Reading view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.

The Metro: Duggan says Detroit’s recovery shows he can lead the state

When Mike Duggan was sworn in as Detroit’s mayor more than a decade ago, much of the city was in the dark. Four out of every 10 streetlights didn’t work. His administration rebuilt the grid and relit neighborhoods block by block.

Blight became another target. Crews tore down thousands of abandoned houses that posed safety risks. With hundreds of millions in federal relief, Duggan stabilized the budget and funded neighborhood programs. Meanwhile, the city’s violent crime rate eased: just over 200 homicides last year, the lowest number since the mid-1960s.

Other markers point to momentum. Detroit’s population has inched up for two years in a row — rare for a city that has seen decades of decline. Moody’s even restored Detroit’s investment-grade bond rating. 

Duggan highlights these milestones when he calls himself “a fixer.”

But Detroit’s recovery is uneven.

Roughly one in three residents lived in poverty last year — the highest rate since 2017. The city has yet to fully address an estimated $600 million in property-tax overassessments that forced many families from their homes.

Housing, overall, remains scarce. A city-commissioned study estimates Detroit needs more than 40,000 additional affordable rental homes for households earning under $25,000 a year — a 45,200-unit gap as of 2021.

The broader picture is mixed: while downtown investment is visible, many neighborhoods still face population loss and a lack of basic infrastructure.

Still, compared with the Detroit Duggan inherited in 2014, the city holds more promise today, and much of that transformation happened under his watch.

Now Duggan wants to take his record statewide. He’s running for governor of Michigan in 2026 as an independent — and asking voters across the state to buy into his version of Detroit’s turnaround.

The mayor joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss how he thinks his strategies can scale statewide.

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

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

Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.

WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.

Donate today »

More stories from The Metro

The post The Metro: Duggan says Detroit’s recovery shows he can lead the state appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

Detroit Evening Report: Older adults outnumber children in nearly half of US counties, data shows

The U.S. Census Bureau released new data showing the population of adults 65 and older is increasing, while the population of people 18 and younger is decreasing.  

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

The population of adults age 65 and older rose by 3.1% (to 61.2 million) while the population of those under 18 decreased 0.2% (to 73.1 million) from 2023 to 2024, the data shows.

Lauren Bowers, chief of the Census Bureau’s Population Estimates Branch, says those changes affect communities of color most among the 4.4 million people who live in cities like Detroit, Warren and Dearborn.  

“The data in 2024 is showing that the non-Hispanic white population is the only population in the Detroit metro area where younger adults are outnumbered by older adults,” she said.

Bowers says nationally, the number of older adults and children 18 and younger now are similar. 

Other headlines for Monday, July 14, 2025:

  • Seventeen nonprofits, businesses and community groups working to reduce food waste will receive support through the state-funded NextCycle Michigan initiative.
  • The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) says federal funding cuts could strip 300,000 Medicaid recipients of their health insurance. Medicaid is the largest insurer in the state, covering one in four residents. Health department director Elizabeth Hertel says the cuts will also affect her agency’s efforts to protect public health.
  • A city building in Dearborn was renamed last week in honor of Dearborn’s first Arab American councilmember, Suzanne Sareini. Sareini served as a council member six terms, from 1989 to 2013. The city’s senior housing building — formerly called the Hubbard Manor East — will now be called the Suzanne Sareini Manor.
  • The Detroit Documenters, a program which trains and pays people to attend city meetings, is hosting a photo documenting workshop this week. Cydni Elledge, senior photographer and editor at Outlier Media, will lead the workshop, set for 2 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15.

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

Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.

WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.

Donate today »

The post Detroit Evening Report: Older adults outnumber children in nearly half of US counties, data shows appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

Detroit Evening Report: Detroit’s efforts to attract immigrants contributed to population growth, report finds

Efforts to attract and settle immigrants in Detroit may have been a contributing factor in the city’s recent population growth, according to recent reporting from The Conversation.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Research shows that Immigration has a positive impact on the economy through a larger employee talent pool, increased social and civic engagement, and offsetting the decrease of Detroit native born children.

Despite a national shift in tone towards immigrants, cities like Detroit are prepping for a globalized future by investing in programs that encourage and support immigrants looking to start a life here.

Organizations like Global Detroit are encouraging entrepreneurship That includes programs like the Global Talent Retention InitiativeGlobal Talent Accelerator and Global Entrepreneur in Residence via Global Detroit, as well as community resources and education opportunities through Detroit’s Office of Immigrant Affairs.

The top five countries of origin for immigrants in metro Detroit include India, Iraq, Mexico, Yemen and Lebanon, according to U.S. Census Data.

Other headlines for Tuesday, July 8, 2025:

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

Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.

WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.

Donate today »

The post Detroit Evening Report: Detroit’s efforts to attract immigrants contributed to population growth, report finds appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.

❌