In communities around Little Traverse Bay, the snow and ice is starting to melt but clear signs of destruction remain.

It’s being called the worst ice storm in northern Michigan in modern history, knocking out power to about 100,000 homes and businesses.

One week later, fallen trees still line the road shoulders. Dozens of utility vehicles are parked behind orange cones. And hundreds were still without power as of April 4.

The workers who’ve poured in from across the state are getting the job done. According to outage maps, power started coming back on in downtown areas at the end of last week.

But some residents say recovery from the ice storm will take more than just turning the lights back on.

Power restored to cities

At the Community Reformed Church in Charlevoix, volunteers packed away pans of ground beef. Over the past few days, they worked by lantern light to serve hot meals to those seeking shelter.

Lights at the church came back on Wednesday. Buns, chips and sloppy joe mix were left over and the group that came for lunch Thursday was smaller than it was earlier in the week.

To Pastor Chip Sauer, those are good signs.

“Power lines have been down all over the place. It is like the apocalypse, like a bomb exploded,” he said. “In the city, it doesn’t feel like that anymore. It’s gotten back to normal. The lights are on. The restaurants are open. But there’s still a handful of people [without] power.”

The situation is much the same further north in Petoskey.

Many gas stations are reopened, providing critical fuel for line workers and generators. City Manager Shane Horn says about 95% of Petoskey’s service area had power as of Thursday, April 3.

The quick turnaround, he said, is owed to the city’s mostly underground power lines.

“Having that percent of our community undergrounded has truly been a blessing in that we don’t have similar issues that other communities have with downed power lines and utility pole issues,” Horn said.

Rural communities still in response phase

While cities are starting to see a return to normal, those living in more rural areas are still in what emergency managers call “the response phase.”

Great Lakes Energy, which still has nearly 20,000 customers without power, established a camp for utility workers in Otsego County on Saturday — one of the hardest hit areas. GLE chief executive Shaun Lamp said the company hopes to “substantially restore” many areas by April 8, it could take longer for more backcountry areas.

On the north side of Little Traverse Bay in Harbor Springs, Shay Elementary School served as one of the busiest warming stations in the area.

City police officers were stationed at the front entrance, keeping a list of names in front of stacks of water bottles. Nurses with the American Red Cross brought dozens of cots that lined the school’s cafeteria.

The people who had to stay the night were mostly elders. That’s because a housing community for low-income seniors called the Village of Hillside lost power. Some had to stay to power oxygen machines or get medication.

“Nobody wants to leave home and sleep in a school with all these people, but I think they’ve become accustomed to it,” said Matthew Bush, Hillside’s service coordinator. “I mean, they’ve come to realize that there’s not much of a choice. It’s either this or be very, very cold.”

Despite this, the attitude at Shay Elementary is positive, especially among the volunteers.

“It’s been overwhelming in, like, a really great way, but also just a really devastating way at the same time,” said Jessica Mills, a fourth grade teacher at Shay Elementary who’s been helping coordinate the shelter. “Initially, I was just watching the door to let people in and make sure they got settled and answered questions. Since then, I was kind of made the point person.”

The school’s cafeteria is staffed by restaurant workers from downtown Harbor Springs. They’ve been serving free hot meals three times a day since the shelter opened.

“Everyone has been helping, like the police officers’ wives have all been with their parents, my parents, like the whole community, has really just come together,” Mills said. “And we couldn’t have done it without every single other person.”

Mills said she’s eager for recovery to begin and that she hopes her school reopens soon. Helping out has been a good distraction but she’s eager to check in on all her students she hasn’t seen in days. Some of their families, she said, will deal with the aftermath of this storm for months.

“I just think there’s so much we need to do. People have gone days without being able to contact their loved ones because the service has been atrocious. People’s fridges are going to need to be cleaned out,” she said. “It just feels like any support would help.”

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Interlochen Public Radio on April 7, 2025.

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Huge numbers of Americans took to the streets over the weekend for so-called “Hands Off” protests. People were condemning the Trump administration and many of its policies, including cuts to the National Park Service and other public lands. 

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency has reduced staff that oversees public lands by hundreds of people. A judge ordered those positions to be reinstated, but it’s unclear how many people have actually returned to work. The White House has vowed to fight those rulings. 

Advocates, meanwhile, are bracing for additional cuts. This upheaval has raised concerns about the health and survival of America’s public lands, from popular national parks like Yosemite and Yellowstone to national lakeshores like Michigan’s Sleeping Bear Dunes. 

Tom Ulrich was the deputy superintendent for Sleeping Bear Dunes for more than two decades before retiring in 2023. Ulrich joined The Metro to discuss the current challenges facing America’s public lands. 

