Even though Michigan’s 2026 state budget was already passed and signed into law, the drama continues as the Senate and House disagree about a bill calling for more transparency with enhancement grants known as “earmarks.” This week on MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow explain what earmarks are and what role they play in the recently-passed budget.

Then, they sit down with Budget Director Jen Flood to dig into the details of what was included in the state budget.

In this episode:

• How are earmarks used in Michigan state politics?
• What went into the 2026 state budget? 
• How big is the 2026 state budget?

Explaining earmarks

There’s a long history of earmarks being used as a way for lawmakers to bring new projects and resources to their districts. Some have gone to organizations to carry out a specific function, and some have been the center of controversy.

The purpose of these new transparency bills is to establish earmark guidelines before the next budget season. This past season, earmark guidelines were being established at the same time as lawmakers were working on the budget.

Unpacking the state budget

Flood shared that there were a lot of obstacles to overcome when making the 2026 state budget.

“We had a lot of things working against us,” she said. “We had a divided legislature for the first time in 15 years, we were facing a road funding shortfall, and last summer, Congress blew a $1 billion hole in our state budget with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. And so we had our work cut out for us.”

Flood added that the budget includes $2 billion in road funding, which she says will protect jobs in the construction industry.

Detroit officials have opened up a new section of the Joe Louis Greenway. 

About two miles of the greenway’s new additions are spread throughout the city’s west side, running from Joy Road to Chicago Street.   A sculpture of Joe Louis was also unveiled at the trailhead of this section near Grand River and Oakman.

District 7 City Councilman Fred Durhal says the greenway expansion will help bring city residents together. 

“What this project means for our community here is connectivity.  Connectivity to our lives.  Opportunity for our youth, for our seniors—all to come together in a healthy way.”

Mayor Mike Duggan also attended Tuesday’s event.  He says the greenway is making a visible difference in city neighborhoods, adding that the name of the project makes sense for Detroit. 

“Whose name could possibly be great enough—whose impact in the city could be great enough that would affect and do justice?  And it wasn’t a hard decision at all.  And so to recognize Joe Louis forever—as my friend Joyce said— “you named a hockey arena after him and you knocked it down, but greenways are forever.” 

Duggan says about 6 miles of greenway have been completed and another 6 miles are under construction.  The entire project, when finished, should cover about 27 miles. 

Additional headlines from Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick dies at 80

Former Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick has died. 

She served as one of Detroit’s representatives in Congress from 1997 until 2011.  Before that Cheeks Kilpatrick was a member of the state House from 1979 until 1997.  She was also the mother of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. 

Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick was 80 years old. 

Whitmer signs budget  

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed the state budget into law. 

The $81 billion budget includes more money for roads, and a larger wholesale tax on marijuana.  The marijuana tax has been increased to 24% as part of a deal to raise funds for road construction and maintenance. 

In a video statement, Whitmer says students will benefit from the new budget, too. “We’re making a historic investment in our children, including the more than $10,000 per student investment to improve their classroom experience, free school meals for all to save parents more than a thousand dollars a year per child and make sure no kid goes hungry.”

State legislators failed to meet an October first deadline to get a budget to the governor, but they came up with a temporary plan to keep state government open while they finished up final details. 

Casino revenue update

Detroit’s three casinos brought in $98.9 million in revenue last month.  That’s down about 3% from September 2024. 

MGM Grand continued to hold the largest share of the Detroit casino market at 47%, Motor City had 30% and Hollywood Casino at Greektown had 23%. 

The casinos paid $16.1 million in wagering taxes and other fees to the City of Detroit in September.  They paid another $8 million to the State of Michigan last month. 

Tigers status 

The Detroit Tigers are fighting to stay alive in the American League Divisional Series. 

They lost to the Seattle Mariners yesterday 8 – 4.  The Mariners lead the best-of-five series two games to one.  That means Detroit will be eliminated if they lose another game. 

The Tigers and the Mariners play game four this afternoon at Comerica Park.  First pitch is at 3:08 p.m. 

