Michigan
Michigan voters pessimistic about tariffs, economy, new poll finds
Most registered voters in Michigan said tariffs imposed by Republican President Donald Trump on products manufactured outside the United States will be bad for the state and have pessimistic views about the current economy, according to poll results released Tuesday by the Detroit Regional Chamber.
The survey was unveiled ahead of the business organization’s annual Mackinac Policy Conference and provided an in-depth look at how residents of an electoral battleground state see a central policy of Trump’s second term after three months in office.
Asked about the tariffs’ potential impact on Michigan, 54% of the 600 participants said the effect would be bad, while 35% said it would be good — a difference of 19 percentage points. Another 11% said there would be no impact or they declined to answer.
Sandy Baruah, president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Chamber, said the results showed voters in Michigan clearly understood that tariffs are a tax and will increase the costs of goods.
“There’s a fairly clear understanding that tariffs are not good for Michigan,” Baruah said. “But at least a plurality of Republicans still support President Trump’s tariff policy.”
Overall, 600 registered voters in Michigan participated in the Detroit Regional Chamber’s poll that was conducted April 24-28 by the Lansing-based Glengariff Group, which also does polling for The Detroit News. The margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.
Most of the participants were contacted via cellphone. About 40% self-identified as Democrats, 39% said they were Republicans, 19% labeled themselves independent and 3% didn’t provide an answer on their party affiliation.
Among the participants, 62% said they believed the economy was weakening or in a recession, while 34% said it was growing.
How voters perceive Trump’s tariffs and their impact on the economy could sway the November 2026 midterm election, in which Michigan voters will select a new governor and a new U.S. senator and fill every seat in the state Legislature.
Trump has contended that the higher tariffs on cars, auto parts and other items will eventually spur companies to bring new factories and jobs to the United States. But many Democrats have argued that Trump’s increased tariffs will interrupt global trade and drive up prices Americans pay on everything from cars to furniture.
The tariffs could have an especially large impact on Michigan, which has an economy that relies heavily on the auto industry and whose neighbor is Canada. Trump levied a 25% tariff on goods manufactured in Canada and additional tariffs on Canadian-made steel and vehicles.
Asked whether they support increased tariffs on products imposed by Trump, 51% of participants said they opposed them, while 43% supported them. The rest didn’t offer an answer.
On whether tariffs had affected them directly yet, 77% said no, while 21% said yes.
Timing of the survey
Because the poll was conducted in late April, it came before Trump and China announced a deal on May 12 to lower their tariffs on each other and before the U.S. stock market rose in early May.
The survey also happened before economists from the University of Michigan predicted on May 16 that increased tariffs would reduce Michigan’s employment growth by 13,000 jobs over the next five years.
In a forecast for state lawmakers, Gabriel Ehrlich and Yinuo Zhang of UM’s Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics said Michigan’s economy will add jobs “at a moderate pace” in the coming years, but the growth will face a negative hit from higher tariffs imposed by Trump.
“We believe the economic momentum was solid coming into this quarter,” Zhang said. “However, we’ll likely see tariffs drag on the economy soon.”
The survey results were released on Tuesday, the first day of the chamber’s annual policy conference on Mackinac Island, where political and business leaders gather to talk about the state’s future.
The new tariffs will loom over the three-day event, which will feature speeches by Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Republican former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra, who serves as Trump’s ambassador to Canada.
The island gathering comes as Michigan’s unemployment rate has been trending upward for more than a year, a rise that started long before Trump became president in January. Michigan’s jobless rate was 5.5% in April. Among the 50 states, only Nevada at 5.6% had a higher percentage.
However, Nevada’s rate has improved in recent months, while Michigan’s has increased or held steady.
As of April, Michigan had about 162,000 jobs in vehicle or auto parts manufacturing, more than any other state, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
During a speech in Macomb County in April, Trump announced he planned to offer “partial tariff rebates” to companies that assemble their cars in the U.S.
“We give them a little bit of time before we slaughter them if they don’t do this,” said Trump, referring to his hope that higher tariffs will lead to manufacturers shifting their operations to the U.S.
During the campaign for president last year, Trump said he believed Michigan would be the “biggest beneficiary” of his plan to place tariffs on goods imported into the United States.
But in February, Whitmer, Michigan’s governor, said Trump’s tariffs will “hurt American autoworkers and consumers, raise prices on cars, groceries and energy for working families and put countless jobs at risk.”
“Because companies pass tariff costs on to the consumers, Trump’s middle-class tax hike will mean Michigan families pay more to heat their homes as they face below freezing temperatures, fill their gas tanks and get affordable housing at a time when inflation is already high,” Whitmer added. “It will harm our auto industry, driving up the cost of cars and slowing production lines.”
A partisan break
The new Detroit Regional Chamber poll showed Michigan voters hold nuanced and sharply divided feelings about tariffs.
