For most of human history, extinction has been understood as an immutable fact of nature—a one-way door that, once closed, could never be reopened. Species disappear, their genetic innovations vanish forever, and the world moves on, forever diminished by their absence.
It has been an eventful year in Michigan politics with the Michigan Legislature dynamically evolving. This week on WDET’s MichMash, Gongwer News Services’ Zach Gorchow and Alethia Kasben analyze the major events in a live recording at the Go Comedy! Improv Theater in Ferndale.
They were joined by Detroit Free Press Politics Editor Emily Lawler and
Politics Editor for The Detroit News, Chad Livengood.
In this episode:
There has been a major sea change in Michigan politics this year.
With Republicans taking over the state House, President Donald Trump back in the White House, and Democrats maintaining their majority in the state Senate — their is a new dynamic in the state capitol.
“This is the first time that I’ve covered one chamber in Democratic control and one in Republican control,” Lawler said. “…It’s been just an interesting dynamic to watch and sort of see what the chambers are teeing up for each other and what of those things they actually expect to move — which I think is a smaller pool than I initially anticipated.”
Livengood called the current relationship between the chambers a “legislative Red Rover.”
“Getting the actual votes on some of these big issues, like roads, is going to be the real test,” he said.
Kasben pointed out that the Legislature was able to compromise on major legislative efforts like paid sick leave and minimum wage packages in February.
They also talked about the notable shift in how Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has navigated national political dynamics this year, and specifically her relationship with President Trump.
Despite their fraught history, the pair have taken a friendlier tone towards each other in recent months, as they discuss future plans and initiatives for the state of Michigan.
“She’s engaged with him on things that she’s wanted to get done, and I’m not sure that all of those will get done, but certainly Selfridge Air Force Base — the upgrades coming there, the new mission coming there — is significant, that’s something that Michigan has wanted for years,” Lawler said.
But Lawler also noted that Trump isn’t someone Whitmer can rely on politically, pointing to recent discussions about pardoning some of the individuals convicted for conspiring to kidnap her.
–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.
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As Michiganders in metro Detroit brace themselves for a massive heat wave early next week, many communities are opening cooling centers to help provide relief from the extreme temperatures.
An Extreme Heat Watch will be in effect for all of southeast Michigan, beginning Saturday morning through Tuesday evening, as temperatures are expected to soar into the high 90s — with a heat index of 104 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
View the list of cooling centers opening in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties below. Be sure to check your county website for the most up-to-date information on cooling center hours and closures.
Berkley
Birmingham
Clawson
Ferndale
Farmington Hills
Leonard
Novi
Oak Park
Orion Township
Pontiac
Royal Oak
Southfield
South Lyon
Troy
Wixom
Armada
Bruce Township
Center Line
Chesterfield Township
Clinton Township
Fraser
Harrison Township
Macomb Township
Memphis
Mount Clemens
Lenox Township
Ray Township
Richmond
Roseville
St. Clair Shores
Shelby Township
Sterling Heights
Warren
Washington Township
Allen Park
Belleville
Canton Township
Dearborn Heights
Detroit
Recreation Centers with extended hours from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday:
Recreation Centers open with normal hours of operation:
Detroit Public Library locations will also serve as cooling centers during normal business hours for residents seeking relief. Find details at detroitpubliclibrary.org/locations.
Ecorse
Flat Rock
Garden City
Grosse Ile Township
Grosse Pointe Farms
Hamtramck
Inkster
Lincoln Park
Livonia
River Rouge
Romulus
Southgate
Taylor
Trenton
Westland
Wyandotte
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There’s new legislation in Lansing aimed at preventing universities and other groups from interfering with Michigan college athletes earning money by marketing their name, image, or likeness —also known as NIL.
NIL has become a profitable sideline for many Michigan athletes. Analysts say those deals can be worth millions of dollars, though most are more modest.
But a recent settlement of a national anti-trust lawsuit may change the game.
The House v. NCAA settlement was finalized earlier this month. It resolves multiple antitrust lawsuits against the NCAA and its member schools, awarding $2.8 billion in back pay to athletes who were denied the chance to profit from their name, image, or likeness between 2016 and 2024.
