The Metro

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"The Metro" covers local and regional news and current affairs, arts and cultural events and topics, with a commitment to airing perspectives and uncovering stories underreported by mainstream media in Detroit.

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    Arts and culture funding preserved in state budget

    Funding for arts and culture grants in Michigan is preserved in the state budget for fiscal year 2026. Last month's budget proposal passed by the Republican-led State House eliminated all funding for arts and culture grants from the state. The entity that administers arts and culture grants for the state is the Michigan Arts and Culture Council (MACC). In 2025, MACC grants awarded totaled over $10.5 million. The council distributes grant funds to arts and culture programs throughout the state, providing funding for things like K-12 arts programs, cultural festivals and museums. To better understand what arts and culture grants from the state fund, Cary Junior II spoke with Lauren Ward, director of the Cultural Advocacy Network of Michigan. They spoke on Thursday, before the final state budget had been passed for fiscal year 2026. Editor's note: The state budget was passed on October 3. This conversation took place on October 2 as budget negotiations were underway.

    26 min

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    Employees at Ann Arbor dispensary seek union representation

    Employees at the Exclusive Brands Marijuana & Cannabis Dispensary have been striking for over a month. They say they’re expected to work more without any additional pay and that when they express their concerns, their hours are cut. Employees are attempting to join the United Food and Commercial Workers union, which already represents cannabis workers in Michigan, but they say Exclusive refuses to recognize their union. Emily Hull, a striking budtender at Exclusive Brands in Ann Arbor, and Megan Carvalho, the national campaign coordinator for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union’s cannabis program, joined the show to discuss the working conditions at the dispensary and the state of the strike. The Metro contacted the head of Exclusive Brands’ Ann Arbor facility. We have not heard back.

    20 min

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    Duggan says Detroit's recovery proves he can lead the state

    When Mike Duggan was sworn in as Detroit’s mayor more than a decade ago, much of the city was in the dark. Four out of every 10 streetlights didn’t work. His administration rebuilt the grid and relit neighborhoods block by block. Blight became another target. Crews tore down thousands of abandoned houses that posed safety risks. With hundreds of millions in federal relief, Duggan stabilized the budget and funded neighborhood programs. Meanwhile, the city’s violent crime rate eased: just over 200 homicides last year, the lowest number since the mid-1960s. Other markers point to momentum. Detroit’s population has inched up for two years in a row — rare for a city that has seen decades of decline. Moody’s even restored Detroit’s investment-grade bond rating. Duggan highlights these milestones when he calls himself "a fixer". But Detroit’s recovery is uneven. Roughly one in three residents lived in poverty last year — the highest rate since 2017. The city has yet to fully address an estimated $600 million in property-tax overassessments that forced many families from their homes. Housing remains scarce. A city-commissioned study estimates Detroit needs more than 40,000 additional affordable rental homes for households earning under $25,000 a year — a 45,200-unit gap as of 2021. The broader picture is mixed: while downtown investment is visible, many neighborhoods still face population loss and a lack of basic infrastructure. Still, compared with the Detroit Duggan inherited in 2014, the city holds more promise today, and much of that transformation happened under his watch. Now Duggan wants to take his record statewide. He’s running for governor of Michigan in 2026 as an independent — and asking voters across the state to buy into his version of Detroit’s turnaround. The mayor joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss how his strategies can scale statewide. Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

    28 min

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    Why Detroit has been narrowing its roads

    Detroit is known for its cars, but it’s also known for creating a lot of space for those cars.  Wide roads with many lanes cross the city and its suburbs. But there’s a real push from Detroit planners to change that — to make our streets more compatible and safer for pedestrians and cyclists, and to slow down motorists.  Three years ago, Detroit published a “Streets for People” report about how to improve its streets.  And earlier this week, a city official told The Metro that Detroit plans to make a series of truck route restrictions in Southwest. That regulation is meant to prevent big trucks from navigating neighborhood blocks.  Producer Sam Corey spoke with Wayne State Urban Planner Eric Bettis about why Detroit has wide roads, and whether the city is trying to durably change that. Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

