Michigan mass transit agencies are waiting to find out how much money they will get from the state in 2026.

Lawmakers have until October 1 to approve a budget and send it to Governor Gretchen Whitmer to sign.

Transit proposals are similar

The governor, the state House, and the state Senate have all approved $226 million for local bus operating revenue. The House budget proposal adds $60 million in new revenue for transit systems that serve more than 100,000 people. The Senate plan includes $15 million in new funding.

The Michigan Public Transit Association analyzed all three budget plans. It says bus systems would lose an average of 5 or 6 percent in state funding if the $226 million figure is approved.

SMART, Southeast Michigan’s regional bus service, gets about a quarter of its funding from the state. General Manager Tiffany Gunter says the governor’s proposal would cost SMART about $8.6 million.

“We obviously don’t know where those cuts would come from directly today,” Gunter says. “This would have a horrible effect on the region’s ability to move mobility forward.”

Cuts jeopardize improvements

Gunter, who became SMART’s GM in August, says state budget cuts threaten plans to improve customer service. That includes expanding the Flex program, which lets people in about a dozen communities schedule shuttle rides seven days a week.

“We wouldn’t be able to move forward with those improvements to the service and those enhancements, because we just wouldn’t have the funding to do so,” she says. “We’d be looking at areas where we could pull back service instead.”

While the House proposal is more generous than either Whitmer’s or the Senate’s, Gunter says the devil is in the details. To get a share of the extra $60 million, a transit system must get at least 10% of its revenue from rider fares. Gunter says SMART’s farebox recovery ratio is 4%.

“43% of our riders are either seniors or people with disabilities, and those individuals pay a half fare,” she says.

Most funding comes from regional tax

60% of SMART’s revenue comes from a regional transit millage, which enables the agency to offer fare discounts.

Gunter says her goal is to ensure that SMART buses are safe, convenient, and reliable.

“We’re not just moving people here,” she says. “We know that what we do every day gives people access to opportunity.”

SMART says it carries an average of almost 11 million riders per year.

Longtime Detroit businessman and youth advocate Ed Deeb has died. The Michigan Youth Appreciation Foundation says the founder of Metro Detroit Youth Day passed away at home on Sept. 2, 2025. He was 89.

WDET’s Pat Batcheller was there when the Michigan Department of Natural Resources honored Deeb in 2018. Here’s Pat’s report.

The following story was originally published July 11, 2018.

Ed Deeb’s legacy lives on

Tensions were high in Detroit when a grocery store owner and two teenagers were killed in 1980. Then-Detroit Mayor Coleman Young called business leaders into his office, and challenged them to do something to keep young people out of trouble and ease the problems between retailers and the city’s youth. Ed Deeb was in that meeting. He founded the Michigan Food and Beverage Association. Deeb accepted Young’s challenge, and organized an event on Belle Isle. Since then, Metro Detroit Youth Day has become an annual rite of summer for thousands of kids across the city and the region. Deeb, who coached football at Eastern High School, says Belle Isle was a natural choice. 

Pat Batcheller

“We didn’t have a practice field for football. We came here to practice,” Deeb says. “So when they said, ‘where are we going to have this event?’, I said, ‘well, the only thing I could think of is the athletic field at Belle Isle. Nobody’s using it, and we practice there’—so we got the permission to have our first one there, and we did.”

Deeb was disappointed with the turnout for the first Youth Day, which drew about 1,200 people and a few local celebrities. It’s where a young Bruce Ross met his idol, Detroit Lions Hall of Famer Lem Barney. But Ross says Barney didn’t talk to him about football. Instead, he had message for Ross.

“You need to go to college. Make something of yourself,” Ross recalls. “So, Metro Detroit Youth Day has been more than just a fun event, it’s been an event that has reached out to me, have a college education.” 

Ross earned his degree from Wayne State University and now works with Ed Deeb as a Youth Day board member. Education is a key component of Youth Day, which has presented more than 2,000 scholarships to young Metro Detroiters since its inception.

Pat Batcheller

Bruce Ross watched as city and state officials honored Deeb on July 6, 2018. From now on, Vista Avenue will be known as Edward Deeb Avenue. A new, bright blue sign bearing Deeb’s name now overlooks the athletic fields where the event has been held from the beginning. Detroit City Council President Brenda Jones says it’s a fitting tribute.

