Detroit, MI

With funding secured, here’s when Detroit Lake marina excavation could get underway

Published

5 months ago

August 29, 2024

With funding secured, here’s when Detroit Lake marina excavation could get underway

People have been so anxious for the dredging under the two marinas in Detroit Lake to begin that they assumed construction was starting this fall.

And this is a year when people are allowed to keep their boats at Kane’s Marina and Detroit Lake Marina into September, much longer than the past couple years.

The reality is the construction of the project, which will move 162,000 cubic yards of dirt from under the marinas and create a peninsula, is expected to start during the fall of 2025 after more than a decade of planning.

The Marion County Commissioners on Wednesday voted to accept $2 million from the federal department of Housing and Urban Development through its Community Project Funding Program.

It’s another step forward toward extending the recreation season in Detroit.

“I think this has been a long time coming project,” Marion County Commissioner Kevin Cameron said. “It’s still a long time out there.”

When will the excavation project start at Detroit Lake?

The first phase of the project, which included developing the design and figuring out what to do with the excavated dirt, was completed last year.

Now, Marion County is applying for permits and creating the engineering for the project.

Construction is expected to start in fall 2025 and be completed by the spring 2026, prior to the start of the boating season.

All of the dirt will be used to form a U-shaped 2,400-foot, 120-foot wide peninsula that would extend towards Piety Island south of the city.

The project aims to enable the marinas to operate when the water is as low as 1,525 feet above sea level. That is expected to make it so that the marinas could operate from May 1 through Oct. 1.

The design of that is to allow the tourist-dependent community of Detroit to earn more from the tourist season.

This year, boats have to be out of Kane’s Marina by Sept. 2, which is longer than in some years.

Last year, boats had to be removed by Aug. 21 because of low water levels in Detroit Lake. In 2021, it was July 11.

“It’s a wonderful investment for that community,” said Lari Rupp, an economic development specialist for Marion County.

How is the $5 million Detroit Lake project being paid for?

The $2 million in HUD funding is coming from the federal government’s appropriations from late 2022.

That money has to be used for costs associated with excavation and transportation.

Marion County has allocated $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.

It also has $60,000 in money from the Business Oregon Brownfields Redevelopment Fund. And Marion County has allocated $50,000 in economic development lottery dollars.

The project has been discussed for years, but much of the delay was due to the lack of funds.

After the COVID-19 pandemic and the Labor Day wildfires of 2020 wiped out much of Detroit, more money has become available to help in the recovery.

“It takes a long time to get projects done,” Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell said.

Cameron said that community members had asked him about if the plan had been scaled back from initial plans. But they were informed the plan is unchanged.

“We’ve been following through from the same permits that were submitted in 2017 when they tried to excavate a certain area,” Rupp said.

Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Lions injury update: Amik Robertson OUR for game (elbow)

Published

2 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Detroit Lions injury update: Amik Robertson OUR for game (elbow)

On just the second defensive snap of the game, Detroit Lions cornerback Amik Robertson suffered a brutal-looking elbow injury. While Robertson was making a tackle, teammate Jack Campbell came crashing in and smashed into Robertson’s arm.

Robertson had to be escorted to the locker room with trainings stabilizing his arm. Initial reports from the team called it an elbow injury and he is questionable to return.

UPDATE: Robertson has been downgraded to out. He will not return.

If Robertson is out, it’s a devastating blow for the Lions defense, which is already missing several cornerbacks. Carlton Davis (IR), Emmanuel Moseley (non-football illness), Ennis Rakestraw (IR), and Khalil Dorsey (IR) are all currently out, with only Rakestraw expected to return. The only healthy cornerbacks on the active roster against the Commanders are Terrion Arnold, Kindle Vildor, and practice squad call-up Stantley Thomas-Oliver. Vildor stepped in for Robertson on the opening drive.

We’ll provide more updates as they come in for the Lions. Let’s hope for the best for now.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit Lions have NFL’s second-longest active championship drought at 67 years

Published

9 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Detroit Lions have NFL’s second-longest active championship drought at 67 years

The Detroit Lions are trying to shed some franchise history during the 2025 NFL playoffs.

The Lions are the No. 1 seed in the NFC for the first time and host the Washington Commanders Saturday in the divisional round. With a win, the Lions could reach the NFC championship game for a second consecutive year and host the game for the first time in franchise history.

If the Lions can win two playoff games against Washington and then the winner of the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams, Detroit they would reach the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. They are the only NFC team to never reach the big game.

The Lions’ history has not been kind regarding championships. Detroit is one of 12 teams not to win a Super Bowl since it began in the 1966 season. The Lions are one of seven teams to win a championship before the Super Bowl era but haven’t won in the 66 seasons since their 1957 triumph.

