Ono announced the move in an email to the U-M community Sunday night. He said it’s been an honor to lead the school, which hired him away from the University of Cincinnati in 2022.
Ono faces a lawsuit from eight former U-M workers accusing the school of firing them over their support for Palestinians.
The Detroit News reports the plaintiffs are also suing the Board of Regents and other administrators, alleging the university violated their First Amendment right to protest.
Three of the former employees took part in a sit-in at the president’s office. The other five demonstrated outside the U-M art museum. A spokesperson had no comment on the case.
–Reporting by Pat Batcheller, WDET News
More headlines for Monday, May 5, 2025:
The Michigan Global Talent Initiative wants 60% of the state’s workforce to get a post-secondary education or professional certificate by 2030.
The Division of Victim Services provides grant funding to federally recognized tribes for domestic violence through the StrongHearts Native Helpline, an anonymous confidential hotline for Native Americans and Alaska Natives. To contact the helpline, call 1-844-7Native or visit strongheartshelpline.org to chat.
Dearborn’s Economic Development Department and the American Arab Chamber of Commerce is hosting a resource fair from 4-8 p.m Wednesday, May 14, at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.
Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.
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Bees’ pollinating presence helps to ensure the vitality of our food systems.
The work of bees isn’t just happening in fields of wildflowers or quiet suburban gardens. Bees in urban neighborhoods also have an important role to play.
The nonprofit Detroit Hives has turned vacant lots into thriving pollinator habitats and community green spaces. That work includes planting pollinator-friendly trees in neighborhoods that need canopy, beauty and biodiversity. One of the group’s recent projects was at the Finney Community Arboretum and Botanical Garden, which they hope to transform into a thriving community space for pollinators and residents alike.
Detroit Hives Co-founders Tim Paule Jackson and Nicole Lindsey joined The Metro on Monday to discuss their work.
–Segment produced by WDET’s Amanda Le Claire.
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.
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Editor’s note: This story was originally published by Interlochen Public Radio on April 30, 2025.
At a giant dirt lot off a side road in Emmet County, the air smells sharply of pine.
Enormous piles of logs and branches sit around the property.
Terry and Nancy Chamberlin drag pine branches out of the bed of a black pickup truck and a small trailer — trees from their five-acre property in Alanson.
“We got hit real hard on this. We went out here — I think this is our 10th double trip down here in three days — and we’re just having a ball doing this,” Terry said. “And then I can start in the woods, which is going to take me two years to clean up.”
Debris from a massive ice storm at the end of March was strewn across the region. A lot of it fell on power lines, causing widespread outages.
But now, the same debris that knocked out the power a few weeks ago could be used to make electricity.
‘Doing the best that we can’
Utilities worked to clear much of the debris from power lines, and it was up to local emergency management teams and road commissions to figure out what to do with debris piling up around right of ways along the road and on private land.
So some set up these drop off sites, where people can bring branches and trees that were damaged or destroyed by the ice.
Lindsey Walker, who works in outreach for Emmet County Recycling, said they were able to pivot to collecting wooden debris. Usually, a company will come through to grind wood debris people drop off at the county’s waste facility into wood chips.
“We have to justify mobilizing these very expensive grinders and haulers of this material. And so every two years, we’re normally grinding our wood waste,” she said. “We need to have about 5,000 cubic yards on the ground at any time, and now we’ve got about 10 times the amount of that.”
Some established drop-off sites have been open around the clock, receiving debris by truck, trailer and even dump trucks.
“Having sites that are free and ample space for the public to bring debris is really important,” Walker said. “So this site has plenty of capacity for further debris, and then once we get that material ground, then we’re hauling, and so there’s this process of cleaning up sites as they go along. This is like us doing the best that we can with the resources that we have.”
Turning heat into light
Some of the woody debris might go to places like landscaping businesses to use as mulch. But they’re also selling it to biomass facilities nearby, which will turn that into energy.
“I like to use the little saying that we were green before green was cool,” said Tom Clift, the director of biomass operations at NorthStar Clean Energy, a company that runs four such facilities, including one in Grayling. “We’ve been in the renewable power business for a long time.”
NorthStar is one of the companies buying and burning that wooden debris from the storm. It uses that to create electricity. In all, the facility powers up to 38,000 homes. It works with another company, AJD Forest Products, to source and organize deliveries.
“All wood is graded by different levels,” he said. “Biomass levels are really looking at the [British thermal unit] of the wood. If it’s a higher quality BTU product they’ll pay more because it will burn better.”
Clift said they’re not cutting down trees for wood to produce that power.
“Any wood product that we use here was either going to be left on the forest floor, to turn into methane and be released on its own, or it’s other materials that would have gone to the landfill,” he said.
Dealing with forest management and debris after natural disasters is something other areas of the country have been trying to figure out as well, such as places in the southeast hit by Hurricane Helene.
But officials say this is an unusual issue in northern Michigan, which hasn’t typically faced the same kinds of disasters. Having biomass facilities in the region make dealing with debris in this way easier.
Not a new idea
Biomass refers to a range of fuels, from animal manure to trash to wood. Using biomass for energy has a long history. For instance, in the United States residue from wood pulp manufacturing has been a popular source of fuel for electricity over the decades, though that has declined, said Brent Sohngen, a professor at Ohio State University who studies the economics of forestry.
The relationship between biomass-fueled energy and climate is far from straightforward.
Lindsey Walker, with Emmet County Recycling, walks around one of the county’s debris drop-off sites. April 25, 2025.
