A Michigan drinking water expert who helped expose the Flint water crisis is suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, alleging she was fired for signing a petition critical of the Trump administration’s environmental policies.

The post Drinking water expert who helped expose Flint crisis sues Trump administration after EPA firing appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

A former corrections officer at Michigan’s only women’s prison was sentenced to up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing prisoners, another sign of deep problems at a facility already plagued by allegations of unsafe conditions, medical neglect, deaths behind bars, and employee misconduct.

The post Former officer at troubled Michigan women’s prison sentenced for sexually abusing prisoners appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

A new report on Michigan’s growing data center industry offers a mixed verdict on one of the state’s most controversial development issues, finding that the massive facilities are unlikely to drain the state’s water resources or crash the power grid but are also not the economic boon that boosters often promise.

The post Michigan data centers aren’t the gold rush boosters promised, but report finds benefits appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

About 85% of the rental properties in Detroit are owned by landlords with no legal right to collect rent, a discovery that could upend thousands of eviction cases, according to a coalition of housing attorneys and tenant advocates. 

The post Most Detroit landlords have no legal right to collect rent, housing attorneys say appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Federal prosecutors are portraying eight pro-Palestinian activists tied to the University of Michigan as extremists who carried out a coordinated campaign of threats and vandalism against university officials, businesses, and the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.

The post Feds wrapped U-M protest case in baseless terrorism rhetoric, attorneys say appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Michigan health officials failed to properly oversee a network of public hotlines that hundreds of thousands of residents rely on each year for help with food, housing, health care, mental health crises, gambling addiction, and domestic violence, according to a new state audit.

The post Michigan failed to monitor hotlines used by thousands seeking food, housing and crisis help appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has won the endorsement of the Michigan-Ontario Council of Bishops, adding another influential faith group to her campaign for governor as she works to consolidate support among Black voters.

The post Benson lands endorsement from prominent Black faith leaders in gubernatorial campaign appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Two southwest Michigan residents have filed what their attorneys are calling the first class-action lawsuit in the country over noise from a data center, alleging a Dowagiac facility has created a constant nuisance that has disrupted daily life and hurt property values.

The post Michigan residents file class action over data center noise as AI projects face growing backlash appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Ameera Hashwi rode through Dearborn’s Memorial Day Parade on Monday in a red convertible, smiling, waving to the crowd, and holding an American flag.

The post MAGA loses its shit over hijab-wearing Miss Wayne County appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Mike Duggan’s independent campaign for governor began as a bold experiment in post-partisan politics and ended Thursday with a thud.

The post How Mike Duggan’s independent campaign for governor fell apart appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

For weeks, Shaquillia DeShields says she tried to get help for her daughter inside Michigan’s only women’s prison.

The post Two deaths, mold complaints deepen crisis at Michigan women’s prison appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled that state policing regulators can keep secret the names and employment histories of current and former officers throughout the state, but Metro Times and Invisible Institute plan to appeal the decision. Judge Christopher P. Yates decided Friday that Michigan State Police can withhold the records under exemptions in […]

The post Michigan court says you don’t have a right to know who your cops are appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

This is the tenth installment in “Exploring Integrity: Reviewing Wrongful Conviction Remedies,” a series examining the impact of conviction integrity units on the American judicial system’s rate of wrongful conviction. Presented by the O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism, the investigation is supported by Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After 25 years of what he calls unwarranted […]

The post He blew the whistle on a toxic dump — and says he paid for it with his freedom appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Nine state lawmakers and a coalition of human rights groups, pastors, and local elected leaders are calling on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to release a woman inmate who is seriously sick from mold exposure before she dies.

The post Lawmakers, activists call on Gov. Whitmer to free woman they say is gravely ill from prison mold appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

This coverage is made possible through a partnership between WBEZ and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization. The Trump administration announced plans to put Michigan officials in charge of a $1.15 billion Chicago-area river barrier designed to keep invasive carp from reaching the Great Lakes. In a statement posted Thursday on X, Assistant Secretary of […]

The post Trump administration wants to cut Illinois out of Great Lakes carp plan appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Since President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, federal immigration agents have arrested 4,218 people in Michigan, and less than a quarter had criminal convictions, according to a Metro Times’s review of data from the Deportation Data Project

The post Trump’s ICE crackdown in Michigan leads to 4,218 arrests. Most had no criminal convictions. appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Plymouth-Canton Community Schools has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit alleging a middle school student’s First Amendment rights were violated when she was reprimanded for refusing to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance in protest of the war in Gaza. The agreement, announced Thursday by the ACLU of Michigan and the Arab American Civil Rights […]

The post Student disciplined for protesting Gaza war reaches settlement with Plymouth-Canton schools appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the city of Romulus filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to stop the Trump administration from converting a local warehouse into a large-scale immigration detention center.

The post Michigan and Romulus sue to block ICE detention center at warehouse near Detroit airport appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.

Civil rights advocates and health care workers warned Tuesday that growing fears of immigration enforcement are keeping patients from seeking medical care. 

The post Immigration fears are keeping patients from care in Michigan, doctors warn appeared first on Detroit Metro Times.