Michigan

Former Michigan GOP Rep. Justin Amash said Thursday that he is considering running for Senate in 2024. "Today I’m launching the Justin Amash for Senate Exploratory Committee as I consider entering the race," Amash wrote on the social media platform, X, on which he cites himself as a libertarian. 

School districts in Detroit, Lansing and Pontiac will each receive $5.9 million in federal funding to buy 15 clean-powered school buses apiece. The funding flows from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s Clean School Bus Program grants.

A Michigan couple has sued Brooks Township for refusing to allow them to open a cemetery on private land. Peter and Annica Quakenbush filed a lawsuit against Brooks Township in Newaygo County, challenging its blanket ban on opening any new cemeteries.

The University of Michigan’s (UM) spending on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) increased about 66% from the 2022-2023 school year, according to an analysis by Mark Perry, a senior fellow at Do No Harm. The school’s DEI payroll for the 2022-2023 school year came in at $18 million, but increased to over $30 million for the 2023-2024 academic year, according to Perry’s analysis. UM’s DEI department had 132 full-time diversity employees in the 2022-2023 school year and now has over 300.

Since the pandemic began, Michigan has embarked on an "unsustainable" spending spree, says James Hohman, the Director of Fiscal Policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, “Michigan lawmakers will spend every dollar that they receive in revenue and state taxes have increased faster than residents' ability to pay since the pandemic began,” Hohman said in a statement. “This is fundamentally unsustainable and lawmakers should practice restraint. Spending less would protect taxpayers, stabilize the budget and ensure that lawmakers have flexibility to meet unexpected needs.”

Michigan State Police have given 1,563 citations and written warnings for the new distracted driving law over about five months. From July through late November 2023, MSP issued 720 citations and 843 verbal warnings for the law to keep drivers focused on the road to prevent distracted driving and road deaths, according to documents obtained through records requests.

Detroit has become overwhelmed by a surge in migrants needing shelter, according to The Detroit News. Shelters supporting migrants in Detroit say they’re working long hours with little resources to help, according to The Detroit News. The city is experiencing a surge amid record encounters of migrants crossing the southern border illegally.

A fifth and final audit of the Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency found the agency “undercounted fraud penalties by at least 49.4%” because it didn’t fix programming issues with the Michigan Integrated Data Automated System. The audit from the Office of Auditor General Doug Ringler marked two “material conditions” – the most severe rating finding that the agency didn't protect agency funds.

A new law in Michigan means that inmates leaving prison will be registered automatically to vote, among other election-related measures signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat. Michigan is one of 23 states that already allow those with felony convictions to reclaim their voting rights, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.  However, under the new law inmates will be preregistered while still incarcerated, so that they will be on the state’s voter registration rolls upon release. 

A lawsuit claims a Michigan school district began treating a middle-school daughter as a boy for more than six months without their knowledge or consent. The lawsuit, filed this week by Dan and Jennifer Mead, claims Rockford Public School District employees secretly treated their 13-year-old daughter as a boy, referring to her by a new masculine name and male pronouns and tried to conceal these actions from the parents.

The Satanic Temple (TST) unveiled a new display at the Michigan State Capitol Monday, just days after its statue in Iowa was torn down, according to a post on X. TST’s display of Baphomet in the Iowa State Capitol building was destroyed after a Christian veteran beheaded the statue, claiming that he would not stand by as Christians continue to “submissively accept the legitimization of Satan.” TST unveiled a new display that can be found outside Michigan’s capitol building on the lawn, according to a post on X.

When the city of East Lansing excluded someone from a farmer’s market because of his religious beliefs, they violated his right to free speech and freedom of religion. The exclusion of Country Mill Farms owner Stephen Tennes from the farmers market because he refused to play host to same-sex wedding ceremonies at his farm, detailed in a 2017 lawsuit, will cost East Lansing $825,000 in damages and attorney fees.

Authorities have charged a man with the murder of Detroit synagogue President Samantha Woll, who was found stabbed to death on Oct. 21 outside of her home. Detroit man Michael Jackson-Bolanos was charged with Woll's murder, along with counts of lying to the police and home invasion, the Associated Press reported. Detroit police announced they had arrested a person of interest in the case earlier this week, though it remains unclear whether Brown was that individual.

A Michigan-based energy group says recent layoffs and leadership changes don’t change plans to build a $1.6B battery factory in Van Buren Township called ONE Circle. Michigan taxpayers bet $200 million on Our Next Energy Inc., a technology company that laid off 25% of its staff amid leadership changes.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order to transition the state's fleet to zero-emission vehicles by 2040. Whitmer says the move will reduce air pollution, help boost demand for Michigan-made electric vehicles and lower fuel and maintenance costs.