Michigan
Bret Michaels throws wild party in Michigan with Twisted Sister, Foreigner, Eagles greats
CLARKSTON, MI – Bret Michaels wore three hats, err bandanas, on this night. He was the headliner, master of ceremonies and a fan.
The Poison frontman brought his “Parti Gras 2.0″ to Pine Knob on Friday, August 23. And he brought with him Eagles legendary guitarist, Don Felder, country’s Chris Janson, former Foreigner lead singer, Lou Gramm, and Twisted Sister’s, Dee Snider.
Pine Knob was actually the sight of the very first “Parti Gras” concert anywhere, taking place last summer. At that show, Michaels brought along Jefferson Starship, Night Ranger, Sugar Ray’s Mark McGrath and former lead singer of Journey, Steve Augeri. And he says he’s going to do a 3.0 in 2025.
The late arriving crowd was treated to a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer as Felder took the stage just before 7:00 p.m.
The crowd filled in quickly as he played mostly Eagles hits for 45 minutes, including “Take it Easy,” “One of These Nights” and “Hotel California.”
The variety show, of sorts, continued with Janson, who acknowledged he was the only country artist at a rock concert.
Chris Janson performs at “Parti Gras 2.0” at Pine Knob in Clarkston, Michigan on Friday, August 23, 2024.Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive
His 45 minute set included hits “Fix a Drink,” “Good Vibes” and “Buy Me a Boat.” He also did a mashup of “Great Balls of Fire” out of “Redneck Life” and a snippet of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”
His set was energetic and interactive. He was having fun and making sure the crowd was, too.
And that’s exactly how Bret Michaels does it. He is still a ball of energy at 61 as he took the stage just after 9:00 p.m. and kicked things off with some Poison hits with “Talk Dirty to Me” and Ride the Wind.”
“It is good to be, and for real, one of the greatest cities, one of the most unbelievable, hospitable people… Michigan, we love you.”
He then brought Felder and Janson out and the three performed “You’re Mama Don’t Dance” together.
Michaels then introduced another Rock Hall legend in Gramm, who performed three of Foreigner’s biggest hits with “Cold as Ice,” “Hot Blooded” and “Jukebox Hero.”
Lou Gramm performs at “Parti Gras 2.0” at Pine Knob in Clarkston, Michigan on Friday, August 23, 2024.Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive
Michaels looked like he enjoyed watching from the side of the stage just as much as the fans did.
Next came more Poison hits with “Look What the Cat Dragged In,” “Something to Believe In” and “Unskinny Bop.”
As Michaels always does, the son of a military veteran, he brought out a number of area veterans on stage while playing “Something to Believe In,” calling them the real rock stars of the show. It’s always a touching and inspirational part of his concerts.
More rock royalty was next with Snider, who went right into “We’re Not Gonna Take it.” The crowd was so into it, he sang a part of it with the audience without any music.
Dee Snider performs at “Parti Gras 2.0” at Pine Knob in Clarkston, Michigan on Friday, August 23, 2024.Photo by Edward Pevos | MLive
Snider then performed “I Wanna Rock,” before Michaels joined him for a cover of AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell.” Snider probably received the loudest ovation of the night.
And whether he wanted to or not, Michaels asked him to come back on stage for “Nothin’ But a Good time,” which was still a couple of songs away.
Before that was, you guessed it, Poison’s biggest hit, “Every Rose Has It’s Thorn” before Michaels delivered the final song of the night.
What can you say about this concert, other than, like last year’s “Parti Gras,” it was just pure fun, a variety show where you didn’t really know what to expect next and it was exactly what the crowd paid for.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Harmful algal blooms have been reported on two notable lakes in West Michigan: Gun Lake and Muskegon Lake.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy says cyanobacteria was reported on Muskegon Lake July 3, but no tests have confirmed it.
The Barry-Eaton District Health Department says a harmful algal bloom was confirmed Thursday on Gun Lake. The lake remains open, but the BEDHD is encouraging visitors to use caution and avoid water that has “visible algae.”
Visitors are encouraged to avoid any contact with water that appears bright green, blue-green, brown or red or has “floating mats of scum.”
Pets should also avoid the water. If they come into contact with the algae, pets should be rinsed off as soon as possible with clean, fresh water.
Exposure to algae can cause a rash or irritation to the skin, eyes, nose and throat. It can also cause stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever and trouble breathing.
“If you become sick, contact your healthcare provider. Seek medical care right away if you have trouble breathing, severe vomiting, or other serious symptoms,” the BEDHD said in a statement. “If your pet was exposed, rinse them well with clean water and do not let them lick their fur until they have been washed. Contact your veterinarian right away if your pet has vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, trouble walking, excessive drooling, shaking, or seizures.”
Harmful algal blooms are powered by the sudden growth of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria occur naturally in lakes, rivers and ponds but is often boosted by a sudden excess of nutrients, often caused by fertilizer runoff from farms or failed septic systems.
They can last for several days and sometimes even months. The water will look “scummy” or like “spilled paint or pea soup.” They are typically found in the summer and fall — usually peaking in August or September and dying off by the end of October.
You can report a suspected harmful algal bloom to EGLE at AlgaeBloom@Michigan.gov or 1.800.662.9278.
Sterling Stamping Plant is the largest in the world
Ed Daniels, vice president of North America injection and stamping operations, discusses the process of producing metal parts for Stellantis models.
Warren — Hulking metal presses line one wall of Stellantis NV’s cavernous stamping plant here, punching out the raw shapes of Jeep doors, Dodge hoods and Ram tailgates in rapid succession.