The settlement also creates a framework for future revenue sharing between schools and student-athletes, allowing schools to directly pay athletes for NIL rights, and introduces new roster limits to replace scholarship limits.
However, a clause in the settlement that establishes a special commission to assess deals that student athletes can get is not being welcomed by NIL supporters.
Ramogi Huma, the executive director of the National College Players Association, said he believes such a commission would cost athletes.
“If such violations of Michigan’s NIL law do take place, it could cost Michigan college athletes tens of millions of dollars in NIL compensation each year,” said Huma.
And Thomas Dieters, the board president of Charitable Gift America, a group that negotiates NIL deals, sees the commission as essentially being unfair to student athletes.
“School administrators and coaches are very quick to negotiate their own seven figure contracts without a third party determining their value,” said Dieters, “Students should have those exact same rights.”
Former State House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) is a former standout athlete at Michigan State University, as well as a player in the National Football League. He’s currently running for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat in 2026.
Tate’s bill would block schools, conferences, governing bodies and other groups from interfering with athletes cutting their own NIL deals.
“One of the things that this legislation looks to do were not only protecting student athletes in their ability to take advantage of their name, image, and likeness — also empowering them,” said Tate.
A University of Michigan Athletics spokesperson declined to comment on the legislation.
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The U.S. immigrant population has significantly increased to 14.3%, a nearly threefold rise from 4.7% in 1970. Over the past two decades, under three different administrations, federal immigration policies have undergone rapid changes under different administrations. For instance, the Obama administration established the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program while simultaneously expanding the Secured Communities Program, leading to record numbers of deportations.
As the July 1 deadline approaches, Michigan House Republicans have unveiled and passed a budget for K-12 schools. In this week’s episode of MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben discuss what’s inside the proposal and the next steps.
Plus, former Lieutenant Governor of Michigan and President and CEO of the Small Business Association of Michigan, Brian Calley, joins the show to talk about the state of small businesses in Michigan and the insurance cost crisis.
In this episode:
Calley said the cost of healthcare has been taking a major toll on small business owners.
“Four out of five of business owners tell us it’s getting in the way of expanding the business. Three out of four said it’s an impediment to hiring,” he said. “As you look at the overall economic performance of the state, there are subtle changes that could be damaging over time”.
He said the increased cost is coming from health systems and pharmaceuticals.
Hear the full episode on all major podcast platforms.
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A federal jury has found Michigan labor contractor Purpose Point Harvesting guilty of exploiting a group of Guatemalan farmworkers in a forced labor scheme that violated both federal and state laws. The verdict, delivered Friday after an eight-day trial in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, marks a major win for advocates fighting against abuses in the H-2A visa program, which allows U.S. employers to hire foreign agricultural workers for temporary jobs.
The two-year search is almost over for participants of the Big Tree Hunt.
The contest, held by environmental nonprofit ReLeaf, challenges everyday citizens to try and find the biggest trees in Michigan.
There are five prize-winning categories, including:
“We wanted to get people outside and looking up and being aware of trees and their benefits,” said ReLeaf Executive Director Melinda Jones. She hopes that the friendly competition better connects people with nature and tree conservation.
Looking for trees is one way ReLeaf engages families with young kids, but contestants span all ages.
“It also appeals to a lot of retirees,” said Jones. “They get just as big of a kick.”
ReLeaf reports that they’ve gotten submissions from 70 counties in Michigan so far. They hope to see submissions from the remaining 13 counties: Baraga, Branch, Hillsdale, Lake, Luce, Menominee, Montcalm, Newaygo, Ontonagon, Osceola, Otsego, Schoolcraft and Tuscola.
ReLeaf also wants Michiganders to work together to find new state and national champion trees.
Big Tree Hunt entries are sent to the Michigan Big Tree Register. Specialists then add additional information such as the height of the tree and its overall health before the tree is added to the national register.
Michigan currently has five recognized National Champion Trees.
All you need to enter the Big Tree Hunt is a tree’s circumference at “chest height” — that’s 4.5 feet above the ground — and the tree’s location. All entered trees have to be alive, accessible, and new additions to the Michigan Big Tree Register in order to win prizes.
After submissions close, the biggest trees entered into the contest are verified by volunteers, who verify the circumference and species of the nomination.
