Eight months after residents were abruptly forced from the historic Leland House in downtown Detroit, a new fight is brewing over what remains of the money from the building’s sale.
The post Displaced Leland residents fear Detroit is taking money meant to compensate them appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
National Democrats are ramping up their support for Christina Hines’ campaign to flip Michigan’s 10th Congressional District, a closely watched race that could help determine control of the U.S. House.
The post Democrats boost Christina Hines in bid to flip John James’ congressional seat appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Michigan health officials reported two deaths linked to cyclosporiasis, marking the first fatalities in the U.S.’ largest outbreak of intestinal illness
The post The Cyclospora outbreak response is an ethical failure, a public health scientist argues appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
The 2026 Metro Times Best of Detroit readers poll is officially open, inviting readers to vote in 263 categories covering nearly everything that makes this region worth exploring.
The post Voting opens for the 2026 Metro Times Best of Detroit awards appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Citizens hold the ultimate political power under the U.S. Constitution.
But do people in Metro Detroit feel they have the power to change or affect the government?
WDET posed that question as part of our Citizen Vox project.
Former Detroiter Stephanie Cochran says she doubts that she will feel that authority over government until a new generation of politicians take office.
Interview edited for length and clarity.
Stephanie Cochran: Culture is evolving, generations are growing, and we need fresh, young, new faces with fresh, new, young ideas that understand how times have changed. I understand tradition is important. But we have to evolve with the growing society. So, until we get new, young, fresh faces in there, we’ll never have the control. It is our right and our power to choose who we put in there. But the masses put the same people in office every time.
Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: If there were some fresh, new faces in there, what issues would you like to see them try to address right now?
SC: Livable wages, that’s my first thing. People are miserable in their situations. They’re working just to get by and they’re not even getting by. Most households have a minimum of two jobs per adult. In situations like that I need job security, I need better jobs, I need higher-paying jobs.
And that leads directly into affordable housing. I had to move out of the city of Detroit because I couldn’t afford to live in the city anymore. For what I was paying for a studio apartment on the riverfront, I now have a whole three bedroom home in Warren. It’s like I was bullied out of my neighborhood. I grew up in that neighborhood, I had been there since childhood. And I was bullied out because people with higher incomes have come in and bought up all the property, redeveloped it, and now everything is astronomical and sky high for native Detroiters to stay in their communities.
QK: City officials in Detroit, among many other officials, often push the need for affordable housing and that they’re addressing it. But that doesn’t seem to be having much of an impact in your view?
SC: Not really, because it sprinkles here and there. If you really want to see some dynamic impact, invest in the communities. Go door to door, knock on people’s doors, offer them grant money. “Can we help you fix your house up? Do you need some assistance buying the lot next to you so you can maintain it on our behalf?” Get creative with the options. Don’t just throw up a high-rise or a complex in the worst neighborhood in the city and call it affordable housing, knowing it’s only 40 units in that building. That’s 40 families taken care of out of what, thousands?
QK: Other issues that might be important to you?
SC: Inflation is definitely a a worry, especially with the tariffs constantly fluctuating and us being right here on the Canadian border. We see the price influx first.
QK: If you were elected to whatever position, how do you think you would go about trying to attack those issues?
SC: The first thing is more open lines of communication between the political scene and the direct constituency it serves. I think if we had more clear, concise conversations, more people voice their concerns and they were actually heard, we would get a lot farther.
QK: Does it feel like you’re kind of cut off from some of the representatives right now?
SC: It does, it does. You call and you get their aides or their voicemail. Or you’ll send an email and it will go through a chain of command. And by the time you’ve gotten your issue to someone who has the power to help, it’s either no longer an issue or you’re too exhausted to keep fighting.
For me personally, being the parent of a recent high school graduate who had to take her child to a suburban school district to feel confident in the education she was receiving, I want Detroit’s school system to pull it together. There are schools in Detroit that don’t have computer labs. There are schools in Detroit that don’t even have enough books per student. There are suburban schools that send laptops home with their students at the beginning of the school year that is theirs to maintain for the rest of the school year. Why can’t Detroit have that same type of opportunity for our students?
The post Citizen Vox: Parent searches for fresh ideas and better schools this election appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
In this episode of CuriosiD, listener Fatema Haque asks the question:
Who is playing cricket in Detroit?
