Read our investigation: How felony murder locks up Black Michiganders

Michigan does not track who county prosecutors charge with felony murder. Nor does it keep statistics on how those cases resolve through plea deals and convictions. To understand how prosecutors use the charge, Michigan Public and the Investigative Reporting Lab at Yale compiled data from correctional records, court documents, and charging reports.

To obtain criminal conviction data, Michigan Public used the Python Requests library to extract records from the Michigan Department of Corrections Offender Tracking Information System (OTIS). The resultant dataset captured all people in OTIS during the scraping period, May 4-7, 2026. OTIS includes people currently incarcerated, on parole, or who exited the system within the past three years.

Michigan Public narrowed our analysis to offenses committed since 2000 to focus on recent prosecutorial decisions and avoid inaccuracies in older cases. In total, that dataset included over 62,000 people convicted on more than 180,000 counts.

OTIS labeled 2,089 people as convicted under some subsection of the first-degree murder statute. Within that group, we identified and resolved two major inconsistencies in subsection labelling.

First, 212 convictions were labeled as “open murder.” That charge allows prosecutors to pursue second-degree, premeditated, or felony murder at trial. The jury reaches a specific verdict on each charge pursued. In some open murder cases, OTIS reflected the final verdict, but for these 212, the label simply read “open murder.”

Prosecutors across the state described different policies for charging open murder. Some told Michigan Public they charge every homicide as open murder; others almost never use the charge.

Michigan Public identified and removed two second-degree murder convictions labeled as “open murder.” For the remaining convictions, because we could not identify or predict the subjection of first-degree murder, Michigan Public designated them as “other” — a category distinct from both pre-meditated and felony murder in our analysis.

Second, 129 people had first-degree murder convictions that were not labeled with a specific subsection. For those convictions, Michigan Public manually reviewed court records, charging reports, and, as a last resort, news articles, to determine the final conviction type. The remaining six convictions Michigan Public could not definitively identify were included in the “other” category.

“Other” also includes two people convicted of First-Degree Murder of a Peace Officer or Corrections Officer.

Recent court rulings have given people under 21, who were sentenced to mandatory life without parole, the chance at release. Michigan Public identified only two cases of youthful offenders convicted post-2000 who had exited the system. We added those profiles to the dataset.

Individuals with both felony murder and premeditated murder convictions were classified in our dataset as “premeditated.” Resultantly, those in the felony murder category were convicted solely under that charge.

In total, we identified 685 people convicted of felony murder for offenses committed since 2000. That number represents a minimum; others may be represented in the “other” category or may have exited OTIS through death or transfer. Our analysis also excludes the hundreds of people convicted of felony murder before 2000 who are still serving life sentences in Michigan prisons.

Racial and geographic analysis was based on OTIS' record of the individual’s race and the county in which they were prosecuted.

Michigan Public compared the racial composition of people imprisoned for felony murder to that of people imprisoned for a “serious felony,” defined as one of the crimes enumerated in the felony murder statute as a possible predicate to a felony murder conviction. That group included people who had been convicted of an enumerated felony or of felony murder, since all felony murder convictions included an underlying felony.

This group served as a proxy for those eligible for a felony murder conviction, which we believe is a better point of comparison than, for example, the general population.

Still, it was an imperfect proxy. Most felonies don’t result in death, and those that do aren’t randomly distributed amongst this group. Further, because these felonies carry a range of sentences — as opposed to life without parole — people who have completed their parole and exited the system are not recorded. We don’t believe conviction date significantly impacted racial disparity: We found a similar disparity within recent convictions, where the concern of unrecorded cases is minimal, and we also found disparity when comparing to annual datasets like the FBI’s NBIRS.

Michigan Public also obtained charging records to spot check our dataset from OTIS, as well as to analyze how felony murder charges resolved into plea deals.

To obtain charging records, Michigan Public sent Freedom of Information Act requests to Michigan’s largest counties for a “charge inquiry report,” a digital form maintained in the office’s case management system. The report contained all charges filed by prosecutors, regardless of how those cases were resolved.

Wayne County was the only office among a dozen to which Michigan Public sent FOIA requests that refused to release their charging records. The office argued that doing so would require them “to create a compilation, summary, or report of information,” which is beyond their obligation under the law.

For plea-deal analysis, Michigan Public looked at cases from 2015 to 2025. That date range was selected to minimize two concerns: first, some offices warned that older cases were less reliably transferred from previous case-management systems; second, because people released from prison are eventually removed from the MDOC system and therefore from our data, we could only identify plea deals amongst those currently or recently incarcerated.

We matched records by name and county of prosecution, manually correcting records where we were able to confirm an identity even when spelling varied slightly. Of 200 total charges, we linked 127 to MDOC records. About half appeared to have pled to a lesser crime. We manually verified docket numbers to check that plea deals arose from the same crime as the felony murder charge. After review, we confirmed 57 matches, including 35 plea deals for second-degree murder.

Due to the challenges of matching cases, Michigan Public’s analysis represents a minimum number of plea deals which arose from felony murder charges. There are likely more.

The data collection and analysis was completed by reporter Etai Smotrich-Barr. Michigan Public Data Reporter Adam Yahya Rayes reviewed and contributed to the analysis in this story.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and state Senator Sean McCann (D-Kalamazoo) passed out school lunches in Kalamazoo Tuesday.

The press event featured Kalamazoo Public Schools and state education officials. They highlighted what the officials saw as state education policy wins.

In recent years, Michigan has expanded its free school meal program, spent more on schools and literacy coaches, and changed its literacy curriculum to re-emphasize what state leaders frequently call the “science of reading.”

Despite the shifts, the latest test scores show slight declines in the percentage of students in grades in each grade from third through eighth who are proficient in English language arts.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the struggles, which worsened dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, won’t change overnight.

“We’ve got to see it through. We can’t change courses every couple years and think we’re going to get results. It’s just confusing and creates disparate strategies that aren’t evidence based. We’re finally doing it right. But we’ve got to continue to stay focused and continue to do this work,” Whitmer told reporters.

This school year, the state is changing how it funds districts based on the number of “at-risk” students they serve.

Democrats and Republicans have supported many of those reforms. Still, Whitmer is facing criticism from Republicans who want her to opt in to a federal education program.

The “Federal Scholarship Tax Credit” offers tax breaks for donations to organizations that grant scholarships to low-income students. Those could pay for things like tutoring or private school tuition.

Michigan is one of 15 states that still hasn’t decided whether to join the program. Thirty states have, according to IRS data.

Whitmer said she’s still waiting on details from the federal government about how the program would work.

“The fact of the matter is the U.S. Treasury has not even released any of the guidelines so it’s premature for anyone to make any projections -- including me, we’ve got to get the information,” Whitmer said.

Public school advocates have criticized the tax credits as a roundabout way of putting public resources toward private education.

While speaking with reporters, Whitmer also fielded questions about resumption of work on an effort to stop invasive carp from entering the Great Lakes.

The Illinois-based Brandon Road Interbasin Project is a joint venture between Michigan, Illinois, and the federal government. The Trump administration had paused it without explanation from July until last week.

The end to the stop-work order came after Whitmer spoke with President Donald Trump, who has often sparred with the Illinois governor.

Whitmer said that’s not how things should work.

