Michigan residents who receive SNAP benefits can now earn up to $50 a day to buy fruits and vegetables through the Double Up Food Bucks program, more than twice the previous daily limit.
The post Michigan doubles daily food assistance benefit for fruits and vegetables appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Michigan primaries usually come and go with most people not voting. They’re low-profile elections in August, and turnout tends to land somewhere around a quarter of registered voters.
Last night was different.
Over 1.5 million ballots were counted in the Democratic Senate primary alone. That’s more than any non-presidential Democratic primary in this state going back to at least 1998.
That race, between Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, is the most expensive Democratic Senate primary in history. El-Sayed won the primary.
Other progressive candidates won their races too: Donovan McKinney won the Democratic nomination for the 13th District seat in the U.S. House against incumbent Shri Thanedar, and Abbas Alawieh won the primary for Michigan senate in the 2nd District.
Zach Gorchow is president of Gongwer News Service of Michigan and has covered state politics for a long time. He spoke with The Metro‘s Robyn Vincent about how this election shook out, and what it may mean come November.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.
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Aug. 4 is voting day for the Michigan primary. WDET will be working hard to keep you up-to-date on races and results that will determine the ballot come November.
Our journalists are monitoring local and national races, with special attention to the Democratic U.S. senate primary and the races for Michigan’s gubernatorial candidates. We’re also following U.S. House races, with a focus on districts 12 and 13.
Follow along to see election results as they are announced. Polls close at 8 p.m.
The post Michigan primary coverage continues appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
If you’ve spent a bad week this summer wondering what you ate, you’re not alone.
Michigan seems to be at the epicenter of a fast-growing cyclospora outbreak. The state is reporting far more cases than any other — over 9,000 Michiganders have gotten sick from the parasite.
That is the story in front of us. Behind it is a harder one.
A year ago, about three-quarters of Americans said they trusted the CDC’s health advice. Today, it is half.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic, fired the entire committee that advises the CDC on vaccines and replaced it with his own picks. A federal court blocked those changes, though the administration is appealing.
Meanwhile, many pediatricians did something they had never done. The American Academy of Pediatrics issued its own vaccine schedule rather than following the government’s.
So when health officials tell you how to keep your family safe from a parasite in the lettuce, there is a question underneath it now: Do you still believe them?
Dr. Céline Gounder is an infectious disease specialist, epidemiologist, and public health correspondent for CBS News and KFF Health News. She hosts the podcasts Epidemic and American Diagnosis.
Gounder worked on the ground during the Ebola epidemic in Guinea and spent years studying tuberculosis and HIV across southern Africa. She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss the erosion of America’s public health apparatus and how it’s affecting the cyclospora outbreak and public health more broadly.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.
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The post The Metro: Why we’re getting worse at catching outbreaks appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
Starbucks workers at a Westland store voted to unionize Monday, becoming the 20th Michigan location to join a nationwide organizing campaign that began nearly five years ago.
The post Westland Starbucks becomes Michigan’s 20th unionized location appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Over the past four months, northern Michigan has experienced a series of extreme weather events.
In March, an ice storm caused tens of thousands of utility customers to lose power. In April, record-breaking precipitation caused rivers and lakes to flood, ripping apart roads. Now, smoke from Canadian and Minnesota wildfires has been creating air quality alerts.
Before the smoke blew to metro Detroit, it hit northern Michigan first, choking that part of the state with a blanket of smoke.
Climate change is affecting everyone, but effects can very depending on the location. What are things like for residents of northern Michigan? And, how are they preparing for future extreme weather events?
Vivian La is a climate solutions reporter for Interlochen Public Radio and Grist. She spoke about the northern Michiganders trying to adapt to climate change — and those who are trying to maintain the status quo — with The Metro’s Sam Corey.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.
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Alongside comfort classics from Talking Heads, TV on the Radio, Doves, Wes Montgomery and Abdullah Ibrahim are some of the year’s most interesting newer releases from James Blake, Benjamin Booker, pôt-pot, Nirosta Steel and others.
In the 2 p.m. hour, pianist Michael Malis and Constantine Novotny perform their new album “Another Shore, Another Country” live in our studios ahead of their Concert of Colors performance on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Hellenic Museum of Michigan.
Malis’s original song cycle is based on the poetry of C.P. Cavafy, the seminal poet of the Greek diaspora. They will also perform traditional songs in an intimate, stripped-down setting, evoking the beauty and majesty of Greece.
Malis is a recipient of Greek America Foundation’s 40 Under 40 Award. His music has been described as “downright transcendental” and he has shared the stage with luminaries such as Marcus Belgrave, Marion Hayden, Tyshawn Sorey and many others.
