Stateside Daily Archive

Guns are now the leading cause of death for American children, but Michigan laws won't budge. Today, we talk with the Michigan State Senator whose district includes Oxford Township, where the mass shooting at Oxford High earlier this school year remains a fresh wound. And we hear from a researcher who narrows in on gun deaths -- and ways to possibly mitigate them -- among Michigan children. GUESTS...

A political bomb dropped last night in Michigan as the Bureau of Elections recommended half of the Republican candidates for governor not make the primary ballot. That’s because the state agency found tens-of-thousands of fraudulent signatures on five of the 10 candidates’ petitions. And they didn’t have enough valid signatures to make the ballot. The signatures appear to have be...

Detroit's own Stacey “Hotwaxx” Hale, known as the Godmother of House Music, will perform at this weekend's techno music festival, Movement. Today, DJ Hotwaxx on techno music, the city's legendary techno festival, and the gender gap within the music scene. GUESTS: Stacey "Hotwaxx" Hale , DJ Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Right this way. If you like what you hear on the...

More than a dozen prospective candidates seeking office in Michigan have been kicked out of primary contention because of oversights made in their filings. Mellissa Carone is one of those candidates. You may remember she testified before state House and Senate committees as Rudy Giuliani's so-called “elections expert” in Michigan, and was subsequently lampooned on Saturday Night Live....

The national baby formula supply shortage began in Michigan at an Abbott plant in Sturgis. Detroit News reporter Kayla Ruble explained the plant's problematic past, the fragility of our supply chain, dramatic steps taken by parents of infants in their quest for formula and the steps being taken to end the shortage. Guest: Kayla Ruble , reporter for The Detroit News Looking for more conversations f...

On Tuesday, the Michigan Court of Claims granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood of Michigan and Dr. Sarah Wallett. The decision blocks enforcement of a 90-year-old state statute that criminalizes abortion. The leaked draft opinion by Justice Samuel Alito suggests the U.S. Supreme Court is prepared to end the federal precedent protecting abortion rights. Today, we...

During the pandemic the Wayne County Jail kept its COVID positivity rate remarkably low — and no one in custody died from the virus. To understand how the jail and its for-profit medical providers handled COVID over the past two years, Michigan Radio reporters with more than a dozen inmates in the Wayne County Jail, as well as lawyers, health care workers, and advocates. GUESTS: Beenish Ahme...

This spring’s a waiting game for people involved in securing (or opposing) abortion rights. A recent draft Supreme Court opinion published by Politico confirmed what many suspected: that a sea change is coming in federal protections for abortion. Prosecutors, in particular, need to plan for how they’ll follow guidelines of the 1931 Michigan abortion ban that is poised to prevail i...

NOTE: If you haven't heard the first and second episodes of Collision Course, go back and take a listen. This episode will make a lot more sense if you do.  Changes to Michigan's auto no-fault laws means thousands of car crash survivors could lose their care, including hockey legend, Vladimir Konstantinov. Today we want to show you what options are available for Vladdie and the thousands of o...

NOTE: If you haven't heard the first episode of Collision Course, go back and take a listen. This episode will make a lot more sense if you do.  For decades, Michigan had some of the most generous benefits available for survivors of catastrophic car accidents. But now, those same survivors face a very different reality: losing their care entirely.  Today we’re going to pull back fr...

Collision Course episode 2 drops on Wednesday, May 4th. We'll give you the history of how No-Fault auto insurance came to be in Michigan, and how it was broken. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is Collision Course, a special three-part series about the changing of Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance law and how it’s upending the lives of thousands of people, including one hockey legend. Vladimir Konstantinov was a ferocious hockey defenseman with a Stanley Cup under his belt and a bright future in the NHL. Then, a horrible car crash changed his life forever and left him w...

Detroit-based creative, Sterling Toles, is best known for his deep catalogue of sounds, beats and pieces. Not to mention the profound gems he's known to drop about compassion, identity, and humanity. As if that isn’t plenty, Sterling is also an accomplished painter, and he has now expanded into mixed media and metalwork. His first solo exhibition at Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit is call...

