This week on MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben discuss bills introduced both in the Michigan House and Senate aimed at curbing distractions in the classroom by limiting cell phone use in class.

Also, former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox stops by to talk about his motivation behind running for governor.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• Competing bills in the state Legislature to restrict cell phone use in schools
• Former Michigan AG Mike Cox joining the gubernatorial race
• Cox’s recent comments on X about Congressman John James

Lawmakers in Lansing are debating policies to help curb cell phone use by students during school time.

Both the state House and Senate are moving competing legislation to limit cell phone use in the classroom. The Senate bill passed 28-9 last week. In the House, a more restrictive bill advanced out of committee Wednesday that would prohibit cell phone use in schools based on grade level and other factors.

“Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has called for the Legislature to act on this issue,” Roth said. “What the final versions of these bills look like and what she actually ends up signing — if anything — remains to be seen.”

Cox announced his candidacy for governor last month, joining Republicans U.S. Rep. John James, state Sen. Aric Nesbitt and former U.S. House candidate Anthony Hudson.

The former Attorney General — who served from 2003-2011 — previously ran for governor in 2010 but lost in the Republican primary. He says he was motivated to run again because “there’s a real hunger for leadership and change.”

“The Michigan that I grew up in, that my parents came to, has fallen behind so many other states,” Cox said. “Now my granddaughters in Hernando, Mississippi go to schools that perform better than the schools in my neighborhood in Livonia, Michigan. That’s a civil wrong, that’s immoral, and that’s absolutely wrong to our children and to the residents of our state.”

He also spoke to his growth in experience since he last ran for governor.

“Since then…I started my own business. I went from $400,000 in my first year in business to $30 million now in about 12 years,” he said. “It was fun and a lot of anxiety at first because I have never been in the private sector before. I think it really rounded me out as a candidate.”

Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson are seeking the Democratic nomination in the August primary. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is also running as an independent.  

The general election will be held Nov. 3, 2026.

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More from WDET:

• The Metro: Should cell phones be restricted in Michigan schools?
• Detroit Evening Report: Former Michigan AG Mike Cox announces bid for governor
• Rep. John James seeks GOP nomination for Michigan governor

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said Thursday she does not expect to file any more charges after alleging a former top House staffer siphoned off money for his own use from funds earmarked for a $25 million health facility project in Clare.

The charges allege David Coker, who was an aide to then-House Speaker Jason Wentworth, spent $820,000 that was supposed to be used for the project to, instead, buy coins, gold bars and firearm accessories, among other things. At a press conference to announce the charges, Nessel said a dearth of relevant experience by a grant seeker should be a warning signal.  

“They have no track record,” she said. “They can’t show that they’ve done anything in terms of major projects that have been successful of this kind or really even any kind at all. So, that’s a major red flag.”

The earmark was slipped into the 2023 state budget anonymously, which was allowed at the time. Since then, the Legislature adopted rules that require every earmark to have a sponsor, and the House requires those sponsors’ names to be made public before budget votes.

Nessel said ending anonymous earmarks is a step in the right direction.

“I’m very encouraged by these actions to bring more sunshine into the appropriations process and support any further guardrails the Legislature sees fit to prevent fraudsters from stealing our hard-working tax dollars,” she said.

Coker was charged Wednesday with seven felonies alleging he misused public funds. Nessel alleges the fraud was committed using faked invoices from his for-profit consulting firm.

Coker’s not-for-profit organization, Complete Health Park, was paid $9.9 million from the grant before the funding was halted. Nessel said her office is looking into how it might recoup the expended funds.

The not-for-profit paid $3.5 million for the property, which was purchased from state Representative Tom Kunse (R-Clare). Nessel said Kunse is not suspected of wrongdoing.

Coker’s attorney said his client was cooperating with the inquiry, and the charges came out of the blue. Joshua Blanchard told Michigan Public Radio his client was trying to bring a major project to build a health services campus to Clare.

 “He disclosed everything to the state, been aboveboard about every bit of it all along and, for whatever reason, Dana’s office decided they wanted a press conference and so they issued charges,” said Blanchard.

The next step will be for the state to outline the charges and the evidence to a judge  at a preliminary hearing scheduled for May 23.

Nessel’s office is also looking into two other cases of possible earmark fraud, including spending by a not-for-profit formed by businesswoman and major Democratic Party donor Fay Beydoun on a $4,500 coffeemaker and first-class plane tickets and a $2 million grant to fund a study on bringing low-orbit rocket launch sites to Michigan.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills Wednesday to give state officials another month to file asset and financial disclosure reports as the state tries to fix its filing website. Without the new law, the filing deadline would be Thursday and many officials would be in violation.

