Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — also known as EBT and Bridge Card in Michigan —  is still uncertain. Yesterday, the Trump administration announced the use of designated emergency funds to pay for half of what card holders normally receive. That’s after the government shutdown froze monthly EBT disbursements on November 1, 2025.

Nearly a quarter of Wayne County residents rely on SNAP benefits to eat.

With the uncertainty surrounding federal funding, community organizations across metro Detroit have been stepping up to fill the gap and ensure people are fed and cared for.

BasBlue, a community organization and gathering place for women and nonbinary people, is located in Midtown, Detroit and was established in 2021.

On Monday, they hosted a first-ever “Community Supper” in response to SNAP benefits uncertainty resulting from the government shutdown.

Ellen Gilchrist, BasBlue CEO, joined the Metro to discuss why now was the time to provide meals to the public.

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Your spooky soundtrack to Halloween is returning to the WDET airwaves at 6 p.m. Friday, October 31.

Jon Moshier, host of Modern Music on WDET, produces his annual Halloween special with an ear for the classic and the offbeat.

This year’s blood-curdling setlist includes tracks from Bert Convy, Vincent Price & The Young Spirits, and Detroit’s own The Incurables. The radio special combines novelty music with radio theatre into a perfect radio companion for handing out candy to trick or treaters.

Jon Moshier spoke with The Metro’s David Leins about how he makes his selections, the pinnacle of spooky soundtrack LP’s and what to expect in this year’s special.

Hear Jon Moshier’s Halloween special on Friday, Oct. 31 from 6–8 p.m. on 101.9 FM, wdet.org/listen-live and in the WDET app.

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There’s a new park on the riverfront in downtown Detroit, and you can’t miss it. 

The 22-acre Ralph C Wilson, Jr. Centennial Park is located along Detroit’s riverfront between the Ambassador Bridge and the Renaissance Center. It features a whimsical playground and splash pad, two covered basketball courts, hundreds of newly-planted trees and a water garden.

The park’s opening is the result of 8 years of outreach, planning and design. The seed funding was provided by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the project was led by the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy.

Cassie Brenske, spokesperson for the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, told WDET’s Alex McLenon that a community advisory team of 22 Detroit residents were part of the planning process early on.

“We took them across the country to New York, Philadelphia and Chicago, and gave them the opportunity to see what other parks across the country looked like and what we might want to see here in Detroit.”

Jim Boyle, Vice President of Programs and Strategy at the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation told The Metro the new park connects neighborhoods that border downtown via the Joe Louis Greenway and the Riverwalk.

“It’s a regional asset that’s an economic driver for talent, and a major place where people want to be. But, it’s also a neighborhood amenity that makes living in those neighborhoods that much better.”

The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation Centennial Park is now open to the public on Detroit’s Riverfront.

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While the arts and humanities are facing defunding and disinvestment nationally, there’s a brand new space to experience the arts in Detroit’s Live 6 neighborhood. 

The Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre opens next month with a production of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” It is the university’s first permanent theater on that campus, despite a 150-year history of theatre productions.

Previously, students in the award-winning theatre program had practiced and performed in temporary buildings and spaces, including a space in the YMCA in Downtown Detroit.

Jocelyn Boryczka, Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Science at University of Detroit Mercy, joined Tia Graham to discuss the new Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre and what it means for the future of arts programming in the Live 6 area.

She says the vision for the theatre extends beyond the university walls and invites residents of the Live 6 neighborhoods to be a part of the theatre now and in the future.

The Detroit Mercy Black Box Theatre’s first production will be Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” with performances November 7-16. Tickets available online.

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Cemeteries are the last place one might look for things to do over the weekend. But, if you appreciate reflection and history over busy bars and music, Elmwood Alight at the historic Elmwood Cemetery in Detroit might be the thing for you.

The immersive tours take place October 17-18. Tickets are $40.

Amy Elliott Bragg is director of the Historic Elmwood Foundation.

She joined Cary Junior II on The Metro to discuss the two-night event.

