Journalist Luther Keith didn’t just tell the stories of Detroiters–he was a Detroiter. He cared about the city. But he didn’t care for the way out-of-town media reported on it. 

That’s why he started ARISE Detroit! in 2006, to help change outsiders’ perceptions of the city. The next year, the group established Neighborhoods Day to encourage people to get involved in their communities and take pride in them.

Keith died in March 2025 as he was preparing for the 19th Neighborhoods Day on Aug. 2. ARISE Detroit! Chair Leslie Andrews stepped in as interim CEO after Keith’s death. She says each neighborhood has its own culture and deserves to be uplifted.

“It is a way for each neighborhood to roll out their welcome mat to all of the other people throughout the city and throughout the region…to come back or come for the first time and experience what that particular community has to offer,” Andrews says.

It’s about community service and pride

Part of the group’s mission is to promote volunteerism within the neighborhoods and to build bridges between neighborhoods to solve citywide problems.

“A lot of times, everyone is pretty much siloed down and looking at their own community, and they don’t see what’s going on in similar ones, and they miss the opportunity to collaborate,” she says.

What does the future hold?

This year’s event takes place just a few days before the city’s primary election. Voters will elect a new mayor in 2025. Some candidates are already talking about the need to invest more money and resources in neighborhoods outside of downtown and midtown.

Andrews says Detroit has changed since Keith established Neighborhoods Day in 2007. They talked about the event’s purpose and its future before he died.

“There are neighborhoods that are thriving, but they also still have some significant needs,” she says. “How do we become the voice that advocates for the neighborhoods?”

Neighborhoods Day presents service opportunities but also features food and entertainment for all ages throughout the city.

An American religious leader will preside over an LGBTQ+ pride service in Ireland on June 13.

The Rt. Rev. Bonnie Perry is the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, which includes metro Detroit. The head of Dublin’s Christ Church Cathedral invited Perry to preach at the suggestion of one of her former parishioners.

Perry, the first woman and the first lesbian to lead the diocese, says it’s an opportunity to nurture Ireland’s support for the community.

“The Church of Ireland is not so far along in including LGBT people as the Episcopal Church,” she says. “I will talk about community organizing and how we moved the Episcopal Church to full inclusion.”

Perry says that movement didn’t happen overnight. It took years to change people’s attitudes. She says people started becoming more accepting as friends and relatives came out to them.

“When we did that, folks began to realize that we’re your daughter, your favorite aunt, your next-door neighbor,” she says. “I think as people began to realize that we’re not something other or strange, but rather people who we love, then attitudes began to shift.”

Oceans divide, people unite

Attitudes began to shift more recently in Ireland. In 2015, voters legalized same-sex marriage. Since then, the republic has expanded civil rights such as allowing people to update their gender on driver’s licenses.

Perry leads the diocese at a challenging time for LGBTQ+ Americans, especially transgender youth. But she says the church will continue to embrace them.

“Sometimes the world will say otherwise, but we are loved by God for who we are, as we are,” she says. “And I think that this is a very important piece for folks to hear from the church.”

Michigan’s Secretary of State office issues driver’s licenses, REAL ID cards, and a variety of permits. It also administers Michigan’s elections.

It’s a big job, and Barb Byrum says she’s best qualified to do it.

The Ingham County Clerk is seeking the Democratic Party nomination in 2026. She hopes to succeed Secretary Jocelyn Benson, who’s running for governor.

Who is Barb Byrum?

Byrum had served six years as a state lawmaker before Ingham County voters elected her clerk in 2012. Since then, she has overseen 40 elections. More recently, she has pushed back against misinformation and conspiracy theories on social media. 

Byrum says she has changed some minds.

“I know our elections are some of the safest and most secure in the nation,” she says. “I think I have helped people see that.”

Nevertheless, conspiracy theories persist. A popular one claims that noncitizens voting is rampant. In April, Benson’s office said it found 15 likely noncitizens had illegally voted in 2024. That represents less than 0.001% of all votes and did not affect the outcome of the presidential election.

While it may be rare, Byrum acknowledges it does happen. She says it shouldn’t.

“Noncitizens voting is unacceptable — full stop,” she says. “I’m working with stakeholders to balance security with fair access so every eligible voter can cast their ballot.”

Byrum says there’s a right way to handle it. She argues that President Donald Trump’s executive order on elections is not it.

“That proposal will not make our elections any more safe or secure,” she says. “What it will do is increase barriers, preventing voters to exercise their right.”

