Michigan’s 2026 gubernatorial race is underway, and MichMash is talking to all of the major candidates. In this week’s episode, WDET host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben sit down with Former State House Speaker Tom Leonard to learn why he’s running and what sets him apart from other candidates.

Plus, Cheyna and Alethia explain the current status of Michigan’s 2026 fiscal budget.

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

In this episode: 

• Why wasn’t the 2026 fiscal budget approved by the July 1 deadline?
• Why is Tom Leonard running for governor?

Highlights

On Duggan running as an Independent

One of the outliers of the 2026 gubernatorial race is Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan running as an Independent. Leonard says that despite Duggan’s party affiliation change, not much else has.

“Ultimately, at the end of the day, the mayor is a Democrat. He is not an Independent,” Leonard told MichMash. “If somebody were to ask him right now where he breaks away from the Democrats on any major issue, I don’t think he could give one.”

Leonard went on to say that he believes Duggan in the race affects Democrats more than Republicans.

On the state budget’s delay

It’s been a month since the July 1 deadline, and the Michigan legislature still hasn’t approved the budget for the 2026 fiscal year. What’s causing the state capitol to fall behind schedule?

“A disagreement over unrelated legislation … led to Republican House Speaker Matt Hall kicking the ranking Democrat Rep. Albus Farhat of Dearborn off of the Appropriations Committee,” Alethia explained. “He was the lead Democrat trying to help negotiate this budget deal.”

As the academic year draws closer, many schools and are creating contingency plans in case the budget isn’t approved before the state fiscal year starts in October.

Detroit’s mayoral candidates agree the city needs more affordable housing but have different ideas to solve the problem. 

Retired businessman Joel Haashiim says if he were mayor, he’d create a municipal building company to manufacture housing. 

“It’s a great industry,” he says. “It’s something where we can create 10,000 Detroit resident jobs.”

Haashiim also says it would diversify the city’s economy.

“We basically rely on the auto plants and the small service industries that maintain the local economy,” he says. “This will give us an opportunity to put billions of dollars into our city treasury, as well as in the community.”

Haashiim says he would also work with financial institutions to make buying a home more affordable.

“30- to 50-year mortgages are what we want to introduce into Detroit,” he says. “This will allow us to compensate for the high cost of building.”

If they build it, will people come?

By creating a larger number of affordable homes, Haashiim says he hopes to accelerate Detroit’s population growth. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates the city gained about 6,000 residents since the decennial head count in 2020. He says the key is to attract more business.

“We are an international city with no international companies,” Haashiim says. “I’m the only candidate who has done 15 international business delegations around this country, bringing in companies to this metro area.”

Haashiim says he would also invest in public projects and education to lure new residents to Detroit.

“We do want to bring in families,” he says. “We want to make sure we reach out to them as a city that’s interested in making sure that our children can compete in the 21st century.”

Haashiim is one of nine mayoral candidates on the Aug. 5 ballot. Arnold Boyd and Rogelio Landin are running write-in campaigns. The top two finishers in the primary will run against each other in November.

Mayor Mike Duggan is not seeking re-election. He’s waging an independent campaign for governor in 2026.

Learn more about upcoming elections with WDET’s 2025 Detroit Voter Guide »

Detroiters face a pivotal primary election, and early voting is already underway. 

For the first time in a dozen years Mayor Mike Duggan is not seeking reelection.

The candidates vying to replace Duggan differ on the specific policies they want to pursue. But most agree one of Detroit’s pressing needs is increasing its supply of affordable housing.

Candidate DaNetta Simpson says she has a plan to address the situation that would help residents pay to fix-up their current housing. She says it’s just one of several issues driving her bid as an independent candidate for the top job in Detroit’s city government.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

DaNetta Simpson: What I would do, as far as the neighborhoods, is set up an insurance program for the residents to pay into for repairs for their homes. And we’re not going to go by income, only that they’re occupied and that they are on the tax rolls. All you have to do is show proof of ownership and pay a monthly or yearly fee. We will put all this money in one particular bank account, let it draw interest and then have it go to repairing our neighborhoods.

I will also freeze the property taxes while we’re doing these repairs. I will also grandfather the property taxes for people that’s been in the neighborhoods for more than 20–30 years.