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Southeast Michigan’s streams and rivers are studded by shadows of our industrial past. Henry Ford brought mass production of vehicles to the world, and he needed energy to power his industry. 

Old hydroelectric dams are still installed along the Rouge and Huron Rivers, but they’re crumbling and it’s becoming time to repair them, or remove them. 

In Michigan, the fate of these aging dams is still hotly debated in town halls and city council meetings. One of those place is Flat Rock, MI, where residents and local officials urged Huron-Clinton Metroparks not to remove the dam.

While the fate of Flat Rock Dam is still uncertain, 120 dams have been removed in Michigan, according to a database published by American Rivers, a river restoration nonprofit.

And dam removal brings a number of benefits for the waterway and surrounding areas, including: biodiversity and fish passage, water quality, and mitigation of catastrophic flooding in the case of dam failure.

So, what’s next for Michigan’s dams and rivers? What options do residents and lawmakers have? And, what opportunities are ahead for the Great Lakes state?

Elizabeth Riggs, the Great Lakes Regional Director for American Rivers, joined Robyn Vincent on the Metro to discuss.

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Fall is here, and that means cool nights, crispy leaves and the smell of hot apple cider. But the season won’t last forever, and there is a lot of fun to be had at Michigan’s apple orchards, cider mills and corn mazes.

Laura Herberg, reporter for Bridge Michigan, joined the Metro to share the highlights from her recent story, “Five ways to fall for fall in Michigan.”

What’s on your winter bucket list? Laura Herberg and Bridge Michigan are taking your  suggestions.

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The next Senator representing Michigan could shift the balance of power in Washington, and their policies relating to the auto industry, tariffs and electric vehicles could make Michigan’s economic interests pivotal nationwide.

The four main candidates are Abdul El-Sayed, Representative Haley Stevens, State Senator Mallory McMorrow and Mike Rogers. They’re all vying to replace Gary Peters as Michigan’s next Senator.

The domestic auto industry has been on an economic roller coaster. Ping-ponging tariff policies and rollbacks of Biden-era electric vehicle tax rebates have added economic uncertainty to the equation of domestic automakers and parts suppliers.

So, what policies might the next Senator from Michigan bring to Washington?

Molly Boigon is a reporter who covers technology and innovation for Automotive News. She spoke to the four candidates on the Daily Drive Podcast and wrote a piece breaking down where they stand on key automotive economic policies.

 She joined Robyn Vincent to share what she learned about the candidates’ positions on electric vehicles and tariffs.

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Ferndale City Council will soon decide whether to renew a contract with public safety surveillance company Flock Safety for a subscription to their Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) product. A vote is expected in the coming weeks.

The city’s first year of using the service, which it calls a pilot study, is coming to a close. In a September 29 city council meeting, Ferndale officials presented results of the pilot study and heard community concerns over civil liberties and data privacy.

Some of the concerns raised at that meeting appear to have been addressed since then.

In a statement to The Metro, City Manager Colleen O’Toole cited a few notable changes to the city’s policy on data sharing with other law enforcement entities and facial recognition software.

“The City has elected to remove itself from inclusion in the National Database Search feature that allows outside departments to access data for criminal investigations without our consent. This ensures that Ferndale’s data is only used with the express permission of our local police department.”

She added that Ferndale’s ALPR system does not use facial recognition technology.

Regional cooperation

Flock’s product takes pictures of vehicles and license plates from stationary cameras mounted in public right-of-ways. In the city council presentation, officials said coordination with other Flock Safety ALPR subscribers in metro Detroit has led law enforcement to find and arrest wanted individuals.

In metro Detroit, 12 other cities subscribe to Flock’s ALPR product: Detroit, Hazel Park, Madison Heights, Royal Oak, Troy, Birmingham, Southfield, Oak Park, Warren, Sterling Heights, Shelby Township and Auburn Hills. The technology is also used by the Michigan State Police and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Department.

Ferndale City Manager Colleen O’Toole told the Metro the city’s police department  has seen “real-world contributions to homicide and child kidnapping investigations that were solved thanks to information gathered through the system.”