Public health researchers and environmental groups have raised alarms about biomass for years, pointing to pollution from facilities, health issues and harm to nearby communities, which are often communities of color or low-income communities, according to advocates. Critics say framing of biomass energy as better for the climate is misleading; it can rely on logging, and burning matter like wood also emits greenhouse gases. And some argue the focus should instead be on cleaner forms of energy, such as solar.
There are situations where biomass-fueled energy will emit more carbon than it saves, Sohngen said — for instance, logging old growth trees for fuel. But in circumstances like the ice storm, biomass could be considered a carbon-neutral energy option, because that wooden debris would otherwise decompose over time, emitting greenhouse gases.
“The nice thing about taking that material and using it for electricity is that it creates electricity, and if you’re creating extra units of electricity from that material, then you’re potentially offsetting some other source of electricity on the system on the grid,” such as coal, he said.
Removing woody debris from the landscape to burn for electricity poses other issues. One example: Dead and dying trees provide a wide range of benefits that should be considered before removing them.
“There’s huge numbers of bugs that will basically use that wood material for growing themselves, and there’s animals or birds or other kinds of things that’ll use the bugs for their own life cycle,” said Sohngen. “It’s really important that, you know, we can’t just take all of the dead material out of a forest and expect a forest to function well.”
There may also be an increasing interest in biochar following disasters like Helene, he said. Biochar is an almost pure form of carbon made from heating up materials like plant matter, and can be spread out in farm fields or forests.
“What we found is that this biochar material has such a long life that it’s a way to lock up a lot of carbon in the forest system for many, many years — millennia, even,” he said.
At another drop-off site in Emmet County, Lindsey Walker walked around yet another mound of logs and branches. Biochar is on her mind as well.
“We rank it by highest and best use,” she said of dealing with the debris. “In my world of worlds, we would be making biochar out of this, because biochar has such value for composting operations, for water filtration, for sequestering PFAS. I mean, the opportunities for biochar are endless.”
But such operations aren’t an option right now, she said, so they turned to biomass and other uses, like mulch for landscaping.
For now, some debris drop-off sites will be open until things slow down, though others are closing.
Road commissions are asking people not to leave wood along right-of-ways. It’s also been a dry spring so far, and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has some restrictions on burning in place and recommends that people check on burn permits and conditions in their area.
One Cheboygan road commission official told IPR they reached out to people in the timber industry to ask about selling the wood they’re collecting at sites. The only reply they’ve received so far came from a lobbying group, which said the wood chip market is flooded.
This year marks a time of transition in the city of Detroit.
Voters will elect a new leader of the city to replace long-time Mayor Mike Duggan, who is leaving to run for governor.
And experts at the think tank Detroit Future City predict the new mayor will face several challenges, like building new infrastructure to handle flooding and power outages.
But the group’s CEO, Anika Goss, told WDET one of the core issues the city must focus on is growing a sector some analysts say is disappearing — Detroit’s middle class.
Listen: Detroit Future City’s Anika Goss on building city’s middle class
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Anika Goss, Detroit Future City: We use the language of “middle class,” but you can also use the language of “middle wage,” those within the median income for Detroit. And this particular demographic trend we really feel is important, because this is generally your tax base. They are staying in homes, buying homes, investing in their communities. And we want to focus on this because it is the largest demographic to leave Detroit.
Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: What would you advise Detroit’s next mayor to do to help grow that segment of the populace?
AG: First, develop the neighborhoods. Make the neighborhoods places that would retain and attract middle-class households. The second issue is, how can Detroiters grow wealth and remain in Detroit? What kind of jobs are there nearby and available that actually have a middle-class wage, not only entry wages but also growth wages. It’s an environment that also creates strong businesses and entrepreneurs that can actually grow their own business. These are elements that can appeal to middle-class households. Two other things that I think are really important, and this can be tough for mayors, but they’re going to have to figure out property taxes. They are still uneven and very, very high in Detroit. So really thinking about what can we do to stabilize and lower the property tax rate. And second, work cooperatively with the schools, public and private and charter, so that the education system in Detroit also becomes something to attract and retain families.
QK: When you talk about raising incomes, outgoing Mayor Mike Duggan has touted how many companies he says have located in the city over the last decade or so. And oftentimes those businesses are supposed to give first preference for new hires to Detroiters. The city also has work training programs available. Would you say the next mayor should they try to build on that or go beyond it somehow?
AG: I think build AND go beyond. I think what was great about the Duggan administration is that he did really set this environment of Detroit being a place for you to invest in. And it was at a time when a lot of companies were not thinking of coming here. Now they are. But what we found is that a lot of the companies are still looking at Detroit proper as a place for low-wage labor. We have to really market Detroit as a place that has talent for a diversity of income ranges. Really work with these companies to ensure the jobs that we’re receiving in Detroit are jobs where you can actually grow your wage over time. I feel like there were really good deals made for low and moderate wages earners. There are people who are out of work that definitely need those jobs. But we can’t just stop there and declare it a success. We have to also really consider how we bring in other jobs and prepare Detroiters for those other jobs that are making a higher wage.
QK: Along with the income and job situation, people in the city have talked for years about the overall development in Detroit seeming to focus on the downtown area. And how does it get out to the neighborhoods? Duggan, for one, had launched a series of projects to try to strengthen various blocks in the city. Again, is there something you think the next mayor should do to go beyond that? Or should they try some entirely new approach?
