Last week President Trump threatened to block the Gordie Howe International Bridge from opening. In a rambling post on social media, Trump argued that Canada is treating the U.S. unfairly without making any specific demands.

That’s left politicians on the Michigan and Ontario sides of the new span scrambling. Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens says he is unaware of any attempts by the Trump Administration to contact Canadian officials over the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

Dilkens says that while Canada paid to build the span, ownership of the bridge is shared.

“Canada as a federal government and the state of Michigan as a state government jointly own the Gordie Howe Bridge,” says Dilkens. “We’re 50-50 owners and we will repay the cost of construction through the collection of tolls over a period of many years, after which we will split the proceeds of toll revenue moving forward.”

Meeting with Morouns

The Windsor mayor blames the Moroun family for the President’s sudden desire to halt the bridge opening. There are reports of a meeting between the wealthy Ambassador Bridge owner Matthew Moroun and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hours before Trump threatened the Gordie Howe Bridge.

“You know I’m not sure what the billionaires are doing behind the scenes,” says Dilkens, “but we’re really interested in the families that are affected by this on both sides of the border.”

The U.S. House Oversight Committee has sent a letter to Lutnick requesting all documents related to his alleged meeting with Matthew Moroun.

Dilkens says retaliating by blocking the Ontario side of the Ambassador Bridge is not something Canada would consider, regardless of the White House’s stance on the Gordie Howe span. The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority says the international span remains on track to open early this year.

In a rambling post on Truth Social this week, President Trump threatened the Gordie Howe International Bridge — saying he won’t allow the bridge over the Detroit River to open until Canada compensates the U.S. for all it has given them. His exact demands are unclear.

The bridge has been expected to open sometime early this year. It’s meant to support a trade network that sees around $150 billion USD worth of goods cross between Detroit and Windsor annually.

Listen: Politicians react to Gordie Howe Bridge threats

In a statement, the Michigan Democratic Party called out the president, saying blocking the span from opening would amount to economic sabotage.

State Rep. Helena Scott represents the state’s 8th house district — including northwest Detroit, Ferndale and Pleasant Ridge. She argues the US isn’t owed anything for the new bridge.

“Michigan did not fund the construction,” says Scott, “Canada did. Canada financed nearly all of the projects after the US declined to put federal dollars into it. There is nothing owed back to the US.”

Trump’s criticism of the bridge comes despite issuing a joint statement in 2017 with then-Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, endorsing the Gordie Howe project. Construction of the span began during Trump’s first term in office in 2018.

Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell is shocked the president is now criticizing a project he once celebrated, in a state that voted for him.

“President Trump won Michigan,” says Dingell, “so why is he now turning around and screwing the workers who voted for him?”

Dingell says the owner of the Ambassador Bridge, the Moroun family, met with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick before Trump’s threat. The Moroun’s fought to stop construction of the new bridge for years.

In a statement to WDET, the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority says the new span remains on track to open in early 2026. They say the Gordie Howe International Bridge benefits both countries, by encouraging investment, helping to maintain and create thousands of jobs, and generating new business and tourism opportunities.

The Detroit Transportation Corporation (DTC) is working on its $800,000 study on ways to improve the People Mover. The group plans to share its list of short-term improvements and long-term recommendations this spring.

Melia Howard is the general manager of DTC. She took over the role in January after previously serving as Detroit’s deputy mayor under Mike Duggan.

Howard says public meetings about the elevate rail’s future have been productive.

“People were coming in,” says Howard, “slowly, surely going through the design charrettes. Really taking their time and being thoughtful about how they want to see us grow and expand or remodel.”

Howard says expanding the People Mover to add new lines is not out of the question, but that would likely require outside funding from business leaders or the federal government.

“It’s all about the people,” says Howard. “So if the will of the people desire for us to move forward, then the onus is on to try to fill that need and move forward with it.”

The DTC plans to share its list of short-term improvements and long-term recommendations this spring.

The annual “State of Transit” event was this week. Put on by advocacy group Transit Riders United, it gathers leaders from around southeastern Michigan to discuss all things related to public transportation.

Detroit Director of Transit Robert Cramer told WDET at the event that one thing DDOT has made progress over the last year is modernizing its fleet of buses. That includes adding 45 new hybrid and four electric buses.

He says the hybrid models have seem to be more feasible than the electric ones at this time.

“Because we don’t have a network of charging around the city that can keep topping it off, we send [the electric buses] out for 4 or 5 hours, then we’ll have to bring them back for a pretty lengthy charging,” says Cramer. 

However, Cramer says DDOT is still facing bus availability challenges as it works to bring more buses onto the road. He says on time performance isn’t quite where it needs to be as a result.

“Right now we’re in the upper 60s,” says Cramer, “about 70% is out on time performance. The industry standard, and our goal, is 85%.”

Cramer says improving wages for drivers and mechanics has also helped the department improve service over the last year. He says it’s helped with employee retention.

This year’s Detroit Auto Show marks the second time the event has been held since returning to its traditional winter date. While it isn’t as large as it once was, there are still plenty of new vehicles to kick the tires on.

One way the show has changed is that there aren’t the same level of high-profile vehicle launches as there once were. In fact, Ford opted to hold some of its major unveils at an alternate event across town.

Ford Racing’s season preview saw the company take the covers off two new F1 cars. The Dearborn automaker also used the occasion to debut its latest version of Ford Mustang, the Dark Horse SC.

Mark Rushbrook is global director of Ford Racing. He says taking the festivities to Michigan Central, a place Ford is heavily invested in, was a logical move.

“I mean, I think this is a symbol of the City of Detroit,” says Rushbrook. “To be able to come here, with racing as we have it, with Formula 1 at the top…it made sense.”

Despite being unveiled somewhere else, the Mustang Dark Horse SC has made its way over to the Detroit Auto Show. Attendees can find it on display in the Ford exhibit throughout the week.

Chevrolet’s Chad Lyons says the way car companies unveil products is evolving.

“I think it’s trying to find out the strategy that helps us reach the most number of people that we can,” says Lyons.

And that can mean finding new methods for utilizing big events.

“Certainly, auto shows [are] still a place where we try to make news,” says Lyons. “So for instance, earlier this week we talked about Hudson’s, which is our new global headquarters. We also unveiled our test livery for F1 — Cadillac team did.”

In that way, manufacturers say they still find value in auto shows, even if they aren’t quite the spectacle they once were. This year’s Detroit Auto Show is open to the public through Jan. 25.

The Trump administration recently announced $12 billion in bailout money in an effort to prop up the farming industry. That comes as farmers around the country have complained about trade wars and general economic conditions making it tough for them to do business.

What that money looks like by the time it makes its way to local farmers remains to be seen. Michigan Farmers Union president, Bob Thompson, says there are still questions surrounding the distribution.

“The Administration,” says Thompson, “still has to decide how much money is going to corn, versus wheat, versus soy beans, versus 15 different row crops.”

Thompson says about $11 billion of the $12 billion in the bailout will be dedicated to row crops. That means farmers growing specialty crops, like apples and cherries, will share the remaining funds.

Thompson warns the funding may not be enough to offset the challenges facing Michigan’s farms.

“The financial problems that a lot of farmers, particularly our smaller family farmers are experiencing, is a direct result of a lot of policies of the new administration,” Thompson explains, “ Particularly the tariff policies.”

He says the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration has also hurt farmers in the state. About three-quarters of the seasonal workforce on farms comes from immigrant labor programs.

The Michigan Farmers Union says it may take a new long-term farm bill to stabilize the industry.