Michigan

Michigan State hockey breaks program record with nine NHL Draft picks

Published

3 weeks ago

June 27, 2026

Michigan State hockey breaks program record with nine NHL Draft picks

Buffalo, N.Y. — The day after a school record-tying five Michigan State players and commits heard their names called at the 2026 NHL Draft, four more future Spartans joined them as NHL draft picks and broke another program record.

Michigan State finished the NHL Draft at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center with nine current and future Spartans drafted to the NHL, breaking a program high of eight draftees in both 1990 and 2025. NHL teams selected Michigan State commits Brooks Rogowski, Jonas Kemps, Nick Bogas and Cullen McCrate on Saturday’s closing day of the draft.

Rogowski, a center, was the first player off the board Saturday, going 33rd overall to Vancouver. Then left-shot defenseman Kemps went to Florida 98th overall in the fourth round and left-shot defenseman Bogas went to St. Louis at 139th overall in the fifth round. McCrate, a right-shot defenseman, went to Boston 216th overall in the seventh round to round out the group.

Defenseman Chase Reid (seventh overall, Seattle) headlined Friday’s group of five first-round picks that set a Michigan State record in one draft class. Nikita Klepov (15th, Anaheim), Ethan Belchetz (17th, Utah), Jack Hextall (30th, Calgary) and defenseman Tommy Bleyl (31st, Nashville) were also first-rounders.

Michigan State will set an NCAA record when its nine first-round draft picks hit the ice in 2026-27. That is the most on a college hockey roster in history, breaking the previous record of seven held by rival Michigan in 2021-22.

A defensive-first blueliner, Kemps comes from the USHL’s Chicago Steel, where he scored two goals and notched seven assists in 57 games played. The previous season, Kemps played in 49 games for the U.S. National Team Development Program’s U17 team and finished the year with no goals and eight assists. He will play for the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds next season before arriving in East Lansing for the 2027-28 season.

Bogas came from the NTDP, too, playing there this most recent season though he suffered an ankle injury in November that derailed his draft year. He got a lot of support from his family, including his dad and Michigan State alum Chris Bogas (1995-99), as well as his coaches.

“I’d just say I had a lot of support,” Bogas said. “My dad’s friends, they had very similar injuries, they reached out. And my coach Kevin Porter had a very similar injury. He helped me a lot, too. Just trust the process and it’s all gonna work out.”

He spent most of the year rehabbing the injury, returning in March and finishing the season with two goals and two assists in 37 games. He’ll join Kemps in Michigan State’s 2027-28 class. And though he even knows what NHL organization he could one day play for now, he doesn’t know where he’s going to play next season.

“I don’t really know yet,” Bogas said. “So, we’ll see. … It’s kind of out of my control again.”

McCrate, a 6-foot-2 defenseman born in Adrian, played the past two seasons in the USHL, scoring 30 points in 61 games for the Fargo Force in his draft year. He also played AAA for Little Caesars. Whether McCrate, 19, will play for Michigan State this season or next isn’t known.

Bogas following CCHA champion father to Michigan State

Bogas was born in Royal Oak, and he grew up a fan of Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall. And much like those “Kronwalled” hits used to pull fans out of their seats, Bogas once had an aunt come up with his own tagline, “Bogied,” when he lined someone up at 13. He says he models his game after the Swedish defenseman.

Bogas got to decide the Michigan State part of his journey without much interference from his father, who was the 148th overall pick of Toronto in 1996. Then again, seeing him stay so close to his old teammates, 1998 CCHA champions, made him want to follow the same path. He’s already got one close friend at Michigan State: Hextall, who will play for the Spartans this year.

“We played against each other like our whole lives, but we never really knew each other,” Bogas said. “He’d usually score a lot of goals against my team, but now we’re almost best friends. We basically talk every day, like it’s awesome. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Even if Michigan State is one of the Big Ten’s record-setting hockey programs, Bogas’ interests are more in what comes when those records collect dust.

“I know the coaching staff is unbelievable, and the facilities are unbelievable,” Bogas said. “I think the lifelong memories and friends (my dad) made from Michigan State was a big part.”