Also, crime in our communities is out of hand. Gun control is out of hand. I want to prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands. Now don’t take me wrong, we do not want to take your firearms. We just want responsible owners. And there’s people out here that cannot own firearms.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: So, what would you do to keep them out of the wrong hands?

DS: I will have enforcement in public places to search for them. Or post signage stating that firearms are prohibited from being there when they’re carried by people that’s not licensed to have them. We need a gun trafficking law that will stop the drive-by shootings in the neighborhoods. I know we can’t control the way an individual thinks. But at least if we have a law on the books to prevent the shootings from happening; maybe they won’t commit those crimes in places like parks. Kids are getting killed at the parks, getting wounded at the annual fireworks display, in large crowds at concerts, bars. We can control some of that. And it’s time for us to make our public places safe. Fix up our neighborhoods as well and children will not see blight again.

QK: Detroit will be running out of the pandemic relief money that the city used for various projects. It’s been allocated. Just about every candidate running for mayor now says the city needs to find new sources of revenue. Do you agree with that? And where would you look to find new revenue?

DS: Yes, I do agree with that. But everyone in Detroit is not eligible for loans. So my program, insurance deterioration, will cover everyone. And this will bring in revenue for repairing the homes, gutters, porches, roofs, sidewalk repairs, your fences, your garages, etc. We got to get the homes fixed up and safe so people can be in livable conditions.

QK: As part of that, you’ve talked about instituting some new policies regarding trash pickup in the city?

DS: Yes, that can be revenue for the city as well. Because there are people out here who are not paying for trash pickup. I know apartment buildings have a different ordinance. But if everyone pays for trash pickup along with their occupancy certificates, that will help deter blight in the neighborhoods. Because when tenants have to vacate premises, they leave them full of trash. Some of them put the trash on the streets where it doesn’t belong. So, I feel that they need to pay for a trash fee.

QK: Some of the other candidates have mentioned possibly having to create some new local taxes, service taxes. Would you favor that kind of approach as well?

DS: No, I feel that we’ve been taxed enough. That’s the old way to do things, raising taxes, cutting here, cutting there. We need some new ideas. We can’t run the city the old way. They are still trying to run the city like when the taxes first started on properties. We can’t keep taxing the citizens.

QK: The person that’s been running the city for the last dozen years, Mayor Mike Duggan, is not going to be running it anymore. He’s not seeking reelection, he’s running for governor. When you look at what Duggan has done, do you see things that you want to build on? Or is there some other direction you think the city should go?

DS: The difference between him and I, is that he was previously a Democrat and I have always been an independent. I have suggested some of my ideas to his administration and he has followed them. Those ideas are criminal expungements and swapping the old jail for Dan Gilbert to buy the site to develop on. I have been a part of the change and I would like to continue that. And this deterioration insurance will be a change for Detroit.

QK: You have made a couple of runs previously for mayor. Is there something you see differently that you can propose this time than in your previous campaigns?

DS: I would say I still have the same ideas. But when you don’t have the money to reach the people, when you don’t have radio time, television time and you don’t have the money for mailings, then you can’t reach all the constituents like the other candidates can.

QK: So this time you think you’re getting your message out more widely?

DS: Yes.

QK: I typically ask anyone who is running for an office what their pitch would be in the end to voters. So what would you tell Detroiters? Why would you be the best candidate for mayor compared to all the others campaigning right now?

DS: Because I will show independent thinking. The others want to raise taxes. I have something to offer the citizens where we don’t need to raise the taxes. We just need to stand on our own two feet and we can fix our neighborhoods ourselves. I will be an independent thinker instead of a dependent thinker.

QK: Dependent on what?

DS: Dependent upon the old. And it’s not the old that will take us to the next level. We need fresh ideas in here.

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

It’s been almost two years since Hamas’ attack on Israel, and each day, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is getting worse. The latest concern is starvation. On Sunday, the United Nations issued a grim statement on the situation: “The entire population of over two million people in Gaza is severely food insecure. One out of every three people has not eaten for days. And 80 per cent of all reported deaths by starvation are children.”

The number of people killed trying to get food in Gaza continues to grow. Since May, NPR has reported that over 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces when trying to get food, often near aid sites run by an American contractor. 

Over 57,000 civilians and combatants have been killed in Gaza since the war started, October 7, 2023, according to the Gaza health ministry. There are still Israeli and non-Israeli captives being held by Hamas in that territory.

