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.

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

In this episode:

• How are insurance costs affecting small businesses?
• What’s in the K-12 budget that Michigan House Republicans just passed?
• What direction is the Michigan Small Business Association leaning during this major election year?

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.

John McElroy is a thought leader in the auto industry. He currently broadcasts three radio segments on WWJ, writes a blog for Auto Blog and a monthly column for Wards Auto.

Speaking with WDET News Director Jerome Vaughn at the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island, McElroy warned that the industry is at “a near breaking point, particularly in Michigan.”

“There is a host of things that is hitting the industry all at once, and unprecedented in history,” he said. “So it’s something where I think we need much greater leadership than what we’re seeing right now within the industry itself — from our elected leaders as well — because we’ve seen the U.S. auto industry shrink tremendously over the last couple of decades, and without the proper policies and procedures coming in place, we’re in danger of losing a whole lot more.”

McElroy says the price of cars is too high, tariffs are hurting the market, and the electric vehicle transition has stalled. 

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

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At the Mackinac Policy Conference on Mackinac Island last week, Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist announced new incentive programs aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and retaining talent in the state. 

“I think this is all about making it easier for people to say yes to living in the state of Michigan, yes to growing in the state of Michigan, yes to succeeding in the state of Michigan,” Gilchrist told WDET. “That’s what I want to do.”

The Make MI Home funding includes $210,000 for housing for new grads looking to start businesses in Detroit; $100,000 for attracting and retaining college students in Flint; and nearly $60,000 for housing and childcare programs in the Traverse City area, among other programs. The grants will also help support building out broadband internet, and making solar energy more accessible to people in Michigan’s urban areas.

“People need to see a future for themselves everywhere — a community they can afford, a home that they can afford, and we have worked to do that and build solutions for that all across the state of Michigan,” Gilchrist said. “But I know that one of the anxieties that parents have all across Michigan, whether you are on the eastern Peninsula or the east side of Detroit where I’m from, parents are worried about their kids growing up, leaving and never coming home.”

Gilchrist says the bottom line of these programs is to ensure Michigan remains competitive.

“We want them to say yes in Michigan, so we can build the things that matter. And so that means one: they have to be confident that our workforce is prepared. They have to be confident that our infrastructure is solid,” he said. “That’s why we’ve made these historic investments.”

Gilchrist has taken a larger role in announcing statewide programs more recently — likely tied to his run for governor.

He is seeking the Democratic nomination in the race along with Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. On the Republican side, State Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt and Michigan Congressman John James have also announced their candidacies for governor, while Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan will be running as an independent. 

—WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

New U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra is downplaying the effect of tariffs on the auto industry.

The former Congressman and ex-chair of the Michigan GOP was confirmed to the ambassadorship in early April. 

In an interview with WDET during the 2025 Mackinac Policy Conference, Hoekstra said the economy is strong, and that worries about tariffs and a trade war with Canada are overblown.

“They’re not going to have a dramatic impact, OK?” Hoekstra said. “They will have an impact, but it’s not fundamentally going to change this relationship.”

Hoekstra said he thinks there will be a full re-working of the trade agreement between the U.S. and Canada within the next couple years.

He also dismissed concerns about President Donald Trump’s desire to make Canada the 51st state, calling the threat a “sign of affection” — something that has been outright rejected by Canadian leadership and its populace.

“Why they’re offended by such a generous offer, I’m not sure, but they are,” he said. “We have to deal with it, and we will.”

Car trips from Canada into the U.S. have dropped by nearly a third since Trump started the 51st state rhetoric. According to a recent poll from the Association for Canada Studies & Metropolis Institute, a majority of Canadians said it’s no longer safe for them to travel in the U.S.

Still, Michigan is consistently a top destination for Canadians for business and leisure travel, and with the newly constructed Gordie Howe International Bridge set to open by the end of the year, Hoekstra says he expects the relationship between the two countries to improve.

“Canada is our second largest trading partner, 70-80% of what they export comes south. That’s not going to go away,” he said. “If anything, we’ve got a president that is energizing the American economy. We have a prime minister in Canada that wants to try to do the same thing in Canada. And when they’re both successful, we’re going to have an energized North America.”

–WDET’s Jenny Sherman contributed to this report.

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.”