“And he can know that he has been appreciated, is still appreciated,” Jones says. 

Ed Deeb says he expects the 2018 Metro Detroit Youth Day to attract about 40,000 people to Belle Isle, which is now a state park managed by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Deeb says he’s noticed the difference the DNR has made working with the Belle Isle Conservancy to improve the island for everyone.

“What they’ve done and what the conservancy has done,” Deeb says. “This is a new Belle Isle, and it’s going to get better than ever, and I’m just pleased to be part of it.”

Edward Deeb Avenue ensures he’ll be a part of Belle Isle for this Youth Day and many more to come.

Apple lovers will have plenty to pick this fall. 

The Michigan Apple Committee estimates growers will harvest about 30 million bushels of fruit in 2025. That’s about 1.2 billion pounds. 

Good weather helps

The committee’s executive director, Diane Smith, says the weather has been perfect for growing apples.

“We’ve had a little hail here and there, but generally that stays localized and doesn’t affect the overall crop,” she says. 

Michigan has more than 850 family-owned apple farms and over 17 million trees covering 38,000 acres. 

Smith says new farming methods have yielded several bumper crops.

“We’ve gone to more high-density planting,” she says. “So instead of having 250 trees to an acre, you can have up to 2,000 trees per acre.”

The future could look different

While the weather has been ideal, Smith says climate change could eventually affect the industry.

“As temperatures continue to rise, we’re seeing less rain at different times during the summer,” she says. “In 10 or 15 years, there could be a shift in some of the varieties that we grow.”

Michigan is one of the top three apple producing states, behind Washington. It competes with New York for second place. 

Smith says the industry also competes with other fruits, and that could take a bite out of sales.

“People aren’t eating as many apples as maybe they used to,” she says. “You go into the grocery store, and you can get different products year-round that maybe before you couldn’t get.”

Labor is another challenge

Smith says most Michigan apple farms rely on migrant workers to pick the fruit in the fall. She says that’s costly, but necessary.

“We just don’t have enough domestic workers that want to do the harvest,” she says. “Not many people just want a job for six weeks.”

Smith says she is not aware of any immigration raids at Michigan apple farms this summer. She also says tariffs have had little impact, though some producers face higher prices for imported chemicals to spray their crops. But she says most growers utilize organic methods.

“They don’t want to spray unless they absolutely have to,” she says.

Microplastics are everywhere, including the Great Lakes. They come in many forms, but are typically smaller than 5 millimeters. 

Some wash up on beaches while others end up in the stomachs of fish and birds. 

Scientists are concerned about their impact on human health, too.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy will host its first virtual microplastics summit on October 22.

EGLE environmental quality analyst Eddie Kostelnik says microplastics are ubiquitous.

“We’ve found them in humans and organisms throughout our ecosystem,” he says. 

What are they?

Microplastics come in many types, including scented beads and synthetic clothing fibers. They can also form when larger items such plastic bottles break up over time.

Kostelnik says the summit will explore the risks microplastics pose to human health and the environment.

“I think there are still some holes in terms of human health effects,” he says. “But we have started to see some organism health effects trickle in.”

Experts will also examine how microplastics interact with other contaminants and where they go. 

Researchers make progress, but want to learn more

Kostelnik says research has produced better ways to detect and identify microplastics. He adds it is possible to reduce the amount of microplastics in the lakes.

“There are certainly ways that we can reduce plastic use and replace plastic products with reusable alternatives,” he says.

Kostelnik says anyone who’s interested in the issue can attend the virtual summit, whether they’re experts or not. 

Registration is free.

Detroit City Football Club celebrated the naming of its new stadium with food, music, and artist renderings of the project. 

Club co-founder Sean Mann says the new grounds in southwest Detroit will be called AlumniFi Field. AlumniFi Credit Union is the team’s official financial partner.

The stadium will be located between Corktown and Mexicantown. Representatives from Mexicantown joined Mann for the announcement at The Mercado on Bagley St.  

Mann says the next step in the process is to craft a community benefits agreement with the city and surrounding neighborhoods.

“We’ve been very mindful from day 1 of creating a very neighborhood-oriented facility,” Mann says. “We’ve done over 50 informal and formal meetings with block clubs in the neighborhood.”

