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What to know and where to go
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In the third in our series of conversations with candidates for Mayor of the City of Detroit, I sit down with current Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield on a number of issues from entrepreneurship

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On this edition of your Daily Detroit, Fletcher and Jer talk Detroit stuff:

02:06 - Fletcher and Jer discuss Mayor Mike Duggan's recent comment about courting Tesla at the auto show. More: https:

One of the most common pieces of listener feedback we get is why are we often positive about Detroit? Why don't we generally cover mayhem? And how can we think Detroit and Metro Detroit is

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The St. Florian Strawberry Festival is around the corner.

The free festival this year is the weekend of May 3rd and 4th. It's been running since 1966.

You can get all the details here but I'm looking forward to the traditional Polish food and the strawberry pies. Since I can eat there or take it home, I'll grab an extra pie for the road.

I'm Polish, but you don't need to be to attend.

Both days. there will be live music from local bands like the Polish Muslims, Kamerton, and the Kielbasa Kings. And don't miss the folk dances Sunday.

If you didn't know, St. Florian is the patron saint of firefighters. To honor that, on Saturday there's a firefighters march at 3:30p from the Hamtramck fire station to the church — followed by a mass at 4p.

St. Florian is at 2026 Poland Street in Hamtramck.

How do organizations with deep roots and old traditions handle the challenges of today's communities? Especially in a city like Detroit, which has such a unique and sometimes difficult story.

The Solanus Casey Center on

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Detroit announces city bus service expansions.

The 5% overall increase in service (starting today) means 13 routes will see more frequent buses, and 17 routes are to see expanded service hours on weekends, says press materials from the Detroit Department of Transportation.

This is in large part thanks to a $20 million increase in DDOT's budget, with money for additional maintenance, mechanics and bus stop staff. Another $2.7m is for more shelters and benches across the city.

45 new buses are joining the fleet, which will become nearly a quarter hybrid coaches.

A DDOT bus at the Jason Hargrove Transit Center (Old State Fairgrounds)

Weekday Frequency Improvements 

  • 2-Michigan, 5-Van Dyke/Lafayette, 31-Mack: Improve daytime peak frequency to 20 minutes (up from 30 minutes) 
  • 3-Grand River, 7-Seven Mile, 10-Greenfield : Improve midday base to every 15 minutes (up from 20 minutes) 
  • 17-Eight Mile: Improve midday base service to every 20 minutes (up from 30 minutes) 
  • 18-Fenkell: Improve daytime frequency to every 40 minutes on weekdays (up from 45-50 minutes) 

Weekend Frequency Improvements 

  • 1-Vernor, 5-Van Dyke/Lafayette : 45 minute daytime frequency on Sundays (up from 60 minutes) 
  • 3-Grand River, 6-Gratiot, 7-Seven Mile : Improve Saturday daytime service to every 20 minutes (up from 30 minutes) 
  • 8-Warren: 30 minute daytime frequency on Saturdays and 45 minute daytime frequency on Sundays (both up 15 minutes each)

 29-Linwood: 50 minute daytime seven days/week (up from 60 minutes) 

 23-Hamilton/John R: 45 minute peak weekday service (up from 60 minutes) 

Saturday and Sunday span improvements  

17 routes will run from 7a to 9p. Previous hours had started later and ended earlier, be sure to check your schedules.

My pro tip: For now, I'm using the Transit app. I'm a regular bus rider, and having real-time tracking is quite helpful because although progress, there's still a long way to go.

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Michigan's first Jinya Ramen Bar is coming to Downtown Royal Oak.

According to press materials, it'll open on April 24, 2025 and will be in the old Andiamo spot on Main Street in downtown Royal Oak.

Courtesy photo

This will be the 71st location for the chain that was founded in 2010. They offer broths simmered for 20 hours, traditional Japanese rice bowls, handcrafted noodles, craft cocktails, craft beer, and more.

Courtesy photo

They also have what they call "premium" toppings like tender pork chashu, shrimp wonton and seasoned eggs.

The Royal Oak location will be open Sunday through Wednesday from 11a to 10p and Thursday through Saturday from 11a to 11p.

Devon, Norris, and Jer respond to your listener feedback on recent stories - specifically around Michigan Central seeming to be very quiet, and the prospects for improved transit in the city and area - and

Producer Shianne, Engineer Randy, and Jer sat down at the studio at TechTown and rank Michigan-made Hudsonville Ice Cream flavors against eachother to decide which flavor reigns supreme in our very unofficial taste test.

The

There's a story we often tell ourselves about the American economy, particularly when we talk about trade, manufacturing, and small business.

It is often simplified in political debates. One focused on bringing jobs back, on

Join me and Devon O'Reilly on your Daily Detroit for a packed episode covering everything from hopeful superstitions to major downtown developments and exciting new food spots!

Recorded live from TechTown, there's also a video

Creative communities, on one hand, offer spaces for connection, self-expression, and profound meaning-making. Awesome things.

But on the other, particularly in scenes built around music and nightlife, they can become entwined with cultures of substance

On today's show, we talk about what makes a great comedy night on Detroit's west side, to the Pistons making the playoffs — to Daily Detroit over the weekend being the top local daily news podcast

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A new bar with "High Spirits" is coming to Downtown Detroit.

As Opening Day faded into the night, I noticed a vacant commercial space in Downtown Detroit come back alive as the new High Spirits bar soft opened.

The façade of the bar facing Lafayette Blvd.

Located in the old Garden Pub space (also known as St. Brigid's Bathtub Pub) between Lafayette Gardens and Lafayette Coney Island, the interior of the space has chic vibes without being overly dapper.

View on Lafayette from the parking garage across the street

Owner Nick Kefallinos told me the grand opening is aimed for the middle of April.

Inside High Spirits

Because of the limitations of the building — High Spirits will be drinks only, and might partner with others for food.

Located at 125 Michigan Avenue in Detroit, they have an Instagram you can follow.

Locally, the Hands Off protests filled the sidewalks of Woodward Avenue with thousands of people, running from the DIA to Little Caesars Arena and back on Saturday, April 5. They also popped up across Metro

On today's all-local daily podcast...

  • Where we've been: Sepia Coffee and Four Vagabonds
  • Responding to listener feedback and sobering talk on the reality of big projects that need Federal money like transit, rail, and more

Norris Howard is in as we talk three interesting stories around metro Detroit:

  • Ground officially broke on a project that will reimagine Greektown's streetscape in Detroit
  • Warren approved an ordinance without limits on the number

On today's show, I sit down with Francis Grunow, the guy behind the Greater Detroit Windsor Project.

We dive deep into thinking about a bigger future for our area – not just the city, not just

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Plus a new all-Michigan store (and a pop-up among Fast Friends)

The Detroit Tigers home opener is a veritable holiday in Metro Detroit, with tens of thousands descending on Downtown Detroit to cheer on the city's oldest team.

It's also a marker of spring. Today is

On today's Daily Detroit: First we do a little "Where we've been" talking about a new coffee shop in Hazel Park and Devon's potty training technique.

Then, tariff talk.

It was announced Wednesday that there