Soon all U.S. airlines will require REAL ID-compliant ID to board a domestic flight.

Transportation Security Administration spokesperson Jessica Mayle the requirement starts May 7. “Every air traveler 18 years of age and older must have a REAL ID-compliant ID. TSA is working to avoid checkpoint delays by encouraging all travelers to get their Real IDs now,” said Mayle.

Travelers without one could be delayed.

The federal REAL ID Act of 2005, passed in response to the Sept. 11 terror attacks, requires higher standards for identification starting this year. The requirements apply to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.

Upgrading a standard license or ID to a REAL ID is free in Michigan if done during the normal renewal period. Otherwise, a card correction fee of $9 for a driver’s license or $10 for an ID is charged.

When applying for a REAL ID, you will need to bring:

• Your driver’s license or ID
• Your Social Security Number
• Your certified birth certificate
• Your valid, U.S. passport (or an approved citizenship or legal presence document)

Because it can take weeks to receive it in the mail, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson encouraged those needing a REAL ID to apply soon.

Circle with star design: Standard REAL ID-compliant licenses and IDs will display a star in a gold circle in the upper right corner.

Michigan silhouette with star design: Standard REAL ID-compliant licenses and IDs will display a star in a silhouette of Michigan in the upper right corner.

Enhanced licenses and IDs are automatically REAL ID-compliant, regardless of whether they display the star.

Michiganders in need of a REAL ID can obtain one by going to Michigan.gov/REALID to schedule an appointment. The system will guide them through documents required.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said more than 73% of people with a Michigan driver’s license or ID have already upgraded to a REAL ID.

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.

The University of Michigan is closing its office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and shutting down diversity initiatives campuswide, in response to executive orders from the Trump administration and internal discussions on campus.

The moves were announced in a campus-wide email from university President Santa Ono and other top leaders Thursday afternoon.

The changes will also affect the Office for Health Equity and Inclusion at Michigan Medicine.

In the email, university leaders acknowledged the diversity initiatives had been successful on some measures.

“First-generation undergraduate students, for example, have increased 46% and undergraduate Pell recipients have increased by more than 32%, driven in part by impactful programs such as Go Blue Guarantee and Wolverine Pathways,” the email read. “The work to remove barriers to student success is inherently challenging, and our leadership has played a vital role in shaping inclusive excellence throughout higher education.”

The University of Michigan has frequently been at the center of conversations about diversity on college campuses; it was the defendant in two lawsuits that reached the Supreme Court in 2003, resulting in rulings that partially struck down affirmative action programs on campus at the time.

Last year, the New York Times reported on UM’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, saying the university had poured more than a quarter of a billion dollars into the programs since 2016, but many critics remained on campus.

In 2023, the university launched what it called its DEI 2.0 strategic plan, which was announced as a five-year plan to run through 2028. On Thursday, the university announced it would abandon the plan, as part of the other cuts to diversity, equity, and inclusion programs on campus. It said it would also update university websites to remove mentions of the DEI efforts.

In a post on the social media site “X”, university regent Sarah Hubbard said cutting the DEI offices on campus would free up money to spend on other student programs.

Today the University of Michigan is ending implementation of DEI.

We are eliminating programs, eliminating affiliated staff and ending the DEI 2.0 strategy.

Late last year we ended the use of diversity statements in faculty hiring. This is now expanded university wide and…

— Sarah Hubbard, Regent @umich (@RegentHubbard) March 27, 2025

“We are eliminating bureaucratic overspending and making Michigan more accessible,” Hubbard wrote, citing the expansion of the Go Blue Guarantee scholarship program, which had previously been announced by the university.

Editor’s note: The University of Michigan holds Michigan Public’s broadcast license.

Using hostages as bargaining chips remains a favorite tactic of some nations and terrorist groups.

Negotiating their release is often tricky.

It took seven countries cooperating last summer for the U.S. and Russia to complete the largest prisoner swap since the Cold War.

Among those exchanged was 55-year-old former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan.

But since returning home, the Michigan native says he’s still felt trapped.

Only this time it’s in a web of governmental bureaucracy.