The Vikings, Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Chargers, Tennessee Titans (then known as the Houston Oilers), Cleveland Browns and Buffalo Bills are the other teams to have a championship in history but no Super Bowl.

NFL longest active championship droughts

The Lions have the second-longest active drought, trailing the Cardinals by a decade. The Lions, who won four NFL championships, most recently finished at the top of the league in 1957 (other championship years are 1935, 1952 and 1953). Famously after the 1957 championship, the Lions traded quarterback Bobby Layne, who starred on the three championship teams, and he cursed the franchise for 50 years without another championship.

The Lions are now at 67 years, but might have gotten some recent help from actor and fan Jeff Daniels.

The Cardinals, along with the Chicago Bears, are the oldest team in NFL history founded in 1920. The Cardinals have two championships, but last won in 1947 when they were based in Chicago. Their championship drought is at 77 years. The Cardinals lost in a classic Super Bowl to the Pittsburgh Steelers to conclude the 2008 season.

The Oilers won their only two championships in the AFL in 1960-61.

The Chargers won their only championship in the AFL in 1963.

The Bills won consecutive AFL championships in 1964-65.

The Vikings won the NFL championship in 1969 but lost Super Bowl 4 to the Kansas City Chiefs in the final season before the AFL and NFL merged into one league.

Five franchises founded during the Super Bowl era — the Cincinnati Bengals, Jacksonville Jaguars, Atlanta Falcons, Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers — have never won a championship.

The four teams without a Super Bowl appearance are the Lions, Browns, Texans and Jaguars, though the Lions are the only team to play in every season of the Super Bowl era and still be left out.

Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22, and email him at jramsey@freepress.com.

Stay tuned for the best Lions coverage throughout the playoffs and all year long at freep.com/sports/lions.

Follow the Detroit Free Press on Instagram (@detroitfreepress), TikTok (@detroitfreepress), YouTube (@DetroitFreePress), X (@freep), and LinkedIn, and like us on Facebook (@detroitfreepress).

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Detroit, MI

Man wins Detroit Lions playoff tickets following bakery raffle:

Published

17 hours ago

January 18, 2025

Press Room

Man wins Detroit Lions playoff tickets following bakery raffle:

(CBS DETROIT) – It’s a sweet way to celebrate your birthday: Free tickets to see the Detroit Lions.

“When they sent me a text message, this is a scam. I was like, ‘Don’t pick it up.’ Then they were like ‘If you don’t, we will go to the next person.’ I was like hold on,” Niko Monjarez said.

It’s a notification that almost seemed too good to be true. Niko just celebrated his birthday, and luckily, his aunt knew about Home Bakery’s raffle and was looking to score. The bakery recently went viral after creating a cake imitating the headstand celebration done by Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.

The cake is pretty popular in the Rochester community. After St.Brown visited the business, he offered up two tickets for Saturday’s game.

“I thought I’d just get the receipt and stick it in his card, I probably won’t win. The love gift is, I spent two hours in the cold waiting just for him,” Monjarez’s aunt, Cyndi Wehrli, told CBS News Detroit.

The St. Brown cake is pretty popular in the Rochester community. After St.Brown visited the business, he offered up two tickets for Saturday’s playoff game.

Customers had to buy something from the bakery to participate. That decision alone was a game-changer.

“Normally, in January, I’m laying off, I’m cutting hours, some up to 25%. I don’t have to do that. Some of my people will look for a second job; they don’t have to do that,” said bakery owner Heather Tocco.

Tocco and her team decided on the headstand cake weeks ago. It took around 200 hours to complete and stands just over 6 feet tall.

“We actually took the image of him on his head and expanded it to the height that we wanted,” she said.

Wehrli says she is in disbelief that her nephew won. As a lifelong Lions fan, she’s proud to witness the team’s progress.

“I think it’s so amazing that St. Brown did what he did and used a local entity,” she said.

Monjarez isn’t surprised his aunt had the winning receipt. He says she does a lot of good in the world. With the win, he now gets the chance to surprise another family member.

“My dad’s been a lifetime Lions fan. This is historic, and to be able to go see that is a once-in-a-lifetime thing,” Monjarez said.

The cake display will stay up until the Super Bowl, while the Home Bakery team is planning to replace it with a Vince Lombardi display.

Terell Bailey

Originally from Chesapeake, Virginia, Terell has had a passion for broadcast journalism since childhood. Growing up, throughout his schooling he was known for doing the “morning announcements.” Fitting he became a TV journalist, right?

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