Stateside

Today on Stateside, a lack of legal banking options in the marijuana industry means that many businesses are operating solely in cash—creating significant safety risks and limiting the industry's growth. Plus, a Michigan Supreme Court case is testing how much money the government can collect from tax-delinquent homeowners. 

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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? 

Today on Stateside, we spoke with Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotkin, who represents Michigan's 8th District, about why she is voting to impeach President Trump. Plus, Richard Phillips served some 46 years in a Michigan prison for a murder he didn't commit, making him the longest-serving exoneree in U.S. history. We spoke with him about what life has been like since he was released from prison more than two years ago. 

Today on Stateside, we talk to Paul Mitchell, who represents Michigan’s 10th District, about his view on the impeachment proceedings against President Trump. Plus, we talk to one of the longest-serving members of the Capitol press corps about his nearly five decades covering Michigan politics.

Today on Stateside, Detroit has hired a new director for its Animal Care and Control Department after the fatal mulling of a nine-year-old girl earlier this year. We heard how the department plans to turn things around. Plus, experts estimate that postpartum mood disorders like anxiety and depression impact as many as 1 in 5 mothers, but stigma stops many of them from getting help. We talked to two women trying to change that. 

Today on Stateside, we heard about the latest update on a lawsuit filed in 2015 on behalf of the tens of thousands of Michiganders wrongly accused of submitting fraudulent unemployment claims. Plus, the new director of the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency talked about her plan to get more of Michigan's 600,000 veterans connected to the benefits they need. 

Today on Stateside, a team from Emory University is in Michigan this week to take blood samples from people who were exposed to polybrominated biphenyls—or PBBs—in the 1970s. Plus, is new technology the key to fighting climate change—or is a radical cultural shift needed? 

Today on Stateside, Great Lakes water levels are at record or near-record highs, leading to dramatic shoreline erosion and threatening lakeshore properties. Plus, the Detroit origins of the spiral cut ham, a holiday dinner staple. 

Today on Stateside, General Motors is suing rival automaker Fiat Chrysler. We’ll hear about how corruption charges against the UAW and Fiat Chrysler are at the heart of the lawsuit. Plus, a case before a federal appeals court looks at whether some Detroit students’ constitutional rights were violated by subpar learning environments and instruction.

The state of Michigan is a step closer to establishing the limits of PFAS in drinking water. PFAS is a family of chemicals that have been discovered in high levels in drinking water at sites across the state. Yesterday the Environmental Rules Review Committee voted to move the draft regulations forward. If approved, the new regulations will be among the strictest in the nation. The next step is a public comment period along with public hearings, which are expected to be announced before year's end. 

Today on Stateside, this year’s multiple weather-related curveballs have spelled out an uncertain future for some of Michigan’s corn farmers. Plus, we hear from a Michigander whose future depends on the upcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision on the fate of the Obama administration’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

We know that burning fossil fuels releases a lot of greenhouse gases. But there are other human-caused sources that contribute to climate change. As Lester Graham with the Environment Report found, one of them is how farmers plant crops.

Today on Stateside, Rachael Denhollander, one of the hundreds of women and girls abused by disgraced sports doctor Larry Nassar, joined us to talk about her new memoir What Is A Girl Worth? Plus, the legacy of former U.S. Representative John Conyers, who died Sunday, in Detroit and beyond.

Today on Stateside, the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol is forcing Michigan ports to make expensive changes, even though ports nearby, including one in Toledo, don't have to do the same. Plus, the long and gruesome history of the invasive sea lamprey’s presence in the Great Lakes.

Today on Stateside, Governor Gretchen Whitmer recently used a rare budget maneuver to shift funds around within state agencies. We take a look at the winners and losers of those shifts. Plus, a conversation about the economic potential of industrial hemp after the first legal harvest of the crop since 1937.    

Today on Stateside, the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down a lower court's ruling that ordered Michigan to redraw its congressional and state legislative district lines before the 2020 election. Plus, we talk to the reporter who helped solve the mysterious disappearance of a young Michigan man and FBI informant.

Today on Stateside, after 31 days on the picket line, the UAW and General Motors came to a tentative contract agreement. We hear about the details and what comes next. Plus, Michigan farmers face record low production of corn and soybeans  after a cold, wet spring. 

A half-century ago, within the span of two years, three of America’s rivers caught fire. One of them was in Michigan. Those fires ignited the environmental movement. 

On this date, October 9^th, 50 years ago, the Rouge River caught fire.