AG: I think that it will be imperative for the next mayor to take the Strategic Neighborhood Fund and other neighborhood initiatives even further. To really create neighborhoods that have a diversity of housing choices, that have amenities and that are looking at places for investment in these areas. There’s still several neighborhoods in Detroit where there are no mortgages, whole census tracts that do not have mortgages in Detroit. The next mayor will have that challenge of not just stabilizing the strategic neighborhood places but also thinking about where else throughout the city can we target for a variety of households and a variety of incomes. You should be able to live in a neighborhood and increase your income and not have to move out of the city. You should be able to identify neighborhoods where you can do that. And right now, even with the Strategic Neighborhood Fund initiative, there’s still only 12 middle-class neighborhoods in Detroit out of more than 200 census tracts. We still have a long way to go.
QK: Do you think there’ll be enough funding available to push such efforts?
AG: There’s never enough money to do all of the things that we want to do. You really are going to have to prioritize. And if the North Star for the next mayor is, “How do we actually lay out a growth plan for Detroit and Detroiters?” That’s a very different proposition than thinking broadly about how to make Detroit better. I feel like the Duggan administration got us to this point. It’s really important now for the next mayor to take it even further. It’s something that is absolutely imperative. I don’t see an alternative.
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Church Space, the startup known as the “Airbnb for churches,” is establishing a new headquarters in Detroit.
Church Space helps congregations unlock underused real estate — fellowship halls, gymnasiums, commercial kitchens and more.
“We’re all about community, all about local neighborhoods, and we basically help churches unlock their unused space so that people in their local community can use it,” said Day Edwards, co-founder of Church Space. “When you think of baby showers, community gathering, weddings, those sort of things, that’s really where church space comes in.”
Co-founder Emmanuel Brown said the idea of sharing church facilities with the community isn’t new.
“The challenge is, most churches just didn’t have the bandwidth and capacity to support and a clear way to be able to get the word out to the community that their space is actually available to be shared,” Brown said. “And so our platform helps churches to think through things like pricing and photography, insurance, liability, cleaning, to streamline the process so that sharing their available space with the community is easy.”
Although both founders are not from Detroit, they see a unique opportunity in the city.
“Detroit has the most churches per square mile in America,” Edwards said. “There’s so much vibrancy that starts with the faith-based community here.”
The company says it has already helped churches in other cities earn up to $100,000 annually through space-sharing. In Detroit, they hope to replicate that success while exploring new uses for vacant or underutilized church buildings — including micro-fulfillment centers — to improve last-mile delivery in underserved communities.
As for why churches were chosen for this model, Edwards pointed to affordability and community connection.
Brown says both he and Edwards are pastor’s kids. And they’ve seen firsthand the burden of maintaining church property.
“And so, our heart for the church is really to see church leaders be able to thrive and to lead well and to impact and influence their community in greater ways, without having to worry about a financial deficit as a barrier to that process,” Brown said.
The company is hosting an event in July titled “From Pulpits to Possibility,” where church leaders in southeast Michigan can learn more about the platform. RSVPs are available on Eventbrite.
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In this week’s episode of Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music,Rock & Roll Hall Of Famers — including The White Stripes, Outkast and Joe Cocker — album releases from the month of May in the past, new Detroit rock from Nick Behnan and Ryan Allen, in-studio songs from Mike Peters (The Alarm) and Jill Sobule, both of whom left us this week at age 66; and much more.
See the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.
Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music Playlist for May 3, 2025
HOUR ONE:
“Icky Thump” – The White Stripes (R&R HOF inductee 2025)
“Oh, Atlanta” – Bad Company (R&R HOF inductee 2025)
“Stream Of Consciousness” – Yukimi w/Lianne La Havas
“Mr. Nelson” – Prince w/Lianne La Havas
“Brain Lift” – Nick Behnan
“It’s Not Unusual” – Tom Jones (released May 1965)
“Busting Up A Starbucks” – Mike Doughty (released May 2005)
“All I Do Is Think Of You” – The Jackson 5(released May 1975)
“The Day The Politicians Died” – Magnetic Fields
“My Stupid Boyfriend” – Magnetic Fields
“Chain Of Fools” – Joe Cocker (R&R HOF inductee 2025)
“Ms Jackson” – Outkast (R&R HOF inductee 2025)
“Heroes” – Jill Sobule (1/16/59 – 5/1/25)
“I Kissed A Girl” – Jill Sobule (1/16/59 – 5/1/25)
HOUR TWO:
“Texas Hold ‘Em” – Beyonce (Cowboy Carter Tour started this week)
“High Note” – Mavis Staples (coming to Concert Of Colors in July)
“Wait” – Paul Thorn
“Ain’t No rest For The Wicked” – Cage the Elephant
“After I’m Dead” – Ryan Allen
“The Man’s Too Strong” – Dire Straits (released May 1985)
“Time After Time” – Cyndi Lauper (R&R HOF inductee 2025)
“Strength” – Mike Peters (2/25/59 – 4/28/25)
“Sold Me Down The River” – The Alarm, Mike Peters (2/25/59 – 4/28/25)
Listen to Rob Reinhart’s Essential Music every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on Detroit Public Radio 101.9 WDET and streaming on-demand at wdet.org.
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On this episode of Detroit Evening Report Weekends, we listen to the first story in WDET reporter Nargis Rahman’s series Shustho.
The four-part series explores the barriers Bangladeshi women face in accessing high quality health care, and efforts to bridge those gaps.
