Friday, September 4, 2026

Good Morning! On this day in 1957, Dearborn’s Ford Motor Company launched the Edsel with enormous fanfare on what it dubbed “E-Day.” The car flopped so badly that its name became a lasting byword for failure.

A Michigan man turned his weekly can returns into a $500,000 lottery win, proving those 10-cent deposits can really add up. We have details below.

How about you? Do you ever try your luck with the lottery? Head over to today’s Poll to let us know or reply to this email.

Today’s sponsor is AutoCamp, bringing boutique hotel comfort to the growing outdoor lodging market through major partnerships with Hilton and Airstream while offering investors a chance to participate in its expansion.

Michigan Cools after Stormy Week

A late-summer heat dome pushed feels-like temperatures near 100 along parts of Michigan’s southern border earlier this week before severe storms moved through Southeast Michigan.

The heat dome settled over the Great Lakes, prompting heat advisories along the Michigan-Indiana line, where forecasters said it could feel like 100 degrees two days running.

Severe storms rolled through Wednesday night into Thursday, knocking down trees and power lines and cutting power to thousands of DTE Energy customers. Outages climbed above 100,000 by Thursday afternoon.

The National Weather Service confirmed an EF-0 tornado touched down near Marysville in St. Clair County Wednesday evening. Tornado warnings were also issued Thursday for parts of Livingston, Washtenaw, and Oakland counties.

A tree crashed into a home in Madison Heights, while power lines were also knocked down nearby. Crews spent Thursday restoring service with cooler weather expected for the Labor Day weekend.

Judge Blocks Kalshi Sports Betting

An Ingham County judge granted Attorney General Dana Nessel a preliminary injunction blocking Kalshi’s sports-event contracts in Michigan after the state argued they constitute unlicensed sports betting.

Nessel first sued in March under the state’s Lawful Sports Betting Act, arguing Kalshi lets residents wager on games without a license from the Michigan Gaming Control Board. The order requires the company to use a third-party geolocation service to block Michigan users, with violations carrying a $500,000-a-day penalty.

Kalshi previously said it would fight the state’s action, arguing its event contracts fall under the exclusive federal oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The company accused unnamed interests of protecting monopolies rather than consumers.

An earlier order noted concerns that residents ages 18 to 20 can trade on Kalshi, though Michigan sets the sports-betting age at 21. Kalshi has also raised concerns about Michigan taking action against competitors including Polymarket, Crypto.com, Robinhood, and Coinbase.

Freedom Fuel Opens amid Federal Lawsuit

A gas station selling regular for $3.47 a gallon opened this week on Detroit’s east side, part of a discount network President Trump has promoted.

The $3.47 price nods to Trump as the 47th president, and the station near Harper and Cadieux undercuts three neighboring stations selling around $4.10 a gallon.

KRSM, a fuel distributor connected to several Freedom Fuel locations, has been accused in a federal lawsuit of not paying for about $4 million in gasoline, which the supplier says helped explain the low prices at some locations. KRSM denies the allegation. Freedom Fuel is not a defendant in the lawsuit, and there is no evidence the disputed fuel reached the Detroit station.

Freedom Fuel describes itself as a network of independent stations answering Trump’s call for cheaper gas, and says early locations saw sales climb. It has not explained how its stations can consistently price so far below competitors.

Hilton Hotels Enter High-Growth World of Outdoor Lodging

Hilton Hotels didn’t become a global hospitality giant by standing still. When they see a category worth backing, they move.

So it didn’t take long for them to form a first-of-its-kind partnership with AutoCamp.

AutoCamp brings boutique hotel comfort to the great outdoors, an industry estimated to be $732B. As the first outdoor lodging brand ever bookable on Hilton.com, AutoCamp’s 700+ rooms are in front of 200M+ Hilton Honors members who can earn and redeem points on every stay.

In fact, direct AutoCamp bookings on the Hilton channel are up 30% year-over-year.

It’s not just Hilton Hotels partnering with Autocamp, either. Iconic American travel brand Airstream also formed an exclusive partnership. In total, AutoCamp’s