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued an order last week, directing national parks to “remain open and accessible.” Burgum says that means there will be proper staffing, but not everyone is convinced this will happen. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

More stories from The Metro on Monday, April 7:

• Mallory McMorrow wants to bring a new generation to the US Senate
• Curbing the impulse to buy more stuff
• Political pressure is ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs

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

Environmental groups and tribal nations are asking the Michigan Supreme Court to put the brakes on a Canadian company’s plans to bury an oil and gas pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac, a waterway that connects Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

The appeal filed Thursday asks the Supreme Court to reverse a decision by the Michigan Court of Appeals and a determination by the Michigan Public Service Commission to allow Enbridge to move ahead with the Great Lakes Tunnel project, which would encase the company’s Line 5 oil and gas pipeline. The plaintiffs claim the public service commission failed to perform a thorough review before giving its permission.

“These failures jeopardize the sanctity of the Great Lakes and the Tribal economic and cultural interests and treaty-protected rights, which are inherent rights, including ‘the usual privileges of occupancy’ — such as the rights to fish, hunt, and gather, in perpetuity,” the complaint said. “They also threaten to harm everyone who depends on the Great Lakes for drinking water, recreation, or economic benefit because all likely effects of the proposed project, including oil spills, have not been considered.”

The tribes argue the commission’s review failed to fully consider the consequences of leaks or a spill in a waterway that could lead to widespread contamination of the Great Lakes.

“If you take a step back and you do that holistic review and analysis, I think people would understand that there are alternatives that could lead to a decommissioning of Line 5 and wouldn’t have to construct this one-off tunnel through the Straits of Mackinac,” said David Gover, a senior attorney with the Native American Rights Fund, which represents the Bay Mills Indian Community.

Gover told the Michigan Public Radio Network the tunnel’s location also violates long-standing treaty rights and disrespects “a sacred place” for tribes.

“So, any proposed tunneling and running of a pipeline through that area is a desecration of that sacred place,” he said. “It would like be putting an oil and gas pipeline under the Vatican or through the Garden of Eden.”

Enbridge spokeperson Ryan Duffy said in a statement e-mailed to MPRN that the Michigan Public Service Commission and the appeals court got it right.

“The February decision from the Michigan Court of Appeals correctly affirmed the comprehensive and detailed work of the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to approve the application for the Great Lakes Tunnel Project,” he said. “The Michigan Court of Appeals concluded that the MPSC appropriately examined the location of the Line 5 replacement segment within the Great Lakes Tunnel, consistent with Michigan law.”

He said the tunnel will make “what has always been a safe pipeline even safer.”

Enbridge faces other legal and procedural hurdles, including state and federal permits and other lawsuits. The protective tunnel was part of a agreement between Enbridge and the then-Gov. Rick Snyder’s administration. That was following revelations of known gaps in the existing line’s protective coating and an anchor strike in 2018 that damaged the line.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has deployed the Michigan National Guard to help with ice storm recovery.

Two specialized teams were deployed Wednesday to help clear debris on roadways.

“These are engineers with chainsaws and other equipment working with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the Michigan Public Safety Communications System,” said Michigan national Guard spokesman David Kennedy.

The National Guard is also responding to a request from the MyMichigan Medical Center in Alpena to set up a temporary shelter.

Kennedy confirmed servicemen have set up medical tents outside the hospital to support emergency room overflow.

Warming centers are open across the region for people who have no power or heat.

“We are continuing our all-hands-on-deck approach to help families and communities impacted by the storms in Northern Michigan,”  Whitmer said in a news release. “Power restoration is a top priority, and I’m grateful to our utility partners for positioning hundreds of utility workers to help get power back online as fast as possible.”

Due to lost power at gas stations, a lack of fuel has been among the main concerns in the region. Whitmer also said she would temporarily lift restrictions on weight and commercial driver hours to allow energy supplies to move quickly to northern Michigan.

Great Lakes Energy said in a Monday night statement that it “advises members to prepare for a five-day to multi-week outage event.”

OUTAGE INFO

• Consumers Energy
• Great Lakes Energy
• Presque Isle Electric & Gas Co-op

The governor’s latest orders also added Alcona and Antrim counties to an earlier state of emergency declaration.

“The declaration authorizes the Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division (MSP/EMHSD) to coordinate state efforts above and beyond what MSP/EMHSD has already been doing in conjunction with local agencies,” said a news release from the governor’s office.

The state of emergency declaration now applies to Otsego, Oscoda, Montmorency, Presque Isle, Emmet, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Mackinac, Alpena, Alcona, and Antrim counties.

“Our Soldiers and Airmen train to be ready to support communities across Michigan when facing natural disasters,” said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Rogers, adjutant general and director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. “Our focus will be to assist state and local agencies as we clear roadways overcome by debris.”

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Interlochen Public Radio on April 2, 2025.

Detroiters are bracing themselves for another round of storms on Wednesday night.

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

Area residents dealt with sleet and rain during their morning commutes as scattered thunderstorms moved through the region. The National Weather Service has placed most of metro Detroit under a Flood Watch from 8 p.m. Wednesday through Thursday morning, with risk of high winds, heavy rain, and the possibility of hail or an isolated tornado.

