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Michigan is ‘ready to rock,’ says Whitmer, while lawmakers have mixed reactions ⋆ Michigan Advance

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Michigan is ‘ready to rock,’ says Whitmer, while lawmakers have mixed reactions ⋆ Michigan Advance


After a host of ‘80’s references and policy aspirations in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s sixth State of the State address, lawmakers gathered to respond in the Michigan Capitol.

Whitmer’s speech highlighted key Democratic wins from 2023, including increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit, repealing Michigan’s 1931 abortion ban and codifying sections of the Affordable Care Act into state law. 

“We delivered a balanced budget focused on the kitchen-table issues in 2023, and I know we will this year, too,” Whitmer said. “… We put together a heck of a record in 2023 and we are starting 2024 ready to rock.” 

Legislative Democrats praised Whitmer’s plans for affordable housing, economic development and free pre-K and community college. 

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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and her husband, Dr. Marc Mallory, before her State of the State speech, Jan. 24, 2024 | Anna Liz Nichols

Rep. Alabas Farhat (D-Dearborn) said as a younger member of his caucus, he was pleased to see initiatives making Michigan more affordable for Gen Z take center stage in the address. He said he “never thought in a million years” that at age 25, he would be asked by friends how much it would cost to have children. 

Programs making childcare and education more affordable, he said, could make a key difference in attracting young people and their families to Michigan. 

“I think it’s all about economic prosperity and removing the barriers to access economic prosperity,” Farhat said.

Looking ahead to the 2024 state budget, Whitmer promised to extend free preschool to every 4-year-old in Michigan and make the first two years of community college tuition free for Michiganders over 21. 

Whitmer also announced her intention to start an “innovation fund” aimed at attracting start-ups and retaining young companies and called for a research and development tax credit for universities and businesses. As Michigan lags in population and the Growing Michigan Together Council searches for ways to attract young professionals to the state, Whitmer emphasized the need for the state to be economically competitive.

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“To keep winning, we must upgrade our economic development toolkit,” Whitmer said. “We can and must outcompete our neighbors.”

Attorney General Dana Nessel told the Advance after the speech that there were many things she was looking forward to this year. Her office is continuing to work on several issues from last year. 

The guardianship package got through the House…so we’re working with the Senate to try to come back and get it established,” Nessel said. “The Consumer Protection Act, unfortunately, is toothless when it comes to a lot of the work that other agents do in other states and we’re trying so hard to get that amended. … We’re working with the House and the Senate to better protect human trafficking survivors.”

She’ll be continuing investigations such as the Michigan State University Larry Nassar sexual abuse scandal and the investigation into sexual assault allegations against former House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R-Levering), as well as financial fraud claims in his office, and this investigation could conclude in the next few months. 

Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said the governor has outlined a good agenda for this year that aims to benefit all Michiganders, adding that she can’t see a reason why leaders can’t come together across the aisle to try to get things done. 

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“It’s 2024, [a] presidential election year, we’ve got early voting starting in a couple of weeks in our presidential primaries. … I’m proud of our clerks who are gonna work together this year. The governor laid out a really impressive, robust and ambitious agenda tonight. We’ve got a lot of work to do to both get it done and ensure our democracy is ready to go for the pressures [and] the challenges we’re all gonna face this year. So my focus is going to continue to be on making government work for everyone and make sure every election we have this year goes smoothly and securely.”

Responses from Republicans in the Legislature ranged from seeing opportunities for bipartisan cooperation to distaste for what House Minority Leader Matt Hall (R-Richland Twp.) called “trying to impress a lot of [President Joe] Biden supporters.”

Hall said he wished he had seen more concrete plans to improve student performance and strategies for tax relief

 

“By the way, [Whitmer] talked more about the Detroit Lions than she did about a real plan to fix roads or a plan to solve education,” Hall said.

GOP lawmakers also took issue with projects that could operate on short-term funding and that they believe have the potential to raise the cost of living for Michiganders. Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt (R-Porter Twp.) said that Whitmer’s administration has “maxed out the credit card” on special projects. 

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Last year, the governor and the Democrat majority did everything possible to increase the cost of living or increased costs on businesses,” Nesbitt said. 

Whitmer also highlighted housing access as a key issue in the speech, citing her 2023 pledge to build or refurbish 75,000 units of housing over a five-year period. Reps. Carrie Rheingans (D-Ann Arbor) and Emily Dievendorf (D-Lansing) said they’re eager to move on further initiatives like rent stabilization and addressing homelessness. 