Contested corridor

In the meeting, officials proposed removing seven of 16 cameras currently in use, saying they don’t provide enough return on investment.

Many of the cameras they plan to remove are located on or near the Ferndale-Detroit border along Eight Mile. Ferndale Police’s activity along that stretch of road has been subject to scrutiny. In the past decade, both ACLU Michigan and Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) have accused the Ferndale Police Department of racial profiling targeting African American drivers in traffic stops.

Flock Safety‘s transparency dashboard for Ferndale indicates that any use for immigration enforcement and targeting of protected classes (race, gender, etc.) is prohibited.

While the city wants to keep using Flock license plate readers, there are concerned residents opposed to the technology.

Prasad Venugopal and Kathleen LaTosch are members of the Ferndale Inclusion Network. They joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss why they are urging the city council to vote no on the contract.

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Updated 12:00 p.m. ET, Friday, October 3, 2025.

Funding for arts and culture grants in Michigan is preserved in the state budget for fiscal year 2026.

Last week, Governor Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and House Speaker Matt Hall announced they had agreed on a framework for the state budget and it would be passed before October 1. The state budget was passed early Friday morning, with state funding for arts and culture grants preserved.

Last month’s budget proposal passed by the Republican-led State House eliminated all funding for arts and culture grants from the state.

The entity that administers arts and culture grants for the state is the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC). In 2025, MACC grants awarded totaled over $10.5 million.

The council distributes grant funds to arts and culture programs throughout the state, providing funding for things like K-12 arts programs, cultural festivals and museums.

To better understand what arts and culture grants from the state fund, Cary Junior II spoke with Lauren Ward, director of the Cultural Advocacy Network of Michigan. They spoke on Thursday, before the final state budget had been passed for fiscal year 2026.

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Detroit has a new coalition fighting for its creative future. 

The Detroit Partnership for Arts Education is a cross-sector coalition, supported by Detroit public schools, health leaders, philanthropists and artists. Its mission is to connect more young people with music, media, and the arts. 

The initiative is employing a three-prong approach meant to connect students with arts programs with an online navigator, set a vision and benchmarks for arts education in Detroit, and gather data to support a well-funded and accountable system.

A number of leaders in the arts in Detroit are joining the partnership.

Guests:

• Nafeesah Symonette is the co-founder of Detroit Excellence in Youth Arts and is leading much of the partnership
• Mike Banks of Underground Resistance is a Detroit techno pioneer and is part of the DPAE coalition

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For the first time in 30 years, a major exhibition featuring contemporary Native American art from the Great Lakes region will be on display at the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). “Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation” opens Sunday, September 28, 2025 and runs through April 5, 2026.

While the DIA has an extensive Indigenous Americas collection with artifacts from South, Central and North America, this exhibition stands out as one consisting entirely of contemporary art from Anishinaabe artists.

The exhibition features 60 artists and over 90 works in mediums from textiles to film, all of which were created by Anishinaabe artists and curated with guidance from a council of Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi artists.

Curator Dr. Denene De Quintal and museum director Salvador Salort-Pons joined The Metro to discuss the exhibition.

The exhibition is free with general admission to the DIA, which is always free for Tri-County residents. It is also free for visitors and accompanying children with a tribal ID.

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The Huron-Clinton Metroparks Board of Commissioners voted to authorize its attorneys to enter into the sale of the Flat Rock Dam to the City of Flat Rock for $5, Metroparks officials told The Metro. The offer also includes Metroparks providing $3 Million to the city for an improved fish ladder.

This decision follows months of community engagement and feedback, signaling a victory for organizers who opposed Huron-Clinton Metroparks’ proposal to partially remove the dam.

“It’s a positive sign and appears to have the potential to be something that will be reasonable and fair for everyone. The devil will be in the details,” John Webb, a member of the the Flat Rock Dam Coalition, told The Metro.