“Ideally, you’ve got an administration that sees the value in this, and nothing gets in the way and we get it done. But, for whatever reason, there was a stop-work order. Soon as we got word of it, we investigated to made sure we got the facts and I put a call into the president. And work is commencing now,” Whitmer said.

Officials say invasive carp could cause irreparable damage to the Great Lakes eco-system if they reach Lake Michigan. Young fish were recently found about 80 miles away.

Tuesday’s press conference came on the same day Canada began levying 50% tariffs on hundreds of American goods in response to Trump’s trade war.

While Whitmer has fostered a friendlier relationship with Trump during his second term than many other Democratic governors, she shared her frustration with the actions.

Whitmer said she’s pleaded her case with the Trump administration.

“It breaks my heart to see the administration in Washington D.C. continue to have a petty fight with Canada,” Whitmer said. “They are our neighbors, they are our economic partners, Michigan jobs rely on goods being able to go over, back and forth over the border multiple times just in the making of a single car. So, this hurts us more than any other state in the country.”

Today, Canada's retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. go into effect. The new tariffs on Michigan's largest trade partner come a month after President Donald Trump imposed similar tariffs on Canadian imports. We talked to a supply chain expert about the potential long-term effects.

Then, the FAQ Squad dug into claims around U.S. Senate candidate Mike Roger's residency. Opponents have claimed he's a "Florida man," pointing to a home in Cape Coral, Florida. The Livingston County native currently lives in White Lake.

And why the Children's Foundation of Michigan is working to create an endowment for arts programming in Detroit. We spoke with the foundation's CEO, and actor and arts advocate Marc Evan Jackson.

Plus, poet Michael Lauchlan shared from his new collection, Running Lights. His writing moves from the mundane, everyday things to powerful themes of friendship and family.

GUESTS:

• Jason Miller, professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University's Broad College of Business
• Zoe Clark, political director and associate general manager for Michigan Public
• Matt Mencarini, data and accountability reporter for Bridge Michigan
• Andrew Stein, president and CEO of The Children's Foundation of Michigan
• Marc Evan Jackson, actor
• Michael Lauchlan, poet, author of Running Lights

The Toledo Blade will print its final edition at the end of the year, unless a buyer steps in before then, according to an email sent by the nearly 200-year-old paper’s current owners to its staff on Tuesday.

Block Communications, which has held The Blade since 1925, reached the “extremely difficult decision” due to financial considerations, president and chief operating officer Jodi Miehls informed staff, as reported by the paper.

“The Block Family’s continued investment to keep the Blade open is no longer an option,” Miehls wrote. “The financial losses the Blade has endured for years are simply not sustainable.”

Miehls’ notice came after negotiations over a contract late last month.

The NewsGuild, which represents Blade’s staff, said that its Toledo chapter voted down a proposed contract in a 46-25 vote.

“The Company’s proposal would have axed seniority, halved severance for its most experienced employees, and allowed the outsourcing of all Guild work,” said Lillian King, Blade features writer and Toledo NewsGuild bargaining chair. “All content at The Blade could be created or edited with Al, with no protections for journalists or requirements to disclose Al usage to its readers.”

Instead of returning to the bargaining table last week, the NewsGuild said that the Block Communications board decided to sell or shutter the paper.

Block Communications similarly cited financial losses when it announced in January that it would cease publishing another newspaper, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. But about two weeks before it was to shut down in May, Block announced that the nonprofit Venetoulis Institute for Local Journalism would buy the newspaper and keep it open.

A team of reporters from The Blade won the Pulitzer Prize in investigative reporting in 2004 for articles about an elite Army platoon accused of killing unarmed Vietnamese civilians in 1967. Reporters at the newspaper also were finalists for the prestigious journalism award in 2000, again for investigative reporting, and in 2006 in the public service category.

Among the newspaper’s alums was Mildred Wirt Benson, better known to legions of Nancy Drew fans as Carolyn Keene, the original author of the mystery books featuring the plucky amateur detective.

The Blade was founded in 1835 — two years before Toledo was officially incorporated as a city — and says it is the city’s oldest continually operating business. Paul Block Sr., a newspaper mogul, took over the paper in August 1926.

An advertisement printed the day after Block was introduced to the newspaper staff said the date “will long be remembered by us as the beginning of a new era of good will in our association with the Toledo Blade,” along with a list of all of the newspaper’s employees, according to the paper.

“Block Communications Board of Directors and the Block Family are truly disappointed to have reached this point,” Miehls said in Tuesday’s email, just over a hundred years later. “Unfortunately, the realities facing local journalism have left us in this situation.”

It is expected to be several more days before Enbridge Energy can restart its Line 5 pipeline.

The controversial pipeline that carries natural gas liquids — including, the company says, more than half of the propane used in Michigan — has been shut down since an accident last month in Wisconsin.

For years, environmentalists and Native American tribes have been trying to shut down the pipeline that passes through the Mackinac Straits.

There is also a protracted legal fight between the state of Michigan and Enbridge Energy about the pipeline's future.

Two weeks ago, an unoccupied flatbed truck granted the wish of Line 5 critics, at least temporarily.

The truck rolled into an excavation site for a Line 5 valve project in Wisconsin. The damaged pipeline released approximately 1.3 million gallons of natural gas liquids, mainly propane and butane, which largely vaporized into the atmosphere.

Since then, crews have worked to build a bypass around the damaged section of the pipeline.

The repair work has taken longer than originally expected, but an Enbridge spokesperson said the goal is to restart on Saturday.

Editor's note: Enbridge Energy is a corporate sponsor of Michigan Public.

KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — After review, the Mid-American Conference wants Western Michigan recognized as having defeated Michigan after all.

The MAC cited what it believes to be an “extraordinary” circumstance in appealing the outcome of the Michigan-Western Michigan game and asked NCAA and College Football Playoff administrators on Tuesday to recognize the Broncos as the winner instead of the Wolverines. The CFP's bracket selection choices in December carry significant financial benefits to teams that make the playoff.

The NCAA said the result will stand, noting its playing rules do not have a protocol for overturning the outcome of a game and the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee does not have the authority to do so. According to the NCAA Football Rules Book, the team with the most points at the end of the game is the winner and the score is final when the referee declares the game has ended.

“No rule decision may be changed after the ball is next legally snapped, legally free-kicked or the second or fourth periods have ended,” the rule book says.

Michigan won 13-12 on a Hail Mary pass Saturday night after the replay official had put one second back on the clock when Bryce Underwood’s first try was incomplete.

An NBC replay showed a clock expiring before the ball hit the ground or any player, and Terry McCaulay — the rules analyst on the broadcast — said that was a synced version of the stadium clock.

The Big Ten said later that the call was correct and published a recording of the replay as it was reviewed by officials. The conference said it too used a shot of the game clock in the stadium, which showed 1 second remaining when the ball was touched by WMU’s Micah Davis. Since Davis had just been out of bounds, the clock would stop on such contact.

The Big Ten on Tuesday stood by its postgame statement and declined further comment. Michigan spokesman David Ablauf had no comment on the appeal other than, “The Big Ten handles all replay reviews and discussion. We don’t have any involvement in replay as an institution.”

The CFP did not respond to a request seeking comment.