“Michiganders deserve to know how their government is working for them,” Whitmer said in a statement released by her office. “That’s why I’m proud to sign Senate Bills 99 and 100, so we can cut confusing red tape, help more Michiganders run for office, and increase transparency in our government.”

The reports are required under a 2022 voter-approved amendment to the Michigan Constitution, although it’s up to the Legislature and the governor to adopt laws to comply with the constitutional provision. The proposal also made changes to Michigan’s term-limits amendment.

The filing process for the reports has been bedeviled by system crashes and other problems that would prevent lawmakers from meeting the deadline and have made it difficult for the public to access the records.

Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater) said the fix is long overdue and complained that the Secretary of State’s office kept making changes to the disclosure forms.

“Let’s not forget as we’re [passing the bills to push back the filing deadline] that the reason we have to is because Secretary of State [Jocelyn] Benson could not read the law, she could not understand the law and she could not manage a department to implement the law and run a basic website that allowed us to plug in the information,” he said in a speech prior to votes to finalize the bills.

A spokesperson for Benson said her department “has been working nights and weekends to make sure the online system is ready” by the deadline.

The new law moves the deadline to June 13, specifies a form to be used and allows filing by email while the problems are fixed.

“Ultimately, we want this to be accessible,” said Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield), a bill sponsor who also chairs the Senate Elections and Ethics Committee. “We want legislators to have ease of filling it out and we want the public to have the ease of accessing it.”

Moss said a smoothly operating system is necessary to give the public a view into sources of income and assets that might present a conflict of interest.

“So that if somebody introduces a bill you can easily go into this database, this publicly available database, look up the lawmaker and say, hey, this person is introducing this bill, but they’ve got a financial interest to introduce this bill,” he told the Michigan Public Radio Network. “Then you’d be able to call it out and then voters would be able to make their decision about it.”

But a spokesperson for Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the department is concerned provisions in the new law will actually reduce transparency.

“Specifically, these bills do not require officials to describe the value of their assets, investments, and liabilities,” said Department of State Chief Communications Officer Angela Benander in an emailed statement.

“Michigan is behind nearly every other state in requiring transparency from lawmakers and public officials,” she said. “We should be doing everything we can to make our state a leader for government transparency and accountability.”  

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Thursday in a case challenging President Donald Trump’s order limiting who is entitled to birthright citizenship.

Use the media player below to hear the arguments live, beginning at 10 a.m.

A Michigan judge has granted a permanent injunction against three of the state’s remaining abortion restrictions, declaring they violate the Reproductive Freedom for All constitutional amendment voters passed in 2022.

The court’s ruling affirms the amendment established even broader reproductive rights for Michigan citizens than they had under Roe v. Wade, and eliminates a 24-hour mandatory waiting period, a mandatory informed consent form, and a ban on advanced practice clinicians performing abortions. The court had previously granted a temporary injunction against these three restrictions last year.

Tuesday’s ruling did, however, uphold the legality of one of the laws challenged by the plaintiffs, Northland Family Planning Centers and Medical Students for Choice: a law requiring abortion providers to counsel and screen patients for “coercion to abortion,” and requiring clinics post notices that it’s illegal in Michigan to coerce someone to have an abortion.

Abortion rights supporters argued the restrictions were medically unnecessary and intended to create barriers to abortion.

“It’s about time that these unnecessary and stigmatizing barriers to care are finally thrown out for good,” said Renee Chelian, executive director of Northland Family Planning Centers, said in a press release Tuesday. Northland Family Planning filed the lawsuit last year with Medical Students for Choice, along with the Center for Reproductive Rights.

“Our patients no longer have to worry that they may not be able to get the time-sensitive care they need. These restrictions are an insult to our patients, who know what’s best for themselves,” Chelian said.

But abortion rights opponents, who campaigned against the 2022 ballot proposal, said the ruling was “bad news for women.”

“At the same time, abortion complications have skyrocketed, removing standardized informed consent about abortion procedures, possible complications, and alternatives to abortion is a disservice to women,” Genevieve Marnon of Right to Life of Michigan said via email.

State data shows that in 2023, “total immediate complications” following an abortion occurred at an average rate of 5.1 for every 10,000 abortions performed. Between 2020-2022, before the constitutional amendment, the average rate was 1.6 for for every 10,000 abortions performed. Both are far below the most recent data available for complications following hospital deliveries. The state abolished its mandatory abortion reporting system in 2024.

“The injunction demonstrates how radical and abortion obsessed our state has become,” Marnon said.

What did these abortion restrictions mean? 

On paper, the restrictions being challenged sound pretty straight-forward: only physicians can provide abortions, and patients have to sign an informed consent form and wait 24 hours.

But abortion providers said at least 150 people a month would miss their appointments, because patients would make a mistake with the paperwork process required to meet the state’s 24-hour mandatory waiting period and consent form. That includes patients who’ve increasingly been traveling from out-of-state since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.