More than just a soccer field

Mann says the project will also include 15,000 square feet of retail space around the stadium, a 420-unit parking deck, and 76 units of affordable housing. He also says since the project is privately owned and financed, the club will pay property taxes on it.

Before crews can start building the stadium, they have to tear down the vacant Southwest Detroit Hospital. Mann says they’ve already had a few challenges, including hazardous chemicals in the water on site.

“All the water has been pumped and filtered,” he says. “Now we have to update our environmentals, and that’ll clear the way for us to start demolition shortly.”

Players and supporters react

Mann says the goal is to finish the stadium and open it in time for the club’s 15th anniversary in 2027. Team Captain Stephen Carroll says he hopes to lead Le Rouge onto the pitch. He says he hopes fans and families will be able to enjoy the stadium for generations to come.

“I have a 1-year-old son now, and hopefully he’ll be able to play in this stadium when he gets old enough” the Irish defenseman says. “It’s obviously a great step forward for this club, and the city, and the sport in general.”

DCFC has played its home matches at Keyworth Stadium in Hamtramck since 2016. Northern Guard Supporter Jared Coke of Livonia says it’s a step in the right direction for the club and its fans.

“And not just for our team actually, but for the whole city,” Coke says. “We love soccer, this is a soccer city.”

Detroit’s mayoral candidates agree the city needs more affordable housing but have different ideas to solve the problem. 

Retired businessman Joel Haashiim says if he were mayor, he’d create a municipal building company to manufacture housing. 

“It’s a great industry,” he says. “It’s something where we can create 10,000 Detroit resident jobs.”

Haashiim also says it would diversify the city’s economy.

“We basically rely on the auto plants and the small service industries that maintain the local economy,” he says. “This will give us an opportunity to put billions of dollars into our city treasury, as well as in the community.”

Haashiim says he would also work with financial institutions to make buying a home more affordable.

“30- to 50-year mortgages are what we want to introduce into Detroit,” he says. “This will allow us to compensate for the high cost of building.”

If they build it, will people come?

By creating a larger number of affordable homes, Haashiim says he hopes to accelerate Detroit’s population growth. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city gained about 6,000 residents since the decennial head count in 2020. He says the key is to attract more business.

“We are an international city with no international companies,” Haashiim says. “I’m the only candidate who has done 15 international business delegations around this country, bringing in companies to this metro area.”

Haashiim says he would also invest in public projects and education to lure new residents to Detroit.

“We do want to bring in families,” he says. “We want to make sure we reach out to them as a city that’s interested in making sure that our children can compete in the 21st century.”

Haashiim is one of nine mayoral candidates on the Aug. 5 ballot. Arnold Boyd and Rogelio Landin are running write-in campaigns. The top two finishers in the primary will run against each other in November.

Mayor Mike Duggan is not seeking re-election. He’s waging an independent campaign for governor in 2026.

Learn more about upcoming elections with WDET’s 2025 Detroit Voter Guide »

Wayne State University will field a women’s soccer team in the fall of 2026. It will be the school’s first new varsity sport in over a decade.

WSU’s Director of Athletics, Erika Wallace, says the first order of business is hiring a head coach this year.

“We’re looking at someone who has ties to the area for recruitment purposes,” she says. “We’re also looking at head coaching experience, assistant coaching experience, some club coaching experience as well.”

Expanding opportunities for women

Wallace reviewed the athletic program when she took the job and found a need for more women student-athletes. She says adding soccer will help WSU comply with Title IX, a federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination in education.

“Proportionality is one of the prongs that you look at,” she says. “We have to make accommodations in order to stay relevant and in compliance with Title IX.”

Wallace says this will attract more students to WSU.

“We’re the only school in our conference that doesn’t have women’s soccer,” she says. “People will want to come here and play.”

The support is there

Wallace says funding for the new women’s soccer team will come from the athletic department’s general fund as well as philanthropic donations.

She also says Detroit’s soccer culture will sustain the program.

“We have some of the best clubs in the country here,” Wallace says.

Wayne State has a partnership with Detroit City Football Club, which fields men’s, women’s and youth sides.

Wallace says WSU will make some upgrades to the soccer pitch behind Tom Adams Field before the women’s team starts play.