Stateside

Isle Royale is the least visited of our national parks, but it's also one of the most revisited. The pandemic threw a curveball at the Lake Superior island. Ferry service was suspended due to the pandemic, making it nearly impossible for visitors to travel to the island. Restrictions on ferry service have now lifted, but the island has changed in unique ways due to human inactivity.

Today on Stateside, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has lifted the mask mandate for people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Two political strategists discuss the move and break down the latest news from Lansing. Also, an update on the sexual assault allegations against the late Robert Anderson, who was a physician at the University of Michigan for decades. And, two park rangers on what’s in store for Isle Royale this year as ferry service to the remote island resumes.

In your travels throughout Michigan, you might have noticed small, century-old buildings bearing the word “Grange.” If you live in a rural area in Michigan, you may be familiar with these buildings and know what their purpose is. But if not, you might be wondering: what’s a Grange?

Today, on Stateside, we discuss the legality of requiring employees to get a vaccine. Plus, a doctor in training writes about her time at a Detroit hospital during the early months of the pandemic.

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Wishing you could just go to a concert, listen to your favorite local bands, and relax on a Saturday night? There’s a new weekly radio show, coming to you from the Beaver Island airwaves, that might just meet your Michigan music needs during this socially distanced time. Out in the middle of Lake Michigan, between the Lower and Upper Peninsulas, a new low-watt radio program called Songs from the Trail is broadcasting on WVBI 100.1 FM. And it’s all about Michigan-centric music.

Today on Stateside, why one maker of PFAS chemicals is challenging Michigan’s protections for drinking water. Plus, an international standoff is brewing over Enbridge Energy's Line 5 oil pipeline. And, two Beaver Island residents send out a radio program from the middle of Lake Michigan.

There have been a few big title wins for collegiate athletics in Michigan this spring, despite the challenge of competing amid a public health crisis. The women’s gymnastics team at University of Michigan won the NCAA national championship, and both the women’s field hockey team at U of M and the women’s golf team at Michigan State University won Big Ten Conference titles.

Today on Stateside, what Michigan parents should know about the news that Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine will soon be available to kids as young as 12 years old. And speaking of vaccinations, the state hit its first benchmark in Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s “MI Vacc to Normal” plan with 55% of Michiganders now having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Plus, why recycling in Michigan isn’t as green as it could be.

Today on Stateside, Michigan sees a boom in the use of monoclonal antibodies to keep COVID-19 patients out of the hospital. Plus, the coach of the University of Michigan's women's gymnastics team talks about a tough pandemic year that ended in a national championship. And, singer-songwriter Rachel Curtis talks about new ways of producing and releasing music during a pandemic.

Patti Kornoelje says that when her son Casey Kornoelje was a teenager, she worried about the direction in which he seemed to be heading. He had multiple encounters with law enforcement over marijuana use, which led to cannabis-related convictions and changed the trajectory of his career.

But, Patti says, sometimes certain doors open for a reason.

Today, on Stateside, misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine and fertility has made some people hesitant to get a shot. We’ll talk to a doctor about how the rumor started and what she’s telling patients. Plus, in a year of social distance, one college lecturer connected to her students through letters.  

Forty-two years after the state of Michigan became the state of Michigan, a botanist named William Beal buried 20 open bottles of seeds to see how long they could remain viable.

A few weeks ago Frank Telewski, a professor of plant biology at Michigan State University, along with a few colleagues, continued the decades-long experiment by digging up one of those bottles on the MSU campus.

When we first realized COVID would be the biggest public health crisis of our lifetime, Governor Gretchen Whitmer came out swinging. She set up mask mandates and physical distancing recommendations. That earned her respect from many public health officials both within Michigan and around the country. 

But the governor’s message now is very different. So, what changed?

Today on Stateside, a look at the messaging behind Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s latest public health guidelines. Also, an athlete and coach discuss winning streaks in women’s college athletics despite the challenges of practicing amid the pandemic. Plus, a Black-led food cooperative partners with local farmers in preparation for its 2022 opening in Detroit’s North End neighborhood.

Today on Stateside, businesses across Michigan have succumbed to the pressures of the COVID-19 crisis, with devastating consequences for workers and our economy. A business owner and a behavioral scientist weigh in on why those who were sidelined still need help — and how the pandemic is shaping the state’s business ecosystem in the long term. Also, we meet a biologist whose team is collaborating with a colleague across 143 years.