“I’m a renter still in Ann Arbor,” Rheingans said. ​​”My rent just went up $500 a month — I think it’s completely obnoxious that this is allowed. So that’s why I want to work with the governor and whoever wants to change any sort of state-level policy.”

Dievendorf said they “could not be more thrilled” with Whitmer’s expression of housing as a top priority. 

“This is going to be quite the year for Democrats in housing,” Dievendorf said. “We need to be utilizing as many different options for getting people into safe housing and affordable housing, and that means being creative with what’s already available.”

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State Rep. Mike Harris (R-Waterford) said in a post-speech statement that many of the projects Whitmer touted as successes in her speech, particularly relating to energy and utility costs, will actually hurt Michiganders.

“The only real wins the governor mentioned in her speech were accomplished by the Lions and the [University of Michigan] Wolverines, but that didn’t stop the governor from chalking up our state’s losses as victories,” Harris said.

I think we want to continue the work of bipartisanship that we’ve done — the majority of the bills that we passed in 2023 were bipartisan. I think we can continue that work into 2024.

– House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit)

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In spite of partisan disagreements, some Republicans were happy to see issues they championed make their way into Whitmer’s speech. Rep. Bill G. Schuette (R-Midland) said that he’s voted in favor of research and development tax credits before and presents an “area of opportunity.”

“I think there’s a lot of workable bipartisan initiatives that we could work on,” Schuette said. “I’d love to work together on the R&D tax credit; I hope we can work on it.”

There is currently a 54-54 tie in the state House of Representatives, two seats are open that previously were held by Democrats. Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) said that while he won’t entertain a power-sharing agreement, as Republicans have pushed for, there will be ample opportunity for his caucus to work with Republican colleagues to advance legislative priorities. 

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“The rules that we all voted on in 2023 don’t allow for [a power-sharing agreement], and we [Democrats] are going to be at 56-54 back again, shortly after the special elections,” Tate said. “But I think we want to continue the work of bipartisanship that we’ve done — the majority of the bills that we passed in 2023 were bipartisan. I think we can continue that work into 2024.” 



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Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing

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Urban Meyer reacts to Sherrone Moore scandal after coach’s shock Michigan firing


One of the best college football coaches of all time, Urban Meyer, lent some sympathy to Sherrone Moore — or at least his family — in the wake of the former Michigan head coach’s shocking firing last week. 

“Last night, I said a prayer for that family,’’ Meyer said on “The Triple Option Podcast,” speaking of Moore’s wife and daughters. 

“I mean, you’ve got three little girls,’’ said Meyer, who won a national title at Ohio State a little over a decade ago. “You’ve got a guy that was on top of the road a week ago.”

Urban Meyer reacted to the fallout of Sherrone Moore’s shock firing from Michigan. Getty Images
The former Michigan football coach was fired for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a. staffer. AP

That changed in stunning fashion, as Moore, a married father of three, went from leading the Wolverines to out of a job, fired in Ann Arbor for cause after the university confirmed he had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member.

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The situation only worsened when Moore was later arrested after he allegedly broke into the home of the staff member, and during an argument, grabbed butter knives and threatened to kill himself.

Sherrone Moore was charged on Friday with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors. AP

On Friday, he was charged with third-degree home invasion, a felony, as well as a pair of misdemeanors — stalking and breaking and entering.


Here’s the latest on former Michigan coach Sherrone Moore


Even Meyer, who created some controversy of his own during a brief, ill-fated tenure as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars — when he was seen on video in 2021 that showed him dancing suggestively with a woman who was not his wife and was later fired before finishing his lone season in Jacksonville — was stunned by Moore’s downfall.

“They’re up 6-0 on the Buckeyes at home,” Meyer said of Michigan’s early lead against rival Ohio State on Nov. 29. “And then, also, you wake up, and they’re in this situation. Rivalries aside, this is all human element. Now, this is something that, from what you read, that’s some serious stuff that went on. And just, all of a sudden, you start seeing the impact. Forget football. Who cares about football?’’

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland

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Yaxel Lendeborg scores 29 points and No. 2 Michigan stays unbeaten with 101-83 win over Maryland


COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Yaxel Lendeborg had 29 points, a career-best nine assists and eight rebounds, and No. 2 Michigan rallied from a nine-point deficit Saturday night to defeat Maryland 101-83.

