"The Metro" covers local and regional news and current affairs, arts and cultural events and topics, with a commitment to airing perspectives and uncovering stories underreported by mainstream media in Detroit.
Michigan electric rates rose twice this year. Gas is $4.62 a gallon. And two of the largest data centers ever proposed in Michigan are going up in Congresswoman Debbie Dingell's district.
Democrats are asking voters for a majority on Nov. 3, and they're asking for it on the cost of living. Dingell chairs the committee that writes her party's message. She joined host Robyn Vincent to talk about what a majority could change — and what it couldn't.
Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org (mailto:metro@wdet.org)
12 Oct 2026
Many Ann Arbor residents want a public utility to replace DTE. Its city council believes that's reckless.
In Michigan, costs continue to rise for things like gas, groceries and utilities.
Last March, a DTE rate hike increased bills by 4.6 % (https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/michigan-approves-dte-242-million-rate-hike/)for a typical customer. Two months later, a Consumers Energy rate hike also increased rates by 6.1% (https://www.cbsnews.com/detroit/news/consumers-energy-residential-electric-bills-increase-may-2026/), its second electric increase in a year.
As some residents in Ann Arbor see it, one solution is to replace DTE with a city-owned utility. A proposal on the November ballot would modify Ann Arbor's city charter, clearing the way for a municipal electric utility board. Last week, Ann Arbor's own city council voted 10-1 to oppose Proposal E and directed its city attorney to challenge it in court.
Why is Ann Arbor's city council fighting a ballot question its own voters put there? Erica Briggs is an Ann Arbor city council member. She voted in favor of the resolution. She spoke with The Metro's Robyn Vincent.
12 Oct 2026
A fact-checker on measles and the midterms
The United States is about to find out whether it still counts as a country where measles has been eliminated, a status it has held for 26 years. In Michigan, the share of schoolchildren skipping a required vaccine is the highest in a decade. And the Centers for Disease Control now tells parents both that vaccines do not cause autism and that scientists cannot rule it out.
Kathleen Hall Jamieson co-founded FactCheck.org, which called that wording misleading within a day. She spoke with host Robyn Vincent about the mixed message, how it affects public trust, and how we move forward. Have thoughts? Email the show at metro@wdet.org (mailto:metro@wdet.org)
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