MichMash Politics

Reporters and government watchdogs say the pandemic has made government transparency problems worse in Michigan.

As part of the weekly series MichMash… Cheyna Roth and Jake Neher talk with Detroit News reporter Craig Mauger about the extensive delays he’s seeing with public records requests.

One Michigan company has made millions of dollars soliciting small businesses despite decades of complaints from consumer advocates and attorneys general. Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk with MLive’s Emily Lawler, whose new podcast “Mandatory” dives into that story and what it says about consumer protections in Michigan and beyond.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer wants to use hundreds of millions of dollars in federal rescue funds to improve Michigan parks. MichMash hosts Cheyna Roth and Jake Neher talk about what that money would do -- and what it would not do -- for recreation in Michigan.

State lawmakers have left Lansing for the summer without completing the state’s budget. But they did send one important part of the budget to the governor's desk before leaving town - a 'historic' $17 billion for K-12 schools. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth break down the schools budget and talk with Walled Lake Consolidated Schools Superintendent Ken Gutman about what it means for districts and students.

Businesses across Michigan say they’re having a tough time finding enough workers. Cheyna Roth and Jake Neher talk with Sandy Levine, partner at Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails in Midtown Detroit, who says employers need to stop dehumanizing their workers if they want to staff up.

Local clerks and elections workers in Michigan are leaving their jobs in large numbers since the 2020 Election. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk with Ingham County Clerk Barb Byrum about why that is and what it means for future elections.

There’s a new push to re-think juvenile justice in Michigan.

Jake Neher talks with Michigan Supreme Court Justice Beth Clement about the state’s new juvenile justice task force.

The Republican-led state Legislature continues a pattern of passing and touting new criminal justice reforms while hesitating - or refusing - to pay for them.

State environmental regulators are defending Michigan’s new standards for PFAS contamination in water. Those chemicals are linked to serious health problems including cancer.

MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk with Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Liesl Clark about a lawsuit filed by chemical manufacturer 3M, her department's approval of permits to replace Line 5, and more.

Oil and gas are still flowing through Enbridge Energy’s Line 5 pipeline in the Straits of Mackinac. That’s despite Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s order to shut it down. MichMash hosts Cheyne Roth and Jake Neher talk with MLive environmental reporter Garret Ellison about what happens next.