Michigan is home to the third largest population of Bangladeshis in the U.S., most living in the metro Detroit area.
Throughout the Shustho series, Nargis explores a number of challenges that make it hard for Bangladeshi immigrants to access health care, including cultural competency within the medical profession and access to adequate insurance.
The first story is focused on language barriers. Nargis speaks with organizations advocating for Bangla-speaking patients, community members who serve as advocates, translators and educators and medical professionals working to increase awareness.
Stay tuned to DER Weekends to hear the entire four-part series in May.
Listen to the episode using the media player above.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
President Donald Trump marked his 100th day in office on Tuesday by visiting the Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County, where he announced a new fighter jet mission at the base. This week on MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben and Zach Gorchow spoke about the base’s history and significance to the region.
Also, Michigan Senate Republican Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Township) stopped by to talk about his run for governor and his vision for the state.
Historical and political significance of Selfridge
Sen. Nesbitt’s vision for Michigan
Nesbitt is joined by U.S. Rep. John James (R-Shelby Township) and former U.S. House candidate Anthony Hudson in seeking the GOP nomination in Michigan’s gubernatorial race. On the Democratic side, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson have both launched campaigns, while Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is running as an Independent candidate.
Nesbitt spoke with Kasben and Gorchow about what his “common sense” priorities would be if he were chosen as the state’s next governor.
“I’m working around the state, I’m going to put together a campaign that’s going to put Michigan first, and a campaign that’s going to offer positive conservative solutions to fix some of the deepest problems in Michigan,” Nesbitt said.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been both lauded and criticized in recent weeks for her attempts to bend Trump’s ear about her state’s priorities. But the Democratic governor has responded to her critics by pointing to the results her meetings with Trump have yielded — including the 21 new F-15EX Eagle II fighter jets replacing the aging A-10 squadron at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County.
Nesbitt says Whitmer’s collaboration with Trump has been good to see.
“I think people expect leaders to be able to work to get things done,” he said. “And believe me, I’m not going to agree with the governor and neither is President Trump going to agree with the governor on things like men competing in women’s sports — she seems to support that and we’re opposed to that — or having all this money spent on DEI initiatives — I’m going to actively oppose any of that and so is President Trump…but as I look at it, having President Trump come to Michigan to celebrate his first 100 days shows the importance of Michigan; how much he cares about Michigan.”
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The “Black Men Unite to Fight Against Our Women and Girls” campaign is being organized in response to recent cases of violent attacks on Black women.
Minister Troy Muhammad is one of the organizers of the event. He says the Belle Isle Bridge was chosen as the campaign launch site in remembrance of Deletha Word, who was beaten by a man on the bridge after a traffic accident in 1995. Word died after either jumping from the bridge to flee the man or being thrown from the bridge.
The group plans to offer conflict resolution and domestic violence prevention classes and produce billboards and public service announcements in the future.
Each man in attendance will be asked to be responsible for five other men. Men will gather at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 3, on the island side of the bridge.
Other headlines for Friday, May 2, 2025:
Cinco de Mayo is on Monday but Detroit will celebrate Sunday with the 60th annual Cinco de Mayo Parade in Southwest Detroit. The parade begins at noon at Patton Park and will end at Clark Park.
As the Cinco de Mayo Parade winds down Sunday, the Blessing of the Low Riders revs up at the Motor City Dance Academy. The annual event showcasing lowrider cars and bikes will take place from 2-5 p.m. Sunday, and feature live music and dance performances, food and art vendors, and the blessing of vehicles.
Jazz vocalist Penny Wells will perform at the Detroit Historical Society’s Jazz in the Streets of Old Detroit series next Thursday, May 8. Proceeds from the event help support the work of the Black Historic Sites Committee.
Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.
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Some university faculty members across the Big Ten system want the schools to pool resources to help defend each other if the Trump administration threatens their funding or programs.
Those schools include the University of Michigan, where the faculty senate voted overwhelmingly to approve a non-binding resolution creating such an alliance.
Michigan State University’s faculty senate also voted recently to ask the school’s administration to enact the joint-defense proposal.
MSU Faculty Senate Vice Chair Jack Lipton told WDET the measure stems from a recommendation first developed and passed by educators at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Listen: MSU Faculty Senate VP on Big Ten legal defense against Trump actions
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Jack Lipton, Michigan State University Faculty Senate: They had come up with this idea to create an agreement that ran like NATO, “an attack on one is an attack on all,” and propose this out to the schools who are part of the Big Ten Academic Alliance. We took it up with the idea that the federal government, through executive orders, is trying to control what universities are doing through intimidation, through loss of funding. And by going after schools one at a time, it’s difficult for schools to mount an effective defense when they are looking at potentially losses of millions to hundreds of millions of dollars in their funding. Soultimately the faculty senate, which is an advisory body, asks that our president lead with the other presidents of the Big Ten in pushing back against what we consider to be inappropriate and unlawful incursions into the academic mission of private and public universities.
Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: What would this have the university do if, in fact, administrators accepted it?
JL: The university would put funds into a central repository that would be accessible to all members of the Big Ten, and also utilize human capital, with respect to the offices of the General Counsel and their attorneys. They would work together to mount defenses of any member school if they are challenged by the federal government, through these executive orders, with a loss of funding where they’re targeted based upon perfectly legal actions as universities. They’re all following Title 9 regulations related to students. A lot of what the federal government is trying to do is to say that schools are involved in unlawful discrimination, when the schools are actually supporting equity and inclusion, which this particular administration doesn’t seem to be particularly fond of. Giving all people equal opportunity to gain access to higher education, whether it’s through their work or through education or through jobs.