One word being used to describe the horror unfolding in Gaza is “genocide.” For a long time, Omer Bartov, a Jewish-Israeli professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University, was averse to using the word to describe what’s happening against Palestinians.

But his views changed in 2024 when he says Israel’s tactics began to satisfy the United Nations definition of genocide. He joined The Metro to explain his thinking on how Israel’s role in the war constitutes genocide

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

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

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Many people know what the mayor or city council does, but what about the other governing bodies in city government? Several groups play an important role in how the City of Detroit functions, like the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board or the Board of Police Commissioners. But what’s the difference between a board and a committee?

One of the best ways to learn what really happens in these meetings is to attend and take good notes. That’s exactly what the Detroit Documenters do every week. The Metro’s Jack Filbrandt spoke with Lynelle Herndon and AJ Johnson from the Detroit Documenters to break down the difference between boards and committees in Detroit.

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

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This week on MichMash, gubernatorial candidate and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II sat down with WDET’s Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben to explain why he’s running for governor of Michigan and how his engineering background could help.

Plus, we take a look at fundraising progress from the rest of the gubernatorial candidates.

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

In this episode:

• Why is Lt. Gov. Gilchrist running for governor?
• How much money have Michigan gubernatorial candidates raised so far?

Engineering change

Gilchrist graduated with two engineering degrees from the University of Michigan. Now as he runs to be the next governor of Michigan while still serving as lieutenant governor of Michigan, he views both jobs as serving the same purpose.

“I have one job, and that is to have as many conversations as possible with people across Michigan every single day … and then to take what they tell me and go make something happen,” he told MichMash. “People need a problem solver in office and that’s what I do as an engineer. I make systems work for people.”

Fundraising updates

All gubernatorial candidates, including Gilchrist, were required to report their first fundraising hauls this week. But despite this major milestone, the race is far from determined.

Democratic candidates include Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II. Benson has raised $3.5 million in the first six months of her campaign, Swanson has raised $1 million and Gilchrist has raised $750,000. 

While the Democratic field has appeared to settle, the Republican field seems more in flux. Former House Speaker Tom Leonard entered the race just a month ago, and a few weeks ago, 2022 Republican Gubernatorial Nominee Tudor Dixon announced she would not be running in 2026. Other candidates may still enter the race, and it’s possible that U.S. Rep. John James may back out of his gubernatorial bid amid pressure from President Donald Trump to maintain his congressional seat.

But for now, the main Republican candidates are Leonard, Senate Republican Leader Eric Nesbitt, James and former Attorney General Mike Cox. As the deadline to submit fundraising reports isn’t until 5 p.m. on Friday, we didn’t have all the data at the time this episode was recorded on Thursday afternoon. But we do know that Cox has raised $1.4 million and and that James moved $500,000 from his congressional committee to his gubernatorial committee earlier this month.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is also running for governor as an Independent, and his fundraising report had not yet been submitted at the time of this recording.

Federal immigration enforcement has ramped up under the Trump administration, leaving many in Detroit’s immigrant communities feeling anxious and unsettled. Policies have shifted the ground beneath them, especially in District 6, home to much of Southwest Detroit’s immigrant population.

Gabriela Santiago‑Romero represents that area on Detroit City Council. For her, the issue is personal. She’s a Mexican immigrant who grew up in the same neighborhood she now serves. Since enforcement efforts have increased, she’s been more present in the community, talking with neighbors about their rights and advocating for ways they can live with less fear.

Today, she joins us on The Metro to talk about the pressure, opportunity, and accountability shaping both her work and her community and what it means to take on issues deeply connected to her own identity.

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

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Registered voters not casting a vote is a problem in the city, one that seems to be bigger here than in other Midwest cities. 

In Central Ohio’s Franklin County, the 2024 presidential election turnout was 66%. In Milwaukee, it was 85%. In Chicago, it was about 68% — and that’s the lowest it’s been in 80 years. But in Detroit, during the same election year, it was just 47%. 

Mara Ostfeld is the research director at the Center for Racial Justice and a professor at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan. She joined The Metro on Wednesday to share insights into why some Detroit residents don’t vote, and how to increase voter turnout. 

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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The Republican-led Michigan House Oversight Committee approved a slew of legislative subpoenas Tuesday directed at state departments, including the Attorney General’s office.

