Today on Stateside, it’s Election Day! We’ll see what changes in voter registration and no-reason absentee voting has meant for voters and county clerks. Plus, the director of the Michigan Department of Corrections gives her answer to the question: what are prisons for?
Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.
Checking in with the Macomb County Clerk on Election Day 2019
- Today marks the first general election since the new changes allowing no-reason absentee voting and automatic voter registration. Fred Miller is the Macomb County Clerk. He talked to Stateside about how Election Day is proceeding in his county, how voter turnout has compared to previous years, and what would make the voting process easier for clerks looking ahead to next year’s presidential election.
Education program cut by Whitmer veto hopes Legislature restores funding before break
- The GOP-controlled Michigan Legislature and Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer are in a showdown over her power to transfer funding from one program to another. That's an executive power she exerted in making nearly $1 billion in funding cuts to a wide variety of programs. The state House and Senate will soon leave on their November "hunting break," and that leaves just a few days to get funding restored for affected programs.
- Holly Windram is the executive director of the Michigan Education Corps. She broke down what changes her organization will have to make to operate without the cut funding, and how the students she works with will be impacted if it’s not restored.
Mixtape: A reflective album post-cancer; melancholy instrumentals; an up and coming country star
- Local Spins editor and publisher John Sinkevics joined us with an update on the latest music to keep an eye out for coming out of West Michigan. He talked about singer-songwriter John Sanger, violinist Laurel Premo, and country singer Sadie Bass.
- Support for arts and culture coverage comes in part from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.
Vietnam veteran shares wisdom, experience in his work helping fellow vets
- After coming back to Detroit from Vietnam in 1972, Tyrone Chatman didn’t receive the warmest welcome. But he went on to become a social worker and later, the CEO of the Michigan Veterans Foundation, which provides a range of services to veterans in need.
- Chatman will be speaking at the Michigan Theater on Wednesday as part of the Fisher House Michigan Stories of Service event. All proceeds will benefit the Fisher House. Admission is free for veterans and service members.
Life on the Inside: Who is in charge?
- Some see incarceration as punishment, or even vengeance. Others see it as a means to keep the public safe. More recently, prisons have been seen an opportunity for rehabilitation. Heidi Washington has spent her career working for the Michigan Department of Corrections and became its director in 2015. She explained her view on the purpose of prisons as part of our week-long series “Life on the Inside."
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