Asked about the impact of tariffs on prices, 79% — a clear majority of participants — said the policies imposed by Trump will increase the costs they pay for goods. Only 6% said tariffs would decrease the prices they pay.
However, 48% — a plurality of the participants — said the tariffs would bring more manufacturing jobs to Michigan, 28% said there would be fewer jobs and 15% said there would be no impact. The other 9% said they didn’t know or declined to answer.
The Glengariff Group found that 33% of the poll participants — one out of every three — said tariffs will result in them paying higher costs for goods but also said they supported the tariffs.
There was a significant partisan division on tariffs as well.
Among those registered voters who identified as “strong Republican,” 92% supported Trump’s increased tariffs. Among those who identified as “strong Democratic,” 96% opposed the tariffs.
The poll results showed a much tighter breakdown among independents, with 49% in support and 51% in opposition.
Similarly, on whether the economy is growing or weakening, 64% of the strong Republicans said it was growing, but 17% of the strong Democrats said it was growing.
Richard Czuba, founder of the Glengariff Group, said over the last decade, political affiliation has increasingly dictated how people view the economy and what positions they take in surveys.
“There used to be common things that voters agreed on, and that’s becoming less and less so,” Czuba said. “Because voters are simply not agreeing to the same set of facts or statistics.”
However, the feelings of independents are key to watch, he said.
“What they view of the economy has a big say in which way Michigan goes,” Czuba said.
On where the economy will be in one year, 47% of participants said it will grow. However, 38% said it would be in recession, 3% said about the same place it is now, and 12% said they didn’t know.
The recession response rate represented an increase of 11 percentage points from January, when it was 27%, Czuba noted.
The expectation of a recession had increased from January among Democrats and independents, Czuba said. But there was virtually no expectation of a recession among Republicans.
Similarly, on whether the U.S. should aggressively compete to be a leader in electric vehicle manufacturing, 58% said it should, and 36% said it shouldn’t.
Among the strong Democrats, 70% said the U.S. should aggressively compete in the EV market. But among strong Republicans, 49% — a plurality — said the U.S. should not aggressively compete. About 44% of the strong Republican participants said the U.S. should aggressively compete in the EV market.
cmauger@detroitnews.com
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Jeremy Fears had 21 points and eight assists and Coen Carr also scored 21, helping No. 8 Michigan State hold off Rutgers 91-87 on Thursday night.
The Spartans (25-5, 15-4 Big Ten) will close the regular season on the road against rival and third-ranked Michigan on Sunday.
Michigan State has won five straight games to secure a top-four seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament and a double-bye into the quarterfinals.
The Scarlet Knights (12-18, 5-14) have slumped toward the bottom of the 18-team conference.
Rutgers’ Tariq Francis scored 25 points, Lino Mark had 14 and Emmanuel Ogbole added 13.
Michigan State trailed by a point at halftime and took control with an 11-0 run. Carr dunked three times in 1:13 and Jordan Scott followed with a slam 32 seconds later.
The Spartans had a comfortable cushion until the final minute, when their 10-point lead was trimmed to two. Fears sealed the win with two free throws with 2.9 seconds left.
Jaxon Kohler scored 15 points and Carson Cooper added 14 in the final home game for both seniors.
Michigan State celebrated its seniors after the game, including Nick Sanders, son of Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders of the Detroit Lions.
The school honored a military veteran, as it does every game before the national anthem is played, and the latest was Kohler’s 102-year-old great grandfather, Earl “Chuck” Kohler, who served in the Navy and is one of 12 remaining survivors of the Pearl Harbor attack.
Up next
Rutgers: Host Penn State on Sunday.
Michigan State: At No. 3 Michigan on Sunday.
___
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2025 MI marijuana excise tax revenues drop for local governments
In 2025, local government retail license share dropped $4,211 from Michigan marijuana sales for the tax year. New taxes could cut it more in 2026.
Michigan municipalities and counties that allow recreational marijuana dispensaries are set to receive far less money this year than last in their annual portion of tax revenue collected from cannabis sales.
Sales declined in 2025 for the first time since legal recreational marijuana sales started in December 2019.
A total of 114 cities, 39 villages, 81 townships, 75 counties and four tribes will receive payments from the Marijuana Regulation Fund, according to a March 3 news release from Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency. They will get about $54,000 per retail store or microbusiness, based on nearly $94 million collected.
Last year, each eligible government entity received a little more than $58,000 per business based on a total of nearly $100 million in marijuana tax revenue.
Detroit, once again, will receive the most money of any municipality. There are 61 active retailer licenses in Detroit, so the city will get nearly $3.3 million in tax revenue.
State law determines how the money is split. The Michigan Transportation Fund gets 35% of the revenue, which is used for the repair and maintenance of roads and bridges, and another 35% goes to the School Aid Fund to be used for K-12 education. The other 30% is split between municipalities, counties and tribes.