Novotny is a baritone who has performed with Apollo’s Fire Singers, American Bach Soloists, Audivi, and many others. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and St. John the Divine Cathedral.
Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.
In The Groove with Ryan Patrick Hooper playlist for July 17, 2026
Listen to In The Groove with host Ryan Patrick Hooper weekdays from noon-3 p.m. ET on 101.9 WDET or stream on-demand at wdet.org.
WDET’s unique music programs are dedicated to exploring the music and culture of our region and the world. Keep the music going. Please make a gift today. Give now »
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Tensions are high in Lansing among the Democrats with Governor Whitmer vetoing a series a bills from her own party. This week, on MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Services’ Zach Gorchow unpack the 18 months of legal battles that led to this moment.
Then later on, David Meninga, senior vice president for Community Development Programs & Execution at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation stops by. He talks about reviving the transformational brownfield program, a state incentive that ended a few years ago but will soon come back once Governor Whitmer signs bills that passed the Legislature on July 3.
In this episode
In late 2024, as the Democratic trifecta in Lansing was about to end, several high-profile bills passed.
There was legislation prioritized by unions, a key Democratic constituency, to have have local governments, school districts, colleges, universities and other public bodies pay a greater share of their employees’ health insurance premiums. There also was legislation enabling the state’s corrections officers in prisons to gain access to the State Police pension system.
There were bills to allow for a regional property tax to provide funds for the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the Detroit Historical Center, as well as relief from debt garnishment.
Gorchow said after that the bills went no where. “Mysteriously – and this has never been explained – the nine bills containing these policies were never walked over to the governor’s office and formally presented to her for a signing decision. The bills remained somewhere on someone’s desk in the Legislature.”
After 18 months of legal battles, the Michigan Supreme Court decided not to take the case, leaving in place a lower court ruling requiring the House to send the bills to the governor. About five hours later, the House complied with the courts and presented the bills. A couple hours later, the governor’s office sent out a veto letter indicating Whitmer had vetoed all nine bills.
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The nation’s largest apartment manager is accused of illegally rejecting low-income tenants with housing vouchers at properties across Michigan as part of what a housing watchdog describes as a widespread pattern of discrimination spanning six states and Washington, D.C.
The post Undercover investigation finds Michigan apartments illegally rejecting housing vouchers appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
In a normal year, Michigan sees about 50 cases of a parasite called cyclospora. As of July 16, over 4,000 people have been infected, with more than 100 hospitalizations. Stranger still, Michigan’s own case count is larger than the entire national total.
The parasite cyclospora causes days, sometimes weeks, of explosive diarrhea, and health officials still can’t tell you exactly which food it rode in on. Their best guess this week: lettuce.
Given all this, something feels off, not just with our salad, but with the system that is supposed to see these things coming.
Professor Barbara Kowalcyk has spent more than 20 years trying to fix that system. She came to the job the hardest way there is: in 2001, her two-and-a-half-year-old son, Kevin, died after eating contaminated food. She turned that loss into her life’s work — she helped create the blueprint for America’s last major food-safety law. Today, she directs the Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition Security at The George Washington University.
She joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to assess this moment for Americans and how it is challenging the people working in public health trying to protect them.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org.
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The United Auto Workers on Monday accused a corporate-backed super PAC supporting U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of misleading Michigan voters by using the union’s logo in campaign ads.
The post UAW slams pro-Stevens super PAC over ‘misleading’ campaign ads appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
The Ann Arbor Art Fair will welcome nearly half a million visitors from July 16-18.
There will be a thousand juried artists from across Michigan and the entire country. They will display their work at three simultaneous nonprofit events:
A Youth Art Fair and Kids Collectors Club also emerges for grade school creatives.
Karen Bauer has been the executive director of the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair for 20 years, while Teesha Lieber is a Detroit marbling artist from Spontaneity Works. Both joined The Metro to talk more about this year’s festival.
Bauer says putting so many separate fairs together may seem like a lot, but experience is on their side. “These fairs have been working together since the early 60s, we are a well oiled machine at this point.”
Tune in to listen to the discussion with Bauer, Lieber to learn more about youth participation, and how art remains authentic during the digital age.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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After President Donald Trump took the country to war and raised costs, many Republicans are finding it difficult to campaign in this election season.
While the sitting president’s party often performs poorly in midterm elections, the trend seems likely to continue this year.
In general-election polls, Democrat Jocelyn Benson holds the lead. But in politics, anything can happen. Last week, two debates spotlighted the active Republican candidates for governor: Congressman John James, Mike Cox, and Perry Johnson. Who are they, and what do their campaigns reveal about the Republican Party in Michigan?
