helping keeping it up, that means the tree has a warranty for those first two years, ensuring that can kind of grow out of its newborn phase,” he says.
Dearborn residents can request a free tree in their easement by visiting dearborn.gov/trees.
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Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan, says there are now over 700 cases of cyclosporiasis in the state. The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services put out additional recommendations to prevent the spread of cyclospora over the weekend.
Cyclosporiasis is a gastrointestinal disease caused by parasites, which causes severe diarrhea.
Dr. Bagdasarian says much of the spread has been caused by handling and consuming produce.
“We know that it takes about one to two weeks after consuming something that’s contaminated with cyclospora to develop symptoms, so there’s a lag between being exposed and developing symptoms, said Bardgasarian. “And then, of course, there’s a lag when people are looking for healthcare, when they are finding a healthcare provider, getting tested, and actually determining that this is cyclospora.”
Wayne County is among several counties with large numbers of people diagnosed. Recommendations include washing all fresh produce under clean running water, and cooking foods to kill cyclospora.
If people suspect being infected, they should see a health care provider, mentioning they may have cyclospora if symptoms of diarrhea don’t clear up in a few days. Treatment includes a dose of antibiotics.
Additional headlines for Monday, July 6, 2026
Dearborn FEMA funding
The City of Dearborn has received federal funding to improve its sewer system. FEMA awarded $8.1 million for the upgrades… as part of the second phase of a Hazard Mitigation Grant Program. Work will be done in the city’s neighborhoods between Chase Road and Greenfield Avenue.
About 6,200 feet of storm sewers will be added to help with flood mitigation efforts. The city flooded in 2014, 2018 and in 2021when a “once-in-a-lifetime flood” backed up the sanitary sewer system, causing two-thirds of basements to flood in the city.
While FEMA will pay for 90% of the upgrades, Dearborn will pay for the remaining 10% of the work.
Power update
DTE Energy crews worked all weekend to restore power to customers who lost electricity due to Friday’s severe thunderstorms. At one point, more than 200,000 homes and businesses in Southeast Michigan lost power after strong winds knocked down tree limbs and power lines. That number is down to about 73,000. DTE says it expects to restore power to most of these customers by the end of the day.
-Reporting by Pat Batcheller
Older Americans turn to friends for care
A new University of Michigan study finds friends are replacing family members in caring for elderly Americans.
Researcher Crystal Ng says changing family relationships including divorce are leaving gaps in care that children once provided. She says older Americans are relying on friends for more than a drive to the doctor’s office.
“A lot of times friends will also participate in clinical settings. Such as not only picking them… to transportation… to the medical appointment… but also sit next to them.”
Ng says relying on friends also provides people over the age of 65 years with a social framework and helps them maintain their independence.
The study appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s Network Open portal.
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Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)’s meteorologists say the high temperatures this week will lead to high levels of ozone and poor air quality.
There’s an air quality alert for ozone in Southeast Michigan for today and tomorrow. Ozone is a pollutant in the atmosphere created by volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides found in things like industrial solvents, cleaning products and burning fuel. It is an air pollutant.
EGLE says people should avoid strenuous activities—especially for those who have asthma. People should also avoid refueling vehicles, using gasoline-powered lawn equipment or lighting charcoal with lighter fluid. People should also try to drive less and delay errands if possible.
ELGE says they will put out additional alerts as needed. For more information visit michigan.gov/MiAir.
Additional headlines for Monday, June 29, 2026
Tips for handling the heat
Detroit’s health department recommends drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated during this week’s heat wave. They also recommend limiting strenuous activity and staying inside.
Recreation centers, public library branches will serve as cooling centers during normal business hours.
Watch for signs of heat-related illness, including dizziness, headache, and unusually heavy sweating. Check on family members and neighbors, especially older adults and people with disabilities.
AAA reminds drivers not to leave children or pets in their vehicles and to check the back seat each time they get out of their car.
-Reporting by Pat Batcheller
Dearborn hosts World Cup watch parties
The City of Dearborn is offering free watch parties for residents and World Cup fans. The city is partnering up with What’s up Media Network to host the watch party at Dearborn’s PEACE Park West. The matches are shown on the screen at the park’s performance stage. Vendors will also provide refreshments.
Anyone can join, but the park can hold only up to 1,000 people. People are encouraged to go early to find a spot.
Dearborn’s PEACE Park West is located at 22271 W Village Dr. in Dearborn.
Dearborn Tree City designation
Also in Dearborn, the city was given the Tree City USA designation for the 39th time.
Mayor Abdullah Hammoud says the city is planting a few thousand trees.. And also removing dead ones.