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer would like to cap her second term by landing a massive microchip factory for Michigan before she leaves office at the start of 2027.

Whitmer delivered a brief address from a pristine, high-tech training lab at Kettering University in Flint, where she set the “ambitious, but attainable goal.”

“This would be a transformational, once-in-a-century investment,” she said. “It would change the destiny of an entire region and state – making it an economic magnet for ambitious families to move here and to put down roots, and it’s exactly what we need.”

She said landing chip factory, colloquially called a fab, would build on Michigan’s industrial legacy by bringing a semiconductor supply chain to the state.

“We cannot sit on our hands while other states and countries, without our manufacturing advantages, pass us by,” she said.

The Democratic governor said thousands of construction and modern factory jobs are at stake. The governor did not name a specific project or outline a plan, but she mentioned speaking to President Donald Trump at a White House dinner about a project in Genesee County, which is creating an advanced manufacturing zone.

“It’s nearly 1,200 square acres and it is a perfect opportunity to attract the type of investment that the governor was talking about today,” said Tyler Rossmaessler, executive director of the Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance. “Something that would create thousands of jobs, create good-paying jobs, provide billions of dollars of investment.”  

Whitmer has faced pushback from Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature on her signature business incentives program. Critics say state incentive programs have lacked transparency and failed to deliver on promised jobs. House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) has proposed moving money from the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve fund to pay for roads. Progressives have also line up against the incentives, arguing public money should not be spent on corporate welfare.  

“There are some on the far left and the far right in Lansing who say we should unilaterally disarm, just get rid of those tools and let the jobs go to Georgia, Kentucky, Arizona or, god forbid, Ohio,” said Whitmer. “I say, hell no.”

A new survey by the University of Michigan finds confidence in the U.S. economy is steadily eroding.

Researchers say the widely-watched Consumer Sentiment Index has shown a sharp decline throughout this year.

The director of the survey, Joanne Hsu, told WDET those responding have a somber view of the nation’s financial future.

The following interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Joanne Hsu: One of the huge factors that we’re hearing from consumers is that they’re worried about the impact of trade policy on the economy. This month we had over 2/3 of consumers telling us spontaneously about the impact of tariffs. And largely speaking, these concerns are not positive. People who mentioned tariffs are really worried about inflation coming back. They’re worried that unemployment is going to get worse. It’s not just about tariffs being high. After all, we did capture a few days of interviews after the pause on China tariffs. They’re really worried about uncertainty, unpredictability and instability with policy. They know it makes it really hard for businesses to plan and for consumers to plan as well.

Quinn Klinefelter, WDET News: I understand that this is the lowest that you have seen the Consumer Index be in three years?

JH: That is correct. We are near historic lows. Consumers are really feeling quite negative about the economy across multiple dimensions, their personal finances, buying conditions for big-ticket items, business conditions and labor markets. It’s very loud and clear across demographics and across aspects of the economy.

QK: If it’s been going down for a number of years then that would include the previous occupants of the White House. Have you noticed a difference among consumers since the Trump administration took over from the Biden administration?

JH: The sentiment did rise right after the election. There was a temporary post-election bump. But in December, as Trump started talking more about his planned tariff policy, that’s really when sentiment started to take a turn for the worse. And when we look at the impact from the major policy announcements that happened, tariffs on our North American neighbors, reciprocal global tariffs, after each of these consumer sentiment worsened. Again, the major reason for this is people are concerned that inflation is going to come roaring back. And inflation has been the number one thing on people’s minds for several years now. In 2022, when we hit the all-time historic low, inflation was raging. Consumers have been telling us loud and clear since then that they’re really worried about the cost of living.

QK: Is there any positives you can take from what you’re seeing in the index?

 JH: I’d say the positive thing is that it hasn’t gotten that much worse from last month. We had three consecutive months of very, very steep decline. So the fact that it didn’t tank further this month, I think, should be welcome news. The other thing is that consumers are bracing for the impact of tariffs, but they don’t actually believe that inflation has already gotten out of control. They recognize that inflation slowed over the last couple of years. Of course, they remain frustrated by high prices.

