Stateside Staff

Today on Stateside, we introduce you to a doctor with a very personal story about COVID-19. Plus, funeral director Thomas Lynch talks about what grieving means when you can’t come together.

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When schools closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the way students were taught had to shift on a dime. Online platforms like Zoom became the new classrooms. These sudden changes have also highlighted the shortcomings and inequities of our current school system. That has some educators thinking about whether this crisis could be an opportunity to reinvent what school looks like this fall and beyond.

Today on Stateside, what will the impending re-opening of Michigan’s economy mean for public health. Plus, how the pandemic could allow districts to reshape learning in the fall.

"Bored, exhausted, and restless" probably describes how a lot of Michigan’s kids are feeling these days. They have been stuck at home for nearly two months now, ever since the COVID-19 outbreak shut down schools and hangouts. This week, we spoke with two of the million and a half young people who are adjusting to this new normal. 

Maybe you can’t imagine traveling anytime soon. Or maybe visiting another place—any other place—is all you can think about right now. Either way, summer’s almost here.

But with the COVID-19 pandemic, summer tourism will likely look a bit different this year, and businesses at popular destinations like Mackinac Island are preparing for a season that has already been affected by the ongoing health crisis, even before the island opens to the public.

Mackinac usually opens around the end of April. But not this year.

Today on Stateside, summer vacation plans up in the air— places like Mackinac Island likely won’t reopen until late June, if at all. Plus, we talked to two high school students on how they are adjusting to online school and being home.

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

Protesters were back at the Michigan Capitol on Thursday to voice their displeasure with Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home orders. After armed protesters entered the State Senate Gallery during a protest two weeks ago, some in Lansing began calling for a ban on guns inside the statehouse. That debate picked up steam after reports that people in anti-quarantine Facebook groups were calling for violent action against the governor.

Today on Stateside, we discuss an evolving story about a COVID-related condition that has infected dozens of kids in Michigan. Plus, we get details about protestors back at Michigan's Capitol today.

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

Happy birthday to you, Stevie Wonder! The Michigan soul legend was born 70 years ago Tuesday in Saginaw, and has been filling our lives with wonder ever since.

Stevie Wonder’s career began at an incredibly young age. He was just 11-years-old when he signed to Motown Records. WDET host Ann Delisi joined Stateside to talk about Wonder’s prodigious career and life.

Today on Stateside, a look at how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the housing market. We talk with an affordable housing expert to find out what the public health crisis means for renters, particularly as expiration dates for eviction moratoriums approach. Also, an update from Michigan’s chief medical officer, with the latest on the state’s response to the pandemic. Plus, a musical love letter to the National Park System.

Public health in Michigan has undergone a radical shift. 

The COVID-19 epidemic has killed more than 4,700 people and sickened tens of thousands of others in the state. Most businesses are closed, and one million-plus children are learning in place as best they can. 

As the Whitmer administration begins to make decisions on which businesses to reopen and when, the state’s chief medical executive says the numbers are improving.

“We are seeing a significant decline overall in the number of cases and deaths in the state and that is positive,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun.

Have your daily walks around the block lost their luster? Do you long to be transported to somewhere with spacious skies and purple mountains majesty? A new record from Grand Valley State University’s New Music Ensemble called Dawn Chorus does just that by taking listeners on a sonic trip to some of  the country’s most beloved national parks.

Back in March, we spoke with a renter, a landlord, and a lender about the domino effect the coronavirus outbreak was having on Michigan's residential rental market. Now, with only a few sectors of the economy going back online, rent coming due, and the governor's eviction ban set to end this month, we decided to check back in on what's happened since the lockdown began. 

Stateside for Tuesday, January 22, 2020

Today on Stateside, how a renter, landlord, and lender are being affected by the pandemic. And an update on the story about a man accused by multiple Michigan families of sexually abusing children.

Without gallery openings or open studios, artists are heading online to connect with their audience. A new YouTube series from the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Michigan is giving them a platform to do just that. 