QK: Have you had any reaction yet from the Michigan State administration as to whether or not they might follow your recommendations?
JL: I’ve not. Anything that we pass in the faculty senate is strictly advisory. It’s our sense of what should be done and the university president has no obligation to act on our resolution. I would hope that as it garners continued public attention, the president will work with other big Ten leaders to try and figure out some way to support each other so that we’re not essentially picked off one by one.
QK: There have been a number of faculty senates now throughout Big Ten schools that have either voted for this proposal or seem to be considering it. There were some on your faculty that were a little iffy about doing it. Why is that?
JL: Everyone looks at this differently, right? Some individuals feared that by the very fact we’re considering this, we are putting a target on our backs for the federal government to act specifically against Michigan State University. And there were some that had some trepidation regarding passing it. But then there were others who specifically study things like authoritarian regimes and human rights, they felt this is really that critical point when we have to decide whether we are going to do the right thing or we’re going to do the safe thing. While differences of opinion were clearly present, ultimately, when it came to a vote, we shut off debate and it passed. I think that most faculty are obviously concerned about passing something like this. But even despite that, they saw the value and the appropriateness of taking a stand and making a recommendation. We really want to ensure that higher education can continue to maintain its high ideals and be a place where academic freedom and free speech can be lauded and expected.
“Seeing an administration that is so contemptuous of higher education, so contemptuous of freedom of thought and freedom of expression, is really alarming; they are trying to silence faculty by using the power of the purse and withholding federal funding.”
– Jack Lipton, MSU Faculty Senate Vice Chair
QK: You’ve been involved in high-level academia for decades now. Have you ever seen something similar to this in regards to the federal government’s view of and actions towards higher education?
JL: I don’t think anyone has ever seen anything like this. The post-World War II expansion of higher education has been kind of a crown jewel of the United States. The growth of higher education, the growth of universities, particularly public universities like Michigan State University, have been such a gift to this country. And seeing an administration that is so contemptuous of higher education, so contemptuous of freedom of thought and freedom of expression, is really alarming. They are trying to silence faculty by using the power of the purse and withholding federal funding. We all use those funds in our research, like I and the people in my department do to work on neurodegenerative diseases and find the causes and cures of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. They are trying to hold those kinds of funds hostage so that we’ll be quiet. I think that’s wrong, and I’m hopeful that this is a sad, yet brief chapter in American history when it comes to higher education.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order aiming to slash public subsidies to PBS and NPR as he alleged “bias” in the broadcasters’ reporting.
The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease Federal funding for NPR and PBS” and further requires that that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations. The White House, in a social media posting announcing the signing, said the outlets “receive millions from taxpayers to spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news.’”
It’s the latest move by Trump and his administration to utilize federal powers to control or hamstring institutions whose actions or viewpoints he disagrees with. Since taking office, Trump has ousted leaders, placed staff on administrative leave and cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to artists, libraries, museums, theaters and others, through takeovers of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Trump has also pushed to withhold federal research and education funds from universities and punish law firms unless they agreed to eliminate diversity programs and other measures Trump has found objectionable.
The broadcasters get roughly half a billion dollars in public money through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and have been preparing for the possibility of stiff cuts since Trump’s election, as Republicans have long complained about them.
Paula Kerger, PBS’ CEO and president, said in a statement last month that the Trump administration’s effort to rescind funding for public media would “disrupt the essential service PBS and local member stations provide to the American people.”
“There’s nothing more American than PBS, and our work is only possible because of the bipartisan support we have always received from Congress,” she said. “This public-private partnership allows us to help prepare millions of children for success in school and in life and also supports enriching and inspiring programs of the highest quality.”
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting sued Trump earlier this week over his move to fire three members of its five-person board, contending that the president was exceeding his authority and that the move would deprive the board of a quorum needed to conduct business.
Just two weeks ago, the White House said it would be asking Congress to rescind funding for the CPB as part of a $9.1 billion package of cuts. That package, however, which budget director Russell Vought said would likely be the first of several, has not yet been sent to Capitol Hill.
The move against PBS and NPR comes as his administration has been working to dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media, including Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which were designed to model independent news gathering globally in societies that restrict the press. Those efforts have faced pushback from federal courts, who have ruled in some cases that the Trump administration may have overstepped its authority in holding back funds appropriated to the outlets by Congress.
—Reporting by AP Congressional Correspondent Lisa Mascaro.
Communities across Michigan — including several in metro Detroit — will be holding special elections on Tuesday, May 6, for a range of local ballot measures and races.
Michigan voter information:
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Early voting available through May 4, 2025
Voter registration after April 21 is required in person
Voters without photo ID must sign an affidavit at their polling site prior to voting.
The district says the funding would be used to renovate and revitalize its historic buildings, make critical infrastructure improvements, create modern learning spaces, and address safety and security needs.
Find more information about the bond proposal at mtcps.org.
Oakland County
Ferndale
In Oakland County, voters in Ferndale will see another Headlee override operating millage proposal on their ballot.
Ferndale voters rejected a previous iteration of the Headlee override in November, with roughly 54% of residents voting against it. City council members voted in January to include an adapted proposal on the May 6 ballot that aims to address some of the concerns cited by residents during town halls and listening sessions. If passed, the millage would take effect on residents’ Summer 2026 tax bills.
