The City of Detroit will spend more than $2 million to expand after-school programs. The funding will allow the nonprofit Get On and Learn or GOAL Line to add programs at four recreation centers and three library branches for all public, charter, and home school students in the city.  

Sheffield says the expansion brings the city one step closer to her goal to have an after-school program within a 2 mile radius of every school in the city.  “So with the support of the city, the state, philanthropic funds, we’re going to keep fighting every day to ensure that every child in this city and every zip code has access to after-school programming. “

The program provides sports, tutoring, and more, plus transportation to participating locations.  

Additional headlines for Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026

Rabbis critique Michigan Democrats, El-Sayed’s stance on Israel

Some liberal rabbis are calling on Michigan Democrats and the party’s U.S. Senate nominee to be more welcoming to Jews. 

Non-negotiable Michigan is asking Abdul El-Sayed and state party leaders to be more forceful about supporting Jewish safety, self-determination and sovereignty in Israel. 

Southfield Rabbi Aaron Starr says he’s concerned about how often Israel is criticized compared to other nations. “We can’t help but hear, when the only Jewish state in the entire world, a tiny fraction, a tiny sliver of the Middle East, let alone the whole population, when it is singled out, as opposed to all the bad actors in this world, we can’t help but hear antisemitism.”

El-Sayed has been working to make amends with Jewish Democrats who voted against him during the primary—often saying he cares about Jewish safety like that of his own daughter 

His Republican opponent, former Congressman Mike Rogers, has been courting support from Jewish voters.

Wayne State receives NIH grant to study air pollution

The National Institutes of Health awards almost $4 million to two Wayne State University researchers. Doctors Marianna Sadagurski and J. Richard Pilsner will use the money to study the impact air pollution in Detroit has on aging and cognitive health. 

Sadagurski’s preliminary research shows exposure to a mix of chemicals in the air impairs cognitive function and causes chronic inflammation. 

Emergency preparedness

Detroit residents can learn basic medical response, disaster preparedness and other critical emergency skills at a training the city is hosting next week. The Community Emergency Response Team Volunteer Training runs from September 17-19 and 26. The free training includes training on using defibrillators, caring for injuries like wounds and fractures, and other life saving skills.

Class times vary by day. Participants must complete all four sessions to receive certification. They take place at Detroit Emergency Management and Homeland Security at 13331 Lyndon. Register at detroitmi.gov/emhs or call 313-596-1742.

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Michigan is in the national spotlight. 

That’s in part because of the state’s open U.S. Senate seat. If Democrats lose, their path to a Senate majority all but closes.

The race can tell us a lot about the direction of the Democratic Party — what is seen as acceptable to voters, and what appears too extreme. 

That’s because trends here represent things happening elsewhere, in places where manufacturing is declining but still deemed important, where wages are stagnating, and where younger people are leaving in hopes of finding greener pastures in other states. 

So, how should we be looking at the Senate race between Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers? What does it tell us about the politics of the median Michigan voter? And what does it say about the kinds of politics that are possible. 

Adrian Hemond is the CEO of the bipartisan advocacy firm, Grassroots Midwest. He’s also a longtime Democrat. He spoke with The Metro‘s Sam Corey.

Editor’s Note: In this conversation, Adrian Hemond said Dr. Abdul El-Sayed has associated with people who have committed acts of antisemitism. He did not name anyone on air, and we did not press him to at the time. We should have. WDET asked Hemond afterward for specifics and reviewed what he provided. None of it involved conduct by Dr. El-Sayed, and we found no evidence supporting the claim as stated. We should not have let it air unchallenged.

An earlier version of this note included material that did not meet our editorial standards.

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This has been a hard moment for many Jewish people. Antisemitism has been on the rise, and Americans’ views of Israel are now mostly negative. 

Those are big changes. And they’re translating into political shifts. 

It’s unknown how a majority of liberal Jewish residents voted during the Democratic Senate Primary. But a lot of older Jews are unsure of how to vote now that Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is the Democratic nominee. Do they support him or do they vote for Republican Mike Rogers?

This question carries weight beyond the election itself. It represents larger quandaries about what it means to be Jewish, about what antisemitism actually is, and about whether one can feel warmth toward Israel while being critical of its government.

Andy Levin organized for unions and served as president of his synagogue before running for office. His uncle, Carl Levin, served 36 years in the U.S. Senate, and his father, Sander Levin, served 36 in the House of Representatives. Andy Levin won his father’s seat in 2018 and held it for four years. Then redistricting put him in a primary against Congresswoman Haley Stevens. A super PAC tied to AIPAC spent more than $4 million to beat him, and it worked.

Levin spoke with host Robyn Vincent about why he’s supporting El-Sayed, and why many Jewish Metro Detroiters are struggling in this political moment.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

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Michigan primaries usually come and go with most people not voting. They’re low-profile elections in August, and turnout tends to land somewhere around a quarter of registered voters. 

Last night was different.

Over 1.5 million ballots were counted in the Democratic Senate primary alone. That’s more than any non-presidential Democratic primary in this state going back to at least 1998.

That race, between Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, is the most expensive Democratic Senate primary in history. El-Sayed won the primary.

Other progressive candidates won their races too: Donovan McKinney won the Democratic nomination for the 13th District seat in the U.S. House against incumbent Shri Thanedar, and Abbas Alawieh won the primary for Michigan senate in the 2nd District. 

Zach Gorchow is president of Gongwer News Service of Michigan and has covered state politics for a long time. He spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent about how this election shook out, and what it may mean come November.

Hear the full conversation using the media player above.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.

Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.

More stories from The Metro