The heaviest rainfall is expected to develop overnight, with NWS estimating up to two inches of rain. That could lead to rising water levels in creeks and streams. Low-lying areas could be affected as well, and residents who have experienced flooding during past heavy rain events are encouraged to check their basements through the evening to make sure water isn’t backing up.

Temperatures will rise into the 60s during the evening hours.  

Other headlines for Wednesday, April 2, 2025:

• The city of Highland Park issued a boil water advisory for residents this week after receiving complaints about low water pressure over the weekend. Officials say they’ve been working to modernize the city’s system by replacing water mains and installing master meters in different parts of Highland Park.
• Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed is stepping down to “consider a future opportunity in Michigan,” after serving in the position for two years, County Executive Warren Evans announced in a news release Wednesday.
• State Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) announced Wednesday that she is running for the U.S Senate seat that will be left open by outgoing Sen. Gary Peters.
• Detroiters are waiting to hear details about tariffs that President Donald Trump says he will implement Wednesday, on what he calls “Liberation Day.” Trump is expected to deliver late afternoon remarks about the subject in the White House Rose Garden. 

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

American Forests, the nation’s oldest conservation nonprofit, says Detroit has planted 25,000 trees since launching a local tree equity partnership in 2021 —part of a broader plan to plant 75,000 by 2027.

Benita Hussain, chief program officer of American Forests’ Tree Equity Program, says the initiative targets neighborhoods with fewer trees and higher exposure to extreme heat and respiratory illness.

“We’re talking about planting and maintaining trees in places where they historically have not existed,” Hussain said.

The program has been supported by federal funding through the Inflation Reduction Act, which directed $1.5 billion to urban forestry initiatives nationwide. American Forests received $50 million of that funding, which Hussein says is being deployed in cities across the Midwest, including Southeast Michigan and Metro Detroit.

However, recent changes by the Trump administration have led to the cancellation of several federal environmental justice grants, including those increasing urban forestry in the U.S.

Hussain acknowledged the “turbulence” coming from the federal level but said the organization remains committed to its work.

“We are certainly keeping an eye on all of the different sort of guidance and turbulence… and we’re in it with all of our partners,” she said.

The Detroit partnership includes local conservation groups like the Greening of Detroit. Hussain says the effort also includes training 500 Detroiters in tree care and maintenance to ensure the long-term health of the city’s growing canopy.

Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Interlochen Public Radio on March 31, 2025.

Relief from a brutal ice storm — which left thousands without power across Michigan’s northern Lower Peninsula — could be a few days off yet, according to forecasts.

Police officers are using chain saws to clear roadways.

Gas stations are unable to pump fuel because the power is out.

And warming centers are open as cold temperatures persist.

These are just a few of the effects of a massive ice storm that has brought parts of northern Michigan to a standstill.

Temperatures are expected to stay near or below freezing through Wednesday across much of the region, which means there won’t be a lot of melting any time soon. The nearest warmup is expected Thursday, with temperatures in the low-to-mid 40s.

Meteorologists are describing the weekend’s ice storm as historic.

“Mid- to southern Michigan received a pretty nasty ice storm in 1976,” said Sean Christensen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord. “That’s honestly the only one we could find that was nearly this widespread and damaging.”

Christensen said even some National Weather Service employees had to sleep at the weather station due to road blockages and power outages.

“We had the perfect setup for northern Michigan to see reports of almost an inch or over of ice,” Christensen said.

That perfect weather setup is exceptionally rare.

“You have to have a lot of cold air to the north and then a lot of warm, moist air coming up from the south,” said Marty Baxter, a professor of meteorology at Central Michigan University. “It’s unusual to have those two things so close together for a significant period of time.”

The warm, moist air from the south is less dense, Baxter said, and sat on top of freezing surface temperatures. Rain fell from that warm system above, then froze as it accumulated in the cold system.

Though responders are working to restore power and clear roads, northern Michiganders might not be out of the woods yet.

“Upcoming weather-wise, we still have a couple things that normally wouldn’t be a big deal” but could make an already bad situation worse, said Christensen, with the National Weather Service in Gaylord.

Temperatures are expected to drop Monday night, raising concern about freezing pipes and cold conditions in homes without power.

Another round of mixed precipitation could come through midweek.

“Sleet, snow, and we can’t even rule out freezing rain,” Christensen said. “We’re not expecting accumulations nearly as bad, but nonetheless, it’s still going to be poor roadway conditions.”

The National Weather Service is urging people to remain in place at home or at a warming shelter unless absolutely necessary.

Extreme winds and thunderstorms in southern Michigan caused damage to homes and power lines there, too, which could slow repairs across the state.

Keeping up with it all

The storm has brought much of life to a standstill in the area, with school and business closures. McLaren Health said its outpatient clinics are closed, though emergency departments remain open and fully functional.

In Wolverine, just off I-75’s Exit 301, officials moved a warming center from the fire department to the local high school, because of high demand.

Police officers were using chainsaws to help clear downed trees from roadways and other areas.

And emergency responders were inundated with calls for help.

