The Metro

Over the past decade, homelessness has been down in Oakland County. But over the last three years, it’s been trending up again. The 2024 point-in-time count found that about 1,700 people were homeless in Oakland County. Last week, the locality conducted its latest count while Wayne County had one on Wednesday.

We don’t have the official results yet from either count yet, but, according to Ryan Hertz, the number of families that are homeless is on the rise even as chronically homeless individuals are getting housing more often. The Metro's Sam Corey spoke with the CEO and president of the anti-poverty organization, Lighthouse, to learn more

The Detroit Office of Arts, Culture and Entrepreneurship or ACE is the city’s department that oversees its investment in the arts, and supports the city’s creative workforce, including the city's poet laureate, composer laureate, and Alley Walls program.

Artists in Detroit largely depend on support from charitable organizations and government funding. So what does that support look like? And how can artists and city government come together to make art happen?

Lacey Holmes, the Project Manager for Detroit ACE joins us now to help us understand the city’s role in this conversation. 

In the wake of ICE killings in Minneapolis, questions about immigration enforcement have moved into the national spotlight. Legal scholar César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández joined The Metro's Robyn Vincent to walk us through how immigration enforcement was built and how it came to resemble criminal policing.

The Wayne County Airport Authority (WCAA) does not have contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but that doesn't mean deportation flights won't continue out of Willow Run Airport. 

Chad Newtown, CEO of the Wayne County Airport Authority told attendees at the WCAA board of director's meeting last week that ICE operations in and out of Willow Run Airport are between airline carriers and the federal agency. 

Noah Kincade, coordinator for Detroit Documenters by Outlier Media, joined The Metro to discuss the recent Wayne County Airport Authority meeting.

Shiva Shahmir is a Detroit Documenter who attended that meeting and contributed to this story.

The next Wayne County Airport Authority board of directors meeting is February 18, 2026.

Detroit Documenters by Outlier Media trains and pays citizens to attend public meetings and monitor local government and elected officials.

Yesterday, President Donald Trump said he is going to “de-escalate a little bit” in Minnesota. But the protests against ICE in that state have continued as federal officers have remained on the ground.

One of the larger demonstrations in Minneapolis occurred last Friday. That’s when businesses closed and thousands of people took to the streets. It was also the day before Alex Pretti was shot and killed by federal agents. 

Interim Executive Director for The Detroit Jews for Justice Lisa Tencer was in Minneapolis on Friday. The Metro's Sam Corey spoke with her about why she went, and what she saw.

What does it look like when a city organizes itself under pressure? Reporting from Minneapolis during a tense winter, journalist Hamilton Nolan shares what he saw among neighbors, protesters and organizers — and what Detroit might take from that example.

Doctor William G. Anderson was an important figure in the founding of the Albany Civil Rights Movement. Anderson is the first African American national president of the American Osteopathic Association.

The William G Anderson Lecture Series: “Slavery to Freedom, An American Odyssey formed at MSU 26 years ago. The series brings in guest speakers to lead thought provoking discussions about solutions to issues impacting civil and human rights.

This year's guest speakers are Dr. Jelani Cobb, the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in New York, Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) and Mary Ann Pettway and China Pettway of Gee's Bend Quilting Collective.

Leading the lecture series is Dr. Marita Gilbert. She is the Associate Dean of Osteopathic Engagement & Community Practice at Michigan State University. She joins the show to tell us more. 

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield has created a new Office of Neighborhood & Community Safety, establishing new departments aimed at reducing poverty. It's also bringing Rx Kids, a program that gives cash to new mothers, to the city. 

David Bowser is Mayor Sheffield’s chief of staff. He spoke with The Metro's Robyn Vincent about what the mayor's office hopes to accomplish in its first year.

Inflation is easing, but many small businesses say they’re still under pressure.

The Metro's Robyn Vincent is joined by business strategist Mark Lee to look at why survival has replaced growth—and what that means for daily life in the region.

"The Patron Saint of Lost Girls" is a coming of age novel that follows Mary as she navigates girlhood amid difficult times for Detroit. Maureen Aitken, the author of the book, joined the show to discuss how girls have difficult experiences early on that shape who they become.