“When I first came in, we had a backlog of about 1,200-1,300 dead and diseased trees that needed to be taken down. That list is now, I would say, around the 100 mark, and we’ve also caught up. We had seven years of no trimming of trees throughout the city. We officially caught up, and we’re back on our normal five year cycle.”
Hammoud says planting more trees helps with air quality and mitigating flooding.
Dearborn residents can also request a free tree to be planted in their easement by going to Dearborn.gov/trees.
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The Grow Hamtramck program in the city of Hamtramck is hoping to plant a thousand trees in four years.
Community and Economic Development Director for the City of Hamtramck Isabel Allaway says it’s a part of a grant-funded urban forestry project to increase the city’s tree canopy and increase shade in the densest city in Michigan.
“We did some inventory in 2019 to determine what available public planting spaces there were in our city, and we pursued this grant funding and were awarded it after we found over 1,200 available planting spaces at that time,” she says.
Allaway says the funding will focus on generating requests from residents to determine where to plant 1,000 trees in the city.
Contractors, which include an arborist team and people who plant and maintain the trees in their first year of life, take care of the rest.
“We’re about a year and a half into what is a four year program, and we’ve planted about 400 trees so far of that 1,000 trees,” she shares.
Careful planning
Allaway says the city works with an arborist team and the Davey Resource Group, the urban forestry program coordinator for this project, to determine which trees should or should not be planted in the city.
“We want to make sure that we’re maintaining species diversity and that we’re not planting too many trees of the same variety in close proximity to each other to maintain the health of the urban tree canopy,” she says.
Allaway says they the city is planting trees on the public right of way that are 3 feet to 5 feet wide, between sidewalks and streets. That’s to minimize cracks, sidewalk disruption or from trees not going too far over people’s homes.
“So we’re planning about 70% small trees in those spaces, and the residential right of ways on those residential streets are really our highest priority for generating requests,” she expresses.
Growing benefits
She says along with increasing the tree canopy, planting more trees reduces the heat index, provides shade and increases the feeling of safety for pedestrians and cars.
“A tree-lined street reduces the speed at which someone will drive a vehicle down that street, because it narrows the sight line,” she explains.
Allaway says it also increases property values for homeowners.
“We’re really conscious that our residents live in a city that’s surrounded by sort of a collar of industrial properties, and so trying to make sure that we’re mitigating those impacts for our residents is really important to us,” she says.
Allaway says the trees should also help with absorbing stormwater and groundwater, due to the flooding in Hamtramck.
People can sign up for a tree or call the Community and Economic Development Department at 313-800-5233 extension 818 for an over-the-phone intake. They can also email treerequests@hamtramckcity.gov or fill out a survey.
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The national organization, the Jews of Color Initiative, is hosting a listening tour in Detroit this week.
CEO Ilana Kaufman says it’s an effort to build community and center the day-to-day lives of Jewish Americans, especially of Jewish communities of color. “The Jewish community all over the world, but particularly in the United States, is multiracial and multifaith. Something like 20% of the US Jewish community self-identify as people of color,” she says.
Kaufman grew up in San Francisco, California. She says the area she grew up in was a multiracial, multifaith, thriving community.
“Our community was filled with folks from the Japanese internment camps. I grew up in the Fillmore district, which is full of the African American community, and I live in one of the first Jewish neighborhoods in San Francisco,” she says.
Why the tour is important
Kaufman says the U.S. Jewish community is stressed right now.
“I think any opportunities to be together in relationship, where we’re talking about not only the hard things, but the things that bring us together. I think those are energizing,” she explains.
She says the organization is hoping to connect with Jewish people of color to reinforce leadership and build programming to strengthen the community.
“We ask the same set of questions across each region, so we can hear specifically what’s passionate and important to the regions we’re present in,” she explains.
Detroit is different
Kaufman says while Jewish life is huge on the east and west coast, Detroit is a smaller community that “can transcend conflict in service of small goals that have big outcomes in service to the greater good.”
Kaufman says she sees Detroit being able to close the gap between races and faith groups due to the communities’ existing connections.
Detroit’s listening session takes place Thursday June 25 from 6-8 p.m.
“We know that in Detroit, we will hear ideas about what it means to prioritize and elevate multi racial, multi ethnic Jewish community life, which is really all of us,” she explains.
Location details are shared upon registration due to privacy concerns.
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Most older adults do not know how to care for their brain health, according to a new survey by the National Poll on Healthy Aging and the Alzheimer’s Association. The survey of adults 50 and up found that people rated their brain health as excellent, very good, or good, but lacked knowledge about how to maintain it.
The survey found 70% of Michigan’s older adults believe diet, physical activity, and sleep are important factors. However fewer older adults were engaging in the behaviors that determine better brain health or reduce Alzheimer’s, such as getting seven or more hours of sleep, doing mentally stimulating activities, eating healthy, balanced diets or exercising.