Humans have used psychedelics like magic mushrooms, acid, or ecstasy in a variety of ways for a long time. Though the drugs remain illegal on the federal level in the U.S., interest in psychedelics is continuing to grow, as is the movement to normalize their use — particularly for therapeutic purposes.

Until recently, Michiganders struggled to find open vaccine appointments. Some even crossed state lines to get their shots. Now that vaccine supply has increased, the state is facing an opposite challenge: finding enough people who are able and willing to sign up for a dose — and soon.

Today on Stateside, what’s ahead for Michigan now that it’s getting harder to find arms for vaccine doses. The head of a Dearborn based Arab community organization talks about mobilizing for that very purpose. We also dig into Michigan foraging. Plus, an advocate for psilocybin makes the case for legal microdosing in Michigan.

Chef Kiki Louya’s had a hand in some of the brightest spots on Detroit’s food map. She co-founded Folk Cafe and Market and The Farmer's Hand, both in Corktown. In addition, she’s a writer, food activist, and restaurant consultant who’s been active in movements to eliminate tips in favor of living wages for servers and kitchen staff. She also just finished a stint on season 18 of the competitive reality cooking show, Top Chef. 

Today on Stateside, we break down who received loans federal Paycheck Protection Program loans in Metro Detroit, and who was left out. Plus, a conversation with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel about how the state will handle the new U.S.  Supreme Court ruling on juvenile lifers. And, a conversation with a Detroit chef, food activist, and contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef about sharing stories through food.

Today, on Stateside, we break down the numbers from the U.S. Census and what they mean for redistricting in Michigan. Plus, a conversation with longtime radio journalist Vickie Thomas about living and working in Detroit for 30 years. 

After more than 30 years in Detroit broadcast journalism, award-winning reporter Vickie Thomas says she’s ready to start a new chapter. She retired from radio station WWJ April 29, and she’ll be joining Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration as director of communications for the city. Stateside caught up with the veteran journalist on the eve of her retirement from WWJ to discuss her years of experience bringing Detroit stories to the air.

Today, on Stateside, we revisit our conversation with a Black farmer who grows organic produce in west Michigan, and our conversation with Former U.S. Senator Carl Levin about his new memoir, Getting to the Heart of the Matter: My 36 years in the Senate.

Today on Stateside, we revisit how one year of pandemic life has changed our relationships — from close connections, to pod problems, to loved ones lost. A funeral director discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted mourning in 2020. Then, a counselor and psychologist talk us through how pod life, solitude, and mental health challenges during the pandemic have affected the ways we interact with other people.

The final numbers are still on their way, but initial data from the U.S. Census Bureau offers a glimpse at population trends across the country. In Michigan, the state’s population has grown at a slower rate than that of states in other parts of the country. And that means the state is set to lose a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Today on Stateside, the 2020 census results are in and Michigan has lost a congressional seat. What this means for the state’s political landscape. Plus, the story of a Filipino Michigander serving in the Civil War. And, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed on why now is not the time to let up on the pandemic.

Despite the pandemic, it’s been a good year for small-scale solar developers in the state.

“We've been super busy. This is the busiest year we've ever had,” says Ben Schimpf, a sales representative with Peninsula Solar, based in Marquette and Cedar.

If you've ever seen a lake sturgeon, you know that there's something really mystifying and beautiful about this ancient fish. They’ve been around for more than 100 million years, but their numbers have dwindled in the past century and they’re now considered a threatened species. But state officials and sturgeon enthusiasts are committed to helping the species bolster its numbers. 

Today on Stateside, a look inside a hospital ward caring for a bunch of younger COVID patients. Plus, a Detroit council trail-blazer Raquel Castaneda-Lopez talks about why she’s leaving politics to go back to advocacy. And, we get up close and personal with one of the biggest fish in the Great Lakes, the sturgeon.

For years, states around the country had laws that made a sentence of life without the possibility of parole mandatory for children who committed serious violent offenses. In Michigan, that meant that some 360 juvenile defendants were sent to prison for life. Over the past decade, a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions found that those mandatory sentences were unconstitutional. But on April 22, the Supreme Court released a decision — with conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh penning the majority opinion — that complicates those years of reform.