Aday Mara scored 18 points for the Wolverines (10-0, 2-0 Big Ten), who overcame a halftime deficit for the second time this season and the first since they beat TCU on Nov. 14.

Michigan scored 100 points for the fourth time in five games.

Diggy Coit made eight 3-pointers and scored 31 points for the Terrapins (6-5, 0-2), who lost center Pharrel Payne to a right leg injury late in the first half and forward Solomon Washington to ejection after he picked up his second technical foul early in the second half.

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Coit scored nine of Maryland’s first 10 points and 22 before the break, helping to prevent Michigan from opening a lead larger than six in the first half.

The Terps lost Payne, their leading scorer at 18.7 points a game, with 4:36 remaining before halftime. Yet Maryland stretched its lead from one to 50-45 at the midpoint, then expanded it to 56-47 on Elijah Saunders’ 3.

Washington, who had a first-half technical for celebrating a 3 in front of the Michigan bench, was called for a delay-of-game technical just after Saunders’ basket. His departure left the Terps without their two most experienced and imposing interior players.

Lendeborg took advantage, scoring the next eight points. Mara’s dunk with 14 minutes left made it 64-63 and gave the Wolverines the lead for good.

Elliot Cadeau’s layup with 21.2 seconds remaining got the Wolverines to 100 points for the fifth time this season.

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Up next

Michigan hosts La Salle on Dec. 21.

Maryland visits No. 24 Virginia on Dec. 20.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

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Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools

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Aquinas College expands automatic acceptance to 2 more West Michigan high schools


GRAND RAPIDS, MI – After beginning a direct admittance program at one West Michigan high school in November, Aquinas College has now expanded the program to cover more classrooms.

The guaranteed admission program, first implemented for graduates of West Catholic High School with a 2.0 GPA or above, has now been expanded to Catholic Central High School in Grand Rapids and Muskegon Catholic Central High School.

The partnership will apply to students from all three schools entering college in the fall of 2026.

The direct admission program was described by Aquinas College leaders as offering high school students a “clear path to college success” while also continuing to develop partnerships.

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Aquinas College, a private Catholic liberal arts institution located at 1700 Fulton St. E, was founded by the Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids in 1886.

The college has enrolled 1,262 students during the 2025-26 academic year, and its new student numbers are up, with 419 new students on campus this fall, up from 311 in 2024-25.

The college’s overall enrollment total is just slightly under the approximately 1,300 students Aquinas recorded across its campus in 2023-24, according to a press release sent out in January 2025.

This year’s partnership announcements do not mark Aquinas’ first direct admittance deal.

The college also has a direct admit bachelor’s in nursing partnership with the University of Detroit Mercy, which allows students to take core curriculum courses at Aquinas and nursing classes from Detroit Mercy faculty.

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On Nov. 14, Aquinas announced its direct admittance deal with West Catholic High School.

The school, located at 1801 Bristol Ave. NW, enrolled just over 500 students as of the 2024-25 school year, according to an online school profile.

West Catholic President and CEO Jill Wierzbicki said the initiative simplifies the college application process and offers students a straightforward path to higher education.

On Nov. 20, Aquinas then announced it had also partnered with Grand Rapids’ Catholic Central High School, 319 Sheldon Blvd SE, which enrolls 567 students and is the oldest co-educational diocesan Catholic high school in the nation.

Brian Matzke, vice president for enrollment management, said there’s “no doubt that Aquinas here has had more graduates from Catholic Central than any other school in our history.”

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On Dec. 10, the college announced another partnership deal with Muskegon Catholic Central High School, 1145 W Laketon Ave., which enrolled just under 300 students in 2023-24, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Jerry McDowell, Muskegon Catholic Central president, said both the high school and Aquinas share a “deep commitment to developing the whole student — academically, spiritually, and individually.

“This direct-admit program provides our graduates with an exceptional opportunity to transition confidently into higher education while maintaining the Catholic values that guide their formation,” McDowell said.

Aquinas’ listed price for traditional undergraduate tuition is $41,192, according to senior director of strategic communications Dave DeJonge.

Students are eligible for annual merit scholarships between $15,000-$25,000, depending on their GPA and housing status. Additional scholarships may be available. This applies to all students who are admitted to Aquinas.

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Matzke highlighted the direct admittance program’s easy transition from one West Michigan school to another, with those accepted to Aquinas able to live on campus or commute from home depending on what best fits their needs.

He also said a growing Grand Rapids job market, combined with support from the college’s career center, contributes to a 97% placement rate for graduates.



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