The Huron-Clinton Metroparks Board of Commissioners also agreed to delay action on ‘partial removal’ plan, “Alternative 2” in the feasibility study, until its November meeting. 

Three proposals

A two-year feasibility study conducted by Huron-Clinton Metroparks produced three options for the future of the dam.

• Full removal of the dam
• Leave the dam as-is, but improve the fish ladder
• Partial removal of the dam, with construction of rock arches

Metroparks CEO Amy McMillan recommended partial removal, saying it would maintain similar water levels of the impoundment and preserve recreation activities like kayaking and fishing.

But community activists and elected officials were not satisfied with the proposal.

Community opposition

Elected officials joined a chorus of community voices opposed to full or partial dam removal. Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown) wrote a letter to the Metroparks board members urging a no vote on dam removal.

Flat Rock’s mayor, Steve Beller, also both spoke at an August 14 board meeting after its city council unanimously passed a resolution to urge Metroparks not to remove the dam.

Brad Booth, president of the Flat Rock Dam Coalition joined the Metro on Wednesday to discuss his group’s concerns over the Metroparks’ proposal to partially remove the dam and replace it with ‘rock arches.’

The future of a nearly 100-year-old dam in Flat Rock, MI will be determined tomorrow. The board of commissioners for Huron-Clinton Metroparks, who owns the dam, will vote on its long-term plans for the structure at 1 p.m. at Willow Metropark. The meeting is open to the public.

Three proposals

A two-year feasibility study conducted by Huron-Clinton Metroparks produced three options for the future of the dam.

• Leave the dam as-is, but improve the fish ladder
• Partial removal of the dam, with construction of rock arches
• Full removal of the dam

The organization’s CEO Amy McMillan recommended partial removal, saying it would maintain similar water levels of the impoundment and preserve recreation activities like kayaking and fishing.

Community members and elected officials oppose all options that remove the dam, urging Metroparks to leave the dam as-is.

Brad Booth, president of the Flat Rock Dam Coalition, says ‘similar’ is not firm enough. His group wants a commitment from Huron-Clinton Metroparks to alleviate fears of a significant decrease in water level.

Booth told The Metro that in addition to recreational activities, his group is also concerned about property values and changes to flora and fauna.

Aging infrastructure

The aging dam is in fair condition but is classified as a “high hazard potential” by Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). That designation is an assessment of risk, meaning dam failure may cause serious environmental and infrastructure damage, or even loss of life.

A 2020 high-profile dam failure in Mid-Michigan led to severe flooding in Midland, MI, and Sanford Lake was emptied out, wiping out property values and recreation for lakefront homes there.

Elected officials weigh in

Elected officials have joined the chorus of community voices opposed to full or partial dam removal. Rep. Jamie Thompson (R-Brownstown) wrote a letter to the Metroparks board members urging a no vote on dam removal.

Flat Rock’s mayor, Steve Beller, also both spoke at an August 14 board meeting after its city council unanimously passed a resolution to urge Metroparks not to remove the dam.

Environmental impact

Dam removal is growing more common statewide and nationally. Earlier this year, EGLE announced nearly $15 Million dollars in funding for dam removals across the state. 

Proponents of dam removals point to improved river health and biodiversity. They also mitigate the risk of catastrophic dam failures.

In the case of Flat Rock Dam, the Metroparks feasibility study for this project notes improved fish passage for sturgeon, walleye, and salmon to travel up the Huron River to spawn.

Brad Booth, president of the Flat Rock Dam Coalition, joined The Metro to discuss why his organization opposes partial or full removal of the Flat Rock dam.

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The new school year is here. Teachers are meeting fresh faces, setting up their classrooms, and laying out lesson plans.

But the reality? Michigan doesn’t have enough teachers. Prep hours are disappearing. Class sizes are growing. Burnout is rising. And more teachers are walking away, some to retire, others to leave the profession altogether.

All of this comes at a tough moment for students. The latest state test scores released this week show that  say kids are still struggling, especially in reading. Only four in ten third-graders hit proficiency on the M-STEP this spring. 