In practice, the waiting period and informed consent requirements have been combined into a single form, accessible only through a state website, that patients had to sign no more than two weeks, but no less than 24 hours, before their appointment, then print the time-stamped form and bring it to their appointment.

Renee Chelian, the founder and executive director of Northland’s clinics, testified about a patient who “came in at 23.6 weeks (the legal cut-off in Michigan) but who had not printed the time-stamped form from the DHHS website,” the Michigan Court of Claims Judge Sima G. Patel wrote in the order issued Tuesday. That patient had to be referred to providers in other states, because Northland “could not legally provide the service the next day.”

Other patients were “denied a medication abortion” (which is an option in the first 11 weeks of pregnancy) and instead were “forced to undergo a more invasive procedure with higher risk because of the 24-hour delay,” the order said.

The judge cited figures provided by Chelian estimating “that approximately 10 patients were turned away each month for failure to provide” the required forms.

The court ruled that the 24-hour mandatory waiting period “burdens and infringes on patients’ rights to reproductive freedom” by “increasing costs, prolonging wait times, increasing the risk that a patient will have to disclose their decision to others, and potentially forcing the patient to forgo a medication about for a more invasive procedure.”

Other materials patients were required to review, which included information about contraception and fetal development, are “coercive and stigmatizing,” the court ruled.

And the limitation on abortion providers, which effectively bans advanced practice clinicians like nurse practitioners from providing abortions “arbitrarily limits abortion providers to physicians only,” according to the ruling. That “exacerbates existing provider shortages, leading to large swathes of Michigan without access to nearby abortion care.”

But the judge disagreed with plaintiffs that state requirements to screen for someone being coerced to get an abortion “burden or infringe” on a patient’s access to the procedure, as “nothing in the statutes requires providers to ask specific or direct questions” and providers can “tailor their questions and interact with patients in an organic way.”

What the ruling means for future abortion battles

Since Michigan voters passed some of the broadest reproductive rights in the nation, numerous other states have followed suit. But Michigan has also illustrated how it’s one thing to have those rights on paper, while in reality, figuring out what they mean in practice requires years of legislative and legal battles.

Democrats have previously tried, and failed, to get several of these restrictions overturned in Lansing. And that was even when their party controlled all three branches of state government. Since then, abortion rights supporters have turned to the courts as the next-best option, in this case as well as others.

But abortion rights opponents say Michigan voters never intended to create rights beyond those protected under Roe, and point to efforts to repeal the state’s ban on Medicaid funding for abortions and parental consent laws as “radical” and out-of-step with the majority.

In this ruling, the court specifically lays out how Michigan’s constitutional amendment provides abortion protections beyond what Roe guaranteed. “Michigan voters dramatically changed the Michigan Constitution by adopting the RFFA,” the judge wrote.

Last weekend, the Trump administration reduced tariffs on Chinese imports from 145% to 30%

James Hohman, director of fiscal policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, thinks tariffs are a bad idea because they make both trade partners worse off. 

Metro Producer Sam Corey spoke with Hohman this week about tariffs and whether there are any instances in which they can be useful.

“Protectionist policies have proven to be ineffective time and time again,” Hohman said. “…the only way to ensure a mature, thriving and growing industry is by staying on the competitive edge, and protections pull you away from the competitive edge.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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

More stories from The Metro

Former state Sen. Adam Hollier announced last month that he is again running for Congress to unseat U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Detroit).

Hollier filed to run against Thanedar in 2024, but was removed from the ballot after the Wayne County Clerk’s Office said he failed to get enough valid petition signatures.

The Detroit Democrat joined The Metro on Tuesday to discuss the biggest issues he believes metro Detroiters in the state’s 13th Congressional District are facing, along with what inspired him to run again.

“I live in the 13th District, I have been born and raised in the 13th District, I’m raising my children in the 13th District,” Hollier said. “It is one of the poorest districts in the country, and what you should expect from your members of Congress — your elected representatives at any level — is that they are moving the ball forward. That they are making your life actually better. That they are delivering things that have a real impact, and that’s not what we’re seeing from Congressman Thanedar.”

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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

More stories from The Metro

Health care advocates are pushing back against a new congressional Republican plan that would make cuts to Medicaid. In Michigan, that includes services for people enrolled in the Healthy Michigan Medicaid expansion plan that was adopted in 2013.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says 2.6 million Michiganders are enrolled in Medicaid. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration issued a report earlier this month — before the Sunday-night rollout of the GOP budget proposal — warning of the potential impact of Medicaid cuts by the federal government.

“It’s foundational to our health care system, whether you rely on Medicaid or access healthcare through another payer,” said Monique Stanton of the Michigan League for Public Policy, a human services advocacy organization.

