In this episode of The Detroit Evening Report, we cover the latest in federal funding cuts, a bill that would expand support for new mothers and more.

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EPA cuts funding for energy accessibility program

Michigan’s Solar for All program has lost its funding. It provided grants to organizations working to make solar power accessible to low-income residents across the state so they might lower energy costs and improve environmental impacts.

The state-funded residential and community solar programs used federal funds from the Environmental Protection Agency. Director of the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, Phil Roos, announced today the EPA has canceled that funding.

Roos says the programs were set to save thousands of Michigan families an average of $400 a year in energy costs, and create 700 jobs. He says EGLE is working with the state Attorney General’s office to determine next steps.

The state had already awarded grants to Hope Village to provide 10 homes in Detroit and Highland Park with rooftop solar, to the Intertribal Council of Michigan for solar projects for a dozen homes and a community building, and to the North End Woodward Community Coalition for a “solar neighborhoods” initiative. EGLE has awarded almost $14 million of the $156 million in federal funding it was promised.

Lansing considers expanding maternal support program

State legislators today considered a bill to expand a program that supports pregnant and new mothers. RX Kids gives pregnant women $1,500 before they give birth, and $500 a month for the baby’s first six months. It started in Flint and spread to Pontiac and the eastern Upper Peninsula.

Program director Dr. Mona Hanna says the program is designed to run efficiently with few overhead costs, and to be easily scaled and replicated for communities across the state.

New DCFC stadium name announced

The Detroit City Football Club has revealed the name of its new stadium in southwest Detroit. AlumniFi Field will seat 15,000 people when it’s finished. AlumniFi Credit Union is the team’s financial partner. The stadium is set to open in 2027.

Disability dance event comes to DIA

Danceability is returning to the Detroit Institute of Arts this week. The event is free and provides a space for all bodies to enjoy dance in community. Organizers are inviting the whole community to attend this “afternoon of disability joy” Thursday from 1–4 p.m. in in the DIA’s Great Hall. Attendees are invited to wear shades of blue to “embody the sea and sky.” Cellist and composer King Sophia will provide the music. Cara Graninger will facilitate. For more information and to register, visit detroitdisabilitypower.org/danceability.

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

In this episode of The Detroit Evening Report, we cover an upcoming exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts centered around Indigenous artists. Plus, where to hear jazz in the Avenue of Fashion this weekend.

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DIA announces Native American exhibit

The Detroit Institute of Arts has just announced that it’s hosting a Native American exhibit in September. According to the museum’s website, “The Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation” exhibit will feature 60 U.S.-based Anishinaabe artists in the first major exhibition on Native Americans at the museum in 30 years.

The artwork will feature jewelry, basketry and painting. Additionally, there will be pottery and woodworking displays.

The exhibition has been curated with an advisory council of Ojibwe, Ottawa and Potawatomi artists. Gallery text will include Anishnaabemowin, a language of the Indigenous communities in the Great Lakes.

People can see the exhibition Sep. 28, 2025 through April 5, 2026.

Jazz on the Ave returns

Mike’s Fresh Market and the University Commonwealth are hosting a block party this weekend. The 17th Annual Jazz on the Ave festival is a customer appreciation block party on Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion, located on Livernois Avenue.

The event takes place Saturday, Aug. 2 from noon to 8 p.m., featuring live music, free food, bounce houses and a parade at 4 p.m. It will also include a car show by Community Services LLC. Jamal Abro, owner of  Mike’s Fresh Market, says this is a way to thank the community.

Learn how to build a rain garden

The City of Dearborn is partnering with nonprofit Friends of the Rouge to host a rain garden workshop next weekend.

Regina Sistrunk is the Community Development Compliance Officer for the City of Dearborn.  She says in a news release that rain gardens are a holistic way to prevent rainwater from entering the sewer system each year. Participants will learn how rain gardens reduce flooding and support wildlife.

The workshop is funded through Dearborn’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funds. The “Rain Gardens 101” class takes place on Saturday, Aug. 9 from 10–11 a.m. at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center. To register, visit therouge.org.

COVID vaccines still recommended

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) recommends getting the latest COVID-19 shot every year.

Chief Medical Executive, Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, says she wants to dispel misconceptions and confusion about the shot, after the CDC stopped recommending it for healthy children and pregnant women.

“Our recommendations at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, after reviewing all of the data and guidance, have not changed. We continue to recommend the COVID vaccine for everyone aged six months and older, including those who are pregnant.”

Dr. Bagdasarian says the state’s recommendations align with national medical groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

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

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

A new collaboration between the Detroit and Windsor public libraries is shining a light on local creatives of all ages and backgrounds.

Libraries were once buzzing community spaces for families and book lovers. But the rise of audiobooks and online book sales has shifted how people use them, leaving libraries in Windsor and Detroit looking for new ways to engage.

The two cities share a rich, intertwined history dating back to the mid-1800s, and their library services have evolved over time. One recent initiative is Pagination, a literary arts zine from the Windsor Public Library that features flash fiction, poetry, collage art, and more from creators in both Windsor and Detroit.

Now, the two library systems have partnered to publish a free print and digital magazine celebrating the voices of local artists across the border. Joining The Metro to talk about the project are Pagination editor David Konstanino of the Windsor Public Library and Jennifer Nobles, lead librarian at the Detroit Public Library.

