The Michigan Campaign Finance Network looked into the connections between state lawmakers and non-profit groups that can accept unlimited donations from secret donors. The watchdog group’s director Craig Mauger says they found that a majority of lawmakers have ties to one of those groups. Mauger says the non-profit organizations don’t have to disclose their donors, so it creates secrecy around the relationship between lawmakers and people trying to influence them. While the non-profit groups are

Western Michigan University Political Science Professor Gunther Hega says now that Boris Johnson is Britain’s Prime Minister, it’s more likely that the United Kingdom will leave the European Union. But Hega, who studies European politics says Johnson faces many challenges. Johnson was a major proponent of “Brexit,” the referendum to leave the EU that British voters approved in 2016. Hega says that sets him apart from previous prime ministers David Cameron and Theresa May, even though both them

Webb Miller was just trying to get a story when he became the news himself.

Kalamazoo resident Joetta Carr says the Southwest Michigan chapter of the Extinction Rebellion wants candidates for mayor and city commission to develop a climate policy for Kalamazoo. She says they are also working at the state level, and planning to go to the debates in Detroit for candidates running for the Democratic nomination for President. Carr was interviewed for a story in Southwest Michigan’s Second Wave . It’s part of the On the Ground Series telling stories from Kalamazoo’s

A new exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum allows visitors to revisit two major freedom movements in U.S. history. It's called "Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863, and the March on Washington, 1963," and will be on view through Oct. 13.

Professor Nick Haddad says the rarest butterflies should be saved, because “People just should not be the cause of extinction.” Haddad, who is also senior terrestrial ecologist at the W.K. Kellogg Biological Station in Hickory Corners has written a new book about rare butterflies.

Western Michigan University Economics Professor Susan Pozo says that when the debate over immigration heated up in 2016, it was important to hear from economists who had studied the issue. She says several of them came to the Western Michigan University campus during the 2016-17 academic year for the Economics Department’s Werner Sichel Lecture series. Note : This interview was originally heard in January. Pozo is the editor of The Human and Economic Implications of Twenty-First Century

"Up with hope, down with dope! Hugs, not drugs!'" These chants will echo down a few Kalamazoo streets on July 27. It's part of the Walk for Recovery that Mothers of Hope is trying in its fight to help people with drug addiction as the grassroots nonprofit marks its 20th anniversary, says Co-Founder Gwen Lanier. She hopes like-minded allies will come out.

The U.S. and Iran have a long and fraught history, including the 1979 hostage crisis in Tehran. Dr. Michael Khaghany, a retired cardio thoracic surgeon in Kalamazoo, and native of Iran says Iranians don’t trust the U.S. or British governments. He says that’s because they helped orchestrate a coup against Prime Minster Mohammad Moassdegh in 1953.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer wants Michigan to be a leader on Great Lakes issues in the region. Senior Correspondent for Detroit Public Television’s Great Lakes Bureau Gary Wilson says that’s a position the state has enjoyed in the past. Wilson interviewed Whitmer recently during a conference in Milwaukee of U.S. governors and Canadian premiers from the Great Lakes region. In the interview, they discussed regional leadership and a potential new pipeline in the Great Lakes.