Detroit’s Rouge Park is turning 100 this year.

Friends of Rouge Park is hosting a free, three-day festival at the park this weekend, June 27-29, in celebration of the park’s centennial.

Many improvements have been made at Rouge Park in the last few decades, offering more services and recreational fun to city residents. At 1,200 acres, it’s the city’s largest park, and the biggest urban park in the state. It was so popular at one point, it attracted international crowds. But like the city, the park fell on hard times and went into a period of decline and disinvestment.

Despite those challenges, the park remains a staple in the city today thanks to the stewardship of community organizations like Friends of Rouge Park.

Today on The Metro, we play a conversation WDET Intern Lauren Myers had recently with Friends of Rouge Park Trustee Paul Stark about the park’s history. Also, Metro producer Cary Junior II and Metro Co-host Tia Graham visit Rouge Park to hear directly from residents about their connections to the park and how it’s changed over time.

Later in the show, Friends of Rouge Park’s Executive Director Lindsay Pielack and Land Stewardship Manager Antonio Cosme join the conversation and share more about the centennial celebration this weekend.

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 Detroit Office of Arts Culture and Entrepreneurship appointed its first Composer Laureate in December, Patrick Prouty.

Embracing his role as an advocate for and representative of Detroit’s musical heritage, he’s also working to inspire a new generation of musicians to live and create in the city. 

Producer Cary Junior II spoke to Prouty about how he plans to keep Detroit musicians in Detroit, his career, music and more on today’s episode of The Metro. 

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 next mayor of Detroit is not just tasked with managing the city, they also manage relationships with business and policy leaders from across the state.

Detroit’s mayor regularly attends the Mackinac Policy Conference to help build those relationships. But this election season, the candidates vying for that seat are here making their case for why they should be elected the next leader of Michigan’s largest city.

Saunteel Jenkins is one of those candidates. The former Detroit City Council president most recently served as the CEO of The Heat and Warmth Fund – otherwise known as THAW. She joined The Metro to talk about how her past experience has prepared her for the role, and what her priorities would be as the city’s next mayor. 

“I had to build coalitions with legislators in Lansing and in D.C., and work on both sides of the aisle to bring resources home for our families,” she said. “There are a lot of things that I did as the CEO over the last decade that correlates with the job of the mayor.”

WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

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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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has said that the Detroit-Windsor area is the “busiest active border crossing in North America,” and that about $200 billion of trade flows between the two countries annually. 

A border that is active has plenty of infrastructure that needs to be maintained. Regine Beauboeuf, CEO of the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel for American Roads, oversees the bridges, tunnels and toll roads that exist between the two countries. 

She joined The Metro live from Mackinac Island on Wednesday to discuss what her job entails and to provide more insight on the consequences of the trade war between the U.S. and Canada. 

American Roads is a U.S.-based owner and operator of transportation infrastructure, including toll assets, and currently operates three toll bridges — including the international tunnel connecting Detroit with Windsor.

She spoke about the region’s unique cross-border economy and why she doesn’t expect to see a major impact at the border from Trump’s recent tariffs.

“Together Detroit and Windsor, really that’s its own ecosystem,” she said. “We’ve been working together; it’s not just trade, it’s also people [who] will come to work, like the health care workers who are coming here; you have people with families or in-laws in other countries…so there is a very strong history between Windsor and Detroit and I don’t think you’ll see that being affected.”

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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