The last day to enter online or through mail is August 22, 2025.
A photo submission from the 2023-2025 Big Tree Hunt, provided by ReLeaf Michigan
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Last month, then University of Michigan President Santa Ono announced his resignation from the college after accepting a role leading the University of Florida.
But despite the University of Florida’s Board of Trustees voting unanimously to approve Ono as the school’s 14th president, the Florida Board of Governors — which oversees the state’s universities — voted against it, reversing the decision.
David Jesse, a senior writer at The Chronicle of Higher Education, joined The Metro to discuss this unprecedented reversal and the political motivation behind it.
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.
The post The Metro: Santa Ono’s political gamble; higher-ed leadership in the Trump era appeared first on WDET 101.9 FM.
A number of universities are worried about funding cuts that are coming from the Trump administration. That includes those in Michigan.
Wayne State University, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University collaborate — sharing research and attracting businesses to their campuses. Late last month, Michigan Tech joined the re-branded group that’s now called Research Universities for Michigan.
At the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference, presidents from three of the four schools spoke with WDET’s Russ McNamara: MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz, Michigan Tech President Rick Koubec and Wayne State President Kimberly Andrews Espy.
This isn’t the only way schools are collaborating. Although it’s not yet supported by administrative leadership, faculty at many Big Ten universities are advocating for their respective leadership to sign a NATO-like agreement. It would allow the universities to share attorneys and pool financial resources in case President Donald Trump’s administration targets one of them.
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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Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline has been fueling debate for decades.
It carries millions of gallons of crude oil and natural gas liquids each day from Superior, Wisconsin to Sarnia, Ontario. A critical segment of this pipeline lies exposed on the lakebed of the Straits of Mackinac.
It’s a location University of Michigan scientists call the “worst possible place” for an oil spill. That’s because of strong currents that could rapidly spread contaminants across the Great Lakes.
Now, Enbridge wants to build a $500 million dollar tunnel deep under the lakebed to shield the pipeline, prevent an oil spill, and repair aging infrastructure. A new environmental report from the Army Corps of Engineers says it will likely accomplish these things.
But that would come at a cost. Habitats could be destroyed, wildlife disrupted, and tribal rights threatened.
Meanwhile, legal fights continue. Michigan’s governor and Indigenous communities want Line 5 shut down, citing environmental and treaty violations.
Enbridge insists federal law protects the pipeline.
The Army Corps of Engineers is asking people to weigh in on its new report about the tunnel project through the end of the month.
So, it’s a good time to ask: is this tunnel a safe solution or a continuation of something that violates indigenous rights and threatens the environment?
Andrew Buchsbaum, an expert on environmental law at the University of Michigan, has been part of the movement to stop Line 5. He joined The Metro to discuss the new report.
The Metro invited an Enbridge spokesperson to discuss Line 5 and its proposed oil tunnel, but didn’t hear back before the show’s air date.
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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Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan received a major endorsement that may set him a part from his other gubernatorial candidates. As part of the weekly series MichMash, WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Zach Gorchow discuss how this move influences the rest of the race.
Then, Michigan Sen. and Chair of the Senate K-12 Appropriations Subcommittee, Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) joins the show to discuss the K-12 budget and what he’s willing to negotiate.
In this episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSSzX_43trw
The Michigan Regional Council of Carpenters and Millwrights — a union representing more than 14,000 members across the state — announced this week it was endorsing Duggan for governor.
Although endorsements don’t equal votes, Gorchow says this powerful group may help draw legacy support away from Democrats.
“It’s one thing for a group to endorse. It’s another to put resources behind a candidate. And the carpenters union has done that for gubernatorial candidates in the past,” Gorchow said. “While the union did endorse Republican Rick Snyder for governor, it traditionally backs Democrats. It endorsed Gretchen Whitmer for governor twice, among others.”
Later in the show state Sen. Camilleri shared what’s in store for K-12 school funding, as well as his thoughts on the governor’s race.
The first-term senator and his Democratic colleagues passed a K-12 budget bill earlier in the spring that’s about $600 million more dollars than what Gov. Whitmer recommended. Since then, Gorchow says, the revenue outlook has cooled a bit.
Still, Camilleri says the state is “on the right road,” pointing out that it still has a balance on its School Aid Fund Balance Sheet.
