Retired Border Chief Says Michigan and Other States Face Impacts of Border Crisis

Chris Clem

The immigration wave at the southern border is a crisis of national security, and Michigan is not exempt from its effects, a recently retired Border Patrol chief says.

Former Chief Chris Clem, who is visiting Michigan as part of Americans for Prosperity’s “Secure Borders, Secure America” tour, served more than 27 years and under five presidents as a U.S. border patrol agent. He was promoted to Yuma Sector chief in December 2020, right before President Joe Biden took office. 

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Michigan House Republican Gains Bipartisan Support for Estate Reform Bill

Doug Wozniak

Estate planning could get a little easier in Michigan if a bill that cleared the Michigan House continues to move forward.

Sponsored by Rep. Doug Wozniak, R-Shelby Township, HB 5110 allows income trusts to convert to unitrusts, and vice versa. A unitrust gives a fixed percentage of the assets to the recipient per year, while an income trust provides a steady stream of income.

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Bill Advocating National Popular Vote Draws Support and Criticism in Michigan

Ann Bollin

A proposed bill could change the way Michigan votes for president.

House Bill 4156 would enter Michigan into the National Popular Vote Compact, an agreement among participating states to elect the president by national popular vote.

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RNC Declares ‘Victory’ in Judge Ruling on Michigan Secretary of State’s Signature Verification Rule

Jocelyn Benson

A Michigan judge partially ruled against Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s lenient guidance on signature verification, following a lawsuit brought by the Republican National Committee.

On Wednesday, Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Yates ruled “that the ‘initial presumption’ of validity in signature verification of absentee-ballot applications and envelopes mandated by the December 2023 guidance manual” issued by Benson “is incompatible with the Constitution and laws of the State of Michigan.”

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Former President Trump to Headline Turning Point Action Convention in Detroit This Weekend

Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump will speak at the Turning Point Action Conference 2024: The People’s Convention held in Detroit, Michigan this weekend.

The People’s Convention will be held Friday through Sunday at Huntington Place in Detroit.

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MSTAR Program Given Additional $10 Million for EV Semiconductor Research

EV Charging

by Carly Moran Gov. Gretchen Whitmer gave another $10 million toward the Michigan Semiconductor Talent and Technology for Automotive Research, a private-public partnership that wants to make the Great Lakes State a leader in electric car innovation. The MSTAR initiative was launched a year ago and has developed a portfolio…

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Poll: Trump Leads Biden in Michigan

Trump Biden White House

The latest battleground poll reveals that President Trump is still leading Joe Biden in the crucial swing state of Michigan, with exactly five months to go before the November election.

As Breitbart reports, the poll by Mitchell Research shows Trump at 49% to Biden’s 47% in a head-to-head matchup. When the poll includes the three major third-party candidates – independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., independent candidate Cornel West, and Green Party candidate Jill Stein – Trump leads Biden with 46% to 45%. In the five-way poll, 5% support Kennedy, while 1% each choose West and Stein.

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Michigan State Has over 140 Employees Working on 222 DEI Action Items

Michigan State University

Michigan State University currently has more than 140 employees working on 222 different “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” agenda items.

The salaries for those employees, some of whom work on DEI full-time, totals more than $18 million dollars according to a College Fixanalysis. One of these goals included an “inclusive language” guide that instructed university employees not to say “America” or use Easter and Christmas imagery.

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer Announces Updated Low-Income Housing, Energy Goals

Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced broad goals for affordable Michigan housing yesterday.

At the Mackinac Policy Conference held annually by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, the governor pushed an increased housing construction goal and low-income household energy financing.

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Michigan Republicans Fire Back at Attorney General’s Environmental Lawsuit

Michigan Politics

Michigan Senate Republicans universally signed a letter opposing Attorney General Dana Nessel after she threatened to sue the fossil fuel industry.

Nessel issued a statement earlier this month seeking assistant attorneys to litigate on behalf of the state, saying the industry has knowingly caused the state harm. In response, the senate Republicans described the lawsuit as a mistake.

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Michigan Republicans Seek Criminalization of Human Smuggling and Aiding Illegal Immigrants

CBP Arrest

With border exposure and natural ports, Michigan Republicans want to change state law to make human smuggling illegal and criminalize harboring and transporting people who are or have entered the country illegally.

There are no state-level criminal penalties for human smuggling.

