Stateside Staff

When you look at much of popular media these days, it often feels as though the advertisers of America are eyeing that young audience. If you're over 55, you could certainly be forgiven for getting the idea that advertisers and agencies don't much care what you want to buy.

Well, a new study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute proves that, at least when it comes to buying cars, it's those often overlooked, sometimes-invisible over 55's who are doing much of the buying.

The study found the 55-to-64 year old baby-boomers are 15 times more likely to buy a new car or truck than the 18-to-24 year olds.

John Wolkonowicz, an independent auto analyst, joined us from Boston today to talk more about why baby boomers seem to hold the key to success for automakers.

Listen to the full interview above.

On today's show, we found out why baby boomers seem to be key for the auto industry.

And, the author of the new book, "The Great American Jet Pack: The Quest for the Ultimate Individual Lift Device" joined us to take a look at the history of individual flight.

Also, we took a look into the ethics of technology and engineering with the help of Dr. Cynthia Finelli.

First on the show, one of the cities that has been in the headlines of late is Hamtramck.

Governor Snyder has declared that the 2.1 square mile city within Detroit is under a financial emergency and could come under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager.

But facing tough financial times is nothing new for Hamtramck. And, starting from its beginning as a home for Polish immigrants, the city continues to be one of the most diverse communities in the state.

We wanted to find out more about the unique history of Hamtramck, so we turn to someone who was born in Hamtramck. His family’s roots in the city go back to when his grandfather first arrived.

Greg Kowalski is chairman of the Hamtramck Historical Commission and he joined us today in the studio.

That huge pile of petroleum coke lying alongside the Detroit River is triggering a growing sense of alarm. 

You may recall, we spoke with New York Times journalist Ian Austen about the origins of this mountain of "pet coke" that's growing in Southwest Detroit. It's a byproduct of tar sands oil refining used in energy production. When mixed with coal, it can be used as a low-cost fuel.

The piles are being brought in by trucks from the Marathon Petroleum Refinery in southwest Detroit, and the pet coke is being stored by a company called Detroit Bulk Storage for the owner of the pet coke: Koch Carbon.

U.S. Congressmen John Conyers and Gary Peters and others have been voicing concern about the health and environmental risks of storing these piles of pet coke. We wanted to take a closer look at these concerns.

Nick Schroeck is a professor of law at Wayne State University in Detroit and the executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, and he joined us today to discuss the issue.

Listen to the full interview above.

As we talked about before on Stateside, there's more to the increased interest in cycling than a great hobby or way to keep fit or compete.

In addition to impacting the look of communities and the infrastructure of the state, there is also a business payoff in all of this.

Michigan is seeing a rise in cycling-related businesses.

One of those is AutoBike, located in Troy, in Oakland County. The founder and CEO of AutoBike is former General Motors engineer Sean Simpson. Sean joined us in the studio today.

Listen to the full interview above.

The city of Detroit is “technically insolvent” and suffers from an “addiction to debt.” That’s according to Detroit's Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr, who described the city’s situation at his first public meeting last night.

About 350 people were on-hand at the start of the meeting, about 250 made it into the meeting but about 100 were left out because of over-crowding.

Detroit Free Press Columnist Rochelle Riley covered the meeting, and she joined us today in the studio.

Listen to the full interview above.

Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr held his first public meeting yesterday evening. We found out what Orr had to say and what city residents thought about his message.

And, after months and months of hearing about record-low water levels in the Great Lakes, new predictions now show levels could climb some 2 feet over the summer. We spoke with Al Steinman, the Director of the Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University to get the details.

Also, the CEO of AutoBike, Inc. joined us today to talk about how bicycle businesses have benefited from the growing interest in cycling.

First on the show, that huge pile of petroleum coke lying alongside the Detroit River is triggering a growing sense of alarm. 

You may recall, we spoke with New York Times journalist Ian Austen here on Stateside about the origins of this mountain of "pet coke" that's growing in Southwest Detroit. It's a byproduct of tar sands oil refining used in energy production. When mixed with coal, it can be used as a low-cost fuel.

The piles are being brought-in by trucks  from the Marathon Petroleum Refinery in southwest Detroit, and the pet coke is being stored by a company called Detroit Bulk Storage for the OWNER of the pet coke: Koch Carbon.

US Congressmen John Conyers and Gary Peters and others have been voicing concern about the health and environmental risks of storing these piles of pet coke.

Nick Shroke is a professor of law at Wayne State University in Detroit and the executive director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, and he joined us today to discuss the issue.

There are new reports that expect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron to climb nearly two feet this summer.