Two players with Western Michigan ties drafted

If one of Western Michigan’s draft hopefuls had to wait through almost the whole draft to hear his name called, it was worth it: Bobby Cowan is a draft pick in the NHL.

Cowan went 205th overall to the New York Islanders, who drafted the rising sophomore in th seventh round. From Edina, Minn., Cowan had five goals and logged 24 points in 39 games as a freshman in the bottom six.

Cowan is one of two Western Michigan players or commits picked in the draft. The Broncos also had a fifth-round pick, 154th overall to Tampa Bay in Cooper Soller. The 5-10, right-shot forward from Los Angeles scored 26 goals and 49 points in 62 games for the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede. He will be back there this season before joining Western Michigan in 2027-28.

Western Michigan finished the season third in the NCHC and made the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year under Pat Ferschweiler, but the Broncos lost to eventual national champion Denver in a regional final. Western Michigan had beaten Denver in the Frozen Four en route to its 2025 national championship the year prior.

cearegood@detroitnews.com

@ConnorEaregood

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Michigan

Huntington Bank to close 13 Michigan branches by the end of August — see full list here

Published

2 hours ago

July 18, 2026

Press Room

Huntington Bank to close 13 Michigan branches by the end of August — see full list here

Huntington Bank announced this week that it will be closing 13 branches across Michigan by the end of next month.

The closures span multiple counties in Michigan, including Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Kent, Grand Traverse and Saginaw counties.

A spokesperson for the bank confirmed with Local 4 that the closures are a result of the company’s latest review of its distribution network, noting that the review also includes renovations at existing branches and new branch openings in addition to consolidations and closures.

“Customers from consolidating locations will continue to have convenient access to Huntington, including a nearby branch, as well as ATMs, digital banking and phone-based support,” the spokesperson said. “Every Michigan branch being consolidated has another Huntington branch within approximately 10 minutes.”

Huntington Bank — which operates more than 280 branches across the state — has not specified whether there will be layoffs as a result of the closures, however the spokesperson says they intend to “make efforts to place impacted colleagues in other roles.”

The majority of the branches slated to close will shutter by the end of August, while the Troy and Traverse City branches will close in early to mid-November.

The Michigan branches closing include:

Lake Orion – 4983 S Baldwin Rd.
Clinton Township – 19100 Hall Rd.
Mount Clemens – 1310 South Gratiot Ave.
Royal Oak – 1811 Crooks Rd.
Royal Oak – 30955 Woodward Ave, Woodward Corners
Temperance – 7405 Lewis Ave, Temperance Sterns
Freeland – 230 N Main St.
Eastpointe – 17011 E Nine Mile Rd.
Dearborn Heights – 25488 Michigan Ave.
Troy – 2301 W Big Beaver Rd, Troy West
Grand Rapids – 6455 Division Ave S, Cutlerville
Grand Rapids – 2185 3 Mile Rd NW, Walker Main
Traverse City – 14 St: 613 W Fourteenth St.

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Michigan

Two from Colombia extradited, face federal drug trafficking charges in West Michigan

Published

14 hours ago

July 17, 2026

Press Room

Two from Colombia extradited, face federal drug trafficking charges in West Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Two Colombian nationals are facing charges after being accused of conspiring to move large amounts of cocaine into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey.

According to an indictment, from November 2024 through June 24, 2025, Carlos Andres Rueda Ipia, or “Indio,” and Manuel Augusto Munoz Orozco, or “Gordo,” conspired with each other and others to distribute and import five kilograms or more of cocaine into the United States from Colombia.

The pair are also accused of distributing five kilograms or more of cocaine in Colombia on March 13, 2025, “having reasonable cause to believe the cocaine would be unlawfully imported into the United States.”

“We worked with our international law enforcement partners to extradite these two men to face justice here because we want to send this message: if you send drugs into our community, we will come for you no matter where you are,” VerHey said. “I look forward to proving the guilt of these two defendants before a West Michigan jury.”

Rueda Ipia and Munoz Orozco were extradited to the United States on Thursday, and made their first appearance in court in Grand Rapids on Friday.

If convicted, the pair face a mandatory minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison, according to VerHey.