There is some good news, though. Middle schoolers, especially eighth-graders, posted gains in reading. But overall, proficiency in both reading and math is still below pre-pandemic levels.

Teachers in Michigan make less on average than in many other states with an average starting salary of around $38,000.

Still, there are signs of resilience. According to a 2025 report from Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University (EPIC), Michigan’s teaching workforce is slowly climbing back from the losses of the COVID years.

Tara Kilbride is a co-author of that report and the Associate Director of the Education Policy Innovation Collaborative at Michigan State University. She joined the show to help make sense of Michigan’s teacher workforce.

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Findings from a new study by researches at the Pringle Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison find that invasive golden oyster mushrooms are reducing fungal diversity. The study, published in the journal Current Biology, found that the invasive mushroom is out-competing other fungi in fallen logs and dead trees.

Native to Asia and Russia, golden oysters have been found throughout Wisconsin and Michigan, including in Michigan’s upper peninsula.

Foraging and growing exotic mushrooms are popular ways to bring nutrition and flavor into your kitchen. Commercial growing operations are another way that mushrooms can spread from contained to wild environments.

Aishwarya Veerabahu is a PhD student in Botany at the Pringle Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and leads a community data-gathering project. She is encouraging citizen scientists to send samples of golden oyster mushrooms to the Pringle Lab in Wisconsin. Veerabahu joined The Metro to explain how the spread of the golden oyster mushroom is threatening biodiversity in Michigan.

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The Michigan Department of Transportation recently announced postponing a planned I-375 reconstruction project citing increasing increased costs and community feedback.

The plan would have converted the freeway interchange to ground-level boulevard. The project was to be funded in part by $100 million in federal dollars from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act. The rest of the cost, estimated to be at least $300 million, would have come from the State of Michigan.

When the project was announced in 2022, then-Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttegig characterized the federal project dubbed “Reconnecting Communities” as a reparative one, aimed at fixing injustices created from federal highway construction of the mid-20th century.

The announcement that I-375 would be redesigned raised interest and even optimism. Was this an opportunity to address the wrongs of the past? Was this truly going to help resolve the razing of Detroit’s Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods in the name of paved roads?

There were community input meetings, and the plans presented gained both support and criticism. MDOT hosted a presentation on the history Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods at the Charles H. Wright Museum.

Despite being a controversial project, one of the points that was largely agreed upon was that if the I-375 reconstruction was going to be reparative, there should at least be some recognition of the thriving neighborhoods that Detroiters once called home.

Marcia Black and Lex Draper Garcia Bey from Black Bottom Archives joined Tia Graham on The Metro to share their reaction to the I-375 redesign being paused, and the exhibition on display at the Detroit Historical Museum, “10 Years Back, 10 Years Forward,” on display until September 14, 2025.

Guests: 

• Marcia Black is the director of archives and education at Black Bottom Archives
• Lex Draper Garcia Bey is the director of community engagement and programs at Black Bottom Archives

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Roughly one-third of food grown on U.S. farms never gets eaten. For many Detroiters, food insecurity is a daily concern. Federal cuts to SNAP benefits are coming, and they are expected to hit low-income households in Detroit especially hard. That’s on top of the already-limited access to fresh produce, meat and dairy.

But Detroit’s farming story runs deep. Black farmers have long helped the city feed itself, before and after settlers colonized the area. The historic Black Bottom neighborhood — which was razed to make way for freeways — was named for its rich soil. Now, Detroit is one step closer to adding city-wide composting to its urban agriculture story.

Last week, the city launched a pilot composting program with openings for the 200 people to sign up. Demand was so high that people who wish to sign up are now joining hundreds of others on a wait list. That enthusiasm is good news for proponents of urban agriculture in Detroit.

The City of Detroit’s Director of Sustainability, Tepfirah Rushdan, and the city’s Deputy Director of Urban Agriculture, Patrice Brown, joined The Metro to discuss the enthusiasm for the program, and the future of urban agriculture and sustainability in Detroit.

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