Michigan
Miss Michigan 2025, an Ann Arbor teacher, wants to be that ‘shining light’ for students
MUSKEGON, MI – For the next year she’ll be known to most across the state as Miss Michigan, but Ann Arbor teacher Hannah Palmer said the title she’s most familiar with is “Miss Palmer.”
Palmer, of Brighton, was crowned Miss Michigan 2025, during the 86th annual scholarship competition on Saturday, June 14, at the historic Frauenthal Theater in downtown Muskegon.
As Miss Spirit of the State strode onto the stage Saturday night, many of her third-grade students were in the crowd supporting her.
Miss Michigan 2025 is Miss Spirit of the State Hannah Palmer
“I love you Miss Palmer” rang out from the audience as she wowed judges in a sparkling blue evening gown and performed a spoken word monologue about being an educator.
Through that HerStory talent, she brings her students on stage with their signatures on a school desk she uses as a prop. Palmer said we all have a teacher who believed in us and inspired us.
I want to “be that leader, be that shining light and that role model for so many,” she said shortly after being crowned by outgoing 2024 Miss Michigan Jenae Lodewyk, formerly Miss Bay County.
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Miss Spirit of the State Hannah Palmer, of Brighton, is crowned Miss Michigan 2025 at Frauenthal Center in Muskegon, Mich. on Saturday, June 14, 2025.Chloe Trofatter | MLive.com
Palmer won the elegance in interview award Saturday night for speaking about the late Rita Pierson, an educator for 40 years with a popular Ted Talk, who she said embodied the idea that teachers can change the world.
There were 22 contestants when the scholarship competition kicked off Thursday, June 12, with the preliminary round of awards.
The competition continued Saturday with the top 11 finalists gracing the stage to share their social impact initiative, answer an on-stage question, perform talent and model evening wear.
Miss Michigan 2025 first awards go to Miss South Central, Miss Spirit of the State
This was Palmer’s fifth year competing for the Miss Michigan crown. She said she was at a loss for words after winning.
“All night, I just felt a big sense of peace and a sense of accomplishment,” she said. “I just feel so calm and ready and excited to serve the state of Michigan.”
Palmer is in her third-year teaching at Ann Arbor Public Schools. In addition to the title and crown, winners of the Miss Michigan competition receive a $10,000 scholarship and the opportunity to compete in the Miss America scholarship competition.
RELATED: Guide to Miss Michigan 2025, featuring 22 candidates
As a 2022 graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and teaching, Palmer plans to use the scholarship money to earn her master’s degree in curriculum and instruction.
As a mental health advocate, Palmer has long had an interest in social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculm. Each competitor has a service initiative as part of their candidacy. Palmer’s is the Sunflower Project, a nonprofit she founded in response to her own mental health journey.
The Sunflower Project provides students with educational resources like scholarships, awards grants to help cover psychiatric services, nurtures support group networks focused on mental health and advocates for social-emotional learning curriculum.
Now, Palmer said she hopes to use her title to reach more Michigan students, sharing mental health resources and advocating for social-emotional learning – or the idea that students develop social/emotional competencies while growing academically.
“I’m so excited to go visit as many schools as possible and share these resources with students all over the state,” Palmer said, “so that way they can learn how to identify (and) process their emotions.”
According to a post by Ann Arbor Public Schools, Palmer has distributed over $10,000 in SEL resources and psychiatric care grants across seven counties, even partnering with American television network MTV for its Mental Health Action Day.
In a post on Facebook supporting her, Ann Arbor Public Schools wrote that the district is “behind her all the way!”
Miss Spirit of the State Hannah Palmer performs “Your Dream is Waiting” from HERStory during the final night of the 2025 Miss Michigan scholarship competition at Frauenthal Theater in Muskegon, Mich. on Saturday, June 14, 2025.Chloe Trofatter | MLive.com
Miss Michigan 2008 Ashlee Baracy-Kunkel served as the mistress of ceremonies during the competition.
This year’s judges were Haley Williams-Pepper, Becca Hatinger, Kevin Foley, Alexis Robertson and Will Gray.
The final score was composited of 30% from the preliminary score along with new scores of 20% from talent, 20% for health and fitness, 20% for evening gown and 10% for the on-stage question and social impact.
Other scholarship winners included first runner-up Miss Ludington Area Natalee Urbon, second runner-up Miss South Central Lacy Jewell, third runner-up: Miss Washtenaw County Madalyn Poupard, and fourth runner-up Miss Greater Kalamazoo Lauren Mroczek.
In addition to the scholarship of $10,000 to the title winner, the competition’s runner-up receives $4,000, with $3,000 to the second runner-up, $2,000 to the third runner-up, $1,500 to the fourth runner-up, $1,000 to the other five semi-finalists and $500 to non-finalist contestants.
On Friday,of the three-day Miss Michigan Scholarship Program, Libbie Tacia, of Big Rapids, was crowned Miss Michigan’s Outstanding Teen 2025 on Friday.
Michigan mother of three talks about how she broke her kratom addiction
Melanie Clark, 35, of Kincheloe in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, has fought a four-year-long addiction to kratom, the so-called “gas station heroin.”
Michigan lawmakers are debating a complete ban on the sale of kratom products in the state, citing cases of addiction and instances of death from people consuming the herbal supplement known as the “gas station heroin.”
Here is what to know about this unregulated herbal substance commonly sold in convenience stores, gas stations and tobacco shops across Michigan:
What is kratom?
Kratom is a tropical tree native to Southeast Asia whose leaves contain compounds that can produce stimulant effects at low doses and opioid-like effects at higher doses. It is manufactured and sold in different forms: liquid tonics, tablets, gummies, powders and capsules.