The controversy was the talk of college football on the long holiday weekend with many questions surrounding how the officiating crew decided to put the second back on the clock and give Michigan one more try at the win. The MAC initially accepted the Big Ten explanation, but that had changed by Tuesday.

In a letter to the FBS Oversight Committee, MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said “established protocol” in this situation is that the television truck is contacted with a request to insert the in-stadium game clock onto “the program feed” — and that is supposed be the sole source of the replay decision.

“Had the prescribed protocol been followed and the program-feed clock been used, no additional time would have been restored, no additional play would have been awarded and Western Michigan would have won the game 12–7,” Steinbrecher wrote.

Game results are rarely, if ever, changed after the fact unless the NCAA throws out or vacates results because of rules infractions, though there are countless examples of decisions by officiating crews affecting the outcome (Colorado beating Missouri on a fifth down in 1990 is familiar to many).

Western Michigan was voted the preseason favorite in the MAC, and that would suggest that the possibility certainly exists for it to factor into the CFP rankings. The highest-ranked team from the Group of Six leagues gets an automatic bid to the playoff. Michigan was ranked No. 16 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll but dropped out of the rankings Tuesday.

“I recognize that the oversight committee does not ordinarily alter results recorded on the field,” Steinbrecher said. "Nevertheless, the circumstances of this game are extraordinary. ... Western Michigan should not be disadvantaged because the prescribed replay protocol was not followed and an unsynchronized clock was used to award a play that, under the applicable procedure, should not have occurred.”

• Claims about Mike Rogers’ residency and his connections to Michigan have come back as he runs for U.S. Senate.
• Opponents have claimed that Rogers is more "Florida man" than Michigander, pointing to a home in Cape Coral, Florida.
• Rogers is a Livingston County native who represented the region in Congress from 2001 through 2014. He lives in White Lake.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers’ ties to Florida are once again being used to cast him as out of touch with the needs of Michiganders.

Rogers, a Livingston County native who formerly served in the U.S. House, is running against former Detroit Health Director Abdul El-Sayed to succeed retiring U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, a long-serving Democrat.

The day after his primary election win, El-Sayed portrayed Rogers as a “Florida man” who turned his back on Michigan after he retired from Congress.

“As soon as he left Congress, after having taken corporate check after corporate check after corporate check to empower the corporations to pick your pockets, he went and he cashed out,” El-Sayed told a crowd on Aug. 5. “Not in Michigan. No, winters are too cold for him. He’s got thin skin after all. He went to Florida.”

While Rogers lives in Michigan, claims about his residency aren’t new. They came up during his 2024 race against Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who narrowly won that election to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

Rogers’ residency is among the claims Bridge Michigan is reviewing in the state’s fiercely competitive U.S. Senate race between El-Sayed, who won a heated primary race, and Rogers.

So what’s true about Rogers’ residencies in Florida and Michigan?

The claims

Democrats have criticized Rogers for moving to Florida after he retired from Congress and suggested he only returned to Michigan to run for U.S. Senate.

“He left Congress, became a millionaire off of his connections that he made while he was in Congress, and then now that he wants to serve, he decides to move back to Michigan,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Curtis Hertel Jr. said this week in an interview with Bridge Michigan. “He left us, and he left the people that he served.”

In a speech the day after his primary win, El-Sayed addressed Rogers: “So, Mike, if you want to be a Florida man, go be a Florida man. If you want to golf in Florida, go golf in Florida. But I promise you, in November, we are going to send you back to Florida.”

And in a social media post on Aug. 19, El-Sayed used the fact that Rogers still owns a home in Cape Coral, Florida, to criticize him for not quickly accepting an invite to a televised debate, saying he checked for flights that would get Rogers from Florida to Detroit on time for the Sept. 5 event.

Rogers responded to El-Sayed on social media, and while he didn’t directly address the Florida connection, he wrote that “my calendar has been a little jammed up, I’ve been traveling the state meeting with the majority Democrats who didn’t vote for you.”

Alyssa Brouillet, a spokesperson for the Rogers campaign, did not answer specific questions from Bridge about Rogers’ time in Florida.

But in a statement, she said El-Sayed should explain his “luxury residence in the Middle East,” an apparent reference to a rental property in Dubai the Democrat reported owning with his wife on a recent financial disclosure. “…It appears he’s running to be a senator for Palestine. Meanwhile, Mike Rogers will be a senator for Michigan,” Brouillet said.

The El-Sayed campaign did not respond to a message seeking comment on his Florida comments about Rogers.

The facts

Rogers, a Livingston County native, represented the region in Congress from 2001 through 2014. He sold his home in Howell in 2014, according to reporting by Business Insider. Property records show he bought a condo in Maryland that year and already owned a property in Virginia.

In 2022, Rogers and his wife, Kristi, bought a home in Cape Coral, Florida, for about $1.6 million, Florida records show. The following year, the couple indicated that it was their permanent residence to receive a property tax exemption. It was the only year that they received an exemption for that property.

Rogers has been trying to sell the two-story, five-bedroom home for more than a year. Located near Fort Myers in Lee County, it’s currently listed on the real estate website Zillow for $2.4 million. The listing says it was put back on the market at least 170 days ago “with significant enhancements.”

Online property records indicate that a pier and boat lift were added in 2025.

Rogers’ campaign has said he currently lives in White Lake Township in Oakland County. Property records show he and his wife received a principal residence exemption for the four-bedroom home, which under Michigan law can only be applied if the homeowner files a signed affidavit with the local assessor saying the property is their primary residence.

In the lead-up to the 2024 election, some had questioned whether Rogers actually lived in Michigan. He called those insinuations “absolutely nuts” and said the only people asking where he lived were members of the media.

In 2024, he and his wife had not yet moved into the White Lake Township home, but his campaign attributed that to ongoing construction on the property. Rogers was living in Genoa Township, near Brighton, at a home reportedly owned by his sister-in-law, where he was also registered to vote.

As of April 2024, Rogers reportedly was still registered to vote in Florida, but his campaign said at the time he was in the process of canceling the registration.

As of Aug. 24, Rogers was no longer registered to vote in Florida and his Michigan voter registration was active for his White Lake Township home.

The bottom line

The record is clear. Rogers left Michigan after serving in the U.S. House and later bought a house in Florida in 2022. He and his wife listed the home as their primary residence as recently as 2023.

But Rogers currently lives in Michigan, and no one is questioning his qualifications to be on the ballot or his current residency. It’s up to voters to determine whether living a few years in Florida is an issue.

Longtime coach Kyle Whittingham was unaware the stadium clock he watched Saturday night at Michigan might not reflect the official game time. Purdue coach Barry Odom also was caught off guard as he watched on television more than 250 miles away.

The two Big Ten coaches acknowledged Monday they did not know there could be a discrepancy between what everyone was seeing on television and inside the stadium and the conference's tracking system.

But that's how conference officials explained the dramatic finish in Whittingham's debut for No. 16 Michigan. After time appeared to expire with Western Michigan leading 12-7, the refs added 1 more second and the Wolverines capitalized on their second chance with J.J. Buchanan hauling in Bryce Underwood's desperation heave for a 47-yard touchdown and a stunning 13-12 victory.