The oversight committee has aggressively used its subpoena power in this session to squeeze agencies in an executive branch controlled by Democrats.

The committee authorized two subpoenas demanding records related to the end of a criminal investigation by the Attorney General’s office into a Democratic Party fundraiser. 

Attorney Traci Kornak is a former Michigan Democratic Party treasurer was investigated for insurance fraud in 2022. The department set up internal firewalls due to Kornak’s relationship with Nessel, but GOP committee members say there appears to be evidence that Nessel was kept informed of progress on the inquiry and may have influenced the decision to drop it.

Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay Twp.), chair of the oversight committee, said the subpoenas were necessary to help come up with improvements to Michigan’s campaign finance laws, but also hinted impeachment could be on the table.

“The House has the power to ability to impeach civil officers of the State of Michigan where corrupt conduct in office occurs,” he said. “In order to faithfully exercise its responsibilities in this regard, the House is entitled to investigate the Department of Attorney General’s decision to decline issuing criminal charges in this matter.”

Another subpoena asks for records and communications with the Department of State related to a campaign committee to include LGBTQ protections in Michigan’s civil rights law.

Tuesday’s round of subpoenas also includes records from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources on its regulation of game ranches and its program for euthanizing Canadian geese as a wildlife control measure.

The committee demanded an in-person appearance by Michigan Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel, who is a member of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s cabinet.

“House Republicans have raised serious questions for months about troubling reports involving MDHHS — including children sleeping on floors, young people being placed in unvetted out-of-state facilities, instances of welfare and Medicaid fraud, and taxpayer-funded services being extended to individuals without legal status,” said Rep. John Roth (R-Interlochen) in a written statement. “Our goal has always been to work collaboratively behind the scenes to investigate these concerns, but unfortunately, we have not been able to secure the cooperation we had hoped for from the department.”

GOP members of the committee accused Hertel and the MDHHS of stonewalling their inquiries and said she has declined multiple invitations to appear. A health department spokesperson said there was a scheduling conflict, but she was not dodging the committee.

“A subpoena was not necessary to compel the director to appear before the committee,” said MDHHS spokesperson Lynn Sutfin, sharing a letter where Hertel requested an alternate date and a list of topics to be covered in her appearance. 

Health care in Michigan is about to get more expensive.

According to a recent report from the health policy research group KFF, insurers offering plans through the Affordable Care Act will increase premiums by 15% next year, with some even proposing 20% hikes. Medicaid is set for $1.2 trillion in national cuts, including work mandates and higher fees.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel also announced last week that she joined a multi-state coalition lawsuit challenging a Trump administration rule that would “create significant barriers to obtaining health care coverage under the Affordable Care Act.”

So, what does all this mean for you and your family’s health care costs?

Thomas Buchmueller, a health economist at the University of Michigan, joined The Metro on Tuesday to break down what’s changing, who will feel it first, and what Michigan can do to soften the blow.

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’s public schools board is interviewing candidates for its vacant seat this week.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Angelique Peterson Mayberry resigned earlier this month to complete Irma Clark-Coleman’s term on the Wayne County Commission. Clark-Coleman died in June.

Chalkbeat Detroit reports 16 people will be interviewed during special board meetings held July 21-24. The candidates include: Pageant Atterberry, Kenya Avant, Sonja Beasley-Hall, The Rev. Dr. Steven Bland Jr., Whitney Clarke, Jonathan Demers, Debra Duren, Dr. Bonnie Ferrell, Bessie Harris, Dr. Shinese Johnson, Brandy Mitchell, Aliya Moore, Ashley Pearson, Traci Ricks, Jeremiah Steen and The Rev. Curtis Williams.

Applications for the position were open to the public and closed on July 9. The board plans to score each candidate during interviews then vote to fill the seat on July 28. The candidate selected will serve on the board through 2026. 