The long-delayed return 

Concerns about resuming life in the U.S. seemed very far away for Paul Whelan last August, when a swarm of media trained their cameras on the small plane delivering him home.

It had just touched down at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C. amid a small crowd where some had waited years for this moment.

Whelan was the first to emerge from the aircraft. Tall, light-haired, wearing glasses and the dirty clothing he had on when Russia first detained him years ago, which guards had stored away until now.

He steadied himself on the hand railings of the steps leading from the plane, weak from malnourishment after years in a Russian labor camp.

Then he snapped-off a crisp salute to the figure waiting for him.

It was then-President Joe Biden, who embraced Whelan. After several conversations between the two, in an impromptu moment, Biden removed his American flag lapel pin and handed it to the former U.S. Marine.

Announcers on CNN noted that Whelan waved to the crowd on the tarmac. And, they said, “America waved back.”

Imprisoned by the system

Whelan now says, in some ways, it was a wave goodbye.

“What we found is that once your home, you’re actually on your own. The attention turns on the next guy that’s still locked-up somewhere abroad,” he said.

Whelan had returned from a Russian labor camp, wrongfully detained for five years, seven months and five days on false espionage charges.

The government spent a few weeks checking his medical and psychological condition, then released him.

Whelan says he was not in great physical shape.

His former employer, BorgWarner, had dropped him as its director of global security after the first year he was detained by Russia.

That also meant losing his medical insurance at a crucial time for Whelan in the prison camp.

“I had a hernia that needed surgery and then I was unemployed. I didn’t have the means to pay for a private operation,” Whelan said, adding that Russia wouldn’t act until his case was dire. “I basically had to wait until I had to have emergency surgery.”

Back home in Michigan, Whelan needed some kind of immediate income.

But he found that since he had not had a job in Michigan recently, he did not qualify for unemployment.

“Because the laws were written so specifically, my situation falls outside the cookie cutter. I was working but I was working in a Russian labor camp. And apparently that doesn’t count,” he said.

A member of Congress had to contact Michigan’s Secretary of State just for Whelan to get a driver’s license and identification.

And being convicted of a crime in Russia, even a crime the U.S. government declared was bogus, created problems.

“When I applied for a renewal of my global entry card, which comes from Customs and Border patrol, I had a hard time with them,” Whelan said. “Because they kept focusing on the fact that, ‘You were arrested and you were imprisoned overseas.’ And I said, ‘Yeah and look at the pictures of the president meeting me at Andrews Air Force Base when I came back.

Strangest of all, he says, was when he tried to get full Medicaid coverage through the state.

“I had a letter back that said I didn’t qualify because I wasn’t a U.S. citizen. It makes you scratch your head, to be quite honest. How could somebody have sent that to me? But they did. And I said ‘You can just Google my name right now.’”

Whelan is actually a citizen of four countries.

He was born in Canada to parents who hailed from the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland. He moved to the U.S. as a child.

A law without funding

It’s not supposed to be that difficult for returning hostages.

Congress created the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act specifically to provide medical and other help to them and their families for five years after their release.

But it’s never been funded.

Michigan U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens says there’s a bipartisan effort to add that appropriation.

“We need to do that. That’s next phase. Someone like Paul Whelan, five and a half years taken from him, if he was wrongfully imprisoned in the United States he’d arguably get compensation. Paul Whelan right now is living off of a GoFundMe. And it’s unacceptable. And it’s wrong,” she said.

Stevens says the latest Defense reauthorization bill did include money to strengthen sanctions against countries who take hostages and help families who lobby for a loved one’s release.

Whelan helped lobby for those changes.

He says he’s also pressing for the Social Security Administration to cover retirement payments hostages lost while detained.

He’s talked with various government entities about the need for better communication among agencies dealing with wrongfully detained Americans.

Ironically, for someone falsely painted as an espionage agent, Whelan has even been a featured guest at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.

He discussed his firsthand experience of dealing with Russian security forces and Moscow’s prison system.

Putting the puzzle pieces together

Paul Whelan scraped the last of his soup from a bowl on a modest table in the Manchester Diner, named for the small Michigan village about 60 miles away from Detroit.