“We’ve responded to almost 80 calls in the last 48 hours,” said Allie Ronk, a dispatcher with the Little Traverse Bay Band tribal police who was volunteering at the Wolverine Fire Department on Monday morning. “There are some years we respond to under 100 calls. The sheer volume is more than our area can take, and we’re still getting repeat calls.”

The biggest concern was fuel, with many gas stations out of power and unable to pump gas for vehicles and generators.

“Stay home, stay safe,” Ronk said, or go to a warming station if needed.

Meanwhile, hundreds of utility crews were working across Michigan to get the lights back on following storms that encased the northern Lower Peninsula in ice, and severe thunderstorms that raked across southern Michigan on Sunday night.

In northern Michigan, several inches of ice added enormous strain to electrical lines and power poles, or snapped branches and toppled trees, bringing down power lines and making roads impassible. People are asked to stay off the roads if possible.

Consumers Energy says it is on track to have power restored in many places by Tuesday, with another day needed for the harder hit areas.

But some damage will be longer lasting.

Radio station WKHQ lost its tower in the storm. The 600-foot broadcast antenna collapsed.

Private residences also experienced damage from falling trees and limbs.

IPR will continue to update this story as we learn more.

Editor’s note: This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization; BPR, a public radio station serving western North Carolina; WABE, Atlanta’s NPR station; WBEZ, a public radio station serving the Chicago metropolitan region; and Interlochen Public Radio.

The Trump administration’s freeze on funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the landmark climate law from the Biden era, has left farmers and rural businesses across the country on the hook for costly energy efficiency upgrades and renewable energy installations.

The grants are part of the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, originally created in the 2008 farm bill and supercharged by funding from the IRA. It provides farmers and other businesses in rural areas with relatively small grants and loans to help lower their energy bills by investing, say, in more energy-efficient farming equipment or installing small solar arrays.

By November 2024, the IRA had awarded more than $1 billion for nearly 7,000 REAP projects, which help rural businesses in low-income communities reduce the up-front costs of clean energy and save thousands on utility costs each year.

But now, that funding is in limbo. Under the current freeze, some farmers have already spent tens of thousands of dollars on projects and are waiting for the promised reimbursement. Others have had to delay work they were counting on to support their businesses, unsure when their funding will come through — or if it will.

REAP is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Secretary Brooke Rollins said the agency is “coming to the tail end of the review process” of evaluating grants awarded under the Biden administration.

“If our farmers and ranchers especially have already spent money under a commitment that was made, the goal is to make sure they are made whole,” Rollins told reporters in Atlanta last week.

But it’s not clear when the funds might be released, or whether all the farmers and business owners awaiting their money will receive it.

The Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan draws over 1.5 million visitors every year. Jim Lively hopes some of those people will camp RVs at a nearby site he’s planning to open next to his family’s local food market. He wants to use solar panels to help power the campsite and offset electric bills for the market, where local farmers bring produce directly to the store.

Lively helped promote REAP during his time at the environmental nonprofit Groundwork Center for Resilient Communities, where he’d worked for over two decades. So the program was on his mind when it came time to replace the market’s big, south-facing roof.

“We put on a metal roof, and worked with a contractor who was also familiar with the REAP program, and we said, ‘Let’s make sure we’re setting this up for solar,’” he said. “So it was kind of a no-brainer for us.”

They were told they had been approved for a REAP grant of $39,696 last summer — half of the project’s total cost — but didn’t feel the need to rush the solar installation. Then, at the end of January, Lively was notified that the funding had been paused.

The property runs on electricity, rather than natural gas, and Lively wants to keep it that way. But those electric bills have been expensive — about $2,000 a month last summer, he said. When they get the RV site up and running, he expects those bills to approach $3,000.

Selling local food means operating within tight margins. Lively said saving on energy would help, but they won’t be able to move ahead with the rooftop solar unless the REAP funding is guaranteed.

Continuing to power the property with electricity rather than fossil fuels is a kind of personal commitment for Lively. “Boy, solar is also the right thing to do,” he said. “And it’s going to be difficult to do that without that funding.”

For Joshua Snedden, a REAP grant was the key to making his 10-acre farm in Monee, Illinois, more affordable and environmentally sustainable. But months after installing a pricey solar array, he’s still waiting on a reimbursement from the federal government — and the delay is threatening his bottom line.

“I’m holding out hope,” said Snedden, a first-generation farmer in northeast Illinois. “I’m trying to do everything within my power to make sure the funding is released.”

In December, his five-year old operation, Fox at the Fork, began sourcing its power from a new 18.48 kilowatt solar array which cost Snedden $86,364. The system currently offsets all the farm’s electricity use and then some.

REAP offers grants for up to half of a project like this, and loan guarantees for up to 75 percent of the cost. For Snedden, a $19,784 REAP reimbursement grant made this solar array possible. But the reimbursement, critical to Snedden’s cash flow, was frozen by Trump as part of a broader review of the USDA’s Biden-era commitments.