“Let this be a warning, if you choose to traffic cocaine into the United States, you should expect to be hunted down, arrested, and brought into an American courtroom—no matter where you try to hide,” DEA Detroit Division Special Agent in Charge Joseph O. Dixon added. “The DEA will relentlessly pursue transnational drug traffickers, dismantle their criminal enterprises, and ensure they face the full weight of the American justice system.”

For Kent County Sheriff’s Office Undersheriff Bryan Muir, working with federal and international partners is necessary to keep people accountable.

“Drug trafficking on this scale crosses jurisdictions and international borders, and working with our federal and international partners is necessary to hold those responsible accountable,” he said. “Having a KCSO detective assigned to the DEA Task Force gives us a direct role in these investigations, improves information sharing, and helps keep dangerous drugs out of West Michigan.”

The DEA is investigating this case with help from the Kent County Sheriff’s Office, the Grand Rapids Police Department and Michigan State Police.

International assistance includes DEA offices in Bogota, Colombia, and Vienna, Austria, as well as the Colombian National Police, the Austrian Bundeskriminalamt and the Austrian Landeskriminalamt, according to the attorney’s office.

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Michigan

Michigan’s upcoming Aug. 4 primary: What’s on my ballot?

Published

1 day ago

July 17, 2026

Press Room

Michigan’s upcoming Aug. 4 primary: What’s on my ballot?

In Michigan’s Tuesday, Aug. 4 primary, voters will set the stage for the November general election, picking the Democratic and Republican nominees who will face off in the fall in major races, including nationally watched U.S. Senate and governor’s races.

Here’s a look at what’s on the ballot:

Key races on Michigan’s primary ballot

Governor: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer cannot run again due to term limits. The Democratic primary includes Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson. The Republican primary includes former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, U.S. Rep. John James, of Shelby Township and businessman Perry Johnson. (Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt, R-Porter Township, is on the ballot, but he has dropped out of the race and endorsed James.)
U.S. Senate: The Democratic primary to represent Michigan in the U.S. Senate includes former Wayne County and Detroit health director Abdul El-Sayed and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, of Birmingham. (State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, dropped out of the race but still appears on the ballot.) The GOP primary is uncontested, with only former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, of White Lake, on the ballot. U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, decided not to seek reelection, creating an open race to fill his seat.
U.S. House of Representatives: Michigan has 13 congressional districts. Incumbents are seeking reelection in all but two of them. With James running for governor, there is an open race to fill his seat for Michigan’s 10th Congressional District. (Republican Robert Lulgjuraj – a Macomb County prosecutor – has ended his campaign in the 10th District, but his name still appears on the ballot.) There is also an open seat for Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, with Stevens running for U.S. Senate.
Michigan Senate: All 38 seats in the Michigan Senate are up for election this year. Some metro Detroit voters will vote for the first time in newly drawn districts following court-ordered changes.
Michigan House of Representatives: All 110 seats in the Michigan House of Representatives are also up for election this year.
Local races and proposals: Voters across the state will also weigh in on races for local offices and proposals.

You can’t vote in both primaries

Unlike presidential primaries in Michigan, voters in the state do not need to request a specific party’s ballot to vote in the upcoming primary. The partisan section of the August primary ballot features Democratic and Republican sections. Voters must pick one party’s primary. For instance, a voter cannot vote for a Democrat in the U.S. Senate primary and a Republican in the gubernatorial primary.

Where can I find a sample ballot?

Michigan voters can go to michigan.gov/vote and click on “What’s on the ballot?” where they will be directed to a page to enter details about their voting jurisdiction to view a sample ballot. Alternatively, they can enter their voter information on the “Am I registered page?” to view a “Ballot preview.”

When can I vote in Michigan’s election?

Michigan voters can request an absentee ballot now. Early voting will run statewide Saturday, July 25 through Sunday, Aug. 2, but communities may offer longer early voting periods. Check out the “Where do I go to Early Vote?” page on michigan.gov/vote to find early voting locations.

Voters can also vote in person on Tuesday, Aug. 4 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters in line to vote by 8 p.m. will be allowed to cast a ballot. Voters voting absentee must return their ballot by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Military and overseas ballots postmarked by Election Day will still count.