Whelan lives there now with his elderly parents.

The former Marine said he’s contacted several organizations that help veterans.

But except for a bit of assistance from a Boston group affiliated with Harvard, the rest have turned him down because his captivity as a hostage was not related to his military service.

So Whelan said he is literally depending on the kindness of strangers in his community.

Auto dealers from the area offered him a leased vehicle.

Private practitioners have provided him with some medical and dental help.

Even the Manchester Diner’s owner, Leslie Kirkland, stopped by his table with a job tip, saying that one of her regular customers runs a cyber security company that might fit Whelan’s employment expertise.

“I’ll try to talk to him this weekend, I know he’ll come in for chicken waffles. I can see if he’s got something for you or he can put you in the right direction for something,” she said.

Whelan smiled and thanked her, then glanced at his phone, receiving a message from another former hostage, Mark Swidan, who was recently released by China.

He’s one of several detainees who Whelan says regularly text each other, seeking advice and encouragement.

“It’s a small community but we keep in touch,” he said. “Sort of like a group of misfit toys. Ha!”

Whelan said he’s also remained in contact with some still incarcerated at the Russian labor camp where he was held.

The prisoners use the kind of burner phones Whelan did when he talked surreptitiously with U.S. government officials, he said, though the phones aren’t technically allowed at the prison.

But, Whelan says, they are still easy to obtain with a cigarette slipped to the right guard or warden.

“We practice English. And I have family and friends in other countries that are helping to send over-the-counter medications and things into Russia to go to my friends in the camps. That’s helping keep them healthy,” he said.

Whelan is also keenly aware of his own physical, financial and emotional health.

“The reality is that when you get off the plane, you find that your former life isn’t there. The homes that we’ve left are not the homes that we come back to. It’s a process of putting puzzle pieces together yourself.”

–Paul Whelan

He remembers hearing that returning from a hostage situation is akin to having held your breath underwater, then suddenly rising to the surface and gasping for air.

“The reality is that when you get off the plane, you find that your former life isn’t there,” Whelan said. “The homes that we’ve left are not the homes that we come back to. It’s a process of putting puzzle pieces together yourself.”

Whelan wants to help the government develop new methods to support the next returning hostages.

Then, he says, maybe his over half-a-decade in the darkest corners of the Russian prison system will count for more than just time taken away from him.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan delivered his final State of the City address Tuesday night, speaking to an invitation-only crowd at the new Hudson’s development in downtown Detroit.

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

Duggan spent much of the speech reviewing the city’s successes over the past decade, and focused on some highlights of the past year — such as the lowest homicide rate since 1965 and growth in Detroit’s population for the first time since 1957.   

One of the big challenges for the Duggan administration was the need to eliminate abandoned homes.  There were 47,000 at the start of his tenure.  Last night, he predicted that by the end of the year there would only be 1,000 abandoned homes left in Detroit. 

“Detroit’s biggest battle for the last 12 years has been the neighborhoods, and the 47,000 abandoned houses. I thought we could bring every neighborhood back, and we started by demolishing at rates faster than anybody in the country. But to me the real test wasn’t how many we could knock down…but how many we could save,” he said.

Duggan credited much of the city’s turnaround to the ability of city leaders to work together, instead of fighting and blaming each other for existing problems. Duggan announced late last year that he would not seek a fourth term as mayor of Detroit.

In January, he declared his intentions to run for governor of Michigan – not as a democrat or a Republican – but as an independent. He’s been making stops in different corners of the state since then. 

Other headlines for Wednesday, March 26, 2025: 

• Detroit attorney Todd Perkins has sent out information saying he’ll formally announce the beginning of his campaign for mayor next week.
• Gas prices remain steady in metro Detroit, with AAA Michigan reporting the average price of a gallon of self-serve unleaded is $3.10 — the same as it was a week ago. Prices did jump over the past couple of weeks.  Industry analysts say that price increase was due to higher gasoline demand as Americans travel for spring break.
• March Madness continues to capture the attention of metro Detroiters — especially with the state’s two largest universities — University of Michigan and Michigan State — still in contention for a national championship.