Snedden grows the produce he takes to market — everything from tomatoes to garlic to potatoes — on about an acre of his farm. He also plans to transform the rest of his land into a perennial crop system, which would include fruit trees like pears, plums, and apples planted alongside native flowers and grasses to support wildlife.

A solar array was always part of his plans, “but seemed like a pie in the sky” kind of project, he said, adding he thought it might take him a decade to afford such an investment.

The REAP program has been a lifeline for Illinois communities struggling with aging infrastructure and growing energy costs, according to Amanda Pankau with the Prairie Rivers Network, an organization advocating for environmental protection and climate change mitigation across Illinois.

“By lowering their electricity costs, rural small businesses and agricultural producers can put that money back into their business,” said Pankau.

That’s exactly what Snedden envisioned from his investment in the solar power system. The new solar array wouldn’t just make his farm more resilient to climate change, but also more financially viable, “because we could shift expenses from paying for energy to paying for more impactful inputs for the farm,” he said.

He anticipates that by switching to solar, Fox at the Fork will save close to $3,200 dollars a year on electric bills.

Now, Snedden is waiting for the USDA to hold up their end of the deal.

“The financial strain hurts,” said Snedden. “But I’m still planning to move forward growing crops and fighting for these funds.”

At the start of the year, Jon and Brittany Klimstra were nearly ready to install a solar array on their Polk County, North Carolina farm after being awarded a REAP grant in 2024.

As two former scientists who had moved back to western North Carolina 10 years ago to grow apples and be close to their families, it felt like a chance to both save money and live their values.

“We’ve certainly been interested in wanting to do something like this, whether it be for our personal home or for our farm buildings for a while,” said Jon. “It just was cost prohibitive up to this point without some type of funding.”

That funding came when they were awarded $12,590 from REAP for the installation. But, after the Trump administration’s funding freeze, the money never came.

“We were several site visits in, several engineering conversations. We’ve had electricians, the solar company,” said Brittany . “It’s been a very involved process.”

Since the grant is reimbursement-based, the Klimstras have already paid out-of-pocket for some costs related to the project. Plus, the farm had been banking on saving $1,300 in utilities expenses per year. In a given month, their electricity bill is $300-$400.

Across Appalachia, historically high energy costs have made the difference between survival and failure for many local businesses, said Heather Ransom, who works with Solar Holler, a solar company that serves parts of Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Ohio.

“We have seen incredible rate increases across the region in electricity over the past 10, even 20 years,” she said.

Through Solar Holler, REAP grants also passed into the hands of rural library systems and schools; the company installed 10,000 solar panels throughout the Wayne County, West Virginia school system. About $6 million worth of projects supported by Solar Holler are currently on hold.

In other parts of the region, community development financial institutions like the Mountain Association in eastern Kentucky combatted food deserts through helping local grocery stores apply for REAP.

Solar Holler also works in coal-producing parts of the region, where climate change discussions have been fraught with the realities of declining jobs and revenue from the coal industry. The program helped make the case for communities to veer away from coal and gas-fired energy.

“What REAP has helped us do is show people that it’s not just a decision that’s driven by environmental motives or whatever, it actually makes good business sense to go solar,” Ransom said. In her experience, saving money appeals to people of all political persuasions. “At the end of the day, we’ve installed just as much solar on red roofs as we do blue roofs, as we do rainbow roofs or whatever.”

The grants aren’t only for solar arrays and other renewable energy systems. Many are for energy efficiency improvements to help farmers save on utility bills, and in some cases cut emissions. In Georgia, for instance, one farm was awarded just under $233,000 for a more efficient grain dryer, an upgrade projected to save the farm more than $16,000 per year. Several farms were awarded funding to convert diesel-powered irrigation pumps to electric.

The USDA did not directly answer Grist’s emailed questions about the specific timeline for REAP funds, the amount of money under review, or the future of the program. Instead, an emailed statement criticized the Biden administration’s “misuse of hundreds of billions” of IRA and bipartisan infrastructure law (BIL) funds “all at the expense of the American taxpayer.”

“USDA has a solemn responsibility to be good stewards of the American people’s hard-earned taxpayer dollars and to ensure that every dollar spent goes to serve the people, not the bureaucracy. As part of this effort, Secretary Rollins is carefully reviewing this funding and will provide updates as soon as they are made available,” the email said.

Two federal judges have already ordered the Trump administration to release the impounded IRA and BIL funds. Earthjustice, a national environmental law organization, filed a lawsuit last week challenging the freeze of USDA funds on behalf of farmers and nonprofits.

“The administration is causing harm that can’t be fixed, and fairness requires that the funds continue to flow,” said Jill Tauber, vice president of litigation for climate and energy at Earthjustice.

Rollins released the first tranche of funding February 20 and announced the release of additional program funds earlier this month. That did not include the REAP funding.

The USDA announced Wednesday it would expedite funding for farmers under a different program in honor of National Agriculture Day, but as of March 20 had not made an announcement about REAP.

