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These communities are leading Metro Detroit’s population growth

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These communities are leading Metro Detroit’s population growth


The Asian American and Hispanic communities in Metro Detroit grew significantly over the last half-decade, helping to fuel a small boost in Michigan’s population, newly released Census Bureau data shows.

The Asian American populations of Wayne, Macomb, and Oakland counties jumped 8% from 2023 to 2024, the most of any ethnic group. The number of Hispanic residents in Macomb and Oakland counties has increased by more than 10% since 2020. 

The latest Census Bureau release contains county-level data on age, race and sex across all U.S. states and Puerto Rico through July 1, 2024. It uses an adjusted version of the 2020 decennial census and updated information on births, deaths and migration.

Census data released earlier this year showed that Michigan’s population grew more in 2024 than it had in several decades, driven in large part by immigration to Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties. Those three counties grew by more than 30,000 residents. Michigan’s population increased by 57,000 residents in 2024 to 10.14 million due solely to immigration growth.

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State Rep. Ranjeev Puri, a Canton Township Democrat who represents part of Wayne County, called the new demographic numbers “exciting news.”

“The ethnic diversity of Michigan is one of the strong suits,” Puri said.

Puri, the Michigan House Democratic leader, is the highest-ranking South Asian official in the state, as well as the first person of color to represent his district.

He said it is important to remember the “rich diversity” of the many Asian American communities across the state. “All of that woven into Michigan makes it a much better place,” Puri said.

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Canton Township, which makes up most of Puri’s district, has experienced “a tremendous amount of growth” in recent years, particularly among communities of color, he said. The community of 99,873 residents is 62% White, nearly 20% Asian, 10% Black and 4.5% Hispanic, according to the Census Bureau.

Puri said he takes the responsibility to represent these constituents seriously. “My goal is to make sure that every community has representation,” he said.

Lex Zavala, who has spent 22 years serving the Latino community in Metro Detroit with the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation, said the growth in immigrant populations helps communities thrive.

When Zavala, now the DHDC’s interim executive director, was growing up in southwest Detroit, most of the Latino population did not speak Spanish.

That all changed when he was a teenager. The arrival of Mexican and Central American immigrants “influenced our community in a way that it grew, it blossomed…,” he said.

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The neighborhood, to Zavala, represents “an example of what happens when immigrants are allowed to dream and grow.”

The growth of Latino communities in Oakland and Macomb counties can be attributed to a combination of recent waves of Venezuelan and Colombian immigrants and upwardly mobile Hispanic families from neighboring areas, said Elias Gutiérrez, founder and publisher of The Latino Press, a Spanish-language weekly newspaper in Detroit.

Osvaldo “Ozzie” Rivera, a longtime community organizer and musician who teaches Afro-Latino history and culture at Wayne State University, said a strong Latino community has existed in places like River Rouge and Highland Park since the first half of the 20th century.

Rivera has worked to document the long history of Latino organizers and musicians in the Detroit area.

“If you don’t know the past, you don’t know the present,” he said.

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Zavala’s work at the DHDC has adapted to meet the needs of a more spread-out community.

“We’re just following where our community goes, making sure they’re really receiving the services they need,” he said.

The DHDC runs programs teaching English with a vocational focus to help immigrants who were professionals in their home country get licensed in the United States. The organization also helps community members start businesses and buy their first homes.

“A lot of people that come are coming with their green cards, refugee citizenships — they’re able to have their Social Security numbers, purchase homes, start businesses,” Zavala said.

Recent immigration crackdowns by the Trump administration have cast a shadow on Latino communities across the Metro area, he said.

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“The Latino population is scared to go out. It’s almost back to COVID lockdown,” Zavala said.

And immigrant-run businesses have suffered, he said: “Our business district is empty now. Restaurants and construction can’t find enough workers to fill their space.”

President Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of mass deportations, starting with immigrant criminals who are in the country illegally but also deporting others who are found to be in the country illegally.

As Latino communities outside of southwest Detroit continue to expand, however, Zavala was optimistic.

“I think for the majority, people understand that these are hardworking people that are coming here to build the American Dream just like previous immigrant populations,” he said.

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bwarren@detroitnews.com



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Detroit, MI

Preview: February 28 vs. Detroit | Carolina Hurricanes

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Preview: February 28 vs. Detroit | Carolina Hurricanes


RALEIGH, N.C. – The Carolina Hurricanes will try to extend their point streak to a dozen games on Saturday, when they go head-to-head with the Detroit Red Wings.

