MichMash Politics

New data from Michigan’s statewide standardized test last school year suggest students are struggling to make academic progress during the pandemic. The Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) results show lower student proficiency in most subjects that were tested. Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk with K-12 Alliance of Michigan Executive Director Robert McCann, who says the results should be taken with a grain of salt.

For the first time ever, an independent redistricting commission is re-drawing Michigan’s political maps. Now, we’re seeing the very first maps coming out of that process.

MichMash's Jake Neher talks with Gongwer reporter Ben Solis who has following the redistricting commission’s work closely.

The start of the new school year comes as the threat of the COVID-19 Delta variant gets worse in Michigan.

MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk about the tough decisions local school officials are making as students get ready to return to class, and talk with University of Michigan School of Education Dean Dr. Elizabeth Moje.

Plastic pollution is getting worse in the Great Lakes. That’s what Crain’s Detroit Business found in its recent reporting on the issue. MichMash hosts Cheyna Roth and Jake Neher talk with Chad Livengood of Crain’s about the issue and efforts to fix it.

There’s hope here in Michigan that any infrastructure package in Washington D.C. might help address flooding problems in the state.

MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk about how the answer might depend on local public officials and whether they can find ways to work together.

Michigan’s petition initiative process is a mess. That’s according to some state government watchers. MichMash hosts Jake Neher and Cheyna Roth talk about some of the reasons critics think the process should change.

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.