Rahul Bali of WABE contributed reporting to this story. ​​

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

In metro Detroit, a quarter of low-income households pay more than 19% of their earnings to keep the lights on. Metro Detroiters from vulnerable communities, including Black, Hispanic and Native American residents, tend to shoulder the highest energy burdens. People living in low-income multifamily buildings, as well as older adults and renters, are also hit harder by energy costs. 

A significant energy burden means powering appliances and heating and cooling your home could be out of reach. Energy insecurity touches every facet of life. It can make it hard to hold down a job, hard to get to school, and hard to stay healthy.

DTE Energy recently filed a notice for its plan to raise rates. That request will then be filed with Michigan regulators in April and will take multiple months of review. If it is approved, residents would not see a rate hike until next year. This rate hike request comes just months after Michigan regulators approved another DTE rate increase. In January, the utility was OKed to raise rates by $217 million.

Rate hikes by DTE are among several pressure points worrying advocates. 

Shutoffs for nonpayment are a big part of DTE operations. According to a recent report by the Center for Biological Diversity, DTE shut off electricity 150,000 times for residents who couldn’t pay their bills between January and September. 

“DTE customers already have some of the highest residential rates in the country — the average bill is 17% more than that of the Great Lakes region and 11% more than the U.S. average,” the report reads. 

In a statement sent to The Metro, DTE spokesperson Ryan Lowry said the utility cannot yet comment on the rate hike request until it is filed in April with the Michigan Public Service Commission. He pointed out ways the utility supports low-income families.

“DTE and its agency partners offer a variety of assistance options to help those in need, and last year alone, we connected customers to nearly $144 million in energy assistance,” he said. 

Lowry said DTE was “proud to see Governor Whitmer sign four pieces of legislation into law to double the funding available for low-income Michiganders under the Michigan Energy Assistance Program, as well as expanded the criteria for the program so that anyone at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level would be eligible.”

Advocates, though, say increasing energy costs, shutoffs and DTE’s reliance on fossil fuels are a big problem.

Khary Frazier with Soulardarity, a nonprofit working to make clean energy accessible and affordable to all, joined The Metro on Wednesday to discuss how high energy costs affect metro Detroiters.

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

Hear more stories from The Metro on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.

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

The Environmental Protection Agency has released a laundry list of policies related to climate change and pollution it wants to roll back.

EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is calling it the “greatest day of deregulation our nation has ever seen,” but Michigan environmental groups don’t see this as a cause for celebration.

The EPA announced 31 actions that it says will “unleash” energy, lower costs for consumers, create jobs and give decision-making power back to states.

Some actions include rolling back mercury and air quality standards, loosening regulations on wastewater from power plants and reconsidering mandatory greenhouse gas reporting, among others.

In a video statement, Zeldin called these rules “suffocating” and said the “green new scam” ends with this announcement.

Conan Smith, president of the Michigan Environmental Council, said he’s disturbed by the EPA’s shift in priorities.

“From caring for our natural resources and environment to exploiting and extracting them — it’s not the purpose of the EPA, not since the 1970s when it was founded,” Smith said.

Smith said other federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and Department of Energy are concerned with economic interests, while the EPA is meant to serve as “checks and balances.”

“I think the EPA administrator has fundamentally misunderstood the purpose of the agency he’s been selected to lead,” he said.

Christy McGillivray, with the Michigan Sierra Club, said the EPA’s promise to lower consumer costs through these actions is based on a false premise.

“It is going to make already incredibly rich people a little bit richer for a short amount of time because they won’t have to actually account for the full cost of doing business. That’s it,” she said.

Instead, McGillivray said weakening regulations will only worsen air and water quality, racking up long-term public health costs.

“It’s a terrible long-term strategy,” she said. “All of our fates are tied together, so what’s the point of being a trillionaire if we destroy one fifth of the world’s freshwater in the Great Lakes?”

The EPA’s specific plans are still unclear such as whether environmental rules will be scaled back or eliminated entirely, but regulatory changes typically go through a lengthy process with public feedback and input from other federal agencies.

Tornado season has arrived, and the National Weather Service has started its annual training sessions for Skywarn spotters.

Jackie Anderson is the warning coordination meteorologist at the NWS forecast office in White Lake Township. She says the information spotters provide is crucial during tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and flooding rains.

“When we’re issuing warnings, we’re looking at what’s going on with radar,” she said. “Our spotters really provide us with that ground truth as to what severe weather is actually happening in their area.”

Anderson says meteorologists says spotter reports help keep the public informed during bad weather.

“We can actually update our warnings to say trained spotters have confirmed one inch hail, 60 mph winds, tornadoes,” she said.

What do spotters learn?

A typical spotter training session lasts up to 90 minutes. Anderson says NWS staff use that time to review the previous year’s severe weather.

“We talk about different events that have impacted southeast Michigan,” she said. “We talk about what to look for, and then how you can report it to us.”

Spotters learn how to identify the early indications of a severe thunderstorm or tornado, such as the difference between wall clouds and shelf clouds.