More information about the proposal, including the changes that were made and its potential cost impact on residents, can be viewed at ferndalemi.gov.
Additionally, voters in the Ferndale School District — which includes portions of Pleasant Ridge, Oak Park and Royal Oak Township — will have a school improvement bond on their ballot.
The $114.8 million bond proposal would not increase voters’ tax rates, according to the district, and would enable “transformational improvements” at its middle and high school buildings. Among the updates would be a new academic wing, modernized classrooms, updated fine arts spaces, safer school entry points, and improved student services.
For more information about the school bond proposal, visit ferndaleschools.org.
The first is asking voters to determine the size of city council. A “yes” vote would maintain the city’s four-member council — excluding the mayor — rather than expand the council by two additional members, as adopted by council in 2023.
The second charter amendment relates to the council members’ term limits, and can only be passed in conjunction with the first amendment.
Residents in the Lamphere School District will see an $85 million, 30-year school improvement bond proposal on the ballot.
The district says the funding is needed to enhance school safety and security, expand learning opportunities, and update school infrastructure. If passed, the cost to homeowners would be 4.15 mills ($4.15 per $1,000 of taxable property value).
Voters in the Southgate Community School District will see three proposals on the May 6 ballot.
Proposal 1 is a “zero tax rate increase” millage to levy a $28 million bond for updating maintenance and athletic facilities, school buildings, HVAC systems and school security; and to acquire and install instructional technology, among other improvements.
Proposals 2 and 3 — a non-homestead operating millage renewal and 2-mill hedge — would maintain the current millage rate if passed, allowing the district to retain $5 million for staffing, instructional and extracurricular programming, maintenance and operations.
Residential tax rates on primary residences would not increase if any of these initiatives pass, according to the district. However, the millage rate would decline over the next few years if the bond proposal is rejected.
Residents in the Redford Union School District will have a $44 million bond millage proposal on the ballot that would fund “essential infrastructure” improvements, including updated school buildings, athletic fields, parking lots and more.
The city of Wyandotte will be holding a general election on May 6 for the offices of mayor, city council, clerk, treasurer and assessor. Residents can view a sample ballot at wyandotte.net.
American Sign Language video-call: 301-818-VOTE (301-818-8683)
Michigan’s primary election will be held on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025. Check back for updates to WDET’s Voter Guide as the election gets closer.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Editor’s note: This episode of The Metro aired prior to the president signing an executive order directing federal funding cuts to PBS and NPR.
Public trust in the free press has been steadily declining for decades and President Donald Trump’s combative relationship with the news media has further eroded that trust. He frequently refers to the free press as “the enemy of the people” and “fake news.”
Those words have had an impact.
In 2020, American journalists faced a sharp rise in attacks, especially during the Black Lives Matter protests.
The committee found that many of these incidents, including roughly 300 assaults, were attributed to law enforcement.
On the campaign trail in 2024, Trump continued his rhetoric against the press.
“To get to me, somebody would have to shoot through the fake news. I don’t mind that so much,” he told a crowd in Pennsylvania.
Now, after Trump’s first 100 days in office, the Committee to Protect Journalists is sounding a louder alarm.
It says the beginning of Trump’s term has “been marked by a flurry of executive actions that have created a chilling effect and have the potential to curtail media freedoms. These measures threaten the availability of independent, fact-based news for vast swaths of America’s population.”
Trump has banned reporters from his press conferences. He is selective of which media outlets he speaks to, and he has filed multiple lawsuits accusing media companies of misconduct against him.
NPR reported last month that the administration plans to request Congress cut funding from NPR and PBS — news and information that is not profit-based and relies on funding from listeners, sponsorships, and the government. WDET is an NPR affiliate station that also would feel strong impacts from these cuts.
NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik joined The Metro on Thursday to talk more about this.
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.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
Three years ago, “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X” sold out shows at the Detroit Opera House for the first time in over a decade.
Now, the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer behind that success is back in Detroit.
Anthony Davis returns this month to present “Central Park Five,” a gripping opera that tells the true story of the wrongful convictions of five Black and Latino teenagers in the assault of a white female jogger in Central Park in 1989.
It’s a case that involved President Donald Trump, who at the time became an outspoken voice for convicting the teens. He spoke with WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper about the politics of bringing an opera like this to the stage, and how it feels to be back in Detroit.
Performances will take place on May 10, 16 and 18 at the Detroit Opera House. Visit detroitopera.org for tickets and more information.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
This week, we’ve got local markets for every occasion, from Mother’s Day to Cinco de Mayo. Plus, new art exhibits, live DJ sets from your favorite WDET hosts and an immersive Star Wars cantina experience. Read on to learn more.
Shop around
On Saturday, May 3, Swanky Lady Couture is partnering with Wayne County Community College to present an early Mother’s Day Market. There will be a flower bouquet bar, a permanent jewelry station, professional family portraits and more to inspire Mother’s Day gift ideas. Food trucks will be available on-site. Admission is free and the event goes from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, visit their Eventbrite page.
Also on Saturday, May 3, Batch Brewing is hosting a “Derby de Mayo” celebration featuring a Mexican market, lucha libre wrestling, and themed food and cocktail specials for both Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby. The market will highlight local vendors selling everything from jewelry to juices from noon to 6 p.m., then wrestling is scheduled for 7–9 p.m. Food trucks from Taqueria El Rey and La Sultana will be on-site starting at noon and guests can watch the derby in the taproom. For more information, visit Batch Brewing Company on Facebook.