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Summer Road Repairs Begin in Four Michigan Counties

Road Construction

The Michigan Department of Transportation will begin four new road repair projects this week in Dickinson, Jackson, Marquette and Ontonagon counties.

The projects are all expected to be completed by the end of the summer, and officials say will support an estimated 2,022 jobs across the state.

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Michigan Senate Passes School Budget Without COVID Fine Help

Kevin Daley School

A Michigan state senator tried to take another path to try to return money to school districts that were fined for COVID-19 regulation violations.

Sen. Kevin Daley, R-Lum, offered an amendment Wednesday to the 2025 state school budget to reimburse districts for previously unfair penalties.

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Michigan House Republicans Introduce Bill to Restore Year-Round Coyote Hunting

Coyote

A Michigan lawmaker wants to restore what he calls a hunter with a fur harvester license’s right to hunt coyotes all year.

State Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock recently introduced House Bill 5721 that he says would give that right back to hunters.

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Michigan House OKs $81 Billion Budget with Drone, E-Bike Funding

Joe Tate

Michigan House Democrats passed budget bills totaling nearly $81 billion – larger than Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s recommendation.

Republicans in the minority for the first time in 40 years decried the spending proposals as wasteful as Democrats said the budget would invest in all Michiganders.

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Michigan Supreme Court Dodges Drone Privacy Question

Drone in sky

The Michigan Supreme Court declined to say whether the government can use drones to spy on people without a warrant.

The unanimous Friday ruling follows a 17-year dispute between residents Todd and Heather Maxon and Long Lake township officials who say the 5-acre residential property is being used as an illegal junkyard.

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Michigan House OKs Bills to Enter Physical Therapist Compact

Physical Therapy

The Michigan House approved bills to allow physical therapists to practice in states that have entered a compact.

House Bills 4504 and 4505 aim to enter Michigan into the Physical Therapy Licensure Compact, which allows physical therapists to practice physical therapy in states within the compact without having to be licensed in each state.

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Michigan Jobless Agency Bills Taxpayers for $55 Million Settlement

Julia Dale

The Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency wants taxpayers to foot its $55 million settlement for improperly taking money.

The agency said Tuesday it will seek Legislative approval of $55 million for a settlement fund related to Saunders v Unemployment Ins. Agency et al. on April 25.

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Expert: Michigan Nuclear Energy Could Help Decarbonize Electricity Sector

Nuclear Plant

Michigan’s top business group says “we can’t get” to the 100% clean energy standard by 2040 without nuclear energy.

The Michigan Chamber of Commerce, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, bipartisan lawmakers and organized labor support restarting the 800-megawatt Palisades nuclear plant on Lake Michigan’s Eastern shore, expected to return online in 2025.

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Feds Give Michigan $159 Million in Solar Subsidies

Solar Panels

The Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Michigan $159 million in solar subsidies for low-income households.

The Inflation Reduction Act’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will be administered through the MI Solar for All program, which aims to increase access to affordable solar energy for eligible families.

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Priest Resigns from a Michigan Church After Protests over His Criticism of a Gay Author

Father Tom Held

A Catholic priest at a Michigan church resigned from his position following protests over his comments criticizing a gay author who read a book to preschool children.

LGBTQ activists held protests outside St. Joseph the Worker Church in Beal City, north of Lansing, following his remarks.

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Report: Michigan Schools Spent Almost Half of COVID Funds on Employees

Teachers and Students

A new report found Michigan school districts spent their COVID-19 funds similarly to their general budget, with nearly half spent on employee compensation and benefits.

A Mackinac Center for Public Policy report shows how school districts have spent $2.5 billion of the $6 billion in federal pandemic aid between the 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.

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NO TRIAL: Senate Democrats Quickly Dismiss Impeachment Articles Against Mayorkas

Within 20 minutes of convening to hold an impeachment trial of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Democrats in the Senate steamrolled through motions and voted to dismiss the first article of impeachment brought against him.

Shortly thereafter, they dismissed the second article as well, without ever hearing evidence or conducting a trial.

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Michigan Republicans Want Audit of Newcomer Program

Matthew Hall

House Republican Leader Matt Hall asked Michigan’s Office of the Auditor General to audit a Gov. Gretchen Whitmer administration program that offers up to $500 in monthly rent assistance to certain people for up to 12 months.

The letter from Hall, of Richland Township, urged Auditor General Doug Ringler to examine eligibility determination.

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Report: Michigan Might Lose 700,000 Residents by 2050

Moving Boxes

A Michigan report says up to 700,000 people could leave the state by 2050.