Other headlines for Tuesday, July 22, 2025:

• Low income Consumers Energy customers can apply for up to $500 to pay past due energy bills through September 30. The State Emergency Relief funds are available to households with income within 150% of the federal poverty rate. Last year 540,000 customers shared more than 38 million dollars in energy assistance.
• The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has launched a Faucet and Filter Safety Net Program. Eligible households may be able to replace a faucet or get a lead-reducing filter. Some residents may qualify for a home visit for a visual assessment of their plumbing or get assistance applying for the Medicaid Lead Abatement program. 
• The Lexus Velodrome was re-dubbed the Mad Track Arena on Monday. The indoor multi-sport complex first opened in January 2018 and partnered with the Detroit Lexus Dealers Association to offer bike programs. Detroit Fitness Foundation CEO Dale Hughes says thousands of youth in the city have learned to ride a bike, taken a spin on the Olympic-caliber indoor racetrack or become racers themselves. The arena features the only indoor velodrome of its kind in the U.S.

Do you have a community story we should tell? Let us know in an email at detroiteveningreport@wdet.org.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) has released the Get Housing Ready Guide.

It’s a checklist for local governments to attract more housing development and investment. The state still faces a shortage of 119,000 housing units.

MSHDA Director Amy Hovey spoke with WDET about what is causing the shortage, and how the guide can help communities address it.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Amy Hovey: In the state of Michigan, we’re still about 119,000 units short of where we need to be for our current population in the state. That shortage comes from a few different things. One, the amount of people that live in each housing unit has shrunk. Quite often there’s one or only two people in the home. So, even if your population is somewhat stagnant, like it is in the state of Michigan — if you have less people in each home, you’re going to need more homes. We’ve also had a big increase in second homes and short term rentals. It’s great that we have those. That has also led to a shortage of housing for people who live here permanently. So we need to create all kinds of tools to help with the development of housing. And this guide really just kind of highlights all the different things — whether it’s zoning changes, whether it’s financial tools, whether it’s planning, whether it’s knowing where you want the housing developed, and having land control and working with land banks. There’s lots of things that a local municipality can do to really be housing ready.

Bre’Anna Tinsley, WDET News: What is the biggest obstacle that local governments are facing right now concerning attracting these investments?

AH: The cost of developing housing is really the biggest obstacle. Often in our state right now, the cost to develop housing far outweighs what Michigan families can afford. So we need everyone to come to the table to reduce those costs. Some of the suggestions we have look at their land use policy. How can they allow for a more dense housing structure? Meaning, like row houses or multifamily even for sale homes that make it more affordable to develop. Also allowing for smaller housing to be developed, which matches really what new families are looking for and also what they can afford.

I also think if local communities prioritize the development of housing, making sure that they’re reviewing plans quickly, that they have pattern books of plans they’ve already approved in the past, that they’re coming to the table and trying to make the process as easy as possible and as short as possible to get housing developed. You know, the longer it takes, the more expensive it is.

BT: I notice that particularly in Detroit, that urgency to build more housing, especially more affordable housing, we tend to lean more towards multifamily units — not necessarily single-family homes. I’m curious if the policy changes that you’re suggesting will help allow more single-family homes to be built.

AH: I do think so. I think the reason why you see a lot of multifamily being developed, particularly in Detroit, is that’s where a lot of the subsidy is geared towards. At MSHDA, we get a lot of money from the federal government that is just for multifamily. We don’t get as much assistance for homeowner for sale development.

And so really, there’s a couple things. One, we need the state government to step up and put more funding towards for-sale. We need local governments to rethink their neighborhoods, to make it more affordable for developers to come and develop for-sale housing. For example, in this guide, we talk about the housing TIFs (Tax Increment Financing) under one of the financial tools and incentives. We have seen developers across the state use that housing TIF tool to develop single family for sale housing. And so if you’re a community that’s willing to approve these housing TIFs, you’re more likely to attract these single-family kind of neighborhood developers into your community.

Detroit is just a few weeks away from a pivotal primary election that will decide the two final contenders to become the city’s next mayor.

WDET is listening to the voice of Detroit voters as part of our Citizen Vox Project.

George Goff is one of those voters. He lives in Detroit’s Jefferson – Chalmers community.

Goff says he’s following the mayoral race, but he’s still waiting to hear candidates address his concerns.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

George Goff: I am still disappointed they’re not talking about public policy. There’s a lot of environmental issues in Detroit and no one wants to address that.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: When you say environmental issues, especially if you’re on Jefferson and Chalmers, is it in terms of trying to prevent flooding, in terms of possible contamination in the waterways, all of the above?