"Well, I guess they have this Hawkeye system? I was unaware of that,” Whittingham said Monday. “But as I looked, I knew it was close. When the ball sailed back to the end zone, I glanced up at the clock, and it was just ticking to zero, and somebody touched it. I didn’t know who had touched it, but apparently, it was a defender that had already established an out-of-bounds position. I’m assuming they got it right. They looked at it, and the technology they have is very advanced, I guess.”

It was a learning experience for both longtime coaches, who are relatively new to the Big Ten.

The 66-year-old Whittingham joined Utah's staff in 1994 and stayed through last season, coming out of a brief retirement to take the Michigan job. He won a school record 177 games including 11 bowl games as the Utes head coach from 2005-25.

The 49-year-old Odom returned to his alma mater, Missouri, as an assistant coach in 2003 and spent a total of 14 seasons on the Tigers staff, the last four as their head coach. His tenure at Missouri was split by a short stint at Memphis, from 2012-14, and following his firing as the Tigers head coach in 2019, he went to Arkansas for three seasons before returning to the head coaching ranks at UNLV in 2023 and moving to Purdue in 2025.

The Boilermakers (1-0) beat Indiana State 44-19 on Friday night to snap a 10-game losing streak.

“I didn’t until Saturday night,” Odom said at his weekly news conference when asked if he was aware a second clock, not visible inside the stadium, kept the official game time.

The Big Ten issued a statement two hours after the game, clarifying the process that was used and citing the rule that was enforced about when the clock stops if a player touches the ball out of bounds.

“It was determined (Western Michigan safety Micah Davis) started his jump from an established out-of-bounds position (left foot) and made contact with the ball with 1 second remaining on the clock,” the conference said. “A side-by-side view of the play and the game clock, using a direct shot of the game clock in the stadium, was used to determine the final ruling.”

Based on that explanation, Whittingham and Odom believe the refs got it right.

Mid-American Conference Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher and Western Michigan President Russ Kavalhuna also told ESPN on Sunday night they accepted the explanation though Kavalhuna believes more transparency is needed. The Broncos (0-1) play in the MAC.

“If you look at what they saw, then you reach the conclusion they reached,” Kavalhuna said. “However, if you look at what the broadcasters broadcast, you reach a different conclusion. I think it would be good to ask ourselves, can we sync those up so that the viewers could see what the officials would be looking at?”

The ACC even allows television viewers to hear the discussion between the game officials and the replay center before reaching a conclusion.

But it wasn't just fans who were confused.

“I believe those charged with orchestrating, administering and officiating the game, they have to make decisions based on all the information they get, and then it’s their job to communicate that to us. I would assume that’s what happened in Ann Arbor," Odom said. “Like the other night, we were exiting the field for halftime and the official stopped me and said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to make sure that that last play there...' They wanted to make sure everything lined up the way it did. So it’s never over till it’s over. Until they blow the whistle or whatever that indicator is.”

Whittingham now believes the matter is closed as he moves on from the season-opening win and focuses on hosting No. 10 Oklahoma in one of this week's featured games.

“I think everyone’s fairly satisfied with the explanation. I am, and I think Western Michigan came out with a statement that, ‘Hey, we’re not going to question this anymore,’” he said. "They gave us a fairly transparent answer, and we’ll move forward.”

___

AP Sports Writer Larry Lage contributed to this report.

Hello, fellow kids,

Despite decades of work to increase turnout among young voters, the U.S. Census reports less than half of people 18 to 24 years old voted in 2024. Midterm elections have been even worse, hovering between a low of 16% voter turnout in the 2014 midterms to 30% in 2018, according to the census.

So what might get more young people to vote in the midterms?

Michigan Public went to Western Michigan University’s Bronco Bash to ask some of the young folks there.

What we heard was pretty positive: Almost everyone we talked to said they were looking forward to voting this year. But that also wasn’t really a surprise. Because it turns out, Michigan does a better job than other states when it comes to getting young people to the polls.

The Michigan Difference

Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) looks at voters aged 18-29. Its research found that 58% of those young people cast ballots in Michigan in 2024, beating the national average. Compared to 2020, Michigan had the biggest increase in turnout for young voters of any state in the country.

That’s after leading the country in youth voter turnout in the 2022 midterms, according to CIRCLE data.

How did we pull it off?

The Michigan Secretary of State’s office credits a state law that allows 16- and 17-year-olds to preregister to vote when they get their driver’s license. To find out how to preregister, you can go to the SOS website here. CIRCLE’s analysis mentions preregistration as well, and includes the state’s absentee voting rules as another reason why turnout is up among young people.

So essentially, Michigan has policies that make it easier for young people to vote. And those policies seem to be working.

But other research points to a second reason: Michigan has become a politically competitive state, and young people are more likely to turn out when they believe their vote matters. A CIRCLE poll of Gen Z’s political attitudes found that 61% of Gen Z voters who voted in 2024 believed their vote matters, while only 41% of non-voters did.

“I think Gen Z will definitely have a big impact,” said Luis Varca, a student we met who says he votes.

He’s not alone.

CIRCLE also ran an analysis to see which local races could be most impacted by young voters. The methodology here is a little complicated, but basically CIRCLE looks at things like how many young people live in an area, how many are in college, what turnout has been in the past and how competitive the races appear. Then CIRCLE calculates an index, and ranks where young people can have the biggest influence in swaying an election.

And Michigan simply cleans up in these rankings. We’re second for governor’s races, fourth for the U.S. Senate race, and we had the No. 1 ranked Congressional race that could be decided by young voters.

So Michigan’s young voters have plenty of reasons to believe their vote could make a difference.

Gen Z and politics

While Michigan has stood out for improving turnout among young voters, the truth is Gen Z is starting to show up in a way that previous generations haven’t.

CIRCLE reports that Gen Z actually had higher voter turnout in its first election cycle than previous generations, suggesting that today’s younger generation is actually more politically motivated than in the past.

And that could make a difference in this year’s midterms, nationally and locally.

A poll released by CIRCLE found 56% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they are “extremely likely” to vote in the midterms nationwide.

This lines up with what we heard from WMU students last week. Most everyone my producer, Kalloli, and I stopped to talk with said they were planning to vote in the midterm elections.

Will the youth show up?

Saying you’re going to vote is not the same as voting. So how can people make sure as many young voters as possible show up for the election?

When we asked the students at WMU, several of them told us information is the key.

“I feel like some people don’t vote because they don’t understand what’s going on fully,” said Courtney Pruitt. “With this new generation, social media is everything.” She told us she first decided to vote in 2024 after finding a person on TikTok who talked about the importance of the election.

Another student, Kent Anderson, told us he believes some young people don’t vote because they might find themselves on opposite sides of an issue from their friends and family.

“I think a lot of people don’t want to vote the opposite of their parents. They think their parents won’t like them anymore,” Anderson told me. “That’s how it was for me, but it’s not true. Your parents will still love you if you vote the opposite of them.”

Research has shown that, sometimes, the barriers to voting for young people are often psychological.

In 2025, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania published a study recommending a series of steps to address those psychological barriers, such as:

• Help young people make a plan.
• Focus on their values.
• Give them a reason to hope.
• Make voting normal.
• Talk about civic duty.
• Get their friends involved.

We did find one student at WMU who said she wasn’t sure if she would vote this year.

