Detroit, MI
Fire ravages former site of historic Detroit church
Detroit officials are investigating what sparked a fire that burned through a historic, century-old church building for more than four hours Tuesday.
The Detroit Fire Department received a call at 12:34 a.m. about a blaze at the site of the former St. Agnes Catholic Church, at the corner of Rosa Parks and LaSalle Gardens, said Corey McIsaac, the DFD director of media relations.
Within four minutes, the department was at the scene and Fire Chief David Nelson called a second alarm, activating more crews, McIsaac said.
While they managed to preserve the “structural integrity” of the vacant building, she added, its old rectory next door was rendered a total loss.
Due to the condition of the building, firefighters were not able to get inside, McIsaac said. “They did an awesome job, and due to their hard work and great work, they were able to preserve the structure of the church building.”
There were no injuries to residents or firefighters Tuesday night, according to the department.
The St. Agnes Catholic Church has long been considered a community landmark, drawing figures such as Mother Teresa, who visited the building twice, once in June 1979 and once June 1981, and established a convent for the Missionaries of Charity Sisters at 1969 LaSalle Gardens, according to the Archdiocese of Detroit.
The St. Agnes Parish was established in 1913 by Bishop John Foley and the spot celebrated its first Mass in 1914 in a frame house a few blocks away from the current site. Construction on the 1,500-seat site designed by the firm Van Leyen, Schilling, Keough & Reynolds started in May 1922, according to the archdiocese.
The church was blessed in June 1924 in a ceremony led by Bishop Michael J. Gallagher. St. Agnes Parish was closed in 1989 and the Martyrs of Uganda Parish was established at the site that year, the AOD said.
The Martyrs of Uganda Parish was closed in 2006, and the property was sold in 2009.
Holly Fournier, the AOD’s media and public relations manager, told The Detroit News: “The Archdiocese of Detroit has had no connection to the property since then and has no information about current ownership or plans for the site.”
In 2022, the Detroit City Planning Commission approved a recommendation to the City Council to approve a rezoning request to redevelop the 5-acre site, according to Historic Detroit.
afayad@detroitnews.com
Detroit, MI
Detroit Lions score 4 players with AP All-Pro nods, including 2 first-timers
ALLEN PARK — Jack Campbell and Penei Sewell were named to the AP All-Pro first-team for the Detroit Lions.
It’s the third consecutive first-team nod for Sewell, 25, who was also named Pro Football Focus’ protector of the year earlier this week. PFF graded Sewell as the top offensive lineman, and not just tackle, in the NFL this season. He allowed only two sacks and 19 pressures across 601 pass-blocking snaps as the top-ranked pass-blocking offensive lineman.
For all the focus on the offensive line and what needs to happen this offseason, Sewell’s presence gives them a cornerstone, blue-chip piece to build around.
Campbell earned his first Pro Bowl and All-Pro nod this season, putting the bows on a true breakout campaign for the former first-round pick. The 25-year-old joins Chris Spielman and Joe Schmidt as the only Lions linebackers ever to make the All-Pro first-team.
The linebacker finished the season by playing all 17 games for the third straight season, posting career highs in tackles (176), sacks (five), forced fumbles (three), fumble recoveries (two) and tackles for loss (nine). Campbell did all this while taking over the green dot for the first time, and playing more snaps than any other teammate — offense, defense or special teams.
The third-year linebacker finished the season as PFF’s second-best overall linebacker, trailing only Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers. Campbell’s 176 tackles were the second-most in the league in 2025.
“He’s extremely valuable,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said of his linebacker last month. “He’s taken more reps than anybody on this team. He plays on kickoff for us, and he’s an asset on kickoff and then everything you see on defense. He doesn’t come off the field; he’s our bell-cow, green-dot. And he does –, and the guy is smart, and he’s instinctive, and he is snap-to-whistle all-out, all the time, in practice too. And he doesn’t take plays off, he doesn’t take days off, he goes after the football, he’s a ball guy.
“So, he’s invaluable.”
Amon-Ra St. Brown, who had made the first team in consecutive years, was named to the AP’s second team this time around. St. Brown finished the season fifth in receptions (117), fifth in yards (1,401), tied for second in touchdowns (11) and seventh in yards after the catch (570).
The star wideout became the first player in league history to have at least 90 catches through a player’s first five seasons. St. Brown has at least 100 catches and 1,000 yards in four straight seasons, and has caught double-digit touchdowns in the last three.
Aidan Hutchinson joined in on the fun this year, too. Hutchinson earns his first AP All-Pro team nod, landing a second-team spot this season. Not too shabby for someone returning from a season-ending leg injury, and his return served as quite the response.