Stanton said one in four Michiganders get health coverage through Medicaid. She said that means hospitals and other providers rely on Medicaid funding to keep their doors open for people who come in with Medicaid, private coverage or no insurance at all.

Stanton said the 2014 Healthy Michigan Medicaid expansion cut in half the amount of money that care providers were losing by treating people who could not afford to pay. She said that helped many rural hospitals and clinics keep operating.

“We did not necessarily have the rate of health care and hospital closures in other states – specifically states that did not have expanded Medicaid,” she said during a media call reacting to the GOP plan. “So, this could really have a specific impact in rural Michigan.”

Anthony Wright with the health care advocacy organization Families USA said the GOP plan would essentially push people off the Medicaid rolls “by putting paperwork and bureaucratic barriers in the way of people getting on and staying on health coverage.”

“This means asking many to re-enroll not just once but twice a year,” he said. “This means having more convoluted and complex requirements for determining eligibility and income that could otherwise be done easily and electronically. And this means work-reporting requirements even though the overwhelming majority of non-elderly, non-disabled adults on Medicaid are working, but simply at low-income jobs that don’t provide health coverage.”

Republicans behind the proposal have said it’s necessary to cut waste and reach the Trump administration’s budget-cutting goals, and to sustain a tax cut from President Donald Trump’s first administration. 

A fetus would count as a dependent for Michigan taxes under a bill getting hearing Tuesday before the state House Finance Committee.

The bill would apply to people who are at least 10 weeks pregnant by the end of the tax year. A doctor would have to verify that pregnancy status.

State Rep. Gina Johnsen (R-Lake Orion) sponsors the bill. In an interview, Johnsen said she hopes it encourages more people to start families.

“Everything costs more to just survive, raise a family, take care of yourself. But, even starting at pregnancy, the costs go up. And this bill is to recognize that that’s when the costs start, not just when a child is born,” Johnsen said.

The personal exemption allowed under Michigan tax law is adjusted each year. For the 2024 tax year, it added up to $5,600 for each person and dependent.

Critics of the bill question whether it would truly provide enough support for new families.

Danielle Atkinson is the founder of the group Mothering Justice. Atkinson said she’s skeptical the bill would provide meaningful help for mothers.

“If this was in good faith, we would definitely be looking at the true cost of care, money that’s lost when you are out of work. And just overall what it takes to raise a child in this society,” Atkinson said.

She estimated it costs upwards of $14,000 each year to raise an infant, when accounting for childcare, food, clothes and other costs. Meanwhile, she raised concerns that the legislation could also have implications for talks around access to abortion.

In 2022, Georgia became the first state that offers such a tax exemption for fetuses after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. That legislation was tied to Georgia’s fetal heartbeat law.

Johnsen said her bill, however, was based on the federal WIC program. That program offers food assistance to low income pregnant people, nursing mothers, and families of young children.

“I just want the moms to have an opportunity to have some assistance here and recognize that this is financially more difficult than not having a baby,” Johnsen said.

But Atkinson said expanding other programs, like Rx Kids, which gives checks to mothers of newborns are better uses of time and money.

“We have to think in the totality of when we’re talking about moms and families and babies, what does the most good and we need to put our attention and our resources behind those initiatives,” Atkinson said.

The bill is inching along in the state legislature at a time when House Republicans are also calling for across-the-board income tax cuts, setting aside more funding for roads, and cutting back budget spending.

Democrats have pushed back, arguing that those policies could put public services and social safety net spending at risk. Senate Democrats, however, have still called for the creation of what they describe as a “working parents tax credit.”

Johnsen defended her push for another cut, saying there are places to cut waste in the budget.

“We say we’re looking out for the most vulnerable. Well, the most vulnerability are the babies and the pregnant moms and the elderly and the veterans. They have to come first. Or we don’t have a thriving and strong society,” Johnsen said.

She said she expects the bill to come to a vote in the Michigan House of Representatives within the coming weeks.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A lawmaker from Detroit is joining the crowded field of Democrats vying for the battleground state’s open Senate seat, one of the most critical races as the party aims to regain a majority in the 2026 midterm election.

Michigan state Rep. Joe Tate launched his campaign Sunday to compete against three other Democrats seeking the seat left open by retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Tate spoke about his campaign goals and referenced his grandparents, who came to Detroit from Alabama as part of the Great Migration.

“I’m running for the U.S. Senate, because I want to continue to keep that promise that my grandparents came up to Michigan for,” he said.

To become the Democratic nominee, the former marine and NFL football player will have to convince voters to look past significant setbacks to the state party under his leadership.

Tate made history in 2022 when he became the first Black speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, the highest position in the chamber. That fall, Democrats swept statewide offices and gained historic “trifecta” control of both chambers of the Legislature and the governor’s office.