When: Saturday, February 28

Puck Drop: 7:00 p.m. ET

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Watch: FanDuel Sports Network South, FanDuel Sports Network App | Learn More

Listen: 99.9 The Fan, Hurricanes App

Canes Record: 37-15-6 (80 Points, 1st – Metropolitan Division)

Canes Last Game: 5-4 Win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, Feb. 26

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Red Wings Record: 34-19-6 (74 Points, T-2nd – Atlantic Division)

Red Wings Last Game: 2-1 Win (OT) over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday, Feb. 26



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Terrion Arnold ‘maintains complete innocence’ in kidnapping, theft case

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Terrion Arnold ‘maintains complete innocence’ in kidnapping, theft case


I represent Mr. Terrion Arnold in connection with an incident that allegedly occurred on February 4, 2026, in Tampa, Florida, which resulted in the arrest of five individuals on serious felony charges.

To be clear, Mr. Arnold had no involvement whatsoever in the activities that led to those arrests. He did not participate in, nor was he present for, any conduct related to the alleged offenses. There is no evidence in police reports, text messages, or witness statements that implicates Mr. Arnold in any way.

In fact, after direct communication with the lead prosecutor, it has been confirmed that no charges have been filed against Mr. Arnold in connection with this matter.

Recent media coverage has referenced an Order issued by Circuit Judge J. Logan Murphy, which improperly suggests Mr. Arnold’s involvement in the incident. That same Order also incorrectly identifies Ms. Devalle as Mr. Arnold’s girlfriend. Both assertions are false, misleading, and entirely unsupported by the record.

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Mr. Arnold categorically denies these unfounded claims and maintains his complete innocence. He was not involved in the crimes allegedly committed on February 4, 2026, in Tampa, Florida.

​We strongly urge members of the media to refrain from perpetuating inaccurate or speculative narratives. The facts are clear, and they do not support any claim of wrongdoing by Mr. Arnold.



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Robert ‘Fish’ Jenkins helped Detroit students soar in sports and life

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Robert ‘Fish’ Jenkins helped Detroit students soar in sports and life



There was a time when many Historical Black Colleges had swimming teams. The late Robert ‘Fish’ Jenkins benefited from that era and then he spent much of his adult life lifting up youths in Detroit.

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  • Robert ‘Fish’ Jenkins Sr. was a longtime Detroit educator and coach who created opportunities for young people.
  • Jenkins led teams to 24 championships in less common sports like swimming, golf, and soccer.
  • He mentored countless students who went on to become community leaders, doctors, and educators.

The celebration of Black History Month throughout February provides an opportunity to share stories about Detroiters that have positively impacted the lives of others in a variety of ways.

And included among those stories that have been shared this month is a “Fish” story that is unique, without exaggeration. 

That is because this story is about the late Robert “Fish” Jenkins Sr., a longtime Detroit educator and a groundbreaking coach, whose superpower was his ability to create life-changing opportunities for young people in unconventional spaces.

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In 1969, Jenkins arrived at Detroit’s Northern High School as a physical education teacher and coach. During Northern’s heyday, the high school, formerly located on Woodward Avenue at Owen in the city’s North End, produced a host of high-profile sports stars, including basketball greats Bill Buntin — a two-time All-American center at the University of Michigan during the 1960s — and Derrick Coleman — the first overall pick in the 1990 NBA draft. And record-breaking sprinter Marshall Dill, Track & Field News’ High School Athlete of the Year in 1971, who set world records in the 300-yard dash while running for Michigan State University.

However, Jenkins specialized in coaching sports that were a little less popular among young people in Detroit, particularly Black students. Jenkins coached teams at Northern — and for one year at East English Village Preparatory Academy after he retired from teaching in 2001 — to 24 Detroit Public School League championships in swimming, golf and soccer. 

“No matter what the sport was, he had the formula to make a team a champion,” Robert Jenkins Jr. said about his father, who died on Jan. 14 at the age 86.

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“But more than that, my father had a profound impact on the minds of every student he touched. He brought golf, and all the lessons golf teaches, to the North End. And, in the summer, he had members of the swim team teach the younger kids in the neighborhood how to swim, which taught his swim team members how to give back to the community.”   

During the evening of Feb. 22, Robert Jenkins Jr. took pride in sharing stories about young people who were coached and mentored by his father across multiple decades that went on to become “doctors, educators, business leaders, and parents” that have made positive contributions to the city of Detroit.

