What to know and where to go in Metro Detroit

$50 Million Gift From The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation Will Transform West Riverfront Park

Detroit’s riverfront just took another major step forward. The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation — in honor of what would be Ralph C. Wilson’s 100th birthday — is making a $50 million grant to redevelop West Riverfront Park. Who gets what: $40 Million will go to the Detroit RiverFront Conservancy (a group that’s been on a roll as of late) and $10 million will go to the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan to seed an endowment to support the park. A big step forward: We’re in the final...

Legendary Detroit Radio Host Mike Clark Has Died At Age 63

One of Detroit’s radio legends has died. Mike Clark, long-time host on 101.1 The WRIF and co-creator of the Drew and Mike Podcast, passed away in his sleep Monday night. Clark was 63. The cause of death is not known as we record the show. The of duo of Drew Lane and Mike Clark were on the airwaves from 1992 through 2013. After being replaced on WRIF by Dave and Chuck the Freak, Clark and Lane found success through podcasting beginning in 2016. For years, Drew Lane and Mike Clark were t...

Davenport University Opening New Center One Campus In 2019

Davenport University is moving its Livonia campus to the city of Detroit, and they’re doing it in the New Center One Building. They’ll renovate the first floor of the structure on Grand Boulevard across the street from the iconic Fisher Building. Starting in January 2019, the 12,000 square-foot Detroit campus will offer 31 courses in business, health care, technology and urban education. Davenport is a non-profit private University with about 7,500 students. Approximately 2,000 students ea...

LISTEN: Here's How We Could Fix Michigan's High Auto Insurance Prices

Michigan’s auto insurance costs consistently rank the highest in the nation. Same for the city of Detroit, which can cost double the state’s already high average. How to fix this madness that’s emptying the pockets of Michiganders? Lawyer and Auto Law Blog writer Steve Gursten has some ideas. In this thoughtful conversation with Sven Gustafson, Steve lines out the problems and some of a possible solution to this problem… without getting rid of lots of benefits. But it would require the pol...

PODCAST: Mike Clark Dies, The High Cost Of Auto Insurance In Michigan w/ Steve Gursten & News

Big show for you today. Our feature interview is with Steve Gursten. He’s an auto law attorney and breaks down the breakdown in Michigan’s insurance system. After all, it’s the most expensive in the nation to get your car insured in this state.. and the most expensive city is Detroit. You can find him here: https://www.michiganautolaw.com/blog/ Your stories: – Detroit radio legend Mike Clark has died at the age of 63. Leave your memories here: https://www.facebook.com/mikeclarkdetroit/pos...

PODCAST: Checking In On Belle Isle With Michele Hodges Of The Belle Isle Conservancy

As we hit the fall season, we thought it appropriate to check in with Michele Hodges about Detroit’s beloved Belle Isle State Park. She heads the Belle Isle Conservancy, the non-profit devoted to supporting the park. The non-profit is working to keep everything running on Belle Isle State Park, while dealing with the effects of decades of disinvestment and very old buildings. A few of the things Sven Gustafson and Michele talk about include.. what the Conservancy actually does… the price...

PODCAST: Video Shows White Man Shooting At Black Teenager, Detroit's Tallest Skyscraper Gets Taller & Ammunition For Weekend Warriors

Friends! We have nearly made it to the weekend, and (temporary) salvation is nigh. Here’s the rundown of what you’ll find on the Daily Detroit podcast recorded on Thursday, Oct. 11: * Newly released surveillance video contradicts the claims of a white, former Detroit Fire Department lieutenant that he tripped and accidentally discharged a gunshot at a 14-year-old black student who had knocked on his door, seeking directions. * Dan Gilbert already wanted to build Detroit’s tallest skyscrap...

Changes Coming To Tigers TV Booth As Impemba & Allen Are Out

The Detroit Tigers will have a new TV broadcast team next season. Both Mario Impemba and Rod Allen have not had their contracts renewed following reports of an altercation last month after a game in Chicago against the White Sox. The Detroit News cites inside sources saying that Impemba made $500,000 a year and Rod Allen about $350,000. Allen and Impemba have had a contentious relationship off the field and were suspended following the incident in Chicago. Lynn Henning has a walkthrough o...

Belle Isle Aquarium Gets $1.7 Million Grant

Here’s some more good news for Belle Isle. The Belle Isle Conservancy says it received a $1.7 million grant from the William Davidson Foundation to upgrade and restore the historic Belle Isle Aquarium. The foundation named for the former owner of the Detroit Pistons awarded the grant last year, so infrastructure repairs are already under way. The news adds to a recent string of announcements about improvements to Detroit’s signature island park. Famed landscape designer Piet Oudolf was...