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

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

Today on The Metro we bring you a conversation with the Detroit Documenters, an organization that trains and pays residents to cover government meetings in southeast Michigan. 

One thing Detroit Documenters is learning at recent meetings is that County Veteran Affairs offices across the state are in a tricky financial situation. Money they usually receive from the Michigan County Veteran Service Fund was miscalculated. 

This comes at a time when President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are cutting funds and firing people in the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, making all financial support more crucial than before.

Metro Producer Jack Filbrandt sat down with Documenter Marcia Hartman and Coordinator Noah Kincade to find out how this accounting came about and its effect on Wayne County. 

County VAs can apply for $50,000 to support veterans. Any money not used from this fund is pooled together and distributed based on the number of veterans living in counties. 

Kincade spoke to Christyn Herman, a public affairs officer at the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. She said more counties used their initial $50,000 which shrank the pot being redistributed across the state. 

The Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency is planning visits and working with county VA offices across the state, Herman said. They understand less money going to counties means fewer veterans being helped. 

Use the media player above to hear the full conversation.

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

WDET’s CuriosiD series answers your questions about everything Detroit. Subscribe to CuriosiD on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

In this episode of CuriosiD, we answer the question:

“How did Ann Arbor get its name?”

Ann Arbor is known for its tree-lined streets and vibrant university-town feel. But how did it get its name? One WDET listener wanted to find out.

Rhea Walden, a longtime WDET listener and social worker in metro Detroit, spent years living and studying in the Ypsilanti-Ann Arbor area. She says the question had been on her mind for decades. So, she wrote to CuriosiD.

The short answer

There are a couple theories about how Ann Arbor got its name.

The most widely accepted version — and the one Walden remembers reading — is that the town was named after the founders’ wives.

“Every time I went to Ann Arbor, I would always wonder, how did this place get its name?” Walden said. “I looked it up, and I swear it said that it was named after one of the founders’ wives. So when the question popped back up in my head some years later, I went to go look it up again — it was not there.”

To get an answer, we turned to Grace Shackman, a longtime Ann Arbor historian and writer for the Ann Arbor Observer, who confirmed the theory.

Meet the founders

Ann Arbor was officially founded in 1824 by two men: John Allen and Elisha Rumsey. But despite their place in the city’s history, Shackman says they weren’t community visionaries.

“These two guys met on the way here. They also knew that…the next year the Erie Canal was going to open. In which time it would be a lot easier for people to get here,” she said. “So they decided to pool their money, and they each, you know, equal to what they could put in, but bought this land.”

Allen and Rumsey were land speculators, looking to turn a profit. They purchased 640 acres of land along the Huron River and planned to subdivide it into smaller plots to sell to new settlers.

To make the town more appealing — and valuable — they lobbied to have it named the Washtenaw County seat.

“They got it because they offered free land to the government,” Shackman said. “And they offered to build a courthouse and a jail, and also a bridge across the Huron River.”

So why ‘Ann Arbor’?

According to Shackman, the naming of the city has a mix of romance and marketing behind it.

“John Allen was married to Ann Allen, and Rumsey — the woman that he was running away with — was Mary Ann Rumsey. So they decided on ‘Ann’s’… Ann Arbor.”

The word “Arbor” was likely a nod to the oak trees that once dominated the landscape, she said.

And then they left…

Despite founding the city, neither of Ann Arbor’s founders stayed very long.

“These two guys were just…it was just for money. And neither of them stayed very long,” Shackman said. “John Allen, he just… he was a wheeler-dealer, and he just kept moving. So he ended up, I think, on the West Coast, and then he died.”

Mary Ann Rumsey also disappeared from town history. And Ann Allen? She didn’t stay either.

“She was from Virginia, and she liked Virginia ‘civilized’ life better,” Shackman said. “When [Allen] left, she just went back to Virginia.”

The name (and city) endured

The city’s original spelling was “Annarbour,” recorded in Wayne County on May 25, 1824. Over time, it became the spelling we know today.