Nearby, swinging yellow robots continue the tightly choreographed work, gluing and pressing and welding smaller components to the sheet metal that eventually will start to resemble the shape of a truck or SUV.
Seven miles north, in Sterling Heights, Stellantis operates an even larger stamping plant — the biggest in the world, at 2.7 million square feet — that does much of the same work, churning out various shapes of steel and aluminum 24 hours a day.
Together, these lesser-known links in the manufacturing supply chain support all of Stellantis’ big North American assembly plants — from next-door Warren Truck Assembly Plant, where the Jeep Grand Wagoneer SUV is built, to facilities in Windsor and Mexico that make minivans and pickups.
Inside Stellantis’ Huge Detroit Stamping Plants
The Detroit News recently got a rare look inside the automaker’s Sterling and Warren stamping plants, which are key to the company’s turnaround plan.
The Metro Detroit stamping plants, the automaker’s only two such facilities in the United States, have at times struggled in recent years, facing major job cuts and worker morale issues amid slowing sales and shifting production plans. But under Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, the facilities are expected to cram in more workload — and add staff — as Stellantis begins a new five-year strategic turnaround plan, which includes a heavy focus on its most profitable North American market.
The carmaker’s goal: grow sales by more than a third to 1.9 million annually by 2030 as it launches 23 vehicles, including 11 all-new models. The company also is directing billions of dollars of investment into its U.S. manufacturing footprint due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“Stamping has never really been viewed as the sexy side of automotive manufacturing, we’re relatively invisible,” said Ed Daniels Jr., vice president of North America injection and stamping operations. “Because when you look at the commercials and advertisements, it’s always a beautiful Ram rolling off the assembly line or climbing the side of a mountain.
“But we’re the inception of that vehicle,” he said. “This is where raw materials are turned into commodities and parts.”
The Detroit News recently got a rare look inside the two plants that combined employ about 3,000 people. The automaker wanted to show off a newly-installed blanking press at Warren Stamping and other machinery like a high-speed transfer press and a robot that spots flaws in the metal.
Hiring expected
The blanking press unspools long coils of metal and chops them up into pieces that can then be shaped into roofs, fenders and floor pans. Stellantis shipped the massive machine to Warren from its idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois last year.
After upgrades to the machine, executives said it’s able to produce as many as 120,000 metal blanks per week. It will save Stellantis money since the plant will no longer need to pay a supplier to break down the coils before the metal arrives there.
The blanker addition is a big deal for the plant and signals that the company wants to bring more work in-house and invest in the facility over the coming years, said Romaine McKinney III, president of United Auto Workers Local 869, which represents workers at the factory.
The plant has already brought back all of its laid-off UAW workers, and McKinney said he anticipates more hiring to get underway if sales grow and new Stellantis vehicles come to market.
In another corner of the Warren facility, one of the fastest press lines in the world — known internally as the Hellcat — pushes as many as 15 pieces of metal through per minute. Dies that weigh up to 50 tons apiece squish the material into the shapes of doors and hoods before robotic arms snatch them out and place them on conveyor belts. Midway through a shift, workers can reconfigure the machine to make a different component, a process that takes just five minutes.
Robots check for quality
Curtis Booth, who manages Warren Stamping, said manual processes inside the plant have become increasingly automated, and safer, over the last couple decades, even as the automaker’s two stamping factories still utilize some presses that were installed in the 1960s.
The latest high-tech addition is the Automated Body Inspection System, or ABIS. It’s a camera system mounted on a robot that automatically checks the quality of components and flags anything in need of repair.
Auto plants of all kinds are increasingly turning to these types of camera systems, infused with artificial intelligence, to catch flaws in sheet metal and other components before they are shipped. Booth said worker visual inspections are still used. But in some cases the human eye has too much subjectivity, and the ABIS removes the guesswork.
Greg Bauer, who manages Sterling Stamping, said his plant has added staff over the past year, and expects to continue hiring as more work is assigned to the facility. There is no space at the plant to add more presses, but officials have figured out how to increase efficiency — quickly toggling back and forth between making doors for a Chrysler Pacifica and Dodge Charger on on a single machine, for example.
“We want to bring high-volume parts into the plant, and we want to maximize the capacity of the equipment,” Daniels said.
lramseth@detroitnews.com
MENOMINEE, Mich. (WLUK) — 24-year-old Ethan Raymond Masters of Menominee was arrested on sexual assault charges June 30th, according to the Menominee County Sheriff’s Office.
According to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office, deputies learned of an incident involving a 24-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl which happened in Menominee June 22nd. Following a sexual assault investigation, police charged Masters.
Masters was arraigned July 2nd on 2 counts of Criminal Sexual Conduct First Degree. He remains in the Menominee County Jail on a $250,000 cash bond.
Menominee City Police and the Michigan State Police Crime Laboratory of Marquette assisted with the investigation.
-
Texas6 minutes agoTexas Rangers investigating City of Trinidad after water issues, controversial arrests, firings
-
Utah9 minutes agoPresident Trump expected to reduce the size of Utah monuments
-
Vermont14 minutes agoVermont marks fourth straight year of July flooding as recovery drags on
-
Virginia21 minutes agoVance leasing part of multimillion-dollar Virginia farm as an additional residence | CNN Politics
-
Washington24 minutes agoWashington State Democratic Party draws criticism over reparations, antisemitism language
-
Wisconsin29 minutes agoWhat’s new to eat and drink at the 2026 Wisconsin State Fair?
-
West Virginia36 minutes agoWest Virginia to launch school clothing allowance program
-
Wyoming39 minutes agoElection Q&A: Laurie Longtine for Wyoming House District 59