Spiffy New SMART Bus Stops Appear In Ferndale With Solar Panels, E-Ink Display

Solar Panels and an e-Ink display might be something you associate with the newest tech gadget, but today, we’re talking about a bus stop. Ferndale has received what is surely one of the fanciest bus stops in Metro Detroit. SMART, the Suburban bus system, has installed it at Woodward and 9 Mile. The bus stop features real-time bus information displayed on a large, high-contrast E-Ink display, a sleek modern design and an extra overhead light that you can turn on (neat for when it’s dark o...

This Popular Local Race Adds These New Events

In case you’re wondering what I’m doing, that’s the way the Free Press would tease this story about its own signature event in the headline. So figured I’d follow suit. The Detroit Free Press/Chemical Bank Marathon events come to town the weekend of October 20th with two new events. A competitive 1-mile race along the riverfront, plus the Motor City Challenge Series for runners who want to run more than one event during the weekend. There’s also late registration available onsite Friday o...

PODCAST: Tigers TV Broadcasters Out, Belle Isle Aquarium Grant, Solar-Powered Bus Stop & Your News

In today’s episode of your Daily Detroit podcast: * Federal law enforcement officials rounded up more than 120 missing children in Michigan as part of a giant sweep for sex trafficking victims. * The Detroit Tigers will have a new team calling games from the broadcast booth next season. Unsurprisingly, Fox Sports Detroit opted not to renew the contracts of Mario Impemba and Rod Allen after long-simmering tensions between the longtime broadcasters simmered over last month in Chicago. Here’...

Detroit's Jack White Sings Polish Happy Birthday Song "Sto Lat" To His Mom In Poland

It’s an experience many around town of Polish descent can relate to — singing “Sto Lat” for the birthday of a polish mom or grandmother. Well, Detroit-born rocker Jack White turned it to 11. During a show in Warsaw, Poland on Tuesday White sung “Sto Lat” along with thousands of adoring fans to his 88 year old mother who was at the show. For the uninitiated, “Sto Lat” is basically the Polish Happy Birthday song. It’s more proper title is “100 Years,” and wishes a healthy and long life. J...

Little Caesars Arena To Spend $3.5 Million To Swap Seats From Red To Black

Ilitch Holdings, the company behind Little Caesars Arena, has made the decision to replace their boldly colored red stadium seats with black seats. Turns out the arena looks rather empty with all of the empty seats… and the red seats make it worse on TV. So in phases, it will spend $3.5 million to replace the 18,500 seats. In the meantime, black covers will be placed over the chairs. One of the reasons the fans haven’t been showing up is the Pistons haven’t seen the playoffs in almost a d...

World's Largest Linear Welder Arrives In Detroit

Detroit is now home to the world’s largest linear friction welder after it was delivered on Tuesday to Lightweight Innovations for Tomorrow, a public-private advanced-manufacturing partnership down on Rosa Parks Boulevard in Corktown. The linear friction welder weighs about as much as a Boeing 737, and has the “largest tooling envelope of any linear friction welder in the world,” allowing for the production of full-size parts. I thought it looks kind of like a pilot house of a tugboat, pe...

Royal Oak To Vote On Its Own City Bus Service On November 6

Voters in Royal Oak will be asked whether the city should establish its own bus system called Royal Oak Go, or ROGO for short. A proposal on the November 6th ballot will ask voters to approve a five-year, 1.25-mill proposal to fund the program. That would equate to about $125 a year for the owner of a home with a $200,000 market value. Much about how ROGO would be run would fall to the city commission and the Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation, better known as the SMA...

Business, Foundation Community Step Up To Pay For Water Stations In Detroit Schools

It looks like the permanent fix for the bad water situation in Detroit’s public schools will be provided by the business and philanthropic community, covering most of the $3 million dollar cost to install water hydration stations. Water fountains were shut off at the beginning of the academic year at all Detroit public schools after finding unacceptable levels of lead and copper in the drinking water in many schools. The plan covers the more than 100 schools in the Detroit Public Communit...

Former Councilwoman Refusing To Leave Job Leading Charter School

Former Detroit City Councilwoman Sharon McPhail has been fired from her post leading a struggling charter school on the city’s west side, but she’s refusing to leave. In response, school authorizer Bay Mills Community College says it’ll seek a court order for her removal and is appointing a conservator to oversee the school. It’s also temporarily suspended the school board. McPhail was — and apparently still is, unofficially — serving as chief administrator of Detroit Community Schools, a...

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