We had historically low sentiment in 2022 but consumers were still willing to spend despite that lack of confidence. One of the big differences between then and now are consumer views of labor markets and their incomes. After the pandemic labor markets were very, very strong. Consumers’ incomes were very reliable. So in spite of the fact that they felt terrible about the economy they were willing to spend because they had the income to support it. Today, it’s different. Consumers are starting to tell us that their incomes are getting weaker. The expected probability of job loss has gone up. We have 2/3 of consumers expecting unemployment to worsen in the year ahead. That labor market confidence we saw three years ago just isn’t here anymore, which does not bode well for consumer spending going forward.

Editor’s note: This interview was re-aired on The Metro on Tuesday, May 20, 2025. Listen to the Metro segment below.

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In this epsiode of MichMash, host Cheyna Roth and Gongwer News Service’s Alethia Kasben and Zach Gorchow sit down with State Senator Mallory McMorrow to discuss why she’s running for Michigan’s open US Senate seat.

Plus, people have grown accustomed to remote work since the pandemic, but is it here to stay? We discuss how remote work has affected state government employees and whether Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will have them return to in-person work full time.

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

In this episode:

• Is remote work here to stay for state government employees?
• Discussing the cost of remote work
• State Senator Mallory McMorrow on her run for Michigan’s open US Senate seat

Democrats nationally have been struggling to form an identity since the recent presidential elections. McMorrow said that while establishment Democrats may not be meeting the moment, newer voices could help give the party a stronger sense of direction. 

“My sense is that the Democratic Party needs a shakeup, but that’s not going to come from the party itself,” she said. “It is going to come again from candidates and people, in every state across the country, running the types of campaigns that are going to reshape what this party is, how it presents itself.”

In addition to McMorrow, former Wayne County Health Director Abdul El-Sayed and 11th Congressional District Representative Haley Stevens are also running for the state’s open senate seat as Democrats. The election will take place Nov. 3, 2026.  

The Michigan Global Talent Initiative released a report saying Michigan is on track to add 125,000 college-educated immigrants to the state’s job market as part of the state’s Sixty by 30 goal.

The goal aims to have 60% of Michigan’s workforce to obtain a post-secondary degree or professional credential by 2030.

Steve Tobocman, executive director at Global Detroit, says the state has added nearly 55,000 new college educated foreign born individuals, or immigrants, to the job market since 2019.

“We created an ambitious plan with business and state government and local Chambers of Commerce to almost double that and raise the number of high-skilled immigrants joining the Michigan economy to 120,000 to 125,000 by the year 2030,” he said.

Tobocman says Michigan is also the first state to develop a comprehensive immigrant inclusion strategy to help the group reach its goals.

“If we had done nothing, had no strategy around immigrant talent, we probably would have added 65,000 college-educated immigrant workers to the workforce by 2030, which would roughly mean about 12% of the overall goal,” he said,

Tobocman says Michigan has over 38,000 international students who account for 70% of the graduate school students in advanced STEM fields. However, students need support to integrate into jobs and stay in Michigan post-graduation.

“While the nation is having its own debates about border security and the right frame of immigration, this kind of talent initiative is one that has received bipartisan support, that the first appropriations happened under the Republican legislature,” he said.

Still, he says, the initiative is seeking funding to continue these programs.

From May 20-22, Global Detroit and the city of Detroit will co-host “Welcoming Interactive,” gathering leaders to welcome immigrants and provide resources.

Tobocman’s conversation with WDET’s Nargis Rahman was featured on The Metro this week. Take a listen below.

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

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Housing policies are not just for the current time they’re created in. They produce laws and rules around housing that affects future generations, even if they weren’t intended to. 

Detroit’s Black homeowners have faced systemic barriers due to predatory governance, which generates public revenue through discriminatory policies.

That’s one of the themes of the new book, “Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America.” The book explores restrictive housing policies such as racial covenants, redlining and property tax over-assessments. 

Professor Bernadette Atuahene, the author of “Plundered,” works at the University of Southern California Gould School of Law, focusing on land stolen from people in the African Diaspora. Her research highlights the urgent need for housing reforms to address racial inequities in property ownership.

She joined The Metro on Tuesday to discuss her years spent in Detroit trying to understand the way housing policies have prevented or overturned homeownership for many Black folks in the region. 

Professor Atuahene will be speaking at a rally on Friday, May 16 at 3:15 p.m. at the Detroit Public Library’s Main Branch, 5201 Woodward Ave, Detroit, Michigan.

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