Despite its mercenary beginnings, Ann Arbor grew into a thriving and beloved city:

• 1837: The University of Michigan relocated to Ann Arbor, transforming it into an academic center.
• It became a hub for German immigrants, artists, musicians, and eventually a global destination for progressive ideas and innovation.

And through all that, the name continued.

“Even if the founders weren’t in it for the long haul, it’s kind of nice that the name stuck,” Rhea said.

We want to hear from you! 

Have a question about southeast Michigan’s history or culture?
Send it our way at wdet.org/curiosid, or fill out the form below. You ask, we answer.

More from CuriosiD:

• Does Gen Z know who Bob Seger is?
• What is the oldest bar in Detroit?
• What happened to the Cobo Hall Christmas Carnival?

Want more stories like this? Sign up for WDET’s weekly newsletter and never miss a curiosity uncovered.

If you’re headed to the gas station to fill up your tank on Wednesday, you might be in for a shock. 

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

Metro Detroit gas prices have jumped seven cents per gallon since Tuesday.  The average price of a gallon of self-serve unleaded is now $3.10.  That’s up from $3.03 on Tuesday. AAA Michigan’s Howard Hughey says consumer demand is to blame. 

“As we roll into spring break for a lot of students and families next week, demand typically — as you know the law of supply and demand — as demand increases so do prices sometimes. And so I would assume that we may see a level off after this spring break travel or anticipated spring break travel.”

Gas prices around Michigan average $3.14 per gallon.  That’s up 12 cents from Tuesday.

More headlines for Wednesday, March 19, 2025:

• Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration has announced the date of his State of the City address, next Tuesday, March 25.  The invitation-only crowd will get a chance to see the new Hudson tower development downtown, on the site of the old Hudson’s department store. Duggan is expected to talk about his administration’s accomplishments over the past year. This will be his final State of the City address, as he has started a campaign for governor of Michigan as an independent instead of seeking reelection.  
• Mayor Duggan, City Council President Mary Sheffield and others were on hand Tuesday for the opening of a new residential substance abuse treatment center.  The Anchor at Mariners Inn is a $26 million project that will expand the agency’s services and allow for more residents to be housed there. Duggan says Mariners Inn has been a cornerstone of recovery in Detroit for decades. The development has 40 residential units for those recovering from substance abuse, and another 44 for those transitioning from homelessness.
• The historic Dearborn Inn is reopening after a two-year long restoration project.
• March Madness is underway. The annual NCAA men’s basketball tournament began this week, with a field of 68 teams vying to become national champions.  Both Michigan and Michigan State have been selected to take part in the men’s tournament. Michigan’s first games is Thursday night at 10. against UC-San Diego.  Michigan State plays Bryant at 10 p.m. on Friday. The NCAA women’s tournament is also taking place. Michigan plays the winner of Wednesday’s Iowa State – Princeton game, Friday morning at 11:30.  Michigan State plays its first-round game against Harvard Saturday afternoon at 4:30. 

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

Detroit’s iconic area code is getting some company.

The Michigan Public Service Commission says the city and adjacent suburbs will run out of available 313 numbers by the end of 2027.

When that happens, new phone lines will start with 679. The new area code will share the same space as 313.

Ryan McAnany directs the MPSC’s telecommunications division. He says 679 will not replace 313, and people with 313 numbers will not have to change them.

“Everyone that is a 313 customer or has a 313 telephone number, nothing will impact them,” he said. “The 679 area code overlay will impact only new customers.”

The MPSC previously said that the number of unassigned 313 numbers would be exhausted this year.

Read more: Detroit could run out of 313 phone numbers, new 679 area code proposed

Dialing extra digits

One thing will change: people with 313 numbers will eventually need to dial 10 digits — including the area code — to make local calls.

Starting April 7, customers will have six months to adjust.

“They don’t have to start calling 10 digits on April 7,” McAnany said. “They still can call the seven digits, but we’re trying to get the word out to customers that this change is happening, and it will be mandatory starting Oct. 7.”

Although the new 679 area code officially begins in November, McAnany says it might take a couple of years to catch on. But the number of available 313 numbers is dwindling.