More: Benson warns Michigan voter citizenship proposal ‘isn’t about election security’

Byrum says Trump’s order would require everyone to re-register to vote. It does not specifically say that. But it does require the federal government to work with state and local election officials to verify everyone’s eligibility to vote.

The customer comes first

Benson and her predecessors have taken steps to reduce long waits at branch offices. They include scheduling appointments online and renewing license plates at automated kiosks in stores.

Byrum says she wants to build on that and find more ways to improve service.

“I look forward to doing a top-down review of the processes to save taxpayer dollars, increase efficiency, and meet customer needs,” she says.

Byrum is the second Democrat to enter the race. Deputy Secretary of State Aghogho Edevbie was the first. No Republican has declared as of this post. Both parties will choose their nominees at their 2026 conventions.

A new study highlights the importance of removing “forever chemicals” from drinking water.

What are PFAS?

PFAS are chemicals that take a long time to break down in the environment. They can also build up in the human body and cause a variety of health problems.

Researchers took blood samples from people living near a contaminated site in southwest Michigan. They compared PFAS levels in those who drank city water to people who have private wells.

Courtney Carignan is an environmental researcher at Michigan State University. She says PFAS turned up in people’s blood three years after officials cleaned up the water.

“We still saw higher levels of PFAS in the blood of our participants who drank higher levels of contaminated water compared to those who had much lower levels in their water,” she said.

Scientists have been evaluating the impacts of PFAS for years. Carignan says this study is the first of its kind.

“No other studies really have looked at exposure from other sources like paper mills,” she said. “There are a lot of other types of industries that have used PFAS in the past, or may still currently be using PFAS, and there just really aren’t a lot of studies looking at those kinds of communities and releases.”

EPA proposes looser restrictions

The Environmental Protection Agency plans to rescind Biden-era limits on four kinds of PFAS and delay enforcement of limits on two other kinds.

Carignan says that’s not the right approach.

“These interventions to reduce PFAS in drinking water are really important,” she said. “The higher the level is in the drinking water for these PFAS, the more kinds of health effects you would see in the population.”

State lawmakers propose testing

Michigan has its own PFAS standards and is taking steps to protect people.

State Sen. Mark Huizenga (R-Walker) and Rep. Julie Rogers (D-Kalamazoo) proposed bills to test children for PFAS. They are SB 298 and HB 4499.

Carignan says people can learn more at the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team website or PFAS Exchange.

They’re back.

Algae are growing in western Lake Erie as they do every year, posing a potential health threat to people and pets.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration monitors Lake Erie for harmful algal blooms. Each spring, it estimates how large and toxic they might become.

NOAA oceanographer Rick Stumpf tells WDET on a scale of 1 to 10 — with 10 being the worst — this year’s bloom should be relatively mild.

“Right now, we’re estimating between 2.5 and 4.5,” he said.

What is a harmful algal bloom?

According to NOAA, harmful algal blooms form when colonies of microscopic algae called cyanobacteria grow out of control, creating a bluish green scum on the surface of the lake.

“It looks quite green, almost like a green sawdust,” Stumpf said.

Under the right conditions, the algae produce a toxin that can make people sick if they swallow it. In 2014, a toxic algal bloom contaminated Toledo’s drinking water, shutting the system down for several days.

When it rains, it pours

Stumpf says the size and severity of a bloom depends on how much phosphorus the algae can feed on. The main source of phosphorus is farm fertilizer that runs off into the Maumee River when it rains. Stumpf says scientists take water samples from the river, which empties into the lake.

“We look at what comes down the Maumee River from the beginning of March through July,” he said.

The samples they’ve collected so far indicate a mild bloom this summer. But that could change depending on how much rain falls.

Click here to see the latest Harmful Algal Bloom forecast

“We’ll update this weekly until we come up with what we consider the official forecast in July,” Stumpf said.

Budget cuts threaten the lab’s work

NOAA and the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory have been doing this work for decades. But the Trump administration has slashed jobs and funding at the agency, which also runs the National Weather Service. A ProPublica investigation found GLERL has lost a third of its staff since February 2025 and is struggling to buy testing equipment.

Stumpf says harmful algal bloom research is vital.

“Our goal is to protect health so that people are aware there are blooms and that there’s a risk,” he said.

But it’s not just people. Stumpf says toxic blooms can be fatal to pets.

“It does, unfortunately, kill several dogs each summer somewhere in the U.S.,” he says. “So, I can’t emphasize enough, if you see scum in a pond or the lake, please keep your dog out of the water.”

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