Andrea Bitely is the founder and principal of Bitely Communications, a Lansing‑based public‑affairs firm. She spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent about the stories the Republican candidates are telling, and why they signal significant changes to the party.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand. Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or NPR or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga’s campaign has paid more than $400,000 to a company owned by his brother, who has simultaneously worked as a full-time real estate agent and helped sell luxury condos owned by Huizenga and his wife.
The post Huizenga’s campaign paid his brother’s business $400,000 as he sold the congressman’s condos appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Dowagiac residents who say a massive data center has made their homes nearly unlivable will get a rare opportunity Monday to confront representatives of the company behind it.
The post Dowagiac residents get their chance to confront data center operators after months of noise appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
“In this episode”
Both the Democratic U.S. Senate debate and the Republican gubernatorial debate showed the divides among the party’s candidates. This week on MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben and Zach Gorchow break down the major components of the race.
During the Republican gubernatorial debate, former Attorney General Mike Cox and businessman Perry Johnson called out the current frontrunner U.S. Rep. John James. In return James had some rebuttals for the two, one of which he may have created because of a MichMash episode.
On March 20th’s episode of MichMash, businessman Perry Johnson said
Johnson touted repealing the income tax will save every family $4,747. On the episode he mentioned part of his calculous was using Google or Chat GPT to figure out the median income in Michigan.
Kasben said James brought those numbers into question. “James called Johnson’s income tax plan magic numbers. That was an interesting attack from James on Johnson’s main policy point for his campaign.”
In the U.S. Senate debate, the remaining two candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens showed their different styles, presenting two different looks of a Democratic candidate. Gorchow pointed out both candidates might still have different challenges when facing their Republican opponent. “I think they both definitely have their own challenges, but I think based on the environment, I would give the Dems the advantage going into November regardless of if it’s El-Sayed or Stevens.”
The Michigan primary elections are on August 4.
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Millionaire U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers said people who blame President Trump for rising prices have “lost their mind,” dismissing voter concerns about affordability as Michigan families continue to struggle with higher costs.
The post Millionaire Mike Rogers says voters blaming Trump for high prices are ‘nuts’ appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.
Come November, thousands of political seats are up for grabs.
One of the most compelling races in Michigan is the Senate. That’s in part because of what it says about the Democratic Party, especially after Mallory McMorrow dropped out.
Most polls have Abdul El-Sayed leading in the race, but there is still uncertainty as to whether he can defeat Haley Stevens, a sitting congresswoman who gained notoriety for her moderation, and for bailing out the auto industry.
Dennis Darnoi is the founder of Densar Consulting, based in Farmington. He says many voters want candidates that have an anti-institutional and populist bent.
“Progressive candidates are running against these establishment candidates and they’re being more successful because the Democratic base is really looking for two things: They’re looking for people who are going to fight and they’re looking for people who are anti-system.”
Darnoi spoke with The Metro’s Robyn Vincent about the Senate race and how it reflects changes to politics in Michigan and beyond.
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.
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Michiganders are broadly against data centers, especially when they’re proposed near their residence.
Their concerns about electricity and water use are compounded by a general feeling that large tech companies control too much of their lives. Residents have gotten particularly loud about those problems at town hall meetings, including at one Saline Township meeting.
Despite local apprehension, Saline is now slated to host one of the largest data centers in the country.
At this point, 52 localities in Michigan have passed data center moratoriums.
But are concerns about hyper-scale data centers overblown? And, are there more benefits that townships aren’t fully appreciating?
Eric Paul Dennis is the infrastructure research associate for the Citizens Research Council. A new report he did on data centers says their benefits often actually outweigh the costs.
“You cannot discount the idea that data centers can increase electricity rates, but it’s actually not that common and quite minimal,” says Dennis. “Regulatory agencies have now kind of gotten ahead of this and I don’t think it’s going to be as much of a concern for the future.”
The Metro‘s Sam Corey spoke with Dennis about why he thinks data center projects sometimes offer more benefits than drawbacks.
After the two spoke, electricity rates increased in Henrico County, Virginia — which is home to 37 data centers. Dominion Energy says it increased the rates due to inflation, rising fuel costs, the cost of grid equipment, and the need to make more grid investments.
The Metro contacted Dennis about the rate increase. He said that while data centers “have caused headaches for grid managers” in Virginia, the problems are not necessarily “critical or unavoidable.” He says, in fact, “We appear to be managing the risks and even benefiting from the addition of data centers on the grid.”
Hear the full conversation using the media player above.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and stream on-demand.
Never miss an episode — subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, NPR, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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