The Michigan Republican party held its nominating convention last weekend. Technical problems during voting and intraparty disputes helped draw the normally pro forma event out for hours. Today on the pod, we’ll get into what happened–and we’ll talk about what the party split means for Republicans this election year.  GUEST:  Rick Pluta, Capitol bureau chief for the Mic...

Recycling plastic is more complicated than we would like to believe when we throw a cup or packaging into the recycling bin. To that end, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, and chemists are looking for ways to repurpose plastic that is otherwise discarded. Today on the pod, we talk to one of them about new ways to reduce the amount of plastic waste that ends up in landfills.  GUEST:  Anne...

We’re deep into campaign season, and State Senator Lana Theis – a Republican who represents a part of Livingston County – recently accused Michigan Democrats of wanting to groom and sexualize children in a fundraising email. She mentioned Senator Mallory McMorrow by name, and McMorrow responded with a speech on the Senate floor that subsequently went viral online. Today, we talk...

When something like the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya happens it’s easy to question what city officials have been doing - if anything - to prevent this kind of tragedy. As you might imagine, the answer is, it’s complicated. GUEST: Brandon Davis has been working as the first director of the office of Oversight and Public Accountability for the city of Grand Rapids Looking for more con...

It’s not news to Black folks in Grand Rapids that interactions with the police can go south fast. With the investigation into Patrick Lyoya’s shooting underway, advocates say this awful, awful outcome was all too predictable. On today's episode, you'll hear the latest news on the case–and we'll talk about the police reforms that Black Grand Rapids residents have been waiting on f...

Tomorrow we'll know who plans to really run for governor, Congress, and the Legislature in Michigan this year. Petition signatures for candidates are due, and for some candidates and causes those signatures come with a big price tag. GUESTS: Yue Stella Yu , reporter, Bridge Michigan Rick Pluta , Capitol Bureau Chief, Michigan Public Radio Network Looking for more conversations from Stateside ? Rig...

Today, one Grand Rapids City commissioner talks about next steps after the shooting death of Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old Congolese refugee. He was killed after a traffic stop in Grand Rapids on April 4. It’s a story that’s rocked the community - especially since Grand Rapids Police Department released video of the incident. As much as police reform has been a topic in Grand Rapids for...

A Grand Rapids police officer shot and killed a Black man named Patrick Lyoya in a routine traffic stop. The Grand Rapids police chief says to his knowledge, the only weapons recovered at the scene were the officer's taser and firearm. Officials have released footage of the killing, but not the name of the police officer who pulled the trigger. GUESTS: Dustin Dwyer, reporter, Michigan Radio Bryce...

Tens of thousands of Afghans have fled their home country after U.S. troops withdrew and Taliban forces seized control of the government last summer. Among them are around 1,400 unaccompanied minors , some of whom have ended up in refugee youth shelters here in Michigan. Today on the pod, we talked to two reporters about the experience of these young people--and what their future might hold. ...

At county conventions all over Michigan on Monday, local Republican party members met to lay groundwork for nominating candidates, and to settle some scores between hardcore supporters of former President Donald Trump and their opponents. This is obviously a big midterm election year for a lot of statewide races and congressional races. Today, we talk with two reporters who covered different count...

The Big Lie. That’s what some have taken to calling former President Donald Trump’s false assertions that the 2020 election was stolen and that there was widespread voter fraud.  But if you thought that all the investigations, reporting, and debunking meant that Trump loyalists had moved on, you’d be sorely mistaken. Today on the pod, journalist Byard Duncan talks about his...

Miz Korona is part of a generation of MCs that carved out Detroit’s hip hop scene as one of originality, grit, and fun in equal measure. Her artistry extends from before her scene in 8 Mile through almost three decades of international touring, teaching, photography, and fashion design. Today, Miz Korona is on stage again, getting ready to release a new EP: The Healer and the Heartbreaker. G...