Stateside

Today on Stateside, we talk to the head of Enbridge's tunnel project about what's happening with Line 5. Plus, a conversation with the Detroit-based metal band I Prevail, which is nominated for two Grammy Awards this year.

Today on Stateside, we look at the dispute over Michigan's ban on public funding for private education. The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments today in a case that could affect how the Michigan Supreme Court rules later this year. Plus, Tesla is coming to Michigan and we hear from a reporter about how the move could alter the auto industry's traditional power base.

Sales of recreational marijuana in Michigan have been booming. In the first six weeks after licensed dispensaries began selling the product in December, sales topped $10 million, generating around $1.7 million in tax revenue. But none of that money can legally be deposited in a bank. 

Today on Stateside, we step back in time to the summer of 1963, to hear how Martin Luther King Junior set the stage in Detroit for the March on Washington later that year. Plus, we go over this year's list of Michigan Notable Books, which includes everything from new fiction to gripping history.

On June 23, 1963 Martin Luther King Jr. stood in Detroit and spoke about a dream. It was a fraught moment in the history of the American civil rights movement. Noted civil rights activist Medger Evers had been murdered by a white supremacist just days earlier.

We talked to Detroit historian Ken Coleman, author of On This Day: African-American Life in Detroit and writer for Michigan Advance, about MLK Jr.’s visit to the city. 

Now that winter is feeling a little more, well, wintry, it’s a good time to hunker down inside with a book. If you’re looking for something new to read, the Library of Michigan has a few suggestions. Its 2020 Michigan Notable Books list was announced on Sunday. 

Today on Stateside, what the story about a state senator's alleged sexual harassment of a female journalist says about Capitol culture. Plus, a look at where Michigan's recyclables are going, two years after China stopped accepting U.S. waste.

Michigan State Senator Peter Lucido (R-Shelby Township) has received national attention for an off-the-cuff comment he made to a female journalist from the Michigan Advance outside the Senate chamber on Tuesday.

Today on Stateside, a Democratic congressman is proposing new regulations for safe disposal of PFAS. Plus, schools around the state are increasingly relying on long-term substitute teachers. We talk about what this means for students, and strategies for getting more certified teachers into classrooms.

Today on Stateside, it’s been four years since the state announced a criminal investigation into the Flint water crisis. We talked to two journalists who covered the crisis about lessons learned on government accountability and public health. Plus, the state of Michigan files suit against some of the biggest names in corporate America over PFAS contamination. We'll hear about how a similar case played out in Minnesota. 

Jeff Daniels’ new play Roadsigns follows a young poet on a journey to find himself and his encounters with society's outcasts. The main character is based on Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, and Daniels' longtime friend, the late Lanford Wilson.

Today on Stateside, we take a deeper look at how property tax foreclosures in Detroit created a pileup of city-owned properties, and left residents to care for the most desolate blocks. Plus, a Michigan photographer captures a whole year of sunrises in the Upper Peninsula. 

For many of us, it is more pleasurable to look at pictures of beautiful sunrises than to get up and actually see beautiful sunrises.

Today on Stateside, an investigation finds the city Detroit overcharged tens of thousands of homeowners for property taxes. What recourse is there for people who lost their homes as a result? We'll talk to the reporters who broke the story. Also, how the polls misread voters in 2016 – especially ones without a party affiliation.

Today on Stateside, economists forecast how much money the state of Michigan will bring in and what it will need to spend in the coming year. Plus, some Michigan reads to curl up with when you’re stuck inside during this weekend’s winter storm.

Tammy Coxen with Tammy’s Tastings and I visited the Grand Rapids distillers at Eastern Kille Distillery. If that name is not familiar to you, you might know it by its old name: Gray Skies.

Brandon Voorhees greeted us in the tasting room which has been described as “industrial chic.” We asked about the name change.

It’s a New Year and Michigan Radio has added a new voice. April Baer is the host of Stateside. She joined Doug Tribou on Morning Edition to talk about her Midwest roots and her path to Michigan Radio.

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a resolution to limit President Donald Trump's ability to take further military action against Iran. U.S. Representative Elissa Slotkin, a Democrat representing Michigan's 8th District, sponsored the measure. 

Today on Stateside, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a resolution Thursday to limit President Donald Trump's ability to take further military action against Iran. We talk to the congresswoman sponsoring the measure. Plus, the head of a Dearborn seminary talks about educating the next generation of Muslim faith leaders. 

As a young, black Muslim woman growing up in Detroit, model and style blogger Leah Vernon rarely saw her own experiences reflected in media. But several years ago, she set out to change that as she built a career as an Instagram influencer and model.

Today on Stateside, a new campaign wants to add protections for LGBTQ people to the state's existing civil rights law. Plus, a conversation with a Detroit-born author and Instagram influencer who wants to challenge stereotypes about fat, black, and Muslim women. 

The path forward remains unclear for U.S. policymakers following the assassination of Maj. General Qassem Soleimani, a top Iranian general.

Today on Stateside, we spoke with Congressman Fred Upton (R-MI 6) about escalating tensions with Iran after the assassination of one of that country’s top generals. Plus, the economic lessons from the United Automobile Workers union’s strike against General Motors last year. 

Over the weekend, U.S. foreign policy scrambled to recover from the fatal attack on Iran's General Qassem Soleimani, the head of an elite military wing active in Iraq, Syria, and other hot spots. The U.S. has interests in all those places.

Today on Stateside, we welcome new host April Baer. She jumps right into things by chatting with Senator Gary Peters, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, about the current situation developing in Iran and whether or not there is an "imminent threat" to American lives, as the Trump administration has claimed. Plus, it appears to be the Dark Ages of Detroit sports. What will it take to turn them around? 

If you drew up a list of Michigan’s top radio talents, one name at the top of that list would be Jim Harper. For decades, metro Detroiters got their day started with Jim each morning on stations like WNIC-100.3, WDTX-99.5, and WMGC-105.1.

Forty years ago, in December 1979, Jimmy Carter was president, William Milliken was Michigan's governor, and Coleman Young was the mayor of Detroit. 

The Iranian hostage crisis was in its second month. Also in that time, Cynthia Canty began her first radio job at WMUZ, a religious station in Detroit. For six mornings a week, Canty would grace Detroit's airwaves from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m.