auto insurance

Today on Stateside, we hear from two men who say they were sexually assaulted after being placed in adult prisons as teenagers. A class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of hundreds of other men with similar claims  is finally going to court after years of state opposition. Plus, if you're sick of robocalls (we sure are), we've got some bad news: They aren't stopping anytime soon. 

It's Star Wars Night at the Lansing Lugnuts stadium, so there's a big crowd. 

Kids and moms and dads and Lugnuts fans of all sorts line up, get their tickets scanned, snap a photo with a favorite Star Wars character, and then fill the stands to watch the game.

Standing at one of the entrances is a slender, smiling man wearing a straw cowboy hat, scanning tickets.  That's David St. Amant, age 32. 

You can tell there's something different about him from the way his head is bent slightly to one side, and his slow, deliberate speech.

The new auto insurance law signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer is leaving many questions about what will happen to the cost of insurance.

Lawmakers in the state House and Senate approved an amendment to the law on Tuesday to fix what they say would’ve caused a temporary spike in insurance costs.

Eric Lupher is the president of the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. He says the Legislature moved so quickly on the changes to the law that insurance companies are still trying to understand the ramifications.

At the Mackinac Policy Conference, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation that changes Michigan’s auto insurance law. And state Attorney General Dana Nessel set a deadline for Gov. Whitmer and Enbridge Energy to take action on the Line 5 oil and gas pipeline that runs under the Straits of Mackinac. 

Today on Stateside, the new director of the Michigan Department of Transportation says repairing Michigan's roads and bridges is going to require raising additional revenue, whether that's from a controversial proposed gas tax or another source. Plus, the story of how Michigan archivists helped solve the mystery of a Civil War veteran's missing gravestone.

A recent study by the University of Michigan found auto insurance rates are unaffordable for residents in 97% of Michigan counties.

The high rates are especially tough on low-income residents in Detroit, where auto insurance rates average $5,414 a year. So, would recent changes to the state's auto insurance law, passed by state lawmakers last week, help those drivers most in need of relief? 

Today on Stateside, the fate of auto insurance reform in Michigan hangs in the balance as the state's Democratic governor and GOP-controlled Legislature take different stances on the issue. Plus, Iraqi-American comedian Abdallah Jasim talks about navigating cultural differences through comedy. 

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

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, Governor Whitmer orders an audit of the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association after it hikes the yearly fee on auto insurance policies by 15 percent. Plus, we explore two important pieces of our state's African-American history housed at the Library of Michigan.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and a handful of residents have filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Michigan over the high cost of auto insurance.  

Michigan’s average rate is twice that of the national average. In Detroit, no-fault auto insurance costs about six thousand dollars a year.

Mike Duggan is the most powerful mayor of Detroit in many years, and probably the most popular one statewide in our lifetimes. Republicans, on the other hand, have overwhelming control of the state Legislature.

You’d think, then, that if the Democratic mayor of Detroit were to team up with the Republican Speaker of the House, you would have an unstoppable coalition of immense power.

You’d think that, but you’d be wrong.

After both men worked their respective constituencies for weeks, the State House of Representatives held a vote on an auto insurance reform bill that both Duggan and Speaker Tom Leonard desperately wanted.

The bill was designed to give people options for drastically lowered car insurance rates, especially in Detroit, where rates are the highest in the nation, and many people can’t afford and do not have coverage of any kind.

Why does Michigan have some of the highest auto insurance premiums in the nation?

Crain’s Detroit Business and Bridge Magazine dug into the heart of the question that affects every single driver in our state by analyzing insurance data over a 14 year span. They found that repairing people costs a whole lot more than repairing cars. Most of your auto insurance now goes to PIP, or Personal Injury Protection.

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Michigan's state police director this week jumped into the debate over the decision of some NFL players to take a knee during the National Anthem. Col. Kriste Etue now faces an internal review by her department after she shared a Facebook post that called those players "anti-American degenerates." This Week in Review, Weekend Edition host Rebecca Kruth and senior news analyst Jack Lessenberry talk about whether her career can recover.