Stateside

Today on Stateside, a vicious dog attack leaves Detroit residents wondering whether the city has the ability to control dangerous animals. Plus, a film festival honors the history of a West Michigan town that was once a vacation spot for black families.

Nine-year-old Emma Hernandez should be getting ready for fourth grade. Instead, her family is planning her funeral.

On Monday, the little girl was attacked and killed by three dogs as she rode her bike near her Detroit home.

The dogs' owner has been arrested and is expected to be charged today by the Wayne County Prosecutor. The three pit bulls are expected to be euthanized.

Today on Stateside, Planned Parenthood withdraws from Title X which funds services for 42,000 patients in Michigan. Plus, new Oakland County County Executive Dave Coulter is the first Democrat in 27 years.

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

For the first time in 27 years, Oakland County has a Democrat serving as its County Executive.

On Monday, Dave Coulter tendered his resignation as mayor of Ferndale. A few hours later, he was sworn in to serve out the remainder of the late L. Brooks Patterson’s term, which runs through the end of 2020.

Planned Parenthood announced it will withdraw from the federal Title X program which funds contraception and family planning services for low-income patients.

Today on Stateside, after resigning from his position as mayor of Ferndale, Democrat Dave Coulter has been sworn in to replace the late L. Brooks Patterson as Oakland County Executive. Plus, how are researchers working to address the problem of annual cyanobacterial blooms on Lake Erie?

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

It was this time five years ago that the city of Toledo placed a city-wide ban of tap water.

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says her office is still accepting donations to fund the investigation and prosecution of sexual assaults linked to a backlog of thousands of untested rape kits.

Today on Stateside, ten years after thousands of untested rape kits were found in a Detroit police warehouse, we talk to the prosecutor who’s been working though those cases. Plus, a conversation about climate change and its effect on Michigan agriculture.

Climate change is affecting the world in a lot of ways. The planet is warming, more rain is falling. There are colder winters, and warmer summers. And all of this is having a profound effect on agriculture.

The constant barrage of news about climate change and drinking water contamination and pollution in the Great Lakes can feel overwhelming. If you care, it’s hard to know what to do or where to start.

Stateside is kicking off a new ongoing series that features ordinary people who decided to do something about it. They identified a problem – no matter how big or small – and chose to act. 

Today on Stateside, how Michigan farmers are dealing with devastating crop losses and the impacts of a trade war. Plus, many in Michigan's immigrant communities were not surprised by a new Trump administration rule that denies green cards to immigrants who have used, or are likely to use, public benefits.

Michigan is one of 13 states challenging a new Trump Administration rule that sets restrictions on which legal immigrants are eligible to stay in the United States as permanent residents.

On October 15 of this year, immigrants will be refused a green card if they’ve used or appear likely to use government benefit programs such as subsidized housing, food stamps, or Medicaid.

Purchasing an electric vehicle is one way to help reduce your carbon footprint. But given that charging stations are few and far between in Michigan, driving any significant distance in the state can be a challenge.

Democratic State Senator Mallory McMorrow represents Michigan’s 13th District. She’s introduced a package of bills that she hopes will address that problem, and in turn, encourage more Michiganders to purchase electric vehicles.

Climate change doesn’t just hurt our environment. It affects food production, insect outbreaks, precipitation. And, as health professionals are starting to see, it’s causing problems for human health.

Today on Stateside, Samuel Stanley Jr. officially took his place as Michigan State University's 21st president earlier this month. We talk to Stanley about his goals and plans for his first year in office. Plus, we talk about the ways climate change is already impacting human health in Michigan. 

On August 1, Samuel Stanley Jr. officially became Michigan State University's 21st president. Stanley is a medical doctor and a former president at Stony Brook University in New York.

He is the first permanent leader at the university since former President Lou Anna Simon resigned at the height of the Larry Nassar scandal. After her resignation, former Michigan Governor John Engler, and then MSU Dean Satish Udpa, served as interim presidents.

Swartz Creek Community Schools in Genesee County has come up with a creative way to tackle student hunger during the summer: a bus-turned-food truck called the “Dragon Diner.”

Like many other school districts across Michigan, Swartz Creek offers students lunch and breakfast in various school buildings throughout the summer.

But as the district’s Food Service Director Micheal Wensel came to realize, kids whose families don’t have access to transportation can’t take advantage of those meals.

Today on Stateside, there are 21 people vying to succeed the late L. Brooks Patterson as Oakland County Executive. We talk to the Oakland Press reporter covering this story about the frontrunners and what happens next. Plus, how the Detroit Zoo is educating its visitors on sustainability and conservation while empowering them to fight climate change in their daily lives.

Eighty-one summers ago, folklorist Alan Lomax visited Michigan as part of a 10-year project collecting American folk music for The Library of Congress. The recordings feature the songs of lumberjacks, iron miners, and Great Lakes sailors, among others.

After three months, Lomax left the state in his 1935 Plymouth, which was filled to the brim with a collection of 250 instantaneous discs and eight reels of film documenting life in Michigan. 

Given the myriad ecological challenges facing our world today, there are plenty of reasons to feel overwhelmed and powerless. 

But there are also many people and organizations dedicated to leading community conversations about climate change and conservation through education and example.

Today on Stateside, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson comments on how an increase in the number of absentee ballots could impact elections without a change in state law. Plus, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is building a manufacturing center in an effort to diversify the tribe's economic ventures.

The passage of Proposal 3 last November means any registered voter in the state can now request an absentee ballot. It seems like Michigan residents are taking full advantage of that. 

Last week's election saw a huge uptick in the number of people who voted absentee. And that has put some county clerks in a time crunch as they work to count a flood of absentee ballots.

All this week, Michigan Radio's Environment Report will be focusing on climate change and how it's already affecting us in the state of Michigan, and what's expected to change in the future. It's a huge crisis we face now — and that generations to come will face — and it will affect every aspect of our lives, from what we eat, to how we travel, to how we live inside our homes.

Today on Stateside, the use of long-term, uncertified substitute teachers has increased tenfold in the past five years. We talk to the Bridge Magazine reporter who broke this story about what it means for the state's neediest students. Plus, documents from a federal court case offer a rare look at how dark money influences Lansing lawmakers. 

There is something new greeting visitors to the Flint Institute of Arts. Beginning this week and running until September 4th, a shiny airstream trailer is outside the museum. It’s StoryCorps all set up in Flint and hoping to gather stories in its mobile booth for the next month.

Some 4.7 million LGBT older adults — known as the “Stonewell Generation” — will be seeking elder care services by 2030. But are our long-term senior living communities equipped to accommodate the needs of gay and transgender residents?

Today on Stateside, former Michigander Jimmy Aldaoud was deported to Iraq, a country he had never been to, in June. This week, his family says he died after not being able to obtain insulin for his diabetes. We talk to a family friend about what happened. Plus, the challenges of finding inclusive long-term care facilities when you're an LGBT senior.

For every 1,000 Native American babies born in Michigan, more than 14 don’t reach their first birthday. That’s more than triple the infant mortality rate for white babes. But tribal communities in Michigan are working to change that. And they’re doing it, in part, by reviving traditional cultural practices around pregnancy and motherhood.

Civil War history continues to fascinate people almost 160 years later. And while Michigan played a major role in deciding the outcome of the conflict, you typically have to travel outside of Michigan to connect with a tangible aspect of its history. 

But General Ulysses S. Grant, who would later become the nation's 18th president, and his wife Julia actually lived in Detroit prior to the war. The house they called home is still within the city limits.