Democrats passed significant legislation on gun control, climate change, reproductive rights and labor, repealing the state’s “right to work” law.

But their momentum stalled ahead of the 2024 fall elections and fell apart after Republicans won back the state House in November. Tate announced after the election that he would not seek a leadership role among House Democrats the next year.

In the final days of the legislative session, internal divisions among Democrats caused Tate to abruptly end the session. The move effectively killed dozens of bills including key Democratic priorities on economic development, road funding, ghost guns and reproductive health data.

Republicans took control in January, and the Legislature has been deadlocked on most topics since.

Many Democrats and Republicans alike have blamed Tate for disastrous final days when Democrats still had control.

Nine bills from the 2024 session approved by both chambers have still not been presented to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The new Republican speaker of the House has said it was Tate’s job to get them to Whitmer’s desk.

“It’s just unfortunate that some people decided to stop coming to work when the job wasn’t done,” Tate said in response, referencing one Democrat and the entire Republican caucus who boycotted the final days of session in order to stall it.

Tate said he is proud of the work Democrats accomplished while they held the majority in the Legislature, referencing legislation on universal background checks to purchase firearms and free breakfast and lunch for school children.

“I see kids with full bellies in schools because of what we did,” he said.

A deep bench of Democrats began to eye the U.S. Senate seat after Peters this year announced plans to retire at the end of his term. U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow and former gubernatorial candidate and public health official Abdul El-Sayed have all launched campaigns for the position.

On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers is running again after losing to Democrat Elissa Slotkin in the state’s 2024 U.S. Senate race by just 19,000 votes.

–Reporting by Isabella Volmert, Associated Press

In this epsiode of MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben and Zach Gorchow sit down with State Senator Mallory McMorrow to discuss why she’s running for Michigan’s open US Senate seat.

Plus, people have grown accustomed to remote work since the pandemic, but is it here to stay? We discuss how remote work has affected state government employees and whether Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will have them return to in-person work full time.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• Is remote work here to stay for state government employees?
• Discussing the cost of remote work
• State Senator Mallory McMorrow on her run for Michigan’s open US Senate seat

Democrats nationally have been struggling to form an identity since the recent presidential elections. McMorrow said that while establishment Democrats may not be meeting the moment, newer voices could help give the party a stronger sense of direction. 

“My sense is that the Democratic Party needs a shakeup, but that’s not going to come from the party itself,” she said. “It is going to come again from candidates and people, in every state across the country, running the types of campaigns that are going to reshape what this party is, how it presents itself.”

In addition to McMorrow, former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed and 11th Congressional District Representative Haley Stevens are also running for the state’s open senate seat as Democrats. The election will take place Nov. 3, 2026.  

At the beginning of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s new memoir, armed protesters surround her house.

It’s December 2020, one month after the presidential election that Joe Biden won. He was not the preferred candidate of the armed mob shouting outside Benson’s home. 

The protestors yelled “treason” and “lock her up.”

In the moment, Michigan’s top election official tried to play it cool, all while her 4-year-old son sat unknowingly in front of the television watching “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Benson was indeed scared that night. But as she points out in her book, “The Purposeful Warrior,” “standing up to bullies” is nothing new for her. 

She did it investigating white supremacists in the American South, while she was dean of Wayne State’s law school, and during her tenure as Michigan’s Secretary of State amid President Donald Trump’s lies of a stolen election.

Benson joined The Metro this week to discuss her new book and why she is running to be Michigan’s next governor.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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

More stories from The Metro

For the first time in over a decade, Mayor Mike Duggan will not be on the ballot for Detroit mayor.

The longtime Democrat announced in December that he’ll instead be campaigning (as an independent) for Michigan governor — opening up a competitive field of candidates vying to fill his shoes.

That includes former Detroit police Chief James Craig, Detroit Councilmember Fred Durhal, Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, former nonprofit CEO Saunteel Jenkins and attorney Todd Perkins. 

As mayor, Duggan prioritized ridding the city of blight, revitalizing parks and recreation centers, and decreasing crime with the help of initiatives like community violence intervention programs.

Today on The Metro, BridgeDetroit reporter Malachi Barrett breaks down the Detroit mayoral race and the candidates’ priorities for the city. We also revisit a recent conversation with Detroit Future City CEO Anika Goss about what she believes the city’s new leadership should be prioritize.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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

A recent report from the state health department says big federal spending cuts threaten Medicaid benefits for 700,000 people in Michigan.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order in April asking the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to conduct a study into how Medicaid cuts would affect Michiganders.

The report found that Michigan could lose $1.1 billion dollars a year in funding. Michigan hospitals could also lose billions of dollars, resulting in  hundreds of millions less for nursing homes.

“Medicaid provides a lifeline to 2.6 million Michiganders, and the huge, proposed cuts will terminate coverage for our neighbors, family, and friends who need it most,” said Whitmer in a statement.