“There’s rights and wrongs on both sides,” said Brooklyn Angel, who said she still has research to do before she can decide how, or even if, she’ll vote this year. “Right now at least, I don’t think I’m going to vote, but I don’t know. If I do end up voting, I need to research both sides.”

But her friend Sophia Koches said she’s still trying to convince Brooklyn to vote. “I think it’s important to use your voice, and do at least something.”

For as long as I can remember, people have been talking about the problem of getting young people to vote. It’s clear the problem hasn’t been solved, but all the data, and all the students we talked to, give reason to believe that this generation really is stepping up — especially in Michigan.

Rooting for the youth,

Dustin Dwyer, Reporter

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Today’s newsletter was written by Dustin Dwyer, produced by Kalloli Bhatt, and edited by Michelle Keller.

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Candidates on the ballot in November’s general election marched with union members at Detroit’s Labor Day parade on Monday. 

A day before, the an armed man charged toward the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor at a campaign event at a local fair.   

The Ohio State Highway Patrol says an armed assailant charged toward the Democratic candidate for Ohio governor, Amy Acton, during a campaign stop at the Canfield Fair, injuring several people before he was stopped by troopers.

The highway patrol said in a statement that a man it identified as Patrick Havas forced his way through a crowd, knocking over multiple members of the audience as he moved toward Acton, the state’s former public health director.

The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office said two handguns and a set of brass knuckles were recovered after his arrest, and “no weapons were ever brandished or even removed from their holsters.”

Havas was taken to the county jail and booked on charges of disorderly conduct and two counts of assault, the highway patrol statement said.

Acton is facing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, who called Sunday's incident unacceptable.

“Candidates should be able to meet with voters without having to worry about threats or violence. What happened today is completely unacceptable and has no place in politics,” Ramaswamy’s communications director, Connie Luck, said in a statement.

Jocelyn Benson is the Democrat running for Michigan governor. Benson is running against Republican John James in the November election to replace outgoing Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Benson spent part of Monday at the annual Labor Day parade in Detroit, surrounded by thousands of union members.

Benson expressed concern about how political rhetoric may be fueling political violence.

“It is a sobering reminder the consequence of the hateful rhetoric that often times even the President himself spews,” said Benson. “In this moment we all have to recognize the importance of seeing each other as humans and civility, keeping people safe.”

Abdul El-Sayed also spent part of Monday shaking hands and taking pictures with supporters along the parade route. The Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nominee is facing Republican Mike Rogers in the November general election to fill Michigan's open U.S. Senate seat.

El-Sayed calls this a “dangerous moment.”

“Everyone has the collective responsibility to bring some of that temperature down,” said El-Sayed. “Politics and democracy are supposed to be the way by which we resolve our differences peaceably.”

Democratic U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell is a veteran of many political campaigns.

She said this weekend’s violence in Ohio will not deter her from meeting with voters. 

“I’m out so people know they can come and talk to me,” Dingell said, amid a throng of union members.

Dingell pointed out President Trump personally attacked her in a Truth Social post over the weekend, in which he referred to her as “Debbie Dingbat.”

“She says nothing but bad about your favorite President, ME! Every time I see that Third Rate Loser ripping me, I’m amazed, because I’m a loyal person, I don’t do things like that but, that’s OK — It’s Politics. However, it shouldn’t be that way! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” read the Truth Social post.

The country has seen a rise in political violence over the past decade.

Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on expenses labeled as security during the 2023-24 campaign cycle, the most recent one for which data are publicly available, according to a report released in April from the Public Service Alliance, a nonpartisan group that focuses on security for public officials.

Statewide mail voting for this year’s midterm elections kicked off Friday amid a churning legal battle over President Donald Trump’s attempts to limit the practice and mounting concern over Postal Service changes that some state officials blame for a rise in rejected ballots.

The developments have created a sense of uncertainty about a popular voting method used by one-third of the nation’s voters.

North Carolina on Friday became the first state to widely distribute mail ballots for this year’s elections, which will determine the balance of power in Congress for the remainder of Trump’s term.

Election officials said that while they are closely monitoring the litigation, ballots will be mailed out as expected and the state is prepared to administer a secure election even if the new limits go forward.

“We believe that we are well positioned,” Sam Hayes, executive director of the State Board of Elections, told reporters during a news conference in Raleigh on Thursday.

Trump frequently castigates mail voting and has falsely blamed it for his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden, which he sought to overturn. Though he has repeatedly voted by mail himself, the president is pushing to curtail access for others.

In March, Trump signed an executive order seeking to limit mail balloting. States would have to submit lists of eligible voters to the Postal Service through an online portal that apparently is still inactive. Ballot envelopes also would have to comply with new Postal Service rules and include barcodes.

Trump's directive has been held up by multiple lawsuits. One in which Michigan is a plaintiff led to a preliminary injunction Friday against its implementation — a decision the administration quickly appealed.

Election offices move forward, try to combat voter confusion

Election officials warn that headlines about the executive order and court fights have already confused some voters.

“The biggest part of this is that it has sparked questions about what it is. ‘What does this mean? What are you guys doing? Can I not vote by mail anymore?’” said Michael Dickerson, director of the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.

“I just want people to be assured that, yes, you can still vote by mail,” he said, adding “it’s a safe and secure process.”

While the issue has ping-ponged around the courts, election workers in North Carolina had been working hard to get ready for the Friday deadline, officials there said in interviews.

Wake County elections employees have been processing absentee request forms, which come in daily online and in paper form, said Olivia McCall, the county's director of elections. They've also been coding ballots, running pre-election accuracy testing and packaging absentee packets that include a ballot, instructions and photo ID fliers, she said.

About 5,000 ballots will go out during Wake County's first wave, she said.

The turnaround time for ballots being returned could be quick, too, noted Dickerson, especially for military and overseas voters who can vote through an online portal.

“I guarantee you” votes will begin rolling in that way by Saturday, he said.

‘Business as usual,' North Carolina election official says

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is among Democratic state officials who have aligned in one of the lawsuits challenging Trump's executive order and the changes proposed by the Postal Service.

In a recent court filing, a representative of the office argued it was “far too late in the election cycle to introduce such dramatic changes” and warned that implementing them would “imminently cause significant harm, confusion and disruption in North Carolina election administration.”

The League of Women Voters of North Carolina is issuing its standard advice to voters, while urging them not to wait until the last minute to return their mail ballot.

Officials with the State Board of Elections, which is led by a Republican majority, have projected confidence for a midterm cycle that is expected to see robust turnout, especially with a competitive U.S. Senate race on the ballot.

“It is business as usual, as far as I'm concerned,” Hayes, the board's executive director, said during the news conference.

The board has confirmed it has taken some initial steps to comply with the executive order, including submitting its envelopes to USPS for review. Hayes said they were approved. The state opted against submitting its voter information while the legal proceedings are pending.

A whistleblower told Congress this week that with the voter portal, the Postal Service is rushing an untested product that is likely to be riddled with errors that could lead to millions of mail ballots being rejected. On Friday, Postmaster General David Steiner issued a statement saying the agency's standards are not being compromised and he stands behind “the rigor of our process.”

He also sought to address the growing concerns about the agency's ability to deliver ballots and return them on time.

“Regardless of political party or perspective, we share a common goal: ensuring that Americans can have confidence that their election mail will be handled securely and delivered reliably should their election officials choose to use the mail for ballot delivery,” he said.