“Even with the budget that we passed, we are well situated to pass it as-is,” he said. “I’m sure we’re going to have some differences between the governor and whatever the House puts out, because we’re still waiting to see what their proposal is.”
Camilleri says he agrees that Michigan is not yet where it needs to be on certain education metrics compared to other states across the country.
“However,” he said, “we have not seen the full outcome of these investments in at-risk funding, or in mental health and school safety, or some of the other programs that we’ve lifted up, including literacy funding,” noting that Senate Democrats are focused on making “long-term investments” in these “proven tools.”
The deadline for enacting a state budget is July 1.
More from WDET:
–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.
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This coverage is made possible through a partnership between IPR and Grist, a nonprofit environmental media organization.
Canadian wildfire smoke that blew into the Great Lakes region is expected to clear from northern Michigan this weekend — at least for now.
The Michigan Air Quality Division said Thursday morning that the heavy smoke across the Upper Peninsula was already clearing out. Earlier in the week, there were unhealthy levels of fine particulate matter in the air across parts of the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan, with smoke settling here for days before moving further south.
While division forecasters expect Friday to be the last day for advisories from this round of smoke, they said it was too early to put out a firm forecast much beyond that: “There is still a considerable amount of smoke in Canada and the models are indicating a late weekend frontal system could draw down more smoke, next week.”
The state has been issuing air quality alerts for much of the region. As of Thursday, there were still advisories across the Lower Peninsula for sensitive groups, including people with health issues like asthma.
People can take measures to protect their health, such as limiting outdoor activities, closing windows, and running air conditioners with high-quality filters.
This is the latest in a series of intense wildfire seasons fueled by dry conditions in Canada, resulting in smoky springs and summers in the Midwest.
“For the last few years, you’ve combined what has been somewhat persistent wildfire problems in Canada with an air flow that is moving some of that air from Canada down into the United States,” said Jim Keysor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gaylord.
It can be difficult to predict how far-away wildfires will affect air quality in different regions, since smoke is influenced by factors like wind, pressure systems, weather fronts and geography.
“Wherever the wind blows, the smoke is going to go,” said Alec Kownacki, a meteorologist with Michigan’s Air Quality Division. “And at different levels of the atmosphere you can have differing wind directions.”
Over the past week, low pressure systems funneled smoke from fires in the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba toward the upper Midwest.
“Along with that wind shift, a cold front came through. And what happens on the back end of a cold front — you have a lot of air sinking,” Kownacki said.
Local weather patterns also have an influence. While rain can help improve air quality, the rain that swept across parts of the region earlier this week actually pushed smoke down toward the earth, Keysor said, making exposure more likely.
“It’s actually helping to bring down some of that smoke that’s higher up into the atmosphere, which normally would have been way up there,” he said. “That wouldn’t have bothered us a whole lot.”
One positive, Keysor added, was that modeling for smoke forecasts has become more accessible in the National Weather Service offices in recent years. Their smoke forecasts are informed by state data.
“The programmers that were putting some of those models together began to look at that [smoke] parameter a little bit more and to make it a product that we could view more readily,” he said. The weather models they use are improving. “We’re able to see more of it than we used to.”
The heavy smoke that was hanging across the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan has now moved further south, including around Lansing.
“It’s wreaking havoc for us down here right now,” said Kownacki, who is based there.
Conditions are expected to improve across much of the state over the next few days, but there may be more smoke from the fires in the near future.
The state Air Quality Division will update its forecast on Friday morning.
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In 2017, St. Clair County Jail completely banned people from visiting their incarcerated loved ones, forcing families to pay steep fees for low-quality phone and video calls. Children and parents of individuals detained in the jail sued the County and Securus Technologies — the contractor providing call and video visitation technology — alleging that the ban violates the families’ fundamental rights under the Michigan Constitution. While a local court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss the case, the plaintiffs maintain that the County’s complete ban on in-person visitation violates their constitutional right to family integrity.
A Republican lawmaker in the Michigan House is introducing articles of impeachment against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
The articles accuse Benson, a Democrat, of exceeding her authority, failing to secure elections, and not being transparent.
State Representative Jim DeSana (R-Carleton) said the effort is about holding Benson accountable.