Cricket is a British sport that had a stint in Michigan in the 1800s and 1950s. It recently became popularized again in the early 2000s when Bangladeshi community members advocated for a cricket field in Detroit.
The Michigan Cricket Association began with 4 teams in 2001. It now has 106 teams and over 2,000 players. Matches are played in several cities, including Detroit at Belle Isle, Lasky Recreation’s Cricket Field and Jayne Field in the Banglatown neighborhood.
Fatema Haque, a lecturer at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, wanted to know about people playing the sport of cricket in Detroit.
Haque grew up in Bangladesh, and later in Detroit, where her family still resides.
“One of the things that I’ve been noticing is over the last few years is that during the summer there’s these group of folks who are playing cricket at Jayne Field, they’re in the full cricket regalia, and I’m wondering how this got started and who all participates in this sports activity,” she asks.
Haque says she’s surprised the sport has sprung up in popularity the U.S.
“I grew up in Bangladesh, and so I saw it everywhere, but while growing up in the US, I did not see it anywhere. So to suddenly see it emerge and have a piece of my culture just out and about made me really curious about who’s organizing, who’s playing, who all is supporting this,” she says.
A batsman hits the cricket ball as folks cheer on the field, kicking off the first practice of the season at the Lasky Cricket Field on Detroit’s east side.
Saiyed Ahmed works for the Michigan Youth Cricket Academy as a coach. He’s been playing cricket since he was a kid. Ahmed moved from Bangladesh to Detroit in 2002. He wanted to continue playing the sport.
“I always used to pass by the park and see these baseball fields just sitting empty, and no one utilizing them, then, but on the other hand, for us who come in from Bangladesh, and it’s a big crowd here. We want to play our sports, but we don’t have a field to play,” he shares.
He and his friends would play in the parking lot at the Detroit Library at Conant and Davison, scraping their knees during the games.
But one day he noticed city officials passing through the area and he approached them to open a cricket field. He was put in touch with Detroit City Councilmember Scott Benson who represents District 3.
Benson says he was on board.
“We had the old disc golf field, and no one was using it. And members of the cricket community approached me and said, “Well, what do you think about a cricket pitch? I said, “Well, why not? Let’s do it. So I approached the city, I advocated, talked to the Parks and Rec department at the time, talked to Mayor Duggan,” she says.
The city opened Lasky Cricket Field in 2017, after three years of community advocacy.
Just two years later, another cricket field was inaugurated at Jayne Park in Banglatown, as part of the city’s beautification and revitalization efforts. It also gave a nod to the growing presence of the city’s Bangladeshi community in the Detroit area.
Cricket is a British sport that has been played in England since the 16th century. It was later organized with rules in the 18th century.
By the late 20th Century, the sport became popularized due to televised coverage and international matches, bringing more countries to the playing field, including India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh.
Back on the field, Ahmed describes how the sport works.
“So the two guys that start standing, that they’re called batters, so they will be two batters each time, and then the field, the fielding team has 11 players. So basically, just like baseball, baseball says catchers, but in cricket it says keepers; they will be behind the stump and behind that batsman, but depending on if it’s a fast bowler, he will stay back,” he explains.
Tayefur Rahman is an electrical engineer. He moved to Hamtramck in 2010. Like Ahmed, he was looking for a community of cricket players when he moved to Michigan. He now lives in Sterling Heights.
Rahman runs the Michigan Cricket Association, which began with 4 teams in 2001 and now has 106 teams.
“We have 2000 plus active players playing in that league as well,” he shares.
He also serves as the president of the Bangladesh Cricket Association, which was established in 2017.
“This is for our community base, because by the time we see our community, people are growing in Hamtramck, Warren, and Sterling Heights area, so they were thinking, why shouldn’t we do some community-based cricket, like Bangladesh cricket community,” he says.
Rahman says the international sport has expanded in Southeast Michigan.
Practices are held on weekdays, but games are played on the weekends.
“Sunday we play at least 27 to 33. (It) depends on how grounds availability,” he says.
The games are now livestreamed in Michigan.
Rahman says cricket has become a way to connect beyond the field, creating friendships and even leading to job opportunities.
“Because of cricket, these communities are bonding really good,” he expresses.
Afser Hussain is a cricket bowler who plays for the Macomb Cricket Club.
“I led this team for seven years, you know, we have several championships,” he says.
Cricket had a stint in Michigan in the late 1800s, mid 1950s, and in the early 2000s in Detroit.