Robert Jenkins Jr. also described some of the friendly interactions that his dad had with notable people like U.S. Olympic sprint champion Wilma Rudolph and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Dick Barnett at Tennessee State University, where the elder Jenkins received the education and training that he needed to teach and coach student-athletes in Detroit.

But earlier that day, an equally compelling “Fish” story was told by another community member.  

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“Mr. Jenkins was a very important person in my life and he is one of the reasons why I have always tried to do my part when it comes to providing opportunities for young people in our city,” said Gary Peterson, who has coached young swimmers in Detroit for 47 years, including at Detroit’s King High School, where he coaches boys and girls swimmers today. 

Long before Peterson coached high school swimmers — and youth swimmers of virtually all ages when he was a full-time swimming instructor for the city of Detroit’s Recreation Department — Peterson was on the swim team at King High School (Class of 1974), when Robert Jenkins Sr. came into his life. 

“There were coaches at other schools that helped young swimmers that wanted to improve and go to another level, and Mr. Jenkins was one of those coaches,” said Peterson, who was coached at King High School by Clyde James, a lifelong friend and teammate of Jenkins on the Tennessee State University swimming team during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when they brought national attention to the school’s swimming program.

“Mr. Jenkins would make his pool at Northern available to students from other schools that wanted to get in extra practice. Then, as I got closer to going to college, Mr. Jenkins was the person who introduced me to the colleges that were recruiting Black high school swimmers.

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“At that time, there were more than 20 HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) that had competitive swimming programs. Today, there is only one (Howard University in Washington, DC). But back then, Mr. Jenkins wanted to make sure we had the opportunities and exposure, which included sending a small group of us to South Carolina State for a recruiting trip.

“Afterwards, Mr. Jenkins even came over to King from Northern to present me with my scholarship to South Carolina State, while I was sitting in a King classroom. I couldn’t believe it and I was ecstatic, but everything that he did for me and other young swimmers in the city he did so willingly. And that’s what I always thought I was supposed to do as a coach.” 

Peterson said he would do even more with Jenkins when Peterson returned to Detroit from Orangeburg, South Carolina, after graduating from college. 

“In the late 1980s, a team I was coaching at Johnson Recreation Center and Mr. Jenkins’ team at Northern, traveled to Washington DC as one team in February to compete in the Black History Invitational Swim Meet. And that tradition of Detroit competing as one team at that meet continued every year until COVID,” said Peterson, who also recalled that Jenkins coached softball and even junior varsity football for a time, in addition to swimming, golf and soccer.

“Just as Mr. Jenkins thought it was critical for us to come together and take our kids to DC for that swim meet because it was the biggest showcase for Black swimmers, he wanted all the young people he coached to have good training and exposure. And in my case, as the son of sharecroppers, I can say that Mr. Jenkins inspired me as well, as a swimmer and a coach.” 

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Every time Peterson walks into King High to coach the current group of swimmers at the school, he said he is reminded of Jenkins and other important people that paved the way for Black swimmers in Detroit.

For example, in 2023, the natatorium at King was rededicated as the Clyde James Natatorium by the Detroit Public Schools Community District. Peterson says the renaming was not only a salute to James, who was a finalist in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Championships in the 100-yard butterfly during the 1960-61 season while swimming for Tennessee State, but also a tribute to the fabled swimming program that was once housed at the Brewster Recreation Center, which helped to develop James, Jenkins and many other Detroit swimmers that competed nationally. Brewster’s early swimming program was led by the legendary Clarence Gatliff, an all-city swimmer at Cass Tech during the 1920s.

Another pleasant reminder of the history and evolution of Black swimmers in Detroit that Peterson sees when inside King High is 54-year-old Robert Jenkins Jr., an educator like his father, who is teaching personal finance this school year at King and hopes to honor his father’s legacy this summer by offering a swimming and golf program to students.  

“I want to make sure that Detroiters understand my father’s legacy,” said Jenkins, a 1989 graduate of Northern High School, who explained that his father and mother (Norma Jean Jenkins) taught him and his sister (Dr. Marlo Rencher) that “we don’t half do anything.”

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And that includes community service.

“My father was a servant leader and he would offer encouragement to any young person he was around, not just the students he coached. And paying it (that support) forward was a lesson he always taught in the process.” 

Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott’s stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber. 



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