Southeast Michigan saw a few tornadoes in 2024, including one that struck Livonia without warning in June, killing a 2-year-old boy. A rare February twister touched down in Grand Blanc, and a weak tornado spun up briefly in Holly in November.

Safety comes first

Spotting storms does not mean chasing them. Anderson encourages spotters to be careful.

“While we want to know what’s happening and get that ground truth information, the safety of all our spotters is the most important thing,” she said.

The White Lake office trains about 100 people a year and offers classes in several counties. Anderson says they do not need any background in meteorology to become a spotter.

More: NWS seeks winter weather spotters in Detroit

“We welcome anybody who’s interested in helping us provide that ground truth information,” she said. “People can also attend if they’re just generally interested in severe weather safety information.”

Spotters are always needed

Anderson cannot comment on recent layoffs at the National Weather Service, but she says spotters — who are not paid — are vital to the agency.

“We always rely heavily on spotters regardless of the time of year, whether it’s winter or severe weather season,” she said. “Having that ground truth support really helps us in the warning process.”

More: Local meteorologist says NWS layoffs risk public safety

The agency has several spotter training sessions coming up. You can find one here.

March 16-22 is Severe Weather Awareness Week in Michigan. NWS will conduct a statewide tornado drill at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 19.

State wildlife officials say they have confirmed two cougar cubs in the Upper Peninsula.

It’s the first such sighting in the wild in more than a century.

“It’s pretty exciting, considering this could be the first known cougar reproduction in modern times in the western Great Lakes states,” said Brian Roell, large carnivore specialist for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says the big cats were hunted out of existence in Michigan in the early 1900s.

Wildlife biologists say cougars in Michigan tend to be transient visitors from western states. DNA testing confirmed only male cougars in recent years.

The two cougar cubs confirmed in the western U.P. are believed to be between seven and nine weeks old, an age where the cubs are highly dependent on their mother.

The cubs were spotted and photographed without their mother.

The cougar cubs have not been seen since March 6.

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Gas and electricity just seem to be getting more and more expensive, and they could keep going up because of President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs. 

Last month, Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Then he raised tariffs on China. He then excused tariffs on U.S. automakers, plus some other Canadian and Mexican goods.

But that’s not the end of the story, because our trading partners are still retaliating. China announced retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agriculture exports that will hurt farmers in Michigan.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford also announced that the province will charge 25% more for its electricity, which 1.5 million Americans use, including here in Michigan.

Dan Scripps, chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission — which regulates utilities including gas and electricity — joined The Metro on Tuesday to help us understand how much gas and electricity prices might increase as a result of the tariffs. 

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

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) issued an advisory this week warning people of a possible travel ban by the Trump administration for Arab, Muslim-majority countries and others.

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

The advisory says nationals from Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Venezuela or Yemen should not leave the U.S.

If people need to travel, they should check with an immigration attorney before traveling. The advisory also says individuals living or traveling in one of those countries should return to the U.S. immediately, saying U.S. citizens may be able to reenter but may undergo a vetting process.

People can contact ADC’s legal intake hotline at 844-ADC-9955 for further assistance.

Other headlines for Monday, March 10, 2025:

• A Detroit Youth Mobility Summit is planned from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. March 22 at Newlab, Michigan Central.
• The Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) is looking for volunteers to join a network that collects and shares surface water quality data throughout Michigan.
• Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says nearly 60,000 students are receiving the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, saving families $252 million in tuition costs.
• The charity organization Mercy-USA for Aid and Development is hosting its second annual book drive, Lanterns for Literacy. Last year, 8,000 books were donated to families in Detroit through the program. The organization is looking for book donations, volunteers or financial gifts to create literacy kits.

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

The Trump administration’s purge of federal workers includes layoffs at the National Weather Service.

An NWS spokesperson would not say how many people lost their jobs. NPR reports that the firings raise concerns over the agency’s ability to forecast hurricanes. The cuts could also affect America’s fishing industry.

Detroit area meteorologist Paul Gross says the government’s decision to stop launching weather balloons in western Alaska impacts the rest of the country.

“That upper air data is ingested into the computer models that we use to tell you days ahead of time about a particularly devastating or disruptive storm,” he said.

Gross worked at WDIV-TV for 40 years. He left the station in 2023 and owns a weather consulting firm. He says NWS was already stretched thin and more cuts could endanger the public.

“What if there’s a degradation in the ability to warn people during a tornado outbreak?” he asked. “Every single American should be concerned about this.”

NWS has wide reach

Gross says broadcasters rely on National Weather Service data to produce daily forecasts. That includes networks such as The Weather Channel.

“TV stations all have computer graphics systems,” he said. “But the data that comes into those systems comes from the National Weather Service.”

The same goes for mobile weather apps.

“Where do you think the app gets all the data and all of the computer modeling? It starts with the National Weather Service,” Gross said.

Most Detroit TV stations have their own meteorologists. Many radio stations rely on networks such as AccuWeather. WDET relies entirely on the NWS office in White Lake Township for its weather broadcasts. That includes daily forecasts, seasonal outlooks, and severe weather alerts.