Hussain says cricket has come a long way since those days.
“You can take cricket as a profession in Michigan—you have the coaches, you have the infrastructure, you have indoor nets. So, yeah, it’s a different cricket than 2006,” he shares.
The excitement for cricket has also expanded to nearby cities like Warren, which recently allocated a cricket field at Shaw Park, and Troy, which opened a new cricket field at Boulan Park for $900,000 in May.
Many of the cricket games take place at fields across Southeast Michigan.
So next time you’re out and about in Detroit or nearby cities, you may just catch a glimpse of this international sport in your American backyard.
Have a question about Southeast Michigan’s history or culture? Send it our way at wdet.org/curious or fill out the form below. You ask, we answer.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
The post CuriosiD: Who plays cricket in Detroit? appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
The sound of music and engines is synonymous with summer in metro Detroit. But that noise, specifically the kind generated by modified cars, has been aggravating some people.
Residents near Woodward have been complaining about cars being too loud, which has prompted legislators to push for a crackdown on motorists. So, what’s in their legislation? And, could it hurt car culture in the Motor City?
Natalie Price is a Democratic state representative. Her district includes Berkley, Huntington Woods and Birmingham. She spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent.
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.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
The post The Metro: The push to quiet cars in the Motor City appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
The ‘teen takeover’ story tells us more about the media than Detroit youth.
The post Detroit’s ‘teen takeover’ panic revives an old racist media playbook appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
A Detroit benefit concert this weekend will raise money to provide prosthetic limbs, rehabilitation, and long-term medical care for Palestinians injured in Gaza and the West Bank.
The post Detroit benefit concert will raise money for Palestinian amputees appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Detroit officials are demanding that federal immigration agents stop high-speed chases through residential neighborhoods after two recent pursuits left two immigrants seriously injured and damaged a resident’s property.
The post After two violent crashes, Detroit officials demand ICE end neighborhood chases appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
A young woman with a developmental disability was sexually harassed, abused, and discriminated against while working through a supported employment program at a Krispy Kreme in Allen Park, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court.
The post Lawsuit alleges Allen Park Krispy Kreme failed to protect disabled worker before sexual assault appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
In Huntington Woods, a battle has ensued over what you are allowed to say at the city’s Fourth of July parade.
New rules would strip protest signs down to nothing but a group’s name and logo. A University of Michigan law clinic has told the city that those rules are unconstitutional and demanded their repeal.
In a June 12 letter, the University of Michigan’s Civil Rights Litigation Initiative — the clinic representing the Peace Group — says City Manager Andrew Pazuchowski told members the new rules were prompted by complaints about the group’s signs calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, along with a general concern about public safety. The clinic argues the rules were written to suppress a disfavored viewpoint and says that, to the group’s knowledge, there has never been a safety incident at the parade.
The Metro contacted the City of Huntington Woods for comment but did not receive a response.
Suhair Ghannam, a Huntington Woods resident and member of the Huntington Woods Peace Group, is in the middle of it. To understand why this cuts so deep for her, you have to go back to a dinner table in Nazareth, where a little girl learned not to talk about politics. Because where she grew up, speaking your mind wasn’t safe.
Ghannam joined host Robyn Vincent to discuss coming to the U.S. at 20 years old and finding the thing she says she treasures most about this country: the freedom to speak.
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 streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
The post The Metro: Her town told her to stay quiet. Her patriotism said otherwise appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
A federal jury has ordered the Detroit Club and its owner to pay more than $6.25 million to three former employees who said they were punished after speaking out about racist treatment of Black guests and workers at the historic downtown private club.
The post Workers spoke out about racism at the Detroit Club. A jury awarded them $6.25 million. appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Have you ever rented an apartment and noticed extra fees tacked onto the rent? A fee for the trash. A fee for pest control. How about a fee for “managing the boiler.”
Those are among the allegations against Greystar, the biggest landlord in America. It paid $24 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it hid fees like these on top of the rent it advertised. Greystar says it did nothing wrong — and the settlement lets it keep charging the fees. It just has to list them now.
This one hits close to home. Greystar runs more than 3,000 apartments in metro Detroit, and nearly 2,000 more in Ann Arbor and Lansing. The fees can add hundreds of dollars a month. And if you miss them, many leases say you can be evicted.