    17 min

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    Why violence can emerge from unacknowledged grief and loss

    On Sunday, a place of worship was turned into a scene of violence.  In Grand Blanc, a former Marine and Iraq war veteran shot and killed at least four people at a Mormon church and allegedly set the building on fire. Officials say it was an act of targeted violence, though the motive remains unclear. Some victims are being treated at a local hospital.  It’s no secret that gun violence is a big part of our culture here in the U.S. Gun deaths have increased over the last decade by 33 percent. The United States is the rare wealthy nation with more guns than people. Less than 14 hours before the attack in Michigan, another former Marine, Iraq war veteran and Purple Heart recipient killed three people and wounded five others in North Carolina.  These stories are about guns and access, but they’re also about veterans reentering civilian life, about isolation, grievance, trauma, and how people respond—or don’t—to warning signs.  Erin Comartin is a social work professor at Wayne State University. She spoke with Robyn Vincent about the roots of gun violence and how people can try to help prevent the next possible shooting.

    35 min

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    Detroit park honoring hunger march is expanding

    During the Great Depression, auto workers organized a march from Detroit to the Ford Rouge Factory in Dearborn. Thousands of people took to the streets to fight for jobs when nearly half of workers in Detroit were unemployed. The event is now known as the Ford Hunger March, and it was one of the most significant events leading to the creation of the United Auto Workers union.  Friends of the Rouge and the Fort Rouge Gateway Partnership joined forces to construct the Fort Street Bridge Interpretive Park to celebrate those who fought for workers rights and commemorate that pivotal moment in labor history.  The first phase of the park project was completed in 2020 and construction for the second phase of the project started in mid-September.  Paul Draus, a professor of sociology at the University of Michigan-Dearborn and a board member of the Friends of Rouge joined the show to discuss the importance of this park and the history it honors.

    21 min

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    The Highway Clean-Up is art in action

    We talk about the roads often on The Metro. From reducing truck traffic in Southwest to the impact of I-375 on Detroit’s historic Black neighborhoods, yet, who’s making sure these roads and highways are clean of trash?  In 2022, According to the Michigan Department of Transportation, it cost taxpayers in the state nearly 8 million dollars for crews to pick up trash along state roads. And according to MDOT the price tag would be higher if it were not for programs like Adopt-A-Highway and dedicated volunteers to clean stretches of highway. So what does it look like when a young artist gets involved and brings the community with him to clean up roads in Detroit? All Notes is a creative and community platform blending music, social impact, and digital media founded by Detroit based musician TommyPAPI. TommyPAPI is an Afro-Colombian musician living in Detroit for close to a decade. Through the initiative, he hosts livestream performances, neighborhood cleanups, and resource drives, connecting artists of all disciplines through support.   Tommy received the spirit of Detroit for The Highway Cleanup project in September 2025. He joined The Metro to speak about the award and giving back to the community he calls home.  Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

    14 min

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    Detroit to reroute trucks away from residential neighborhoods

    In Southwest Detroit, 18-wheeled vehicles frequently rumble through streets that aren’t made for them. Heavy truck traffic has been more than just an inconvenience here.  For years, it’s meant noise, pollution, and danger for neighbors.  Detroit is one of the country’s busiest freight hubs. Per Outlier Media reporting, about 128,000 loaded containers entered the city in July alone.  To improve the situation, the city of Detroit is creating new truck restrictions on certain streets. Chief of Infrastructure and Deputy Director for Public Works for the City of Detroit Samuel Krassenstein tells The Metro that next week the city plans to make some of the biggest series of truck route restrictions yet. Krassenstein spoke with Robyn Vincent about truck traffic in Detroit, the problems it causes, and how the city is working to alleviate the problem for residents who live near it. Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

    17 min
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À propos

"The Metro" covers local and regional news and current affairs, arts and cultural events and topics, with a commitment to airing perspectives and uncovering stories underreported by mainstream media in Detroit.

Informations

  • Création
    WDET
  • Années d’activité
    2024 - 2025
  • Épisodes
    730
  • Classification
    Tous publics
  • Copyright
    © 2024
  • Site web de l’émission
    The Metro

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