USPS operational changes blamed for spike in rejected mail ballots

Election officials elsewhere are warning voters to avoid delays in returning mail ballots, but not for reasons related to Trump's attempts to alter the rules.

They are pointing to a change in how the Postal Service processes mail —- with postmarks stamped at distant processing centers rather than local post offices — as a reason for what they say has been a spike in mail ballot rejections. In many states, mail ballots arriving several days after an election can still be counted as long as they are postmarked by the final day of voting.

In California, nearly 150,000 voters had their mail-in ballots rejected in the state's June primary, mostly because they were postmarked too late. Wisconsin officials wrote to the Postal Service after hundreds of ballots arrived too late to be counted during elections in April, which has prompted at least some of the state's 1,850 municipal clerks to start sending mail ballots to voters earlier than usual.

In Washington, where voting is done almost entirely by mail, state officials issued a report this week saying the number of mail ballots rejected in the August primary because of a late postmark was 32% higher than the primary two years earlier.

“Why are we disenfranchising Americans when we've had one of the best systems in the United States?” Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell said during a news conference in her home state to promote the report.

The Postal Service has addressed the issue on its website, saying it is not changing its postmarking practices but acknowledging that “adjustments to our transportation operations” mean that postmark dates might not match the day mail was picked up by a letter carrier or dropped off at a post office. The agency said voters can request a manual postmark at a local post office.

More states are preparing to deliver mail ballots to their voters

Other states will soon follow North Carolina in kicking off their mail ballot process throughout September, including Alabama on September 9 and Michigan on September 19. By the middle of the month, all states are required to send ballots to military and overseas voters.

David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research and a former Department of Justice lawyer, said the time to implement any major election changes for this year's midterms “has long since passed.”

The group has filed legal papers supporting states in the fight against the new postal rules.

“That’s true even if they were good changes, which the mail EO definitely is not," Becker said. “The first ballots being mailed only confirms this fact.”

Don Millis, a Republican who also chairs the Wisconsin Election Commission, said it was not surprising that some local clerks had already started sending out mail ballots earlier than they normally would. The fear is that if the Supreme Court gives a green light to Trump's executive order, it would tilt the election into chaos.

“There’s a fundamental concern this thing is not going to work,” he said.

___

Associated Press writers Nicholas Riccardi in Denver and Tom Verdin in Sacramento, California, and video journalist Allen Breed in Raleigh, North Carolina, contributed to this report.

Michigan voters will decide on two statewide questions when they cast their ballots for Election Day this November.

Proposal 1 is a question on whether to convene a new state constitutional convention.

Proposal 2 asks whether to limit political donations from some utilities and large government contractors. The measure survived a last-ditch challenge to keep it off the ballot at the Michigan Supreme Court this week.

Christy McGillivray with leadership for the Michiganders for Money out of Politics campaign said the next step is holding hundreds of events to talk with voters about the initiative.

“This kind of reform is so exciting that we know it’s going to drive up turnout, and when our democracy has to answer to voters primarily first and when voters come out and vote because they’re so excited to do so, we get better outcomes,” McGillivray said.

The measure is already facing pushback from opponents who argue the campaign isn’t being fully up-front about everyone the question could affect.

John Sellek is spokesperson for the opposition campaign Protect MI Free Speech.

“The gist of what we have to do between now and November 3 is to educate people that nothing is as simple as it appears on the surface. They need to understand all the pros and cons before they vote on this in the fall,” Sellek said.

A third measure, a proposed constitutional amendment to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, will not appear. Michigan Supreme Court ruled against that measure's effort this week as well.

Americans for Citizen Voting chair Paul Jacob said the campaign got a raw deal.

“We can argue all the fine points. But the bottom line is there were enough Michigan registered voters who signed this petition for it to appear on the ballot. We just didn’t correct the errors that the Bureau of Elections made fast enough,” Jacob said.

The group wanted a state elections board to accept what it said was proof that it turned in enough valid signatures.

But Bureau of Elections staff found many didn’t match state records, and the board deadlocked on whether to accept affidavits trying to fix them. The timing of when those affidavits came in was among the deciding factors.

Jacob said the campaign will try again in 2028.

Michigan third grade reading scores continued to slide in the state’s most recent standardized tests this year, even as schools begin to implement reading reforms.

Just 38.2% of third grade students in Michigan are proficient in English Language Arts, down from 38.9% the previous year, according to results released Friday from the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress, commonly known as the M-STEP. Students took the tests in spring 2026. It’s the lowest third graders have scored in the 12-year history of the exam.

The news comes after leaders have tried for a decade to improve reading scores with literacy coaches, optional teacher training and a short-lived law to retain struggling third graders.

Meanwhile, fourth through seventh grade reading scores are also down from the previous year. Just 44% of students grades 3-8 are proficient in reading, according to a Chalkbeat analysis of M-STEP and PSAT 8/9 tests.

“We need to improve the results of all these assessments for our students moving forward,” said State Superintendent Glenn Maleyko. “Michigan proficiency rates are not where we want them to be. We must increase proficiency rates in all subjects and areas, and in all grades. And we must do this over time, showing steady improvement in all areas.”

It’s the first M-STEP release since Maleyko took the helm of the Michigan Department of Education last December. The tests measure if students are able to achieve skills outlined in state standards.

Only 35.5% of students grades 3-8 are proficient in math.

Many proficiency rates moved less than one percentage point, which MDE acknowledged in a news release.

“Most proficiency rates are essentially flat when compared to 2025 results on the tests, with the rates on all except four of 20 tests staying within 2 percentage points of the numbers in 2025 and most staying within a percentage point,” the department said.

Other takeaways include:

• 1. Math proficiency is up in third and sixth grade compared with last year, down in fifth grade and flat in fourth and seventh grade.

  2. Fifth grade science and social studies proficiency is down.

  3. Eighth graders improved their proficiency in social studies but results dropped in science.

  4. In the 11th grade, science and social studies proficiency is up but performance is down in reading and math.
  

What to know about key districts in the state:

• 5. Detroit Public Schools Community District, the state’s largest district, saw gains in reading and math. In third grade, 14.1% of students are proficient in reading, up from 12.9% the previous year. In math, 20.1% are proficient, up from 15.7%.

  6. In Grand Rapids, third grade reading made a slight gain from 19.6% third grade reading proficiency to 20.1%. Math increased from 19.6% to 23.5%.

  7. Lansing School District saw gains in reading proficiency in third, fourth, fifth and sixth grades. But proficiency declined in seventh and eighth grades.
  

MDE also shared information on what it is doing to improve student proficiency.

It plans to release the “Michigan Mathematics Framework” this fall that will include “a shared vision for mathematics learning; evidence-based curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and coordinated systems for mathematics,” according to a news release. MDE is also creating a committee focused on science, technology, engineering and math, commonly known as STEM.

State focus on literacy but results down

These are the last state test scores that will come out before term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer leaves office. She has said literacy is her number one priority in her final year.

Voters will decide whether Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson or Republican US Rep. John James will be the next governor.

Maleyko emphasized that laws aimed at improving literacy are not fully in effect yet. He said the Legislature, governor, State Board of Education and educators needed to work together to improve outcomes.

