Michigan State Police Director Col. James Grady II is expected to testify before the state House Oversight Committee this week after ongoing attempts to oust him from the role.

This week on MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow explain the brewing tensions surrounding the MSP director. Then later, Michigan Association of State Universities CEO Dan Hurley stops by to discuss the various challenges state universities have faced in the last several months. 

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

In this episode:

• What led to the no-confidence vote of Col. James Grady II
• How state universities are navigating recent funding challenges
• A breakdown of how public universities receive funding

Earlier this month, two police unions representing state troopers and MSP command officers announced that more than 90% of their members voted no confidence in Grady and his second in command, Lt. Col. Aimee Brimacombe.

The vote was the latest in a series of tensions that have arisen since Grady’s appointment by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2023. 

Now lawmakers are getting involved, with Republican legislators beginning to call for Grady’s resignation, saying “he’s lost the confidence of his employees.”

“This week, leadership of the House Oversight Committee began deposing some members of the state police behind closed doors, in what appeared to be an effort to get sworn testimony about Grady’s performance,” Roth said, adding that Grady and the Attorney General’s office are saying the body has “no authority” to depose members of the executive branch.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers are rallying behind Grady, Roth said, with the legislative Black Caucus this week calling Grady’s criticism “unwarranted, given Grady’s qualifications,” suggesting that he is getting criticism that a white leader of the department would not get.

Whitmer’s office has also expressed support for Grady.

“In the past when Republicans have called for a department director to resign, the governor and her staff tend to turn the other cheek thinking they don’t want to dignify those types of requests,” Gorchow said. “But her press office is making clear that Gov. Whitmer stands behind Grady.” 

Roth and Gorchow also spoke with Dan Hurley, CEO and executive director of the Michigan Association of State Universities, about the recent reductions in funding for state universities, crackdowns on DEI policies, and other challenges education institutions are currently facing.

“The one thing the universities need are sustainability, stability, and good forecasting,” he said, “and their model has been shaken up.”  

Hurley said despite the added pressures from the current administrations, these universities, collectively, have been around for a while and will weather the storm.

—WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More from WDET:

• Detroit Evening Report: Federal government revokes visas for international students at WSU, universities nationwide
• Future of DEI at University of Michigan under the microscope
• Attorney for Racial Justice Project responds to report on discriminatory policing by MSP

The political leadership in Michigan will go through some major changes with the multiple elections being held in the next couple of years.

This week on WDET’s MichMash, Gongwer News Services’ Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben discuss the future of Michigan politics and who has the best chance to win their respective races in the state. 

Also, Michigan political consultant and co-host of the Baldly Bipartisan podcast, Adrian Hemond, and Resch Strategies VP Anna Heaton joined the conversation.

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

In this episode:

• Sen. Gary Peters’ retirement
• Mike Duggan’s chances as an independent in the governor’s race
• How the voting landscape is changing

Michigan has never had an open governor’s race and an open senate seat in the same year, until now.

Many were surprised when Sen. Gary Peters announced his retirement earlier this year. Hemond said that Peters retiring breaks the norm for politicians.

“…the United States Senate is an exceptionally old institution and someone voluntarily retiring when they are around Medicare eligibility is actually unheard of,” he said.

Several candidates have thrown their hat in the ring to fill the open seat, including Democratic candidates Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, veteran Rachel Howard, U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, and Michigan House Speaker Joseph Tate.  

On the Republican side, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, Kent Benham, Frederick Heurtebise and Genevieve Scott have all launched campaigns. Independent candidates in the race are Lydia Christensen and Craig Henley Johnson. 

When asked about the governor’s race, Heaton spoke about the challenges Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will face running as an Independent.

“When he first announced, Republicans were a little smug, thinking he’s just going to draw from the Democratic base,” she said. “In the most recent poll that I reviewed, you know, he’s equally liked by Republicans and Democrats — and really high favorability ratings.” 

Still, Heaton said name recognition across the state could pose a significant challenge for him outside the metro area.

Despite those challenges, Hemond thinks it would be a mistake to bet against Duggan.

“If there’s anyone in Michigan politics that can do it it’s Mike Duggan, both because of the skill that he has and the Rolodex that he has — outside of just politics right, which I think is super important; but also he has sky-high name ID in the metro Detroit media market, which is where half the people in Michigan live,” he said.