It comes at a brutal time to rent. Nearly half of America’s renters already pay more than they can afford. Just yesterday, Congress passed the biggest housing bill in decades — but it leaves fees like these largely untouched.
Investigative reporter and author Tracie McMillan spent months digging through leases and court records for her new investigation in The Guardian. She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to explain why renting can cost so much more than the advertised price.
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.
One-of-a-kind podcasts from WDET bring you engaging conversations, news you need to know and stories you love to hear. Keep the conversations coming. Please make a gift today.
The post The Metro: Renting an apartment? Extra fees may be costing you hundreds appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Decades after a student occupation helped create Wayne State’s African American Studies department, alumni are fighting to preserve the vision they say the university promised.
The post The unfinished business of Wayne State’s historic ‘study-in’ protest appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
When Quinton Jones-Whitaker was sent to prison at 20 years old, no physical evidence tied him to the carjacking and robbery that upended his life.
The post Another Detroit man exonerated after shoddy police work appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
After Mike Duggan left office as mayor of Detroit, one of his appointees landed a newly created six-figure job at the Detroit Department of Transportation, even though employees say he lacked traditional transit experience and the position was never posted online.
The post DDOT created six-figure job for Duggan appointee before removing him months later appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
About 85% of the rental properties in Detroit are owned by landlords with no legal right to collect rent, a discovery that could upend thousands of eviction cases, according to a coalition of housing attorneys and tenant advocates.
The post Most Detroit landlords have no legal right to collect rent, housing attorneys say appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Sit back, move, celebrate or any combination of the three—we’ve got you covered in this week’s events guide. With metro Detroit as a backdrop, enter the enchanting setting of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with some 90s tunes, groove into a new mode of yoga, and cheer on international soccer teams in the heart of downtown.
And, in a uniquely-Michigan event, honor 160 years of Vernor’s ginger ale in the Eastern Market.
Campus Martius
June 12, 19
Free
Join Detroit City FC at Campus Martius Park to root on Team USA as they face Paraguay in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Gates open at 7:30 p.m. and the match begins at 9 p.m. Food and beverage will be available for purchase on site. This event is free for all ages and registration is required. Another watch party will be held on June 19 at 3 p.m. as USA takes on Australia. For more information and to register for entry, visit the Detroit City FC website.
Midland Center for the Arts
June 12, 14
$22.50+
This is the final weekend for the Midland Center for the Arts’ A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Based on Shakespeare’s work of the same name, the performance will include ’90s music and “moonlit mischief.” The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and at 2 p.m. Sunday. Admission starts at $22.50.
Greenfield Village
June 12-14
Free with admission ($37-39)
Welcome the newest historic structure to the Greenfield Village. The Jackson Home was brought in from Selma, Alabama and will showcase the courageous family and community that came together during the Civil Rights Movement. The home hosted Dr. Martin Luther King and other civil rights leaders as they strategized how to win over the rights owed to them. At this opening event, there will be a Black-owned business market to browse, 40+ double dutch, Southern cuisine, live music, panels, demonstrations and more. Reservations are required if you hope to tour the inside of the home. This event is free for members and included in admission price.
MaryAnn Wright Animal Adoption & Education Center
June 13
$5, kids under 12 get in free
Support the care and rescue work of Friends for Animals of Metro Detroit at this bustling, tail-wagging event! From noon to 8 p.m., bring your family, friends, and furry companions by for shopping, adopting and plenty of activities. Fun events throughout the day include bingo, raffles, a cornhole tournament, and more. Plus, there’s a Kid Zone for young ones to run and play too. If you want to adopt one of the pets available on site, adoption fees are waived for the day.
Riopelle Street in Eastern Market
June 14
Free
Vernor’s is celebrating 160 years with a daylong celebration on Riopelle Street in Eastern Market. Festivities begin at 1 p.m. with a full brunch menu from Marrow in the Market featuring Vernor’s specials. The event will also feature live music, games, and a street-wide toast made at 3:30 p.m. to celebrate Vernor’s 160th anniversary. This event is free to the public.
Campus Martius
June 15
$10
Silent-disco meets zen movement in this signature event. Exercise to the beat and release some stress while meeting new people in downtown Detroit. Headphones for the guided session are provided, but don’t forget to bring your own water and yoga mat. There’s a meet and greet at 7 p.m., with the session itself running from 7:30-9 p.m.
The post Metro Events Guide: Yoga in the park, a Vernor’s takeover + more happening this week appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Login