The survey also found that they prefer to get information about brain health from a health care provider. Many also believe brain health is more important than physical health.
The National Poll on Healthy Aging online and phone survey was conducted in January 2026, surveying 1,300 Michigan residents and 2,800 non-Michigan adults between 50 and 98 years old.
Additional headlines for Monday, June 22, 2026
Sun Bucks program
Many children face food insecurity over the summer because they no longer have meals provided by school. The summer EBT “Sun Bucks” program from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services works to make sure that no kids will be hungry.
The department’s Erin Frisch says families with students who participate in school lunch and breakfast programs face extra pressure on their budgets during the summer.
“SUN Bucks, also known as summer EBT helps bridges that gap by providing eligible children with funding to purchase food during the summer months. We have this program because we understand Michigan children need consistent access to healthy food to grow and learn and thrive.”
Children ages 6 to 18 are eligible for the SUN Bucks program. Those who already receive SNAP benefits will automatically be enrolled. Families not already on SNAP can apply for the summer program on the MI Bridges website.
-Reporting by Helena Najar
Black Caucus calls for reparative measures
The Michigan Legislative Black Caucus is calling for the passage of new “reparative justice,” measures. The bills would create a state office to serve American descendants of enslaved people, launch a reparations commission and collect data.
Democratic Representative Jason Hoskins says Black people in Michigan continue to live with the legacy of slavery and segregation, including worse health outcomes and pollution in their communities.
“If we are serious about addressing these challenges, we must first understand the harms that were done, the policies that perpetuated these harms, who’s affected, and what remedies are appropriate,” says Hoskins.
The new commission would recommend reparations, but the package itself would not include any payments for Black Michigan residents. Majority State House Republicans are not likely to pass the bills.
The State of Michigan has collaborated with the national nonprofit Undue Medical Debt program to erase $74 million of medical debt for 72,000 Michigan residents. People will begin getting letters in the mail this week informing them if their debt has been forgiven. Each dollar paid by Undue Medical Debt equals $100 of debt relief.
Unpaid medical debt is often a result of unexpected illnesses. Half of U.S. adults have a hard time paying off medical debt.
People receiving the relief at four times the poverty line or have medical debt that’s more than 5% of their annual income. This round of debt erasure is supported through a $4.5 million fund from the state’s in partnership with Wayne, Oakland and Kalamazoo Counties.
Last year, the State of Michigan and Undue Medical Debt provided $144 million in debt relief to over 210,000 Michigan residents.
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Simone Sagovac, director of the Southwest Detroit Community Benefits Coalition, is being recognized for her work with Trucks Off Our Streets.
The impact of truck traffic
She says the work began a few years ago to get protections to prevent truck routes from going through neighborhoods.
“On some of the streets, there were ranging between 500 and even up to 1,200 semi trucks, and we’re talking heavy-duty semi trucks that are part of our global economy here, and they were cutting through our neighborhood streets,” she says.
Simone Sagovac received a Hero of the Neighborhood award from the Urban Neighborhood Initiatives.
Sagovac says the trucks cause damage, emit emissions, and cause health impacts.
“There’s just a whole array of issues on top of the safety issues of living with trucks and people not being able to have kids play in the yards… we knew that it needed a larger strategy, so we formed the Trucks Off Our Streets Coalition that has representation from across all of the city districts,” she explains.
She says the organizations are rooted in the community that works with residents directly on issues related to trucks in the industry, air pollution and health.
Study underscores the issue
The work resulted in the Southwest Detroit Truck Route Implementation Study, a pilot program to create the first designated truck route network by placing signs in the city. It was developed by the Southwest Detroit Truck Network Implementation Study in 2024 to manage truck activity and reduce traffic impacts in Southwest Detroit.
Sagovac says Detroit communities are dealing with high environmental impacts, resulting in high rates of asthma and hospitalizations.
“From our data, children under 18 living next to a truck route have 68% higher asthma rates, so it is really significant, and it’s something that is within local control to address by having more sensible, healthier truck routes, and there are other strategies too,” she expresses.
Her response to the recognition
Sagovac says she’s grateful for receiving an award, but she says it’s a community effort.
“First, it’s very surprising to be recognized, but it’s not surprising for all of the work that so many in the community have done over these years,” she shares.
Although Sagovac is not Latina, she says receiving an award feels validating that her work is making a difference.
“It’s an incredible honor, probably the biggest honor to be recognized by people in the community. I feel like it validates something that’s really important to me, which is trust,” she says.
She says she’s happy to be a part of moving the work forward.
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