Today on Stateside, one couple’s experience of recovery from COVID-19. We hear how they had to relearn everything, from walking to communication. Also, the Michigan Capitol Commission has delayed its decision regarding open carry regulation on statehouse grounds—Michigan Radio’s Rick Pluta breaks it down. Plus, a YouTube series of studio visits with some of the state’s most creative minds.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced on Thursday that Michigan factories will soon be allowed to resume operations. This is good news for the thousands of auto workers who will now be brought back on the line. But as we've heard this week, it's not a simple process. There are two equally critical aspects of reopening the economy—public health and financial stability.

Today on Stateside,  a conversation with Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell about reopening the auto industry. Also, a check-in with a few more of Michigan's small businesses, including a barber shop in Ypsilanti that provides much more than haircuts. 

Last week, dozens of anti-lockdown protestors, some of them carrying firearms, crowded into the Michigan Capitol building to make their views known to the assembled lawmakers at full volume. It’s not unusual to see guns around the Capitol. Second Amendment Day brings gun enthusiasts to the House and Senate galleries every year. But photos and footage from the April 30 protest shook up a lot of people, and the Michigan State Capitol Commission is discussing whether some action might be appropriate. 

Today on Stateside, plant managers are making plans to restart some of the biggest manufacturing operations in the state. We talk to Detroit News columnist Daniel Howes about what has to happen first. Plus, a protest on reopening the economy gives way to a discussion about guns at the state Capitol—and the politics around who is allowed to carry them.

Stateside for Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Today on Stateside, a Michigan doctor talks about his experience recovering from COVID-19 after contracting the illness and going on a ventilator. Also, we hear about the pandemic’s potential effects on a Lake Erie water quality initiative. Plus, we check in with the Detroit Metro Times about current challenges and the alt-weekly's hopes for the future.

In mid-March, Eugene Vovchuk was going about his work as an anesthesiologist at Detroit Medical Center’s Harper University Hospital. He had heard about COVID-19, of course, but he hadn’t treated any patients with the disease yet. And the 38-year-old doctor was not prepared for his own ordeal with the virus, which would land him in the hospital for nearly a month. 

COVID-19 has thrown a major wrench into the higher education experience. Now, both students and schools are grappling with what college may look like in the fall semester. Some schools have already announced that they will be returning to campus, but the unprecedented nature of this pandemic means many plans are still up in the air.

Today on Stateside, we’ll talk to a graduating high school senior about what’s on her mind as she prepares for a freshman year at college that looks very different than what she expected. Plus, we’ll hear from author Michael Zadoorian about his new novel and the death of the book tour. 

This was a pretty tough weekend for families with graduating seniors. To have graduation eclipsed by so much fear and risk is hard. And the question of what happens after graduation is weighing heavily on a lot of graduates’ minds. Stateside spoke to two women graduating in 2020 about what this season has been like for them.

Today on Stateside, we hear how health systems, armed with what they now know about COVID-19, are planning for the treatment of future cases. Also, a look at how Michigan’s theaters are staying connected to audiences that can’t come to shows. Plus, college seniors fill us in on what it’s like to graduate—and enter the job market—during a pandemic.

Today on Stateside, tensions surrounding reopening Michigan's economy are deepening. Republican Congressman Bill Huizenga fills us in on his concerns and priorities. And, we take a look at how the cancelation of the annual Tulip Time in Holland, Michigan could impact the local economy. 

For more than 90 years, the city of Holland has been celebrating its Dutch heritage with the annual Tulip Time festival. A sea of tulips as well as activities like parades draws hundreds of thousands of attendees every year. But thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak, there will be no Tulip Time this year. So what happens when a city's biggest annual event gets canceled?

Avalon International Breads has rapidly expanded its business over the past five years. The business was settling into its new growth when the novel coronavirus outbreak upended everything. Stateside spoke with owner Jackie Victor, who recently published a New York Times op-ed, about how hard it will be for her bakery to retool, even after receiving a federal emergency loan.