The 7th Annual Urban Arts & Eatery Expo returns to Eastern Market on Sunday, May 4 from 2–6 p.m. Visitors can enjoy beverages and street food from around the world while exploring over 60 local vendors offering unique and handmade goods. Early bird tickets are $3 online. For more information, visit urbanartsexpo.com.
See a show
On Saturday, May 3, Spot Lite Detroit is throwing a 39th Birthday Bash & Fundraiser for the Heidelberg Project, one of the longest-running outdoor art installations in the city. Starting at 7 p.m., there will be live DJ sets from Kenjiro, Liz Warner (host of Alternate Take Thursdays at 8 p.m. on WDET), Shigeto (host of The New Music Show Saturdays at 8 p.m. on WDET), Turtle Bugg and Waajeed (host of The Boulevard Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on WDET). Tickets are $23 online. For more information, visit ra.co.
From Wednesday, May 7 through Sunday, May 11, the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn is hosting the 18th Annual Arab Film Festival, featuring the best critically-acclaimed and award-winning films of the Arab and Arab American world. Genres include drama, comedy and documentary, in both short-form and feature lengths. Each film is subtitled in English and can be watched either in-person at the museum or virtually. Tickets can be purchased separately for each screening, or passes are available for the full festival. For more information, visit aanmfilmfest25.eventive.org.
Explore an exhibit
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History’s newest exhibition, “Luminosity: A Detroit Arts Gathering,” celebrates 60 years of The Wright with over 60 artworks from present-day Detroit artists, long-departed masters and the museum’s archive. Spanning painting, sculpture, photography and more, “Luminosity” illuminates Detroit’s creative spirit through shared histories, personal reflections and bold artistic exploration. The exhibit is on display now through March 2026. For more information, visit thewright.org.
One of MOCAD’s newest exhibitions, “Code Switch: Distributing Blackness, Reprogramming Internet Art,” explores the relationship between Black cultural production and the legacy of computation as a mode of creative inspiration. The exhibition builds on an archival timeline of radical visions from Black makers and thinkers and brings together an intergenerational roster of contemporary artists to unpack the correlation between body and machine, informed further by the “age of the internet.” The exhibition opens on Friday, May 2 and will be on display through August 10. For more information, visit mocadetroit.org.
Detroit Historical Museum’s newest exhibition is “Heroes vs. Villains: Detroit’s Comic Book Story.” Opening on Saturday, May 3, the exhibition highlights Detroit’s contributions to the world of comic books and the generations of local creatives and fans that brought the world of comics to a wider audience and created fandom as we know it today. For more information, visit detroithistorical.org.
The DIA is celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with special programming throughout the month of May. In collaboration with AAPI community groups and professional artists, the museum will showcase a dynamic mix of traditional and contemporary dance, music, visual art and more. This year’s celebration includes elements from Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, Indian, Japanese, Korean, Laotian, Mongolian, Taiwanese and Vietnamese cultures. To see their full list of events and learn more, visit dia.org.
Feel the force
Calling all Star Wars fans! For five days only, Space Dive 313 has transformed Tangent Gallery in Detroit into a fully-immersive intergalactic cantina. Guests are required to arrive in full costume in order to maintain the Detroitooine experience. Tickets are $60 and still available for Friday, May 2, Sunday, May 4 (May the fourth be with you), Friday, May 9 and Saturday, May 10. The bar is open from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. For more information, visit Space Dive on Facebook.
Support local journalism.
WDET strives to cover what’s happening in your community. As a public media institution, we maintain our ability to explore the music and culture of our region through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
In 1938, two young Jewish kids decided they wanted to tell a story of an invincible man, who could move faster than bullets and was a hero to all.
Superman took flight that year, first appearing in America Action Comics #1. Kal-El, Clark Kent or Superman was representation needed during the rise of fascism in Germany.
The superhero was created to defeat The Third Reich and Nazi’s plot to take over the world. In American culture, comic books have been a way for readers of all ages to see themselves, in one way or another, as superhuman.
From the friendly neighborhood Spiderman to the Green Hornet — which was a Detroit Radio program before appearing in comics — these stories told the hardships, joys and sorrows of life through the lens of these fantastical characters.
William Wallwinkel is the lead curator of “Heroes vs. Villains: Detroit’s Comic Book Story,” opening at Detroit Historical Museum on Saturday, May 3, which is also Free Comic Book Day. He joined The Metro along with Vault of Midnight owner Curtis Sullivan to talk about comic book culture here in Detroit and southeast Michigan.
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.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
That statistic earned the phenomenon the nickname “the 100 deadliest days of summer” or “summer trauma season.”
This month, the nonprofit Safe Kids Worldwide is teaming up with safety advocates across the country to launch the second annual Safe Kids Month.
Sadiqa Kendi, chief medical officer for Safe Kids Worldwide, says the most common injuries affecting youngsters come from motor vehicle crashes.
“We know that a child, if they don’t fit the seat belt well — and many times, they won’t until they’re between eight and 12 years old, and sometimes older — they really need to be in a booster or seat for that seat belt to work effectively,” she said.
Kendi says other injury related deaths occur from improper use of safety equipment such as life jackets and helmets.
She says most of those fatalities are preventable, which is why the organization developed a child safety checklist to cover five key safety areas: car, water, sleep, home and play.