Hutchinson, who got his big extension this year, played every game and set a new career-best mark with 14.5 sacks and 35 quarterback hits. He also scored his second Pro Bowl appearance this year, as well. Since PFF started tracking pressures, there have been six players to reach the 100-pressure mark. Hutchinson is the only one on that list to have done it twice.
The pass rusher led the NFL in pressures created, finishing the campaign with a clear 100. The next closest player was Jacksonville’s Josh Hines-Allen, who had 95.
“The number of things that he’s able to do for us in the run and the pass game,” Dan Campbell said of Hutchinson earlier in the season. “Man, it takes up — he pulls a lot of slack, man. You talk about pulling your weight, he pulls his weight and then some. He requires a lot of resources offensively, which helps everybody else out. Guys like him, he’s in that rare world of man, you don’t get the easy way out. He’s got to beat the nudges, he’s got to beat the back chip, then the tackle’s on him. Or he’s got to beat the nudge, sometimes the back, the tackle, and the slide’s coming to him with the guard also.
“So, sometimes you may have to beat three, sometimes four. But if that’s the case, somebody else is winning. They’ve got to win. So, what he does is not easy, and I go back to this. He is a complete football player; he does it all. And he’s disruptive, he’s violent, he’s high motor, he’s crafty, he’s explosive, he’s tough, he’s competitive. And he does it all. He does it all.”
For a full look at the AP’s All-Pro voting results, click here. Of note, longtime former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford earned the first All-Pro first-team nod of his career this year. Stafford remains in the MVP hunt, and this honor usually leads to that.
Detroit, MI
Vigil, protest held for Renee Nicole Good at Detroit’s Clark park
Vigil held in Detroit for woman fatally shot by ICE agent in Minnesota
People gather at Detroit’s Clark Park on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 to host a vigil for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
The name Renee Nicole Good bounced off the buildings of southwest Detroit as hundreds marched on the evening of Friday, Jan. 9, following Good’s fatal shooting by an immigration agent in Minneapolis earlier in the week.
A candlelight vigil was held at 6 p.m. at the city’s Clark Park in memory of Good, before attendees took off marching down Vernor Highway.
As of 7:30 p.m., the mass crowd had reached Cavalry Street, about half a mile away from the park, and turned, yelling “What do we want? Justice ” and calling for ICE’s ousting from communities.
Good, 37, was in her car when she was shot in the head on Wednesday, Jan.7, by a federal immigration officer in south Minneapolis. She leaves behind three children, ages 6, 12 and 15.
The shooting was recorded by witnesses and heightened political and community tensions over federal immigration enforcement as part of President Donald Trump’s nationwide immigration operations. The Trump administration has since said the shooting was done in self-defense, USA TODAY reports.
Protests have occurred in cities across the U.S. since Good’s death, including gatherings in Michigan, and additional demonstrations are scheduled throughout the weekend.
This is a developing story.
Detroit, MI
Debating Mike McDaniel’s fit for Detroit Lions OC job
But we also can’t ignore the drastic fall-off from the Dolphins’ offense. Partially because of injuries to Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill over the past two seasons, the Dolphins have finished 22nd and 25th in scoring offense in 2024 and 2025, respectively. Injuries can be used as an excuse, but the greatest coordinators find a way through the adversity.
Beyond that, there are questions about his philosophical and schematic fit. While the Lions have built their offenses on grit and physicality, McDaniel seems to favor speed and finesse. But maybe that’s exactly what the Lions need. Detroit has two speedy players in Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs, who could probably be utilized more creatively, and it’s hard to imagine anyone better than McDaniel to do so.
McDaniel also has a very long coaching history with a lot of different coaching influences and schemes—including his closest coaching guru: Kyle Shanahan. The 49ers head coach has a scheme that is both more congruent with what the Lions do and much more adaptable.
On this EMERGENCY PODCAST, our crew debates the fit of McDaniel in Detroit, along with our thoughts on the Lions’ other known candidate: Commanders quarterbacks coach David Blough.
Before that, Erik Schlitt, Ryan Mathews, and I discuss our biggest takeaways from Lions general manager Brad Holmes’ end-of-season press conference, including the future of David Montgomery, whether Holmes really took accountability for his mistakes, and our confidence in him moving forward.
You can catch our discussion in the embedded podcast below or on any podcasting platform you’d prefer. Just search “Pride of Detroit.”
You can also catch video of the show over on our YouTube pages. Here are the links:
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