Republican leaders say Medicaid is off the table, but many budget experts say GOP spending targets can’t be met without touching health care. 

Other headlines for Wednesday, May 7, 2025:

• The United Auto Workers union held rallies in Trenton and Warren this week to demand Stellantis move production work to the U.S., and Michigan in particular.
• Detroit City Councilmember Gabriela Santiago-Romero says she is certified to appear on the August primary ballot. The city elections department disqualified her over a late fee it said she failed to pay.
  Santiago-Romero contested the penalty, saying she did pay it, and that her disqualification was due to a clerical error.
• Construction crews have begun building the Detroit Grand Prix racetrack around the Renaissance Center. Race organizers say it’ll take about a week less to set up for the race this year thanks to a new wall and fence design. The races runs May 30 through June 15.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

Voters across metro Detroit made key decisions on school funding, local government changes, and city leadership in the May 6 special election.

To learn more about this special election visit the “Michigan special elections: What metro Detroiters should know before May 6” published on May 2, 2025

Ferndale voters approved both a school improvement bond (70% yes) and a Headlee override millage (58% yes).

Redford Union School District passed a $44 million bond proposal with 54% support.

Southgate Community Schools saw all three of its funding proposals pass.

Mount Clemens voters rejected a $91.8 million bond proposal for school upgrades, with 67% voting no.

Lamphere Schools in Madison Heights also failed to secure an $85 million bond, with 58% opposed.

Clawson voters turned down two charter amendments related to city council size and term lengths.

In Wyandotte, Mayor Robert DeSana was reelected with 79% of the vote. Six city council members were also elected, and three administrative offices were uncontested.

For full details, visit the Detroit Free Press election coverage.

Know your rights

Michigan’s primary election will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. Check back for updates to WDET’s Voter Guide as the election gets closer.

Enforcement for the Real ID Act starts on May 7. State issued driver’s licenses and IDs that are not Real ID compliant will no longer be accepted at checkpoints at the airport.

A Real ID in Michigan will have either a gold circle with star design or a Michigan silhouette with star.

The Real ID Act was passed in 2005 as an effort to create a national standard for obtaining an identification card.

You can still convert your ID to a REAL ID after the deadline at a Secretary of State.

When do I need a REAL ID?

• When boarding a domestic flight in the U.S.
• When entering a military base or nuclear power plant
• When visiting certain federal buildings

How Is the REAL ID different from my Enhanced ID?

An Enhanced ID allows for border and sea crossings — for example: you can enter Canada by land or sea, but you cannot fly into the country. You cannot use an Enhanced ID in place of a passport. An Enhanced ID is an acceptable form of identification for domestic flights.

What do I need to get a REAL ID?

Visit a Secretary of State office and bring:

• Your current state-issued ID
• A valid, unexpired U.S. passport, birth certificate, or qualifying immigration document such as an I-551 Permanent Resident Card or foreign passport with a U.S. visa. If you have specific questions about documents that qualify, please contact the Department of State Information Center at (888) SOS-MICH (767-6424)
• A certified legal name-change document, if your name is different from what is on your birth certificate

There’s no added charge for converting to REAL ID if you do so at the time of renewing or replacing your license or ID. Otherwise, there is a correction fee ($9 for license; $10 for ID) to convert to REAL ID.

I don’t have a REAL ID. Can I still fly domestically?

Yes, but expect longer wait times and additional screening at checkpoints.

Other forms of acceptable ID for domestic flights include:

• State-issued Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) or Enhanced ID (EID)
• U.S. passport
• U.S. passport card
• DHS trusted traveler cards (Global Entry, NEXUS, SENTRI, FAST)
• U.S. Department of Defense ID, including IDs issued to dependents
• Permanent resident card
• Border crossing card
• An acceptable photo ID issued by a federally recognized Tribal Nation/Indian Tribe, including Enhanced Tribal Cards (ETCs)
• HSPD-12 PIV card
• Foreign government-issued passport
• Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
• Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC)
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766)
• U.S. Merchant Mariner Credential
• Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

Do I need a REAL ID to vote?

All state-issued identification cards will be accepted at voting polls. Voters who do not have valid state-issued identification or another accepted identity document may sign an Affidavit of Identity.

Can non-US citizens apply for a REAL ID?

If you are a lawfully present non-U.S. citizen, including permanent and non-permanent residents, you are eligible to apply for a REAL ID driver’s license or ID card or turn your current Michigan driver’s license or state ID into a REAL ID. In either case, you’ll need to schedule an office visit at a Michigan Secretary of State branch office and bring the required legal presence document. It’s important to note that some documents already in the possession of non-US citizens qualify as REAL ID and will be acceptable for flying domestically when the law goes into effect on May 7, 2025. These include:  

• Permanent resident card
• Foreign government-issued passport
• Canadian provincial driver’s license or Indian and Northern Affairs Canada card
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Employment Authorization Card (I-766) 

The Black Church – and their leaders – are woven deep into Detroit politics. Pastors were instrumental in unifying congregations and public support during the civil rights movement.

Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and Representative Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) are among those who have made the jump from the pulpit to Congress. So political aspirations for spiritual leaders is not uncommon.

In Detroit, the city is looking for a new mayor. There are a dozen people in the running. Among those vying for the job is Reverend Solomon Kinloch Jr. of Triumph Church – which boasts 40-thousand members across Detroit, Flint and Southfield.

1:1 with Rev. Solomon Kinloch Jr. 

In an interview with Detroit Public Radio’s Russ McNamara, Kinloch lays out what he thinks the city needs out of its next mayor.

Rev. Solomon Kinloch: We are at a point right now where we don’t just need an executive and an administrator. We need a unifier, but more importantly, we need a builder. And that’s what I’ve been doing for 27 years as a community leader.

Russ McNamara: Do you see the job of mayor as similar to your current job?

SK: Dr Frederick Sampson, who was a pastor of another generation right here in the city of Detroit, used to say that the church’s address is a compilation of multiple addresses. And so it’s not that people are beaming out of another place to come to this place. They comprise and they populate this place. So it gives me a unique capacity every weekend and every day during the week, when we meet to hear the intimate concerns of people. And one of the concerns Russ that people have, they have a distrust of institutional politicians. They want government to just work good. And we got to get back to making sure that government is working good for the people it’s supposed to work good for

RM: So, what is the best way to kind of build these coalitions and build Detroit up?

SK: I believe we got tremendous stakeholders and resources, but also relationships in the city of Detroit, I believe, bringing together our residents, bringing together our Black presidents, bringing together our union leaders, bringing together for lot philanthropical leaders, bringing together also our corporate leaders, coming together (with) activists and advocates, coming together in a round table, and not having people Lord their will or their agenda on us, but convening a table where people can collectively be a part of their own destiny and their design.

RM: Attendance has been dropping fairly steadily over the past several decades, especially among younger folks. Politicians, of which you now are, dream of courting the younger vote. What have you done in your own congregation about reaching out to youth?

“Church is not just interested in worshiping on the weekend, but doing the work for the betterment of people every day during the week.”
– Rev. Solomon Kinlock

SK: People want to be a part of something that’s doing something because you can do good. And so one of the things that we have sought to do is partner, not just our worship on the weekend, but also giving people an opportunity where they can participate in the building of their community. The fabric of my whole life is woven together by that thread of commonality. I came from the New Bethel Baptist Church where my pastor was the Reverend Robert Smith, Jr, who currently serves there. Aretha Franklin’s father, C.L. Franklin was his predecessor, and all we know how to do is not to use the pulpit as a pedestal to promote a person, but we were taught that the pulpit is a platform to lift an entire community of people. And I believe that when people see that, particularly young people, see that. Church is not just interested in worshiping on the weekend, but doing the work for the betterment of people every day during the week. They want to be a part of that.

RM: You don’t have any plans to step down from your current position.

SK: I will, as mayor, continue to preach on the weekend, but the day to day operations are already being managed by a tremendous executive team.

RM: Your announcement was well attended at the Fox Theater. How do you plan to walk that tightrope so your congregation is uplifting the Lord and not the person who happens to be running for mayor?

SK: Triumph church is 105 years of age. They understand that is bigger than me, is bigger than all of us. We have a responsibility in our present age in order to live in a way where we leave a better world when we leave it than the way we walked into it. And the church was there long before I showed up. It was more than 70 years long before I showed up. We want to make sure with this moment that it is there long after we’re gone.

This year marks a time of transition in the city of Detroit.

Voters will elect a new leader of the city to replace long-time Mayor Mike Duggan, who is leaving to run for governor.

And experts at the think tank Detroit Future City predict the new mayor will face several challenges, like building new infrastructure to handle flooding and power outages.

But the group’s CEO, Anika Goss, told WDET one of the core issues the city must focus on is growing a sector some analysts say is disappearing — Detroit’s middle class.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Anika Goss, Detroit Future City: We use the language of “middle class,” but you can also use the language of “middle wage,” those within the median income for Detroit. And this particular demographic trend we really feel is important, because this is generally your tax base. They are staying in homes, buying homes, investing in their communities. And we want to focus on this because it is the largest demographic to leave Detroit.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: What would you advise Detroit’s next mayor to do to help grow that segment of the populace?