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More stories from The Metro

Detroit marks 8,000th demolition under Proposal N

The City of Detroit recently celebrated its 8,000th demolition under Proposal N. The proposal was a voter-approved $250 million bond to remove blight across the city. About a decade ago, there were 45,000 vacant land bank homes. The city used $265 million in federal funding to complete the first phase of the demolitions in the most populated neighborhoods.  

Other headlines for Monday, July 21, 2025

47 artists bring life to Detroit’s alleys

Detroit’s Arts, Culture, and Entrepreneurship office is opening nine art alleys. The Art Alleys feature mosaics… sculptures… and murals created by 47 local artists. The Detroit Arts Alleys Initiative is a project that hopes to renovate alleys into community spaces through public art. It’s also a part of Mayor Duggan’s Blight to Beauty campaign.  

EGLE seeks input on Line 5 pipeline permit

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy or EGLE, has opened public comment for a permit related to work on the Line 5 project in the Straits of Mackinac. The tunnel would replace a 70-year-old Line 5 oil and gas pipeline on the lakebed. Indigenous communities… say the Line 5 project trespasses through protected tribal land… which is used for livelihood… cultural and spiritual practices. Native communities and environmental activists also say the pipeline will have catastrophic consequences in the Great Lakes region if it ruptures… citing multiple leaks from the previous pipes. People can make a public comment from July 16 to August 29 about Enbridge Energy’s bid to work on the Line 5 tunnel project.  

Two virtual meetings will be held regarding the project… one as an informational session… and the other is a public hearing to collect comments on the record. People can also leave a comment online on EGLE’s public notice page.

West Nile detected in Michigan, no human cases yet

Health agencies report new cases of West Nile and similar viruses in mosquito samples around Michigan. Wasthenaw County health officials confirmed a positive sample of Jamestown Canyon virus, and Kent County reported three samples of West Nile virus from routine mosquito surveillance.  

No human cases have been found in Michigan so far this year. The uptick in mosquitoes is typical for this time for year but health officials are asking people to take precautions like using repellent and removing standing water around homes.  

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

A new play from Arab American playwright Andrea Assaf is exploring the concept of “moral injury” and the devastating effects of drone warfare.

“DRONE” tells the story of a U.S. military drone pilot “who is not allowed to talk about [the violence] he’s witnessing, and the effect that silencing has on his mental health and daily life,” Assaf told WDET. 

The pilot’s story is juxtaposed with testimonies from three drone strike survivors — based on real-life testimonies from witnesses and survivors of U.S. drone strikes.

“I’m a person who makes art to cope, to heal, to process, to express, so that I don’t hold all that in by myself, and so that I can create spaces to talk about these things; to break those silences, to get communities to talk together about things in a way that makes it a human story and not just a news story,” she said.

Assaf joined The Metro to share her perspective about these unseen moral injuries and her inspiration behind the play. “DRONE,” presented by the Arab American National Museum, will run July 31 and Aug. 1-3 at the Detroit Public Theatre, 3960 3rd Ave., Detroit.

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.

More stories from The Metro

The annual Ann Arbor Art Fair — one of the largest juried art fairs in the country — will attract nearly half a million visitors to downtown Ann Arbor later this month.

The three-day event,  set for July 17-19, spans about 30 city blocks with approximately 1,000 artists participating. 

Frances Todoro-Hargreaves, interim executive director of the Ann Arbor Art Fair, joined The Metro on Monday to discuss the history of the event and what to expect this year. Brian Delozier, one of the featured artists at this year’s fair, also joined the program.

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.

More stories from The Metro

On this week’s episode of Acoustic Café, Jensen McRae joins us in the studio for songs from her second release, “I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!” Starting her career just before the pandemic, Jensen is now reflecting on life and love in her late 20s.

Also featured, some songs from the COVID Summer of 2020, and in-studio archives from The Head & The Heart in 2013, Nilufer Yanya in 2018 and Kathleen Edwards in 2002!

See the playlist below and listen to the episodes on-demand for two weeks after it airs using the media player above.

Acoustic Café Playlist for June 29, 2025

• “Million Dollar Intro” – Ani DiFranco
• “Back At The Start” – Patty Griffin
• “Fly” – Patty Griffin
• “Sioux Falls” – Wild Horses
• “The Darkness Gets The Best Of You” – The Devil Makes Three
• “Human Touch” – Kathleen Edwards
• “Mercury” – Kathleen Edwards (2003 in-studio performance)
• “Savannah” – Jensen McRae (in-studio guest)
• “Novelty” – Jensen McRae (in-studio guest)
• “My Darling My Dear” – Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’
• “Eggs In The Morning” – aron!
• “Punisher” – Phoebe Bridgers (June, 2020)
• “That’s The Way The World Goes Round” – Norah Jones (June 2020)
• “A Bus Ain’t A Home” – Luke Tyler Shelton
• “Living And Dying And In Between” – CAAMP
• “Rushmere” – Mumford & Sons
• “Butchered Tongue” – Hozier
• “Chase Me” – Nilufer Yanya (2022 in-studio performance)
• “Send My Love (To Your New Lover)” – I’m With Her
• “Robin’s Egg” – Iron & Wine + I’m With Her
• “After The Setting Sun” – The Head And The Heart
• “Let’s Be Still” – “After The Setting Sun” – The Head And The Heart (2013 in-studio performance)
•  “Dopamine” – Jon Vinyl
• “Let Me Be Wrong” – Jensen McRae (in-studio guest)
• “Praying For Your Downfall” – Jensen McRae (in-studio guest)