Today on Stateside, new reporting contradicts the city of Detroit’s claim that police response times are going down. Plus, advocates are cheering a law passed during lame duck that makes it easier for people experiencing homelessness to get state ID cards.
Listen above to hear the full show or find individual segments below.
Duggan, DPD tout reduced crime, 911 response times. New investigation shows their numbers don’t add up.
- Since the City of Detroit emerged from bankruptcy, one of the narratives we've often heard from the mayor and police chief is: police response times are going down. But investigative journalist Charlie LeDuff found a different story. He and his co-reporter Steve Neavling dug through nearly one million official police dispatch records for their two-part series published this week in Deadline Detroit and Motor City Muckraker. LeDuff tells Stateside why the city’s police are still struggling to bring down response times, and the consequences of those extra minutes.
New book highlights Al Capone’s escape to Michigan after St. Valentine’s Day Massacre
- Next month marks the 90th anniversary of one of the most infamous moments in U.S. criminal history: the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. We hear about the Michigan ties to that gruesome event from Brad Schwartz. He's the co-author of the new book Scarface and the Untouchable: Al Capone, Eliot Ness, and the Battle for Chicago. Schwartz tells us how the infamous gangster Al Capone ended up in Michigan after the massacre, and why weapons from the crime are still sitting in St. Joseph 90 years later.
The story of a Soviet Union exhibition of Native American artists from Michigan
- There are lots of places in Michigan – galleries, museums, art fairs – where you can find beautiful pottery, baskets, and more from Native American artists around the Great Lakes. Thirty years ago, in January 1989, you could also find them on display in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, then part of the Soviet Union.
- Frank Ettawageshik, a member of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, was one of the artists who made the trip to Soviet Russia. He joined Stateside alongside Sandra Clark, director of the Michigan History Center, to talk about the cultural exchange trip, and Ettawageshik's family history of using the arts to bridge cultural divides.
- This segment is produced in partnership with theMichigan History Center.
When you’re homeless, getting a state ID can be tough. A new Michigan law makes it easier.
- Having a legal state ID is essential for navigating day-to-day life. You need it to cash a check, rent an apartment, and get a job. This spring, getting that card will become easier for Michigan residents experiencing homelessness. That’s thanks to a law passed during the state legislature's whirlwind lame duck session.
- Elizabeth Kelly is executive director of HOPE Adult Shelter in Pontiac. She tells Stateside about the barriers people living in shelters face when it comes to getting an ID, and what difference the new law will make for Michigan's homeless residents.
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