“Right now, the projection is fourth quarter of 2027,” he said. “But that end date is a moving target, so it all just depends on how many numbers are being requested.”

McAnany says the changes will not result in higher phone bills.

“As far as calling rates, nothing will change,” he said. “Local calls will still be the same. There will not be any additional charges to that, and long distance will be the same.”

Area codes through the years

The 313 area code was established in 1947 as part of the North American Numbering Plan. It originally covered all of southeast Michigan, including Detroit, Ann Arbor, Flint and Monroe.

As the region’s population grew, so did the demand for new phone lines, as well as pagers, fax machines, and dial-up internet modems.

In 1993, a new area code — 810 — was created for areas north of the city, including Oakland and Macomb counties. Within a few years, they received their own area codes — 248 for Oakland County in 1997, and 586 for Macomb in 2001.

In 2002, Oakland County got a second area code — 947 — which covers the same area as 248.

Ann Arbor, Monroe, and most of the Downriver communities have been in the 734 area code since 1997.

The first measles case in Michigan this year was confirmed in Oakland County on Friday. Officials continue to monitor the case and others who may have been exposed.

Public health officials in northern Michigan say low vaccination rates in some counties are causing real concern for a measles outbreak if the virus makes its way to the region.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), measles is “so contagious that if one person has it, 9 out of 10 people of all ages around him or her will also become infected if they are not protected.” The disease causes high fevers and rashes to form on the skin and can lead to other health issues like pneumonia, blindness and brain swelling.

Thanks to the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine, the disease was considered eliminated in the United States in 2000, meaning “the absence of the continuous spread of disease was greater than 12 months.”

The MMR vaccine is safe and highly effective at preventing measles. Children typically receive two shots to be fully immunized — once when they’re 12 to 15 months old and another when they’re 4 to 6 years old.

But experts, like Dr. Joshua Meyerson, say the disease is on the rise due to declining childhood vaccination rates.

Meyerson serves as the Medical Director for three health departments in northern Michigan. Combined, these departments serve Benzie, Leelanau, Charlevoix, Antrim, Emmet, Otsego, Alpena, Cheboygan, Presque Isle, and Montmorency counties.

As Michigan experiences its first case, measles outbreaks continue to hit communities in West Texas and New Mexico. Two people have died from the disease and nearly 300 more cases have been reported.

“When you look at those 19 to 35 month-olds or 24 to 48 month-olds in [northern Michigan counties], they’re no better, unfortunately, than the rates that are in the counties in Texas and New Mexico that are having an outbreak,” Meyerson said. “So, that tells you that we are just as vulnerable as those places that are having ongoing spread.”

For comparison, in Gaines County, Texas, where much of the outbreak is centered, about 82% of kindergarteners are vaccinated. Many places in northern Michigan are below that.

Officials are also keeping watch on a measles outbreak in southwestern Ontario in areas near the border to Detroit. According to a report from Public Health Ontario, as of last week, 372 cases have been reported across 11 public health units since October.

“That’s not getting as much news,” Meyerson said. “But that’s another area that has me and other public health providers in Michigan concerned.”

Childhood vaccination rates have declined nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic as more parents claim exemptions for their kids from getting required shots.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called the decision to get vaccinated “a personal one.” The federal government’s messaging about the outbreak seems to be putting more emphasis on treatments like vitamin A than on vaccination.

Because measles is so contagious, 95% of a population needs to be fully vaccinated against the disease in order to claim herd immunity.

Scott Izzo is an epidemiologist and the community health director for District Health Department #2 which encompasses Alcona, Iosco, Ogema and Oscoda counties.

He said northern Michigan residents can set up appointments to receive an MMR vaccine with their local health department. Older individuals may want to consider getting a booster shot if measles cases start popping up in the region.

About one in five people who contract measles will end up hospitalized, Izzo said. Because there’s no specific treatment for measles, experts say preventative measures like vaccines are the most effective way to combat the disease.

“These individuals and communities don’t have the same memory of what measles is and what it can do to people,” Izzo said. “I really feel that the best thing that we can do is educate the public, give them the information that they need.”