What is kratom used for?
Kratom is marketed as a herbal supplement for energy, mood, pain relief or opioid withdrawal, though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any of those uses. Some kratom users take it to get off heroin or fentanyl, according to University of Michigan researchers.
How is kratom pronounced?
Kratom is pronounced KRA-tum. The letter “a” takes a short “a” sound, as in crab or crack.
What is 7-OH?
7-hydroxymitragynin, or 7-OH, is an alkaloid found in kratom leaves. It is manufactured in a synthetic form to produce an opioid-like sensation of pain relief or sedation. It is more potent than pure leaf kratom and sometimes referred to as the hard liquor version of kratom (if pure leaf kratom were considered beer, which typically has a much lower percentage of alcohol by volume compared with distilled liquor).
Is kratom an opioid or addictive?
Kratom users, substance abuse counselors and doctors report symptoms of dependence and withdrawal from the substance, particularly when users exceed the recommended serving size.
The Drug Enforcement Agency has warned that kratom has “sedative effects” that “can lead to addiction.”
On July 29, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration moved to declare certain 7-hydroxymitragynine synthetic kratom products a Schedule I controlled substance, the same class of drugs as heroin, ecstasy and peyote. As of April 9, the substance had not yet been formally added to the list of Schedule I drugs, which would effectively ban 7-OH nationwide.
Does kratom have side effects?
The FDA has warned that kratom use can lead to liver toxicity, seizures or substance use disorder.
Withdrawal from the substance can lead to increased anxiety, insomnia and psychiatric episodes, according to University of Michigan researchers.
Dr. Eliza Hutchinson, a family physician based in Ann Arbor who is a clinical instructor at UM, said her substance abuse patients describe withdrawal from kratom as “the worst influenza of your life — times 10.”
CARE Southeastern Michigan, a recovery advocacy group, has reported some individuals experiencing psychotic episodes after taking 7-OH, the synthetic form of kratom.
The FDA has also said kratom is “not appropriate for use as a dietary supplement” and unsafe as an additive to food. The powder and liquid forms of kratom are sometimes marketed as an additive to shakes and smoothies.
Does kratom show up on a drug test?
Yes, if it’s part of a specialized screening of narcotics and other substances that looks for active ingredients in kratom products.
Some substance abuse clinics in Michigan are starting to test for it, said Madison Lauder, a counselor at The Guidance Center in Southgate.
“We see you so often, we have added into our (drug test) panel,” Lauder said.
Is there any age restriction on buying kratom in Michigan?
No, Michigan has no laws governing the sale of kratom and related synthetics, such as 7-OH.
But retailers set their own rules. Some stores won’t sell to anyone under age 21.
Some of the 7-OH kratom products on the shelves of stores are labeled “21+.”
But there’s no law on the books in Michigan requiring buyers to show a photo ID when buying kratom, as is required to purchase alcohol, tobacco or marijuana.
Which states have bans on selling kratom?
Alabama, Arkansas, Indiana, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin have outright bans on the sale of kratom.
In December, Ohio’s Board of Pharmacy used the state’s controlled substance laws to ban the retail sale, distribution and possession of 7-OH and other synthetic forms of kratom, board spokesman Cameron McNamee said.
The Ohio Board of Pharmacy has a separate proposal to ban natural kratom products that remains in the rulemaking process, McNamee said.
Some cities and counties across the country have imposed varying local sales bans, including Anaheim, Calif., Spokane, Wash., and the New York City suburbs of Nassau County on Long Island, according to published reports.
What’s the status of legislation to ban kratom in Michigan?
On March 18, the Republican-controlled Michigan House voted 56-48 on legislation that would completely ban the sale of kratom products in Michigan. All 46 Democrats and two Republicans opposed the legislation.
Democrats cited a lack of any committee hearings on the legislation.
“There is no question of the growing concern around this product, and no one is saying, with this vote or otherwise, that the concern isn’t justified,” the House Democratic caucus said in a statement. “What we are saying is an outright ban, without any testimony or dialogue, is not the solution.”
The bill moved to the Democratic-controlled Senate, where Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, assigned it to her Government Operations Committee.
Some kratom industry interests and individual users have advocated for a ban on just the 7-OH synthetic form of kratom.
Sen. Kevin Hertel, the St. Clair Shores Democrat who chairs the Senate Health Policy Committee, said the House’s passage of a total ban on kratom has changed the debate toward prohibition, which he favors until the FDA can further study the substance and its impact on the human body.
clivengood@detroitnews.com
Staff Writers Anne Snabes and Beth LeBlanc contributed.
For much of April, showers and melting snow has swamped Michigan, flooding homes, businesses, cottages, roadways; threatening and destroying infrastructure, including dams, and forcing what is likely hundreds of Michiganders to evacuate.
The unusual weather put the entire state under a flood watch.
It’s not over.
To help, the state’s Emergency Operations Center — which was activated on April 10, along with the governor’s state of emergency declaration — created a digital map identifying shelters and damaged areas.
There also is a livestream of the Cheboygan Lock and Dam Complex.
As of Monday morning, the water level at the dam had dropped slightly, and was less than 8 inches below the top, which is still a threat to both the community in the event of a spillover — or structural failure.
The map, which the emergency center is calling a dashboard, shows warming and cooling centers and where people can get food. It tracks where the tornadoes touched down, and the roadways that are under water, were eroded away and are completely washed out.
The emergency center also is providing more information on its website on how to ask for help, what state and federal assistance might be available, and how to get emergency email alerts from the State Police.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com
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