AG: First, develop the neighborhoods. Make the neighborhoods places that would retain and attract middle-class households. The second issue is, how can Detroiters grow wealth and remain in Detroit? What kind of jobs are there nearby and available that actually have a middle-class wage, not only entry wages but also growth wages. It’s an environment that also creates strong businesses and entrepreneurs that can actually grow their own business. These are elements that can appeal to middle-class households. Two other things that I think are really important, and this can be tough for mayors, but they’re going to have to figure out property taxes. They are still uneven and very, very high in Detroit. So really thinking about what can we do to stabilize and lower the property tax rate. And second, work cooperatively with the schools, public and private and charter, so that the education system in Detroit also becomes something to attract and retain families.

QK: When you talk about raising incomes, outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan has touted how many companies he says have located in the city over the last decade or so. And oftentimes those businesses are supposed to give first preference for new hires to Detroiters. The city also has work training programs available. Would you say the next mayor should they try to build on that or go beyond it somehow?

AG: I think build AND go beyond. I think what was great about the Duggan administration is that he did really set this environment of Detroit being a place for you to invest in. And it was at a time when a lot of companies were not thinking of coming here. Now they are. But what we found is that a lot of the companies are still looking at Detroit proper as a place for low-wage labor. We have to really market Detroit as a place that has talent for a diversity of income ranges. Really work with these companies to ensure the jobs that we’re receiving in Detroit are jobs where you can actually grow your wage over time. I feel like there were really good deals made for low and moderate wages earners. There are people who are out of work that definitely need those jobs. But we can’t just stop there and declare it a success. We have to also really consider how we bring in other jobs and prepare Detroiters for those other jobs that are making a higher wage.

QK: Along with the income and job situation, people in the city have talked for years about the overall development in Detroit seeming to focus on the downtown area. And how does it get out to the neighborhoods? Duggan, for one, had launched a series of projects to try to strengthen various blocks in the city. Again, is there something you think the next mayor should do to go beyond that? Or should they try some entirely new approach?

AG: I think that it will be imperative for the next mayor to take the Strategic Neighborhood Fund and other neighborhood initiatives even further. To really create neighborhoods that have a diversity of housing choices, that have amenities and that are looking at places for investment in these areas. There’s still several neighborhoods in Detroit where there are no mortgages, whole census tracts that do not have mortgages in Detroit. The next mayor will have that challenge of not just stabilizing the strategic neighborhood places but also thinking about where else throughout the city can we target for a variety of households and a variety of incomes. You should be able to live in a neighborhood and increase your income and not have to move out of the city. You should be able to identify neighborhoods where you can do that. And right now, even with the Strategic Neighborhood Fund initiative, there’s still only 12 middle-class neighborhoods in Detroit out of more than 200 census tracts. We still have a long way to go.

QK: Do you think there’ll be enough funding available to push such efforts?

AG: There’s never enough money to do all of the things that we want to do. You really are going to have to prioritize. And if the North Star for the next mayor is, “How do we actually lay out a growth plan for Detroit and Detroiters?” That’s a very different proposition than thinking broadly about how to make Detroit better. I feel like the Duggan administration got us to this point. It’s really important now for the next mayor to take it even further. It’s something that is absolutely imperative. I don’t see an alternative.

President Donald Trump marked his 100th day in office on Tuesday by visiting the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County, where he announced a new fighter jet mission at the base. This week on MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben and Zach Gorchow spoke about the base’s history and significance to the region.

Also, Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) stopped by to talk about his run for governor and his vision for the state.

Subscribe to MichMash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode:

• President Trump rallies in Michigan for 100th day
• Historical and political significance of Selfridge
• Sen. Nesbitt’s vision for Michigan

Nesbitt is joined by U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township) and former U.S. House candidate Anthony Hudson in seeking the GOP nomination in Michigan’s gubernatorial race. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson have both launched campaigns, while Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is running as an Independent candidate.

Nesbitt spoke with Kasben and Gorchow about what his “common sense” priorities would be if he were chosen as the state’s next governor.

“I’m working around the state, I’m going to put together a campaign that’s  going to put Michigan first, and a campaign that’s going to offer positive conservative solutions to fix some of the deepest problems in Michigan,” Nesbitt said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been both lauded and criticized in recent weeks for her attempts to bend Trump’s ear about her state’s priorities. But the Democratic governor has responded to her critics by pointing to the results her meetings with Trump have yielded — including the 21 new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets replacing the aging A-10 squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County.

Nesbitt says Whitmer’s collaboration with Trump has been good to see.

“I think people expect leaders to be able to work to get things done,” he said. “And believe me, I’m not going to agree with the governor and neither is President Trump going to agree with the governor on things like men competing in women’s sports — she seems to support that and we’re opposed to that — or having all this money spent on DEI initiatives — I’m going to actively oppose any of that and so is President Trump…but as I look at it, having President Trump come to Michigan to celebrate his first 100 days shows the importance of Michigan; how much he cares about Michigan.”