GG: All of the above. We thought it was DTE Energy that had the problem. But it was another company, and you can smell [what’s left from the flooding] all the way up to Mack Ave. That’s a problem. You have the canals, they’re flooding constantly. And my home was flooded five times. FEMA is not doing anything. The city hasn’t done anything. And that’s a problem.

QK: Obviously whoever becomes mayor, you’d want them to address that kind of issue. I would think. What other issues, if any, do you see as important to the city that should be worked on?

GG: The other thing is that people are losing their homes now. It’s a new pandemic. Seniors are not able to keep their homes because insurance companies say they’re not going to be covered when things go astray. That’s a major problem in the city of Detroit right now.

QK: What would you suggest that whoever would be the next mayor do to try to help with that?

GG: They need to have policies in place for that, for the future. I know the city is working on a new pipeline waterway system. But they have to do more than that. They’re tearing up the streets on Jefferson Ave. and by the park and there is still sewage backing up.

QK: This will be the first time in a dozen years that Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan is not running for reelection. What have you thought of the job he’s done? And what do you think a future mayor should do? Should they build on some of what he’s done or go in a different direction?

“The social middle class of the city of Detroit is suffering. We need to make sure we’re able to live in Detroit with all these high inflation rates.”

– George Goff, Detroit voter

GG: I think Mike Duggan has done a great job for the city. I want to see the next mayor do some of the things that Duggan had put in place. But I need them to go beyond, especially for the middle class. The social middle class of the city of Detroit is suffering. We need to make sure we’re able to live in Detroit with all these high inflation rates.

They had a problem with the county deeds, they are having problems with taxes, they’re having problems with the upkeep of housing, and we’re losing a lot. Detroit could be a first-class city and it’s not anymore. So the next mayor has to get on the ground and start making way for the future of the city of Detroit. If we don’t, we will go back into bankruptcy.

QK: You think it’s that dire of a situation that bankruptcy could be a possibility?

GG: I think it’s very possible. Because they’re skirting around the real issues. People have gone to city council and shared their voice and it’s like, OK, we’ll look into that. But no one is looking into it. The flooding, people losing their homes, the taxes, common things they’re not doing. Look at the city transportation. And then crime now. There’s no activities for youth. They need to open-up recreation centers on the weekends, have midnight basketball or something. We need something for our youth. The parks are great but we need better policing of the parks.

New tariffs imposed earlier this year by the Trump administration are starting to raise prices on some consumer goods, and many Michigan households are struggling as a result.

According to United Way’s latest ALICE (asset limited, income constrained and employed) report, roughly 41% of Michigan households are facing financial hardship. So how can people make the most out of the money they do have?

Khadija Mutakabbir, a licensed financial literacy counselor and an experienced loan advisor with Detroit Peer Money Mentors, says it starts with building healthy money habits.

The youth-led effort, funded through the city’s Grow Detroit’s Young Talent program, helps to educate Detroit youth about financial wellness and money management. Participating mentors receive extensive training on how to lead workshops and encourage participants to take control of their personal finance.

Mutakabbir joined The Metro on Monday to talk about the program and how her background in finance shaped her mission to educate others.

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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It’s no secret Detroit is at a turning point. Mayor Mike Duggan is on his way out. And soon, a new group of city leaders will enter the fray.

But will these leaders and their appointees truly represent the needs of everyday Detroiters?

That’s exactly what the Detroit City Appointments Project is working on. It’s trying to recruit and vet residents who want to serve under Detroit’s next mayor.

The project, led by longtime organizer Maurice Weeks, is focused on finding qualified people. It’s also about finding leaders committed to fairness, equity and accountability to Detroit’s neighborhoods.

Weeks joined The Metro on Monday to talk about the project, what’s at stake for Detroiters, and how roles in local government can be transformational for the city.

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 voters will elect a new mayor this fall. Nine people are running to succeed Mike Duggan, who’s making an independent bid for governor next year. The top two finishers in next month’s primary election will advance to the general election in November.

WDET is having one-on-one conversations with voters about the issues they want the next mayor and city council to address. We call it the Citizen Vox Project.

WDET’s Bre’Anna Tinsley spoke with Eugene Brown II, a resident of Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood on the city’s west side, about why he says honesty and action matters in the city’s next leader.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Eugene Brown II: Because we’re not too big on the words anymore. We need to see action, movement, growth, development, and these are all things that are taking place now in the city of Detroit and have been taking place for the past 15 years. So, we have always been at work setting up things, having successful things happen by by way of the water department. Even initiating the things that have happened with the Gordie Howe Bridge. You see what I’m saying? So, we’ve been hard at work, really, in the streets.