For the first time in the city’s history, Dearborn will not have a primary election in August, the Detroit Free Press reported. The city clerk says there are not enough candidates running to make a primary necessary.
The city of Detroit is breaking ground on the $28 million Russell Woods Senior Living Community on Friday on Dexter Avenue. Developer Fabiola Fleuranvil promises the units will be “deeply affordable” for residents.
Detroit has commissioned 43 artists to establish art installations in nine city-sponsored “art alleys” across Detroit. It’s part of the city’s Arts Alleys initiative, an effort to create vibrant community spaces to celebrate local culture and showcase local talents. Installations have begun and muralists will begin painting this month.
Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.
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WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
In order for us to move forward, we must consider the foundation that we stand on. The shoulders of those who have done the work. On this episode of The Boulevard, we do that. We honor the story of Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale, the Godmother of House.
In this special interview, Hale talks about her musical upbringing on Detroit’s west side, being one of the few female DJs in the early ’80s and winning the Motor City Mix competition as a student at Lawrence Tech.
“In the last 10 years, I look back and go, ‘You were setting the pace.’ I was just being me.” — Stacey Hotwaxx Hale
Check the playlist below and listen to the episode for two weeks after it airs using the player above.
The Boulevard Playlist for April 30, 2025
“The Boulevard” – Waajeed
“Fly Away (feat. Alexander Hope)” – Blaze
“You Lift Me Up (Cats N’ Dogz No Hope Remix)” – Sweetness
“Panoramica (Hyenah’s Raw Beat)” – Hyenah & Pablo Fierro
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is responding to critics of her meetings with President Donald Trump by answering that they’ve yielded results. Whitmer, a Democrat serving her final term as governor, and widely considered a possible future presidential contender, says she still has fundamental disagreements with President Donald Trump. She also says face time with Trump, including a now-famously awkward Oval Office encounter, was worth it to win 21 new fighter jets heading to Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County.
The Michigan Public Radio Network spoke with the governor Wednesday about cutting a deal with a president with whom she’s had an adversarial relationship.
Listen: Whitmer talks Selfridge, working with Trump
The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Rick Pluta: Why does this Selfridge deal matter, not just to Macomb County, not just to metro Detroit, but to the entire state of Michigan?
GW: Yeah, you know, this is a big deal. So the A-10, which is our fighter mission at Selfridge, is being retired. And the fighter mission matters because we think about Selfridge, it has an economic impact on the state of $850 million a year. There are 30,000 jobs in Michigan that are related to Selfridge directly. And so not having a fighter mission would be a huge problem, not just for Selfridge but for a defense economy that we’ve been building out, advanced manufacturing. We think about aerospace as well as bases in Grayling, Alpena, and in Battle Creek. This has a massive impact on the state of Michigan. So I’ve been working to try to get a new fighter mission at Selfridge every year since I’ve been elected governor, and my predecessors did, as well, and we got it done, 21 F-15 EXs. This is the cutting edge, state-of-the-art planes and it’s gonna have a generational impact on our economy.
RP: How did this come to be? Why now?
GW: Well, you know, after the election — I had been trying to get the Biden administration to do this — after the elections, I said, well, let’s keep going. I’m going to keep trying to work with the Trump administration to get it done. And I was at the National Governors Association dinner at the White House. I raised it at that first opportunity with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that night, as well as when I sat next to Donald Trump at the dinner, you know, and I’ve had many conversations and meetings with the president on this issue. I’ve been relentless on this and they were receptive.And despite the fact that we’ve got a lot of differences and we don’t agree on a lot of things, I take every opportunity to make the case for Michigan, whether it’s about tariffs, Asian carp, or ice storms. Selfridge has been a part of all those conversations every time, too.
RP: As you mentioned, you’ve said you will work with everyone, anyone, but you have gotten a lot of pushback from folks within the Democratic Party about your work with this president. Now that this Selfridge deal is done, what’s next? What are your plans for continuing to work with this administration?
GW: I oppose this administration and a lot of things that they’re doing, whether it’s around their — what they’ve done on — you know, I mean, it’s voluminous, the ways that we disagree, the things that we disagree on — from their tariff policy, the chaos that’s been leaked, to the violation of people’s civil rights, to the potential Medicaid cuts that are coming that are going to impact Michigan hospitals and Michiganders everywhere. That being said, I’ve got a duty to continue to try to get as much done for our state as I can. I’ve got to work with people that I don’t always agree with. I always have, and I always will, try to do what’s right for Michigan and that means continuing the conversation on preventing Asian carp from infiltrating the Great Lakes, getting relief for victims of the ice storm. It means continuing to work to try to get more economic development done in Michigan. So I will both fight back when I need to, and try to get Michigan’s priorities done wherever I can.
RP: Finally, Governor, do you think Democratic voters, that is voters in your party, know that you still fundamentally disagree with President Trump?
GW: Yeah, of course they do. My values haven’t changed. My oath is to serve the people of Michigan. It means standing up for our rights, it means fighting back when they’ve got tariff policies that are making Michiganders lose jobs or their costs go up. It also means getting at the table and being there to get a huge investment like Selfridge over the finish line. I can do both. I will do both, that’s the ethos I’ve always led with.
Trusted, accurate, up-to-date.
WDET strives to make our journalism accessible to everyone. As a public media institution, we maintain our journalistic integrity through independent support from readers like you. If you value WDET as your source of news, music and conversation, please make a gift today.
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