One comes from the Army Corps of Engineers, which projects lake levels to rise by 20 inches. 

Al Steinman is the Director of the Annis Water Resources Institute at Grand Valley State University. 

Steinman attributed much of the rising water levels to significant rain this spring. 

"We've risen eight inches since April."

Michigan will get $100 million from the federal government to tear down thousands of vacant houses and clean up struggling neighborhoods.

The money will be used in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Pontiac and Saginaw.

Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee represents Flint and he’s been pushing hard for this funding. He joined us today to discuss exactly how this money would be used.

Listen to the full interview above.

Whether it’s commuters who are sick of rising gas prices, the hipsters moving into urban areas, or empty-nester baby boomers seeking fitness, the bicycle is growing in popularity. Cycling tripled nationwide from 1990 to 2009, and that growing popularity is reflected here in Michigan.

But it's not just riding for fun or fitness. Cycling can impact the way our communities look, and impact policy and infrastructure at the state and local level, as well.

John Lindenmayer, the advocacy and policy director for the League of Michigan Bicyclists, joined us in the studio. 

Listen to the full interview above.

It was 2007 when then-Governor Jennifer Granholm launched Michigan's film incentive program.  It led to a burst of big-league movie makers coming here, making films like Ides of March, Real Steel, Red Dawn and OZ-The Great and Powerful. And that led to a growing group of Michigan workers building careers in the film industry, from casting to grips, assistant directing, extras, actors and more.

But Governor Rick Snyder made good on his promise to cap those film incentives, believing they were not a good investment of state dollars. And as many of the movie-makers pulled up stakes, the Michigan workers were forced to either follow them out of state or build new careers here.

Johannah Scarlet, Ray Moran and Aaron Mohr chose to search for a new opportunity and stay in Michigan. They have now switched gears from making movies to hosting live music events in the tiny village of Farwell in Clare County. Their new music venue is called Harmony Hill, and coming up this Saturday there will be a big outdoor music festival called "Oh Hill Yeah," featuring Michigan bands such as Frontier Ruckus.

It is extremely rare to have someone actually seek out a situation that would end with an arrest and a trip to jail.

But Claudia Munoz did exactly that. She got herself seized as an undocumented immigrant at the Ambassador Bridge in order to see first-hand what things are like at the immigration detention center in Calhoun County near Battle Creek.

Claudia is part of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, an activist group based in Washington. Their mission is to highlight immigration cases and pressure authorities to take a fresh look at their detention and deportation practices.

Claudia Munoz joined us today.

Listen to the full interview above.

It's not often that people actively seek out a situation that ends up putting them in jail, but on today's show, we spoke with one woman who did exactly that in order to put a spotlight on undocumented immigrants.

And, communities all across the state are spending money to become more bike-friendly. We found out why they think this will help reverse Michigan's brain-drain.

Also, three Michigan filmmakers switched gears from movies to music, and this weekend they are hosting a big outdoor music festival in Clare County.  

First on the show, Michigan will get $100 million from the federal government to tear down thousands of vacant houses and clean up struggling neighborhoods.

The money will be used in Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Pontiac and Saginaw.

Democratic Congressman Dan Kildee has been pushing hard for this funding. He joined us today from Flint.

Brooms up! This weekend in Genesee County there will be a big exhibition match of quidditch. Yes, that's the sport played by the witches and wizards of the Harry Potter novels.

Since true witches and wizards are in fairly short supply around these parts, this will be Muggle Quidditch, “muggle” being the name applied to all of us non-magical types.

College players from the University of Michigan, Michigan State, Eastern, Miami of Ohio and more will be playing the game at the Deer Run Soccer Complex in Linden Township.

Krystina Packard, a former quidditch player with Michigan State, joined us in the studio to tell us how a game that was created in the imaginative mind of author J.K. Rowling has become a surprisingly serious sport for these muggles.

Listen to the full interview above.

A piece of history is being written in the United States Congress.

Tomorrow is the day that John Dingell becomes the longest-serving member of Congress ever, surpassing the late Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

He began representing the people of southeast Michigan on December 13, 1955. And 57-and-a-half years later, he is still there.

He joined us today to talk about his experiences.

Listen to the full interview above.

When Jimmy Rhoades was 26-years-old, his father was diagnosed with cancer. Rhoades was told he would have between six months and a year left with his dad. He went home, and really got to know his father.

"I found out more about his biography in the last six months of his life than in the previous 26 years," Rhoades said.

With the loss of another family member after his father passed away, Rhoades realized the therapeutic value in having your story heard.