An April report, which does not measure inbound migration, from the Michigan Center of Data and Analytics says Michigan’s population has shifted to mostly older people and more residents are dying than being born.

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Executive at U.S. Battery Manufacturer Pictured at Chinese Communist Party Meetings

A director of an American firm that’s building battery manufacturing plants in the U.S. has been pictured attending multiple Chinese Communist Party (CCP) meetings, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of the website of the firm’s China-based parent company.

Gotion Inc., the California-based subsidiary of Chinese battery manufacturer Gotion High-Tech Co. (Gotion High-Tech), is planning to build massive electric vehicle battery plants in Michigan and Illinois, both of which stand to benefit from taxpayer funding. Gotion Inc. Vice President Chuck Thelen has repeatedly denied any CCP ties, but a DCNF investigation found the company’s chief technology officer attended two CCP meetings in China.

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25 Michigan Lawmakers to Biden: ‘Reject’ Federal Vehicle Rules

Joe Biden EVs

Twenty-five Michigan lawmakers oppose President Joe Biden administration’s electric vehicle mandate through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA rules for light-duty and medium-duty vehicles phased in from 2027 through 2032 will require about 67% of new car sales to be electric by 2032.

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ACLU Argues Michigan Law Requiring Parental Consent for Abortions Harms Minors

Pregnancy Test

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a report Thursday arguing that a Michigan law requiring parental consent for abortions harms minors.

The law, which became effective in 1991, requires all Michigan residents under the age of 18 to obtain parental consent before getting an abortion or receive a waiver from a judge. The ACLU of Michigan chapter, alongside Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Michigan Organization on Adolescent Sexual Health (MOASH), however, argued that the law “undermines the safety, health, and dignity” of minors and that the process to waive parental consent is “traumatizing.”

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From DACA to Deportation to Murder: Michigan the Latest State Hit by Immigration Enforcement Lapse

Brandon Ortiz-Vite in front of other illegal immigrants (composite image)

An illegal immigrant, who once lived in the country as a DACA recipient before he was deported in 2020, was arrested over the weekend as a suspect in the slaying of a 25-year old Michigan woman. The incident is the second shocking murder of a young woman by an illegal immigrant this year, following the killing of Laken Riley in Georgia.

Michigan State Police began investigating the murder of Ruby Garcia, from Grand Rapids, after her body was found on a major highway that cuts through the city’s downtown. The body was discovered at 11:38 pm on Friday evening with apparent gunshot wounds, according to The Midwesterner.

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Moody’s Increases Detroit’s Bond Rating

Over 10 years, the city of Detroit went from the nation’s largest municipal bankruptcy to investment-grade status.

Moody’s Investors Services gave Detroit a rare two-notch bond rating increase from Ba1 to Baa2 with a positive outlook, returning Motor City to investment-grade status for the first time since 2009.

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Audit: Michigan Liquor Control Loses 62,294 Bottles of Liquor

Liquor Bottles

State Rep. Tom Kunse wants reform within the Michigan Liquor Control Commission after an audit found more than 62,000 liquor bottles were missing.

The audit from the Office of the Auditor General marked three “material conditions” – the most severe rating – for the group composed of five unelected governor appointees that oversee liquor distribution through authorized agents using 11 state-owned warehouses.

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Gotion Sues Michigan Town over Water Line Dispute

A company taking $715 million of taxpayer subsidies is suing the local government for revoking vital water infrastructure for its electric vehicle plant.

In October 2023, the Green Charter Township board approved the water line for Gotion, which bought 270 actors of land in Mecosta County in August 2023.

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Michigan Jury Finds James Crumbley Guilty of Manslaughter

James Crumbley

A jury found James Crumbley, the father of Michigan school shooter Ethan Crumbley who killed four students in 2021, guilty of manslaughter.

The jury decided Crumbley was negligent when he bought a 9 mm Sig Sauer pistol four days before the shooting for the 15-year-old with mental health problems who claimed he was seeing “demons.”

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RNC Sues Michigan Secretary of State Benson over Voter Roll Maintenance

Jocelyn Benson

The Republican National Committee on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson for allegedly not maintaining the state’s voter rolls as required by federal law. 

“Election integrity starts with clean voter rolls, and that’s why the National Voter Registration Act requires state officials to keep their rolls accurate and up-to-date,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said “Jocelyn Benson has failed to follow the NVRA, leaving Michigan with inflated and inaccurate voter rolls ahead of the 2024 election.”

