Michigan
Susan J. Demas: Has Michigan bounced back? • Michigan Advance
There’s something happening in Michigan right now and it feels kind of like … optimism?
You could see the energy pulsing through the Motor City as the Detroit Lions stole everyone’s hearts in this year’s playoffs (and then broke them, but we don’t talk about that). And since Thursday, there’s been a sea of Honolulu Blue in the streets for the NFL draft, with the city shattering the all-time attendance record.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (who had once aspired to be a sports reporter) appeared to be having the time of her life, talking up Michigan to the media, posting earnest and slightly goofy videos and even donning buffs.
It’s a made-for-TV comeback story for a city that went through the largest municipal bankruptcy a little more than a decade ago. And as we all know, as Detroit goes, so goes Michigan.
But I don’t think it’s just hype — or the fact that everyone loves football (except Donald Trump, as the Biden campaign claims in a snarky ad coinciding with the draft in a key swing state).
When I moved to Michigan 20 years ago in the middle of the decade-long recession (because my timing is impeccable), I got the usual racist warnings not to go to Detroit. There was no sugarcoating that the entire state was hurting — we were bleeding auto industry jobs and beloved institutions like the Belle Isle Aquarium in Detroit were shuttered.
In one of my first columns, I compared the dismal state of public transit there to that of my hometown of Chicago — which has its own shortcomings, to be sure. But I recall an editor asking me to cut some of my copy lauding the Windy City because Michiganders would be “jealous.”
Over the years, I’ve also seen a lot of knee-jerk boosterism of Detroit, like a parade of economic development projects and the 2006 Super Bowl that were supposed to save the city … until they didn’t.
It goes without saying that things aren’t perfect today. The Renaissance Center faces an uncertain future with GM set to move out, residents want more attention focused on rebuilding neighborhoods and little progress has been made to link transit in Southeast Michigan. Detroit is still losing population and Michigan is treading water (hence Whitmer appointing a commission last year to tackle the issue).
But the bottom line is that a lot more people want to be in Detroit now. The city has always had world-class museums, like the Detroit Institute of Arts and the best bookstore in America, John K. King Books, where you can easily spend an entire day wandering about (and you definitely should). But there’s a new crop of local businesses, restaurants and venues that draw in people even when the NFL draft isn’t in town.
And it’s not just our largest city. Michigan’s economy is thriving, like the nation’s, having defied all expectations since it was ravaged by sky-high unemployment at the start of the COVID pandemic. The state unemployment rate is below 4% and economists say we’re on track for continued economic growth without a recession.
Gone are the days of big budget deficits, followed by rounds of cuts to schools, state parks and local governments. When Michigan’s surplus hit an unheard-of $9.2 billion last year, I tried to explain to some newer reporters how jaw-dropping that was after covering two partial government shutdowns in 2007 and 2009. (I probably just sounded like their great-grandma spinning a yarn about the Great Depression).
Much has been made about the “vibecession,” where it just “feels” like the economy is doing far worse than it is. And I’m sure that for Republicans, it feels pretty depressing to have Democrats in charge of every branch of state government.
Indeed, under former Chair Kristina Karamo, the Michigan Republican Party website used to greet visitors with this cheery message: “On this current path, Michigan will become the global headquarters for communist influence and power, and drive Michigan into a deeper depression.”
But facts, as they say, don’t care about your feelings. And it sure is interesting that Michigan’s economy is doing better with Whitmer than it did under her predecessor, Republican Rick Snyder, a former CEO who dubbed himself “One Tough Nerd” and was supposed to turn the state around.
But it is an election year and Republicans are itching to take back the Michigan House so they can have some veto power over Whitmer’s agenda (the state Senate and executive offices aren’t on the ballot until 2026). Most of the GOP messaging has just been mirroring Trump’s diatribes on immigration, but a couple weeks ago, leaders did release an economic plan.
So what was in it? Republicans want to bring back Right to Work, roll back regulations and slightly cut the income tax. In other words, it’s just a return to Snyder-era policies which were meh at best.
Look, unless you’re the type of person who convulses with rage every time a leather-jacket-clad Whitmer posts on Tiktok, it’s hard to deny that Michigan feels a little bit brighter and lighter these days. Why would we want to go backward?
MASON COUNTY, MI – The bodies of two missing snowmobilers were found Sunday morning.
Two Grand Haven men were recovered by first responders in six feet of water on Dec. 14 in Round Lake off Sugar Grove Road in Mason County’s Sheridan Township.
The riders, aged 65 and 49, were reported missing at 12:30 a.m. after their family had not heard from them for several hours, according to the Mason County Sheriff’s Office.
At first, through family of the missing, police believed the two may have been snowmobiling on trails in Lake County.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office started searching trails in attempts to locate them.
Around 4:30 a.m., the search expanded to include eastern Mason County.
A searcher located snowmobile tracks leading onto Round Lake off Sugar Grove Road. A further search showed no tracks leaving the lake.
Due to darkness and heavy snowfall, a check of the lake from shore could not be performed.
At first light, police saw what appeared to be a snowmobile helmet several hundred yards offshore on the ice.
Mason County Sheriff’s Office launched a drone when weather permitted and spotted a hole in the ice.
There was a helmet at the hole.
Rescuers attempted to get to the area, but kept falling through the ice, making rescue efforts impossible, the press release stated.
The Michigan State Police Dive Services Team and Mason County dive team were called to assist and made their way onto the ice.
An airboat from the Manistee County Sheriff’s Office responded to support recovery efforts.
While the team worked to get to the hole in the ice, an MSP diver fell through the ice, but was properly tethered to another diver and was pulled from the ice unharmed.
Law enforcement recovered the bodies in approximately six feet of water. Two snowmobiles were also found submerged under the ice.
The Ludington Police Department, United States Coast Guard-Manistee, Michigan DNR-Law Enforcement, Branch Township Fire Department, Carr Fire Department, Fountain Area Rescue, Free Soil Fire Department, Hamlin Fire Department, Irons Fire Department, Luther Fire Department, Pleasant Plains Fire Department, Manistee Fire Department and Norman Township Fire Department all assisted at the scene.
One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week.
“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters.
“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”
That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.
The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.
On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.
Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore
Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.
“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’
Michigan
Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.
Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.
Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.
Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.
Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.
The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.
Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.
Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.
Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.
Up next
Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.
Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.
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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
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