A new state audit says Michigan’s unemployment insurance agency paid out $3.9 billion in improper benefits during the pandemic. MichMash hosts Cheyna Roth and Jake Neher talk about what went wrong and what comes next.
Michigan will get about $10 billion from the bipartisan federal infrastructure package. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk with Gongwer Michigan’s Zach Gorchow about what that will mean for our roads, bridges, and underground infrastructure.
There’s an effort to create tax breaks for private school education in Michigan. MichMash hosts Cheyna Roth and Jake Neher talk with Michigan Public Radio Network reporter Colin Jackson about how supporters of the effort hope to get around Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s veto pen.
Candidates for statewide office in 2022 recently had to make their fundraising numbers public. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk with Detroit News reporter Craig Mauger about what we’re learning about how next years’ elections might shape up.
The infrastructure and "Build Back Better" packages in Congress include billions of dollars for electric vehicles. MichMash hosts Cheyna Roth and Jake Neher talk with state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D-Royal Oak) about what passage of that legislation would mean for the auto industry in Michigan.
Michigan residents will soon get a chance to weigh in on new draft maps that could define our state legislative and Congressional districts for the next decade. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk with Bridge Michigan's Sergio Martínez-Beltrán who has been covering the redistricting process about the new maps and how you can get involved.
Efforts to shut down Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 oil and gas pipeline are becoming more complicated. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth look at the Canadian government’s latest move to block Michigan’s attempts to stop the flow of oil in the Straits of Mackinac. And Crain's Detroit Business' Chad Livengood talks about President Biden's silence on the issue during his trip to Michigan this week.
State environmental officials are stepping up efforts to assist Benton Harbor residents who have had their drinking water contaminated. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) says it will provide bottled water, filters, and blood testing for children. Reporter Eric Lutz of The Guardian talks about his reporting on yet another water crisis in Michigan.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state lawmakers have finally reached a budget agreement after months of negotiations. MichMash hosts Cheyna Roth and Jake Neher say one of the most important aspects of the budget is the money it does not spend. And WDET host Stephen Henderson's interview with Gov. Whitmer from the 2021 Mackinac Policy Conference.
Amazon’s footprint in Michigan will soon get much bigger. The online retail giant recently announced it will open four new sites across Michigan in the next two years. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk with Congressman Andy Levin (D-Bloomfield Twp.) about the move and his concerns for workers and organized labor in Michigan.
Law enforcement officials say they are almost done reviewing the massive backlog of rape kits found in Detroit back in 2009. The Wayne County Prosecutors office has been processing more than 11-thousand rape kits for over a decade. As part of the weekly series MichMash… Cheyna Roth and Jake Neher talk with Bridge Detroit’s Bryce Huffman about how this ordeal has changed state policy and law enforcement practices since 2009.
New data from Michigan’s statewide standardized test last school year suggest students are struggling to make academic progress during the pandemic. The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) results show lower student proficiency in most subjects that were tested. Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk with K-12 Alliance of Michigan Executive Director Robert McCann, who says the results should be taken with a grain of salt.
For the first time ever, an independent redistricting commission is re-drawing Michigan’s political maps. Now, we’re seeing the very first maps coming out of that process. MichMash's Jake Neher talks with Gongwer reporter Ben Solis who has following the redistricting commission’s work closely.
The start of the new school year comes as the threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant gets worse in Michigan. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk about the tough decisions local school officials are making as students get ready to return to class, and talk with University of Michigan School of Education Dean Dr. Elizabeth Moje.
Plastic pollution is getting worse in the Great Lakes. That’s what Crain’s Detroit Business found in its recent reporting on the issue. MichMash hosts Cheyna Roth and Jake Neher talk with Chad Livengood of Crain’s about the issue and efforts to fix it.
There’s hope here in Michigan that any infrastructure package in Washington D.C. might help address flooding problems in the state. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk about how the answer might depend on local public officials and whether they can find ways to work together.
Michigan’s petition initiative process is a mess. That’s according to some state government watchers. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk about some of the reasons critics think the process should change.
Now that the election is over, we are in lame duck session. This week on MichMash, Gongwer News Service's Zach Gorchow sits down with Detroit News reporter Beth LeBlanc. They discuss how Democrats will move forward after losing the majority in the Michigan House.
President-elect Donald Trump won Michigan this week in what was expected to be a very close presidential election. As part of WDET’s weekly series MichMash, Zach Gorchow of Gongwer News Service speaks with Senior Capitol Correspondent Tim Skubick about how the former President defied the experts, and secured a victory in Michigan on election night.
Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump have been making frequent trips to the battle ground state of Michigan in efforts to increase their voter outreach. There has been a hyper focus on the black vote in both Detroit (one of the blackest cities in America) and in the country as a whole. But why is the black vote so focused on. This week on MichMash, Gongwer News Service's Alethia Kasben and Zach Gorchow sit done with renowned journalist and Detroit native, Jemele Hill. They discuss the dynamic of the black vote.