VACCINATION RATES

Below are the rates of children 19-35 months old that have received at least one MMR vaccine in all northern-lower Michigan counties. They’ve been grouped by health department jurisdiction. Experts say 95% of a population must be vaccinated in order to claim herd immunity.

Grand Traverse County Health Department: 

• Grand Traverse County 79.9%

Benzie-Leelau Health Department:

• Leelanau 73%
• Benzie 81%

Health Department of Northwest Michigan:

• Charlevoix 76%
• Emmet 79%
• Antrim 79%
• Otsego 79%

District Health Department #4:

• Alpena 83%
• Cheboygan 75%
• Montmorency 72%
• Presque Isle 77%

District Health Department #10:

• Crawford 78.9%
• Wexford 87.2%
• Oceana 69.5%
• Manistee 67.7%
• Mason 73.9%
• Mecosta 83.2%
• Newaygo 79.2%
• Missaukee 76.4%
• Lake 71.6%
• Kalkaska 79.4%

District Health Department #2

• Alcona 82%
• Iosco 77.2%
• Ogemaw 77.8%
• Oscoda 52.8%

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.

A movement to protest outside a Tesla showroom near Grand Rapids appears to be gaining steam after a second week.

On Monday afternoon, about three dozen people stood outside the showroom on 29th Avenue in Kentwood to protest Tesla CEO Elon Musk. It was not a huge crowd, but it was the second week in a row for protesters. And now there are plans to continue the demonstration on the coming Mondays.

Elizabeth Jenkins said she accidentally became the organizer of the protest after looking into protests at other Tesla dealerships nationwide, and deciding that West Michigan should have its own protests.

“Last week I told my mom, ‘I accidentally signed up to make a protest, do you want to come with me?’ And I thought it was just her and me.”

Instead, dozens showed up. And since there was interest to do it again, Jenkins said she planned a second event, with more to come after this week.

Jenkins’ mom, Eileen, said she didn’t expect the small protest to make a big difference, but it’s important for her to make a statement.

“I don’t think that it will affect Elon Musk very much,” Eileen Jenkins said. “I think he looks at us as minor. But I do think that money is the only thing he understands, and this is the only way we can — I don’t know — make a money statement.”

Protesters have been making statements at Tesla showrooms around the nation in recent weeks, including regular protests at the Tesla showroom in Ann Arbor.

They oppose deep cuts made by a new government agency known as DOGE, spearheaded by Musk. Eileen Jenkins said Musk had taken the purse strings from the government by slashing programs without oversight from Congress.

The protests at the showroom just outside Grand Rapids started later than others around the nation, and so far have been smaller than some seen in other cities.

But Monday’s demonstration drew some who’ve not been part of protests in the past.

Tom Northway said he was a former Republican who hadn’t gone to a protest since he protested against the Vietnam War.

He said he’s been increasingly alarmed by both Trump and Elon Musk, and he was inspired watching an interview with Nobel Prize winner Maria Ressa, a journalist in the Philippines whose outlet, Rappler, pushed back against the administration of Rodrigo Duterte, despite facing prosecution. Still, Northway said initially he wasn’t sure if he wanted to join Monday’s protest. He followed along with the event plans on social media.

“I looked up and saw there was only five people, and I thought, ‘Eh I don’t think I’m going to do that,’” Northway said. “And then there were 10 last Saturday night, and then yesterday afternoon I looked and it was 140. I said ‘Okay, I got a couple hours that I can spare and I got nothing else to do.’”

On Monday, he stood across the street from the Tesla showroom with his dog Jagger and held a sign that said, “Elon Musk is a Nazi,” a statement he said he felt comfortable with after seeing Musk give a gesture that appeared to some to be similar to a Nazi salute following a speech in Washington D.C.

“I have no problems carrying this and thinking I’m correct,” Northway said. “If somebody doesn’t stand up and say this is wrong, if everybody sits back on their couches, then nothing gets done.”

A Kentwood police officer at the front of the showroom said staff did not wish to comment on the protest.