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Michigan’s cannabis industry has become one of the largest in the nation. Last year alone, people here bought over $3 billion worth of legal weed, second only to California.

Now, the state wants to take that success and pave roads with it. State lawmakers just passed a new 24 percent wholesale tax in the state budget, set to begin in January. It will raise an estimated $420 million a year for transportation projects.

Supporters call it smart budgeting, “pot for potholes.” But others see a troubling shift: a young industry, still finding its footing, being asked to carry the weight of Michigan’s infrastructure.

The Michigan Cannabis Industry Association is taking the debate to court. It has filed a complaint arguing the new wholesale tax unlawfully alters a voter-initiated cannabis law under the state constitution.

Underlying inequalities

There is also a deeper tension. For decades, Black people in Michigan were nearly four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession than white people.

When voters approved the legalization of recreational cannabis in 2018, it came with a promise: that the people most harmed by prohibition would share in the new prosperity.

This new tax could test that promise if higher costs push small, Black- and brown-owned businesses out of the market.

So today, The Metro explores these tensions and concerns through the perspective of people in the cannabis industry.

First, we hear from Jamie Lowell, a longtime cannabis advocate. He’ll help us step back and learn: how does Michigan’s market compare with other states?

Then we turn to Al Williams, owner of DaCut dispensaries, and president of the Detroit Cannabis Industry Association.

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

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More stories from The Metro

“Don’t tell me what you value. Show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value,” former President Joe Biden used to say. 

What he meant was that budgets aren’t just numbers on a page. They represent the things that we prioritize, the stuff we want expanded, and the work we want to shrink. 

The 2026 Michigan state budget took some time to sort out, but late last week a $75.9 billion budget was finally passed. 

Robyn Vincent spoke with Zach Gorchow, the president of Gongwer News Service Michigan to learn more about what the state budget reveals.

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

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More stories from The Metro

When we started working on MichMash this week, it was past the Oct. 1 deadline and a state budget for the 2026 fiscal year had yet to be passed. In this week’s first episode, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben speculate when a budget might get passed and what would happen in the meantime.

Then early Friday morning, Michigan lawmakers finally passed the budget — 3 days late. So in this bonus episode, Cheyna and Alethia discuss the details of the budget with Crain’s Detroit Senior Reporter Dave Eggert.

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

Updated 12:00 p.m. ET, Friday, October 3, 2025.

Funding for arts and culture grants in Michigan is preserved in the state budget for fiscal year 2026.

Last week, Governor Whitmer, Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks and House Speaker Matt Hall announced they had agreed on a framework for the state budget and it would be passed before October 1. The state budget was passed early Friday morning, with state funding for arts and culture grants preserved.

Last month’s budget proposal passed by the Republican-led State House eliminated all funding for arts and culture grants from the state.

The entity that administers arts and culture grants for the state is the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC). In 2025, MACC grants awarded totaled over $10.5 million.

The council distributes grant funds to arts and culture programs throughout the state, providing funding for things like K-12 arts programs, cultural festivals and museums.

To better understand what arts and culture grants from the state fund, Cary Junior II spoke with Lauren Ward, director of the Cultural Advocacy Network of Michigan. They spoke on Thursday, before the final state budget had been passed for fiscal year 2026.

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More stories from The Metro

Negotiations continue in Lansing in an effort to complete a state budget before an October first deadline.  Failure to do so would mean a partial government shutdown. 

Such an action could prompt a closure of state parks, including Belle Isle.  Secretary of State offices could close, and even Detroit’s casinos could be affected. 

The state has not yet said what its plans are if next week’s deadline is not met.  Democrats and Republicans have not been able to reach a deal on key issues such as road funding. 

Additional headlines from Wednesday, September 24, 2025

Flood Watch 

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for Wayne, Oakland and Macomb Counties until Wednesday evening.  Steady rain is expected and could possibly be heavy at times. The weather service says some areas upstream could see one to four inches of rain. 