Among those changes is a requirement that school districts use “evidence-based” reading instruction and screen students for characteristics of dyslexia by the 2027-2028 school year.

Under a new law signed this summer, elementary teachers will be required to complete ‘science of reading’ training by the 2031-2032 school year. Some school districts will receive state help as they work to fully train their teachers. Michigan also has funding for literacy coaches, vetted curriculum and teacher training.

If a district uses a literacy curriculum not from a state-vetted list and fails to inform parents, the district loses its state funding. But MDE does not have a mechanism where districts report what curriculum they use.

While department officials emphasize the need to improve literacy, they caution that state test scores are only one way to measure student achievement.

Delsa Chapman, a deputy superintendent at MDE, told Bridge that “if a student is not proficient or partially proficient, that does not mean that the student cannot read.

“On that one test in time, their demonstration of mastering the standards is determined through a proficiency rating. But that absolutely, again, does not state or say that the student cannot read or cannot do mathematics.”

Who gets tested in Michigan

Third through seventh graders in public schools throughout the state take the English language arts and math test.

Fifth grade students also take a science and social studies test. Eighth grade students take the PSAT 8/9 test for English language arts and math and the M-STEP for science and social studies.

Ninth graders take the PSAT 8/9 while 10th graders take the PSAT 10.

In 11th grade, students take the SAT, WIN Readiness Assessment, and science and social studies M-STEP.

Some students with disabilities take the MI-Access tests instead of the other tests.

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This story was originally published by Bridge Michigan and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

A question from a recent Michigan Public Grammar Night sent us chasing some imaginary creatures. An audience member asked about the word “pixilated,” which a family member would use to describe their cat when it got excited.

Hearing about this charming expression was a highlight of the evening and we were excited to learn more about it. When we did, we found it goes back to pixies, as in fairies or little supernatural creatures

First, it’s worth distinguishing this “pixilated” from the “pixelated” that refers to a digital image made up of visible pixels. That word dates to the late 1950s. “Pixilated,” on the other hand, appears in the Oxford English Dictionary as early as 1848.

The OED defines "pixilated" as slightly crazed, bewildered, confused or whimsical. It can also mean intoxicated. The word comes from “pixie,” referring to a fairy or other supernatural creature, plus the suffix “-ated.” In other words, someone who was pixilated was thought to have been taken over by pixies.

Another Grammar Night audience member wrote to us afterward and said we should watch the 1936 movie Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. In a courtroom scene, a character describes Mr. Deeds as “pixilated,” prompting the judge to ask what the strange word means.

A man in the courtroom explains that it's an old American expression derived from “pixies,” meaning elves. As he puts it, the pixies had got him. The judge wanted to know what Mr. Deeds did that made him seem pixilated. He's described as walking in the rain without a hat and singing, and sometimes he whistles. Apparently, that qualifies as pixilated.

For more on "pixilated" and another delightful expression "barmy in the crumpet," listen to the audio above.

Football kicks off our show today - because it's college football season, people. And when you talk about football you can't avoid the question: Why are Michigan and Ohio State such fierce rivals? The answer seems obvious, but there’s a little more historic and cultural meaning than you may have heard.

Then,  we dig into the ubiquity of euchre. Why is this card game so popular here? And does anyone outside the Midwest play it?

Plus, we’re headed to the U.P. to learn about the cultural significance of a regional delicacy: pasties. How did this humble hand pie become such a defining part of life above the bridge?

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission says the Palisades nuclear plant failed to implement a radiation protection program for workers at the plant during an incident in February.

Workers have been trying to get ready to restart Palisades after it went into decommissioning in 2022.

Federal regulators recently released the results of an inspection this week that found two violations.

The NRC says on two days in February, sensors picked up elevated airborne radiation in one work area. Palisades staff took some precautions to limit exposure, but it did not take all steps required by regulations. In addition, it said workers didn’t alert a Radiation Protection Manager, as required.

“On multiple occasions these communications were not made, and condition reports were not generated for instances in which stop work criteria were met,” the inspection report said.

Palisades also failed to follow regulations on monitoring airborne radiation exposure on the workers themselves. It said that monitors worn on worker lapels showed elevated airborne radiation levels, but plant staff reported the results as “cross-contaminated.”

The NRC says staff didn’t do enough to validate that conclusion, writing “there was no evaluation of the data, and the process is not described in site procedures.”

The violations come after some nearby residents pushed back on the plans to re-open Palisades, arguing the plant is too old to be operated safely. The restart plans are running nearly a year behind the initial timeline, though Holtec International, Palisades’ owner, said workers began installing fuel into the plant’s reactor at the start of this month.

A Palisades spokesman said the company has taken steps to address both violations in the NRC inspection report.

“The performance did not meet our standards, and we take this issue very seriously,” wrote spokesman Nick Culp. “Palisades completed a comprehensive root-cause evaluation and implemented corrective actions to prevent recurrence, including strengthened radiological controls, procedures, oversight, and staffing.”

Culp added that while some workers were exposed to “greater-than-expected” doses of radiation, “[a]t no time did any worker approach federal occupational radiation dose limits.”

The NRC inspection says the violations were of “very low safety significance,” and did not issue any penalties.

College football fans, rejoice. The season is underway and both the Spartans and Wolverines are about to play their openers.

For more on that and other sports news, Michigan Public sports commentator John U. Bacon joined host Doug Tribou on Morning Edition.

Doug Tribou: Kyle Whittingham is the new head coach for the Wolverines. He came to Ann Arbor after stepping down from his position at Utah, where he was the head coach for more than 20 years. He’s 66 years old. You had a chance to sit down with Whittingham recently. What did you learn about him?

John U. Bacon: Well, it was not an interview, per se. Although I guess, Doug, in life, all conversations are interviews, aren't they? Including this one. But I would say a few things...

One, he's 66, about to turn 67, but he works out constantly. So if people are worried about how much gas he's got left in the tank, don't worry about that. He doesn't drink beer. He doesn't drink Diet Coke, for that matter. So he's about as healthy as a horse. He's also got more fire in the belly than I expected.

This is not a retirement job for him. He left Utah not as happy as people expected. He got pushed out, basically, and he still wanted to coach. So here's his chance. And he's got a chance now — with those resources — for a national title. So I think Michigan football right now is in very good hands.

DT: Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood is back. He is a true sophomore this season — all of 19 years old. As we talked about last week, Michigan’s going to need Underwood to show some growth for the team to be successful. What will Bryce Underwood have to do better?

JUB: What won't he have to do better? That's a shorter list. Everything. His mechanics, his decision making, his fundamentals, his execution. All of it has to be better. It was not a good season last year. And for the top recruit in the country, it was almost embarrassing.

However, as Devin Gardner, former Michigan quarterback, told me — and it's a great quote — "Nobody knows how big that stage is until you're on it and then it's too late." So there have been no great freshman quarterbacks in the history of Michigan football because it's too hard. So he got a lot of experience at quarterback last year that no one else has got. That's going to help him out a lot.

This time he's also got, by the way, a quarterback coach. Why Michigan, last year, with a $12-million quarterback did not pay a $250,000-quarterback coach is a mystery to everybody. But he's getting real coaching this year. He's got real experience. He's going to be much better. That's my very easy guess.