“Her job is to run the Secretary of State’s office and to run elections. We make the law that determine[s] what is the authority over the election. She cannot make that law,” DeSana said during a press conference Tuesday morning.
DeSana laid out several complaints against Benson, including a decision to talk to reporters inside the lobby of a state office building while announcing her gubernatorial campaign. The Michigan Attorney General’s Office found that was likely a campaign finance law violation but said she didn’t have the authority to pursue the matter any further.
Benson had said it wasn’t an improper use of state resources since she said other candidates were welcome to use the lobby as well.
The impeachment resolution also makes multiple references to Benson’s handling of the 2020 presidential election. Dozens of audits since have confirmed President Donald Trump’s loss to former President Joe Biden.
In a written statement, Benson derided the impeachment threat.
“I believe in oversight and I believe in transparency. This isn’t it.
“This is Republican lawmakers abusing their authority to access sensitive election information that would allow them — or any conspiracy theorists they share it with – to tamper with election equipment, interfere with the chain of custody of ballots, or impersonate a clerk on Election Day.
“I continue to call on Speaker Hall and his caucus to work with us and a judicial mediator to help us reach a resolution to this matter.
“But let’s be clear: this clown show he is leading is no way to govern. It is not how we solve problems. It is not how we make government work for everyone. And every taxpayer dollar wasted on these shenanigans is a waste of time and money.
“I remain committed to the security of our elections and to the people of Michigan. I work for them. I suggest the House Republicans start doing the same,” a press release from Benson in her capacity as secretary of state said.
Last month, House Republicans voted to censure her for not fully complying with records requests from the House Oversight Committee.
Those efforts seem to be where House Republican leadership is focused instead of the impeachment resolution.
Gideon D’Assandro is spokesperson for House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp).
“Speaker Hall is working with Oversight Committee to enforce the House’s subpoena against Benson and finalizing a budget plan that will hold her department accountable for its many failures,” D’Assandro said in a text message.
Meanwhile, Democratic leadership in the House minority are calling the entire Benson saga a distraction from meaningful issues like passing a new state budget.
“We’ve talked about, at length, about everything that’s at stake right now. What’s coming our way from the federal government and the budget that’s being done in D.C., and that should be our singular focus right now,” Minority Leader Ranjeev Puri (D-Canton) said.
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The recreational use of nitrous oxide, commonly known as “laughing gas,” has led to an alarming surge in emergency medical incidents across Michigan, prompting a warning from state health officials on Wednesday. Calls to the Michigan Poison and Drug Information Center (MiPDC) involving adverse effects from nitrous oxide misuse rose 533% between 2019 and 2024, while emergency medical service responses increased by 553% over the same period.
A group of Democratic state lawmakers is calling for an expansion of Michigan’s civil rights law to specifically include protections against antisemitism.
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This is following recent acts of alleged antisemitic violence in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C.
The legislation would add the word “ethnicity” to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act’s wide range of protected characteristics that already include “religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, height, weight, familial status, marital status, or source of income.”
Supporters say they view recent incidents of violence against Jewish people — some of which have been labeled by police and the alleged perpetrators as alleged antisemitic violence in Colorado, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. to protests of Israel’s actions in Gaza — as evidence that antisemitism deserves to be specifically included in the civil rights law.
An annual survey by the America Jewish Committee found roughly a third of Jews in the U.S. say they have been target of antisemitism, and an Anti-Defamation League report found antisemitic incidents reached a record high last year.
“There is a tremendous conflict going on that has evoked a lot of emotions, but when Jews here are subject to harassment, intimidation and incitement of violence, that is antisemitic,” Sen. Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) told Michigan Public Radio. “Jews should be able to be safe in this country where they stand.”
State Rep. Noah Arbit (D-West Bloomfield) is a lead sponsor of the bill. He said the concept of “collective guilt” is an antisemitic trope that has been resuscitated.
“The idea of collective responsibility, collective punishment, used to be thought of as racist,” he said. “Now, suddenly, all American Jews — and frequently not just American Jews, but Jews in France, Jews in the U.K., Canada, are being held collectively responsible for the actions — right or wrong, agree or disagree — of the government of the state of Israel.”