If you’ve experienced flooding in your area in recent months, it might be a good idea to check your basement periodically over the next few days.  Make sure to place important items out of reach of possible flood waters. 

Kimmel returns

Detroiters got a chance to see the Jimmy Kimmel show again last night.  WXYZ-TV aired the program. 

Kimmel’s show was suspended last week after the late-night comedian make remarks concerning political reaction to the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.  In response, several stations around the country decided not to air the show and the ABC network followed suit. 

The network says it temporarily suspended the show to keep from inflaming a delicate situation.   Kimmel said last night that he did not mean to make light of Kirk’s death. 

Kimmel’s show airs in Detroit weeknights at 11:30 p.m. on WXYZ-TV. 

Tigers collapse 

The Detroit Tigers are looking like they may have a hard time making the Major League Baseball playoffs. 

At one point during the summer, the team had a 14 game lead in the American League Central.  But now Detroit is on a seven-game losing streak, and has lost 9 of its last 10 games. 

Cleveland beat the Tigers 5 – 2 Tuesday night, allowing the Guardians to grab a share of first place in the division.  The Tigers and Guardians play again tonight and tomorrow in Cleveland. 

There are just 11 games left in the regular season. 

Lions celebrate victory

And the City of Detroit continues its celebrations after the Lions’ win on Monday Night Football this week.  The team posted a decisive 38 – 30 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.  After the game, Lions quarterback Jared Goff praised the team’s tenacity. 

“It was a good representation of what we want to do and I thought again being able to kind of springboard off of that last week and do it again –in a different fashion, though.  More running the ball.  More ground and pound.  Obviously, D-Mo having the night he had is incredible.  I think we displayed that we can win in different ways.” 

“D-Mo” is running back David Montgomery, who ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.  The Lions now have a record of two wins and one loss. 

They host the Cleveland Browns at Ford Field on Sunday afternoon.  Game time is 1 pm. 

If there’s something in your neighborhood you think we should know about, drop us a line at DetroitEveningReport@wdet.org.  You know how much we love hearing about Detroit 

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Michigan mass transit agencies are waiting to find out how much money they will get from the state in 2026.

Lawmakers have until October 1 to approve a budget and send it to Governor Gretchen Whitmer to sign.

Transit proposals are similar

The governor, the state House, and the state Senate have all approved $226 million for local bus operating revenue. The House budget proposal adds $60 million in new revenue for transit systems that serve more than 100,000 people. The Senate plan includes $15 million in new funding.

The Michigan Public Transit Association analyzed all three budget plans. It says bus systems would lose an average of 5 or 6 percent in state funding if the $226 million figure is approved.

SMART, Southeast Michigan’s regional bus service, gets about a quarter of its funding from the state. General Manager Tiffany Gunter says the governor’s proposal would cost SMART about $8.6 million.

“We obviously don’t know where those cuts would come from directly today,” Gunter says. “This would have a horrible effect on the region’s ability to move mobility forward.”

Cuts jeopardize improvements

Gunter, who became SMART’s GM in August, says state budget cuts threaten plans to improve customer service. That includes expanding the Flex program, which lets people in about a dozen communities schedule shuttle rides seven days a week.

“We wouldn’t be able to move forward with those improvements to the service and those enhancements, because we just wouldn’t have the funding to do so,” she says. “We’d be looking at areas where we could pull back service instead.”

While the House proposal is more generous than either Whitmer’s or the Senate’s, Gunter says the devil is in the details. To get a share of the extra $60 million, a transit system must get at least 10% of its revenue from rider fares. Gunter says SMART’s farebox recovery ratio is 4%.

“43% of our riders are either seniors or people with disabilities, and those individuals pay a half fare,” she says.

Most funding comes from regional tax

60% of SMART’s revenue comes from a regional transit millage, which enables the agency to offer fare discounts.

Gunter says her goal is to ensure that SMART buses are safe, convenient, and reliable.

“We’re not just moving people here,” she says. “We know that what we do every day gives people access to opportunity.”

SMART says it carries an average of almost 11 million riders per year.