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Michigan House Republican Leader: Pass FOIA Reform During Sunshine Week

Matt Hall

House Republican Leader Matt Hall urged House Speaker Joe Tate, D-Detroit, to pass reform to records requests during Sunshine Week, which celebrates government transparency.

Sunshine Week, observed this year from March 10-16, highlights the need for transparency and accountability at all levels of government.

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Spending Up, Michigan Test Scores, Public School Enrollment Remain Low

School Work

Despite more spending on public education, test scores remain flat in Michigan, according to a recently released report.

The free market-focused Reason Foundation released its Public Education at a Crossroads study, analyzing the lack of correlation between increased spending and improved test scores in American schools between 2002 and 2020. 

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Michigan Lawmakers Want Mass Transit Between Grand Rapids, Detroit, Ann Arbor

City Buss

Michigan Democratic lawmakers want mass transit between Grand Rapids, Detroit and Ann Arbor but don’t know how to pay for it.

State Sen. Dayna Polehanki, D-Livonia, majority caucus chair & Education Committee chair, posted on social media that mass transit would prevent young people from leaving the state.

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Eligible Michigan Residents to Receive Additional Tax Credit

Paper Work

by Carly Moran   Michigan plans to send $219 million in tax credits back to taxpayers over the next few weeks, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently announced. Whitmer said a supplemental Working Families Tax Credit will be sent to Michigan families who already received a 2022 tax year Michigan Earned Income…

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Michigan GOP Faces Division During Presidential Primary

Voter

Days before Tuesday’s primary election, more than 700,000 Michiganders have already cast a ballot thanks to new voting laws.

More than 18,000 votes were cast in the first three days of in-person early voting statewide over the holiday weekend.

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Supreme Court Rejects Appeal over 2020 Election Sanctions

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Sidney Powell, a lawyer aligned with former President Donald Trump who challenged the 2020 presidential election results in Michigan.

The nation’s top court included no comment with the Tuesday rejection.

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Michigan Petition Drive Aims to Repeal State Control over Large Wind, Solar Farms

Solar Panel Farm

A voter-led petition seeks to repeal a Michigan law that allowed the state to seize local control of large-scale wind and solar projects.

The Michigan Farm Bureau and the Michigan Townships Association say Public Act 233 of 2023 strips local siting authority in 1,240 townships and gives it to the Michigan Public Service Commission – three people appointed by the governor.

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Whitmer’s Proposed 2025 Budget Carries 1,288 Percent Trash Fee Hike Increase

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer says the proposed 2025 budget wouldn’t raise taxes but it would dump a 1,200% increase in trash fees onto local taxpayers.

The budget aims to raise the landfill tipping fee rate for state landfills from 36 cents to $5 per ton – a 1,288% increase.

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Lawmaker: Vehicle Repair Fund Exists Because Michigan Roads Aren’t Fixed

Michigan Pot Holes

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2025 budget includes $5 million for a car repair program.

The program would fund vehicle repairs, purchases and other services to obtain and retain employment not to exceed $2,000 in the past year – the same cap as last year’s budget but more than double from the $900 cap in the year prior.

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Michigan Senate Republicans Push School Improvement Plan

Aric Nesbitt

Michigan Senate Republicans on Thursday announced their plan to improve childhood learning and support teachers in the K-12 schools.

They proposed a MI Brighter Future plan they said would help students gain access to additional resources and learning opportunities, require proven training methods for educators, give parents more control over their child’s progress, reinstate accountability in teacher evaluations and provide for performance-based bonuses.

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Lawmakers: Probe Supply Chain of Michigan EV Plant

Ford EVs

A letter urges an investigation into suppliers of a Ford electric vehicle plant in Marshall, Michigan.

Republican U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisconsin, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, chair of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, signed the letter.

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Republicans Wary of Whitmer’s Proposed Taxpayer-Funded Programs

Gretchen Whitmer

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer proposed expanding the Michigan government by at least new five programs costing an unknown amount.

In a video talking to a potato, Whitmer proposed that taxpayers fund two years of community college for all high school graduates.

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Lawmaker: Michigan Growing Council Funding Not Transparent

Jon Roth

Michigan’s Growing Together Council was funded partly by private groups – a detail omitted in the final report which one lawmaker called an “abuse of the pubic trust.”

State Rep. John Roth, R-Interlochen, told The Center Square in an email Republican concerns continue to grow.

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