More from WDET:

• MichMash: Sen. Gary Peters’ retirement; Duggan on running for governor as an independent and more
• MichMash: Duggan endorsement shakes up governor’s race; Sen. Camilleri advocates for K-12 budget
• Michigan House adopts voter ID bills, sends it to Whitmer for likely veto

It has been an eventful year in Michigan politics with the Michigan Legislature dynamically evolving. This week on WDET’s MichMash, Gongwer News Services’ Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben analyze the major events in a live recording at the Go Comedy! Improv Theater in Ferndale.

They were joined by Detroit Free Press Politics Editor Emily Lawler and
Politics Editor for The Detroit News, Chad Livengood.

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

In this episode:

• Whether the Michigan Legislature will make its July 1 deadline
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her approach to working with President Donald Trump
• How Michigan compares on the national stage in 2025

There has been a major sea change in Michigan politics this year.

With Republicans taking over the state House, President Donald Trump back in the White House, and Democrats maintaining their majority in the state Senate — their is a new dynamic in the state capitol.

“This is the first time that I’ve covered one chamber in Democratic control and one in Republican control,” Lawler said. “…It’s been just an interesting dynamic to watch and sort of see what the chambers are teeing up for each other and what of those things they actually expect to move — which I think is a smaller pool than I initially anticipated.”

Livengood called the current relationship between the chambers a “legislative Red Rover.”

“Getting the actual votes on some of these big issues, like roads, is going to be the real test,” he said.

Kasben pointed out that the Legislature was able to compromise on major legislative efforts like paid sick leave and minimum wage packages in February.

They also talked about the notable shift in how Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has navigated national political dynamics this year, and specifically her relationship with President Trump.

Despite their fraught history, the pair have taken a friendlier tone towards each other in recent months, as they discuss future plans and initiatives for the state of Michigan.

“She’s engaged with him on things that she’s wanted to get done, and I’m not sure that all of those will get done, but certainly Selfridge Air Force Base — the upgrades coming there, the new mission coming there — is significant, that’s something that Michigan has wanted for years,” Lawler said.

But Lawler also noted that Trump isn’t someone Whitmer can rely on politically, pointing to recent discussions about pardoning some of the individuals convicted for conspiring to kidnap her.

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

More from WDET:

• MichMash: Live in Lansing!
• Whitmer ‘not happy’ about possible pardons for men involved in her kidnapping plot
• Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall says education budgets could be done by July 1

As the July 1 deadline approaches, Michigan House Republicans have unveiled and passed a budget for K-12 schools. In this week’s episode of MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben discuss what’s inside the proposal and the next steps.

Plus, former Lieutenant Governor of Michigan and President and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan, Brian Calley, joins the show to talk about the state of small businesses in Michigan and the insurance cost crisis.

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

In this episode:

• How are insurance costs affecting small businesses?
• What’s in the K-12 budget that Michigan House Republicans just passed?
• What direction is the Michigan Small Business Association leaning during this major election year?

Calley said the cost of healthcare has been taking a major toll on small business owners.

“Four out of five of business owners tell us it’s getting in the way of expanding the business. Three out of four said it’s an impediment to hiring,” he said. “As you look at the overall economic performance of the state, there are subtle changes that could be damaging over time”.

He said the increased cost is coming from health systems and pharmaceuticals.

Hear the full episode on all major podcast platforms.

The annual Mackinac Policy Conference has wrapped up for 2025. In this episode of MichMash, reporter Elena Durnbaugh joins Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben from Mackinac Island to recap this year’s conference.

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

In this episode:

• Budget negotiations during the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s reactions to the Trump administration’s pardon considerations
• 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference themes

Durnbaugh shared that both Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and Republican Speaker Matt Hall publicly criticized each other at the conference over budget negotations. She also shared that after speaking with Speaker Hall, it appeared that the budget wouldn’t be passed until after the July 1 deadline.

“Conversations of the budget are happening, just not between the leaders of the Senate and the House,” she said. 

Durnbaugh also noted the most important conversations seemed to be happening off the stage.

More from WDET:

• Detroit Evening Report: The Mackinac Policy Conference is underway
• Whitmer ‘not happy’ about possible pardons for men involved in her kidnapping plot
• Critics: Medicaid cuts in House GOP budget plan will burden Michigan health system