The payments come from revenue collected from the 10% recreational marijuana excise tax. This tax is separate from a new 24% wholesale tax that went into effect Jan. 1. The revenue from that tax will go to fixes for local roads.
Sales at recreational marijuana dispensaries declined by 3% last year to $3.17 billion, down from $3.28 billion in 2024, according to figures from Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency, leading to the smaller payouts. More government entities also split the revenue compared with last year.
Payments to municipalities could get smaller if sales continue to decline. Recreational marijuana sales in Michigan plunged nearly 16% in January compared with December as heavy snow, cold temperatures and fears of higher prices due to the new 24% wholesale cannabis tax kept consumers at home.
While recent trends indicate a cooling period, a February report from Headset, a cannabis market intelligence firm, said the market — one of the largest in the country — has shown resilience over the last two years.
Below are the municipalities that received the most tax revenue:
- Detroit: $3.3 million
- Grand Rapids: $1.5 million
- Lansing: $1.4 million
- Ann Arbor: $1.2 million
- Kalamazoo: $1 million
- Flint: $648,000
- Traverse City, Hazel Park and Adrian all will receive $594,000.
For a full list of municipalities, counties and tribes that will receive marijuana tax revenue, go to www.michigan.gov/treasury.
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Artificial intelligence is rapidly reshaping everything from classroom conversations to social media, and leaders at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) say West Michigan is positioning itself to help determine how the technology is used, responsibly.
The university’s College of Computing is launching the West Michigan Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI) Consortium, aimed at helping businesses, researchers and the community better understand how to use artificial intelligence.
Right in the heart of Grand Rapids, along the Medical Mile, the consortium will meet at the Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health (DCIH) every week, with quarterly meetings open to the general public.
The effort is aimed at helping West Michigan industries adopt AI that fits their specific needs, while problem-solving for security, bias, privacy, and ethical concerns.
Right in the heart of Grand Rapids, along Medical Mile, the consortium will meet at the Daniel and Pamella DeVos Center for Interprofessional Health (DCIH) every week, with quarterly meetings open to the general public. (Abigail Taylor/WWMT)
Marouane Kessentini, Ph.D, Dean of the GVSU College of Computing told News Channel 3 that a wide range of companies in the region are bringing forward questions of where, and how, to ethically integrate artificial intelligence into their practices.
“Here in West Michigan, we have a high concentration of many industries, health, manufacturing, and of course high-tech companies,” said Kessentini. “The first questions are about security, privacy, ethics and bias. It’s not just about deploying tools. It’s about deploying them responsibly.”
Kessentini said the consortium will focus on training, research and community education, with a heavy emphasis on data privacy, cybersecurity and misinformation.
“There are many examples where AI systems were trained on data that wasn’t diverse,” he said. “That can lead to inaccurate results. That’s why testing and training are critical.”
The consortium will bring together faculty researchers, students, and industry leaders, with weekly meetings planned to develop guidance for using AI at scale.
The goal is to help companies validate AI outputs, clean and manage data, and identify bias before systems are put into real-world use, especially in high-risk industries like healthcare and manufacturing.
Some projects will involve software design, others will focus on creating public data sets that are reliably sourced, but anonymized for safe use, and many more are yet to be ideated.
Some projects will involve software design, others will focus on creating public data sets that are reliably sourced, but anonymized for safe use, and many more are yet to be ideated. (Abigail Taylor/WWMT)
The initiative is backed by $1,031,000 in federal support, through the Community Project Funding (CPF) process, resources that U.S. Representative Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03) said she advocated for among members of congress in Washington.
“West Michigan should be leading the way in how artificial intelligence is developed and used, and that starts with investing in people and institutions we trust,” said Rep. Scholten. “This funding will help GVSU bring together educators, industry, and public partners to build AI systems that are ethical, secure, and transparent while preparing students for good-paying jobs and strengthening our region’s economy. I’m proud to support this work and to continue delivering federal investments that ensure West Michigan remains at the forefront of responsible innovation.”
It’s important that AI is useful, but also safe…
GVSU also launched an online certificate portal that is open for community members interested in learning about ethical AI use, for free.
Kessentini said the training is for the general public to learn how to navigate the technology, including the risks and limitations.
“It’s important that AI is useful, but also safe,” said Edgar Cruz, master’s student with a badge in cybersecurity.
Cruz is currently researching how AI systems can be attacked or manipulated with poisoned data, specifically as it relates to vehicle-to-vehicle communication, where AI helps self-driving cars exchange information like speed and position.
“We want to ensure that the system is robust and safe,” he said. “Because obviously people are involved.”
Kessentini said the consortium is designed to be a public resource, not just an academic project.
Quarterly community meetings will be open to the public, and training materials are available online through the College of Computing website.
“This is innovation with purpose,” he said. “We want to start here in Grand Rapids, but we want to make a global impact.”
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