Stateside Staff

Today on Stateside, an update on the partnership agreements school districts signed with the state to avoid school closures in 2017. Plus, we talk to our Friday political commentators about the recent indictment of state Representative Larry Inman (R-Traverse City), and the effect of “dark money” on the public's trust in government.

In early 2017, more than three dozen schools across Michigan faced an uncertain future. After ranking in the bottom 5% of state test scores for three consecutive years, they risked being shut down by the state’s School Reform Office.

The artist and architect Maya Lin is best known for her work designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. Lin designed that monument in 1981 when she was still a college senior. Since then, she’s gone on to design numerous buildings, sculptures, and landscape installations around the world.

Joshua Johnson, host of 1A from NPR, has been broadcasting this week from Michigan Radio, and heading out into communities around Southeast Michigan to hear what's on the minds of voters.

Johnson joins Stateside to tell us more about the show's project 1A Across America, what he's heard from Michigan voters, and the intimate role that social media plays in today's politics.

Today on Stateside, debate was heated as Republican state lawmakers passed bills banning an abortion procedure known as "dilation and evacuation." Plus, Michigan's next state superintendent talks about what he sees as the most pressing issues facing Michigan schools. 

Now that recreational marijuana is legal in Michigan, what happens to the around 50,0000 people who've previously been convicted of marijuana-related crimes? Some in Michigan say those records should be cleared — a process called expungement — to remove the barriers that come with having a criminal record.

Today on Stateside, as Detroit tries to land a big new Fiat Chrysler assembly plant by offering tax incentives, some in the city are skeptical after past development deals failed to deliver. Plus, now that recreational marijuana is legal in Michigan, we hear what California is doing to clear past marijuana-related convictions. 

Working as a corrections officer can be a high stress job. Earlier this year, we spoke with Cary Johnson, a corrections officer in Jackson, about the mental health challenges facing the state’s prison workforce.

Johnson has lost four colleagues to suicide within two years, and she told us both cultural and structural changes were needed to create a healthier work environment for the state’s corrections officers.

Now, the Michigan Department of Corrections is creating an employee wellness program to help correctional officers deal with the high stress environment of working in a prison.

Today on Stateside, the Michigan House and Senate both passed bills this week that would allow drivers to opt out of the unlimited medical benefits mandated by current law. But critics say that giving up those benefits would do more harm than good. Plus, we talk to the author of a murder mystery novel that takes place on a fictional Michigan university campus.

Today on Stateside, we talk to Michigan Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly) after her meeting with U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos about proposed changes to Title IX rules on campus sexual assault. Plus, how the advent of camper trailers helped drive the establishment of Michigan’s state park system.

Today on Stateside, we hear about what's included in the auto insurance reform bill that got a fast-tracked approval from the state Senate on Tuesday. Plus, environmental justice leader Mustafa Santiago Ali talks about why he left the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after more than two decades, and why the voices of marginalized communities must be included in environmental policy.

Today on Stateside, Republicans in the Michigan Senate want counties to lose some jail funding if they limit law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officials. We get reaction from Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon. Plus, it is the 90th annual Tulip Time festival in Holland. We hear about how tulips came to be a symbol of the city's Dutch heritage.

Today on Stateside, the Illitch family promised big development around Little Caesars Arena and secured $340 million in taxpayer funding for that arena. But two years later those promises haven't been kept. Plus, we hear from two women who are fighting to lower Michigan's maternal and infant mortality rates. 

Today on Stateside, amidst a rise in hate crimes against both Jews and Muslims in the world, leaders of both faith communities in Southeast Michigan are coming together to find common ground in fighting against that hate. Plus, why the state of Michigan once had a registry of pro-wrestlers like Andre the Giant and Bruno Sammartino.  

Muslim and Jewish leaders in SE Michigan stand together to combat rise in hate

Today on Stateside, we talk to Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin about bills she's introducing on campus sexual assault and foreign interference in U.S. elections. Plus, we'll hear about the development of flying cars and the environmental impact of a George Jetson-like commute. 

Today on Stateside, a federal court rules that Michigan must redraw its congressional and legislative maps before the 2020 election. How does that change both parties’ political calculus? Plus, a Michigan spin on a classic cocktail to warm you up on a drizzly spring weekend.

Today, a special edition of Stateside: Flint, Five Years Later. The Flint water crisis is seen as one of the worst public health crises in history. Life will never be the same for the 100,000 people who trusted their state and city to provide clean, safe drinking water. 

Today on Stateside, Vice President Mike Pence comes to Detroit to whip up support for the new North American trade deal, even as automakers nervously eye President Trump's threatened tariffs. Plus, student robotics team from around the world descend on Detroit this week for the 2019 FIRST Robotics Championship.

On April 25th, 2014, officials switched Flint’s drinking water supply from the Detroit city system to the Flint River. Without proper corrosion control treatment, the river water corroded the city's pipes, leaching lead into the drinking water of thousands of Flint residents.

This Thursday will mark the fifth anniversary of that historic moment for Flint. 

Today on Stateside, as General Motors prepares to close the company's Detroit-Hamtramck plant, how is the city of Hamtramck preparing for life after GM? Plus, a treasure trove of Anishinaabe art from Michigan is now on permanent display in Vienna, Austria.

Today on Stateside, Governor Whitmer reopens talks with Enbridge about a tunnel to house replacement pipelines for Line 5. But environmental groups want the current Line 5 shut down before moving forward on plans for its replacement. Plus, park officials say the thousands of shards of glass found on a beach at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore were likely placed there intentionally. 

Sprial cut hams with a sweet honey glaze are a staple of many Easter Sunday dining spreads. That now common method of slicing up a ham has its roots right here in Michigan. 

New York Times food correspondent Kim Severson joins Stateside to talk about tracing the origins of the spiral cut ham.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer is in talks with Enbridge about a proposed tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac for its Line 5 pipeline. That's according to the Detroit News.

The Michigan Supreme Court has launched a pilot project to test a program called Public Safety Assessment or PSA. It's a risk assessment tool using a predictive algorithm to help judges make pretrial decisions.

The pretrial period is the time between someone being arrested and tried. At pretrial hearings, judges quickly have to decide whether a defendant should spend that time in jail or out on bail. To make that decision, they have to determine whether that person is likely to not show up to court or commit a crime.

Today on Stateside, the interim president of Michigan State University has publically apologized to survivors of sexual abuse by former MSU sports doctor Larry Nassar. At a Friday meeting, those survivors told the Board of Trustees that apologies aren’t enough. Plus, documenting the architectural creatures that watch over Detroit.

Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.

Nassar survivors tell MSU trustees that apologies are not enough  

Today on Stateside, we talk with vaccine-hesitant parents as measles cases spread. Plus, learn how your old photos can help researchers track changes to Lake Michigan's dunes.

The measles outbreak continues, and the number of cases in Michighan is climbing. There are now 41 cases confirmed to date in Oakland, Wayne, and Washtenaw Counties.

Doctors and public health officials are grappling with how to best deal with this growing public health crisis, including how they should talk to parents who refuse or delay vaccinations.