Bre’Anna Tinsley, WDET News: Who do you think right now is the best person for the job? Do you have someone in mind?

EB II: Well, you know, when I look at Mary Sheffield — I usually don’t, I usually don’t endorse people. But when I look at the Sheffield brand, it’s pretty solid.

BT: What is it specifically about her brand that speaks out to you?

EB II: Well I would you say from past to present. And then you could probably say to yourself, if you know certain people that have that name, then you probably can say that for yourself. You can put it together however you want to put together. I don’t name drop, but you could just look at that and just put it together and see. And then if she lying, she’d be called out, just like anybody else is.

BT: Is there anything specifically in your neighborhood that you would like to see the mayor possibly work on?

EB II: Well, our neighborhood is pretty solid. We’re pretty much a group of family. The only really thing that we really focus on here is protection, peace, happiness, love, no violence, no killings, no stabbings, no robbings; none of that stuff out here. We don’t need any of that. I came from the ’80s. I already lived through all that — ’90s drug era, crack epidemic, Devil’s Night. You see, then ‘YN’ crazy culture, like whatever we’re dealing with right now. But the Detroit Police Department is doing a very fine job, as well as the adjacent, you know, task force that have been set up for the 25 years [sic].We all know this Wayne State progression. It’s a beautiful thing to see people coming together in the city to handle life differently after things were so ripped off, like the water department. We received about a what, 25% pay cut in 2008 to actually help with this process. We actually helped with this process because we were robbed of our money. Well, not robbed. I’ll say… our money was put in trust.

We are investors in the Gordie Howe project, because we had to take the blow of this for the citizens of Detroit to drink water to live, and to flush their boo boo down the pipes so they don’t die. So, you know, we’ve really been hard at work, city of Detroit Water Department, so as far as I’m concerned, since we worked the waters, a portion of these assets that they’re wanting to collect, we should probably be repaid. So, I’d like to see that happen, because all those brothers, they live in this community, too.

On the latest episode of the Detroit Evening Report Weekends, WDET News Director and Detroit Evening Report host Jerome Vaughn shares a conversation he had with Jeremy Allen, the executive editor of the Michigan Chronicle, at the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference.

They talked about the issues likely to be top of mind for voters as they prepare for Detroit’s August mayoral primary and how Detroit’s unique news landscape supports residents during election seasons.

Listen to the episode using the media player above.

Subscribe to the Detroit Evening Report on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

In this episode:

• Why SanDisk pulled out of the semiconductor plant deal
• Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s reaction to the deal’s collapse
• A case against Michigan’s proposed bottle bill expansion

The $63 billion project proposed by SanDisk — a computer technology company — was a lofty goal for Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who in a statement on Wednesday blamed the project’s collapse on “massive economic uncertainty at the national level.”

“Their board came to this decision amid national economic turmoil, which is at risk of worsening amid threats of even higher tariffs,” the emailed statement read. “Michigan’s Mundy Township site was the company’s preferred destination to build their massive facility.”

Both Whitmer’s office and local economic development groups have said the roughly 1,300-acre site is ready for other businesses, but Kasben cautioned against hope for such a deal.

“If economic uncertainty is the reason SanDisk pulled out, what are the odds of another company existing in this same economy being ready and willing to take on a similar project?” Kasben said.

Speaking with Roth and Kasben about the proposed expansion to Michigan’s bottle bill, Csapo explained his reasoning for not fully supporting the initiative.

“It’s not necessarily that we’re opposed to expansion. It’s that we need to be mindful of the law of unintended consequences,” he said. “If our goals are to continue to expand Michigan’s circular economy and capitalize on the economic, environmental and supply chain benefits of recycling, then any change to one part of the system has to consider the impacts and the other parts of the system expansion.” 

With Michigan’s bottle return rate decreasing, a solution for increasing the state’s recycling efforts remains difficult to conceive.  

More from WDET:

• Whitmer sets goal of winning microchip factory before leaving office
• Why it’s time to reform or repeal Michigan’s bottle return law
• MichMash: How to recycle bottles more efficiently