A United Nations special committee investigating Israel’s warfare in Gaza found last year that it was “consistent with the characteristics of genocide, with mass civilian casualties and life-threatening conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians there.”
The Jewish population of the U.S. has been split in its attitude toward Israel and its war on Gaza after a Hamas-led attack killed more than 1,100 Israelis.
Arbit said politicians on the right and the left have failed to stand up against antisemitism. He said an expansion of the civil rights law would show elected officials are taking the new rise of antisemitism seriously.
Other headlines for Wednesday, June 4, 2025:
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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Longtime academic Santa Ono was rejected Tuesday for the University of Florida presidency by the state university system board amid sharp criticism from political conservatives about his past support for diversity, equity and inclusion programs and other initiatives they view as unacceptable liberal ideology.
The Florida Board of Governors, which oversees the state’s universities, voted 10-6 against Ono, who was most recently president of the University of Michigan. The University of Florida Board of Trustees had voted unanimously in May to approve Ono as the school’s 14th president, and it is unprecedented for the governors to reverse such an action.
Now the search will start all over.
Ono’s proposed contract included a number of ideological requirements, such as how well he stopped programs that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI. He was to cooperate with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Office of Government Efficiency — similar to the office created by President Donald Trump — and appoint other university officials and deans who are “firmly aligned” with Florida’s approach.
Several prominent conservatives raised questions about Ono before the vote over pro-Palestinian protests, climate change efforts, gender ideology and DEI programs at the University of Michigan and his previous academic positions.
These actions, Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida said on the X social platform, show “he is willing to appease and prioritize far-left activists over ensuring students are protected and receive a quality education.” Others raising objections include Donald Trump Jr. and Florida GOP U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds, Greg Steube and Jimmy Patronis. Donalds is a Republican candidate for governor.
Writing in Inside Higher Ed, Ono said he supported DEI initiatives at first because they aim was “equal opportunity and fairness for every student.”
“But over time, I saw how DEI became something else — more about ideology, division and bureaucracy, not student success,” Ono wrote, adding that he eventually limited DEI offices at Michigan. “I believe in Florida’s vision for higher education.”
DeSantis, a Republican who has pushed reforms in higher education to eliminate what he calls “woke” policies such as DEI, did not take a public stand on Ono but did say at a recent news conference that some of his statements made the governor “cringe.”
Ono faced similar pointed questions at Tuesday’s meeting — especially from former Republican state House speakers Paul Renner and Jose Oliva — leading board member Charles Lydecker to object to the procedure.
“We have never used this as a forum to interrogate. This is not a court of law. Candidly, this process does not seem fair to me,” Lydecker said.
Oliva, however, questioned how to square Ono’s many past statements about hot-button cultural issues with his more conservative stance now that he sought the Florida job.
“Now we are told to believe you are now abandoning an entire ideological architecture,” Oliva said. “We are asking someone to lead our flagship university. I don’t understand how it becomes unfair.”
Steube, writing on X, praised the board for its decision.
“Great news for my alma mater and the state of Florida! The Board of Governors heard us loud and clear: Santa Ono was the wrong choice for UF,” the congressman said.
Ono was to replace Kent Fuchs, who became the school’s temporary, interim president last summer after ex-U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse stepped down. Sasse left the U.S. Senate, where he had represented Nebraska, to become the university’s president in 2023.
Sasse announced in July he was leaving the job after his wife was diagnosed with epilepsy.
Later reports surfaced that Sasse gave six former staffers and two former Republican officials jobs with salaries that outstripped comparable positions and spent over $1.3 million on private catering for lavish dinners, football tailgates and extravagant social functions in his first year on the job.
Ono is also the former president of the University of British Columbia and the University of Cincinnati.
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The 2024 Mackinac Policy Conference became all about how to increase Michigan’s population.
After that conference, politicians, demographers and economists were theorizing about how to increase the state population. Last December, newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau showed that Michigan increased its population by about 57,000. And last month, we got word that Detroit also increased its population by 6,800 residents.
What should we make of these numbers? Are they too small to celebrate? Or, is the state and its largest city on a path to continue the trend?
Metro Producer Sam Corey spoke with Citizens Research Council President Eric Lupher at the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference last week to learn more.
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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