Read more: WDIV’s Paul Gross wraps up TV career

Gross says further cuts could make it harder for broadcasters to warn the public.

“We can certainly tell you about storms,” he says. “But we cannot and do not issue the warnings.”

NWS says cuts won’t compromise safety

WDET asked the National Weather Service how the cuts might affect local forecasting.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokesperson Susan Buchanan replied:

“Per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters. NOAA remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research, and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience. We continue to provide weather information, forecasts and warnings pursuant to our public safety mission.”

Southeast Michigan’s trees are facing growing threats from disease, pests, and climate change.

Zach Lacombe with Davey Tree Expert Company in Canton, says tree health issues are on the rise, affecting both residential and urban landscapes. Fungal infections, extreme weather, and environmental stressors are making trees more vulnerable than ever.

Common Tree Diseases in Michigan

Local trees are particularly susceptible to three major infections:

• Apple Scab – A fungal disease that weakens apple and crabapple trees, causing leaf loss and reducing their ability to absorb sunlight.
• Oak Wilt – A deadly vascular infection that spreads through beetles and root grafts, cutting off water and nutrients to oak trees.
• Dutch Elm Disease (DED) – A persistent fungal disease that has devastated American elm populations in Michigan for over a century.

“These infections often go unnoticed until it’s too late,” says Lacombe. He says thinning foliage, premature leaf drop, and unusual discoloration can all be warning signs of tree disease. 

Rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns are also increasing the spread of tree pests and diseases, according to Lacombe. 

Milder winters mean fewer insect die-offs, allowing pests like the picnic beetle (which spreads oak wilt) to thrive. Stronger storms and heavy rainfall can cause tree root damage, increased fungal growth, and weakened trees. Road salt runoff forces trees to release moisture from their leaves, leading to drought stress and weakened defenses.

Preventative care and early intervention can go a long way, Lacombe advises.

Consumers Energy is exploring the potential use of geothermal energy to heat and cool homes in some Michigan neighborhoods. The utility is conducting a study, funded by a grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission, to determine cost-effective locations where geothermal systems could have the greatest impact.

“Our focus is one on places where we know that customers really need help with paying their bills, and so we want to reduce their costs as much as possible. Which network geothermal is incredibly efficient,” said spokesperson Tracy Wimmer.

Geothermal heating and cooling systems rely on the Earth’s constant underground temperature of about 55 degrees. These systems use a network of pipes and pumps to circulate water, drawing heat into buildings during winter and dispersing it in summer.

The study will also identify which cities have poor air quality and would benefit most from reduced emissions.

“For example, you have a business that actually needs to keep it pretty cool year-round; they can be pushing that heat out, but then other homes nearby, for example, on the system, can be using that heat. So not only is it efficient for the individual homes, but it’s efficient for whole communities,” Wimmer added.

Consumers Energy expects to complete the study by the end of the year.

Michigan averages more than 200 wildfires per year. The Department of Natural Resources says fires burned almost 1,500 acres statewide in 2024.

Most happen in the spring. Trees, grass, brush and leaves that dried out over the winter can catch fire easily. Warm temperatures, high winds and low humidity can turn small fires into big ones.

The DNR has more than 60 full-time firefighters and lots of heavy equipment to contain the flames.

Jeff Vasher is the department’s resource protection manager for the Lower Peninsula. He says training starts before the snow melts.

“Last year, we were fighting fires in late February,” he says. “We’re always doing something to prepare for the wildfire season, because, once it starts, it’s a long two or three months until it greens up.”

Fighting fire with fire

One method the state uses to prevent and control wildfires is “prescribed burning.” Vasher says the DNR selects a certain number of acres to burn each year.

“Last year, we did over 100 burns and over 10,000 acres,” he says.

Vasher says prescribed burns help control invasive species and improve wildlife habitats. They also minimize the risk of major wildfires like the ones that ravaged the Los Angeles area.

“You’re cutting down on fuel so it can’t burn like you see with the big fires out west,” he says.

Related: DNR warns ice storms can damage trees

Partnerships are critical

The DNR doesn’t work alone. It gets help from local fire departments as well as the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Michigan is also part of the Great Lakes Forest Fire Compact.

The Trump administration has been slashing jobs and funding throughout the federal government. Vasher says he’s not a “budget guy,” but adds that the DNR still has a job to do regardless of how much support it gets from Washington.

“When COVID happened, we still had fires, and we still put them out,” he says.

Only you?

DNR statistics show that humans cause most wildfires, usually due to carelessness while burning debris. Vasher says knowing how to burn safely can reduce the danger.

“If you’re going to burn, make sure you’ve got a hose with you and burn small piles,” he says. “Don’t burn on windy days.”

The DNR says campers should be careful, too. Vasher says they need to use plenty of water and be sure their campfires are completely out before they leave.

“We’ve had lots of fires start up where they thought the fire was out and then the wind picks up, there’s an ember still burning, and it takes off,” he says. “We always tell them to make it a muddy mess, like soup.”