DT: As we’ve discussed, the Spartans also have a new head coach, Pat Fitzgerald. The Spartans’ starting quarterback is Alessio Milivojevic. Last season, he got his first four college starts in MSU’s last four games of the year. Threw for about 1000 yards in that stretch. How much is Fitzgerald banking on Milivojevic this season?

JUB: He's betting the whole ranch basically because they really don't have a backup, per se, at Michigan State this year. He's not had a chance to recruit. Except that Fitzgerald teams at Northwestern always played outstanding defense, so they should always be competitive. They don't expect too much right now in East Lansing, but you watch, that team is going to be substantially better.

DT: Turning to baseball, the good news is the Tigers won Wednesday.

JUB: [Laughs] Any bad news in there, Doug? Wow! That sounds great!

DT: [Laughs] The bad news is they only won 4 of their last 18 games. If it keeps going this way, their final regular season games won’t mean much in terms of playoff hopes. But the Tigers have announced that in their final homestand, they’ll honor pitcher Justin Verlander not once, but twice before he retires. Now I guess the only question is: will he pitch again by then?

JUB: Great questions. A few things. One, I love how you said their final regular season game won't mean much. It doesn't mean much right now. We're already in in early September, and none of these games count for much. They have less than a 1% chance, statistically, of making the playoffs.

I also like how they, they're going to honor J.V. twice. Why? They've got nothing else to say. So, why not three or four times before it's all done? So will he pitch by then? Man, it'd be a wonderful thing to see. I sincerely doubt it, obviously. But, man, just to throw an inning would be a blast. So that's all you're down to this year with the Tigers, sad to say.

DT: And it is disappointing for fans and obviously for the team. Justin Verlander [was] brought in to try to help what looked like it might be a bigger playoff push, and you've got this final season where he has one start. He hasn't pitched in months now. He's still trying to get back [from injuries] in time. It's really not the way, obviously, he'll be remembered after such a terrific career here and elsewhere in the league.

JUB: Undeniably true. But the good side for Verlander is that he gets paid full price to sit on the dugout. So that's pretty good [Laughs].

DT: The Detroit Lions don’t open their regular season until Sept. 13. We’ll talk more about them next week. But another Michigan team got some NFL-related news this week. The University of Michigan’s men’s hockey team will be playing at one of the NFL’s most iconic venues in February. Michigan will take on Wisconsin at the home of the Green Back Packers - Lambeau Field. I mean… why not?

JUB: Why not indeed. If you know anything about football, the old NFL Films from the 1970s had a guy named John Facenda doing the voiceover. And one of his greatest lines was "the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field." And every football fan knows that one. So here are the Wolverines going to — truly — the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, [but on] ice this time.

This will be Michigan's 11th outdoor game, the most of any college team — perhaps because they've been around for 100 years or because they always draw a good crowd. And they are 4-5-1 in these games. Not that great. So good luck, Wolverines.

Editor's note: Some quotes in this article have been lightly edited for length and clarity. You can play the full audio of the interview near the top of this page.

The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public's broadcast license.

The moment you cross the bridge into the Upper Peninsula, you’ll start to see signage for the region’s signature food: the pasty.

This pocket of dough filled with beef, pork, potato, and rutabaga is particularly easy to find in the Keweenaw Peninsula, which is home to a “trail” of at least 13 different pasty shops.

The region also happens to be home to a rich history of Finnish migration. Hancock, Michigan was even designated the 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture, an international honor. Several local bakers on the pasty trail come from Finnish families, and many offer traditional Finnish treats.

Just like the pasty, Finnish flavors and festivals have been embraced as part of Keweenaw culture. So no one would blame you for thinking pasties are a Finnish dish! But the pasty is actually a Cornish tradition.

Yvonne Lockwood, a folklorist and retired curator of folklife for the Michigan State University Museum, did some hands-on work studying traditions around the pasty in the U.P. Lockwood was born and raised in the U.P. herself, but moved to California while in high school. But she still remembers the pasties her mother made for their family.

“She always made it with pork and beef… potatoes, onions, rutabaga, and she added a dab of butter before she closed it,” she said. “Her pie crust was always made with lard… And that's what I remember as a real pasty, right or wrong.”

Many Cornish immigrants came to the Copper Country in the mid-19th century to mine after their own tin and copper-centric economy faced a decline. It was around that same time that the Quincy Mining Company in Hancock also began to recruit Finnish workers and brought them to the region. At the time, Finns made up the most populous ethnic group in the area, and many locals there today claim Finnish heritage. According to Lockwood, early Cornish and Finnish immigrants likely exchanged cultures while working together in the mines.

“...In the logging camps and in the mines, Finnish men ate Cornish pasties. I'm sure that their wives were making them. And how did they learn it? They probably learned it from Cornish women.”

Some early versions of the Cornish pasty, Lockwood said, had two types of filling. One side of the pocket had a hearty, savory filling, and the other half had a sweeter, fruit based filling. Bakers could deliver dinner and dessert in one, easy-to-pack treat!

Since then, the pasty has taken all kinds of other cultural influences, and there are modern recipes that totally deviate from that traditional mix. Today, you’ll find breakfast pasties, vegetarian pasties, Thanksgiving dinner pasties, and broccoli and cheddar pasties.

While bakery in Hurley, Wisconsin was thought by the community to be one of the first pasty shops where pasties could be purchased away from the home, most locals, Lockwood said, considered the “best” local pasty to be the ones made at home by their mothers.

“It is a sign of U.P. identity… and if you're Finnish, or Cornish, or Italian, or whatever, pasty is your dish…Today, it is a U.P. food.” Lockwood said.

Hear the full story on this episode of On Hand! 

GUESTS:

• Trisia Narhi, co-owner at Roy’s Pasties and Bakery in Houghton
• Roy Narhi, co-owner and baker at Roy’s Pasties and Bakery in Houghton
• Yvonne Lockwood, folklorist, retired curator of folklife for the Michigan State University Museum, co-founder of the Michigan Traditional Arts Program

Want to submit a question to On Hand? Do it here:

• Online Submission Form
• Call us: 734-764-7840
• Email us: onhand@michiganpublic.org

Can we finally just admit that this cruel patchwork disaster that we call the American healthcare system is a failure? Not for everybody, of course. It works fine for the very, very rich. And for some of the perfectly healthy. But otherwise, for Americans as a whole, it's terrible.

I submit for your consideration these latest examples:

Certain Michigan school districts are now offering insurance-free healthcare so employees can afford healthcare. So, bypassing health insurance because it's both too expensive to buy and too expensive to use. This way, employees will hopefully be inclined to take better regular care of themselves. But if they make the mistake of getting hit by a car or developing the wrong cancer, too bad for them. They would need insurance to cover those costs. (Well, who really knows what it would actually cover?)

Some medical professionals are taking extraordinary steps to offer vaccine guidance directly to the American public because our federal government (specifically, the current administration) can no longer can be trusted to do so. Vaccine policy should never be subjected to the whims of a couple of nepo babies whose qualifications begin and end with what the latest social media influencer has whispered into their ears.

Sure, implementing Medicare-for-all will be disruptive. But it's a real solution to a very real problem that's getting worse and worse.

Editor's note: John Auchter is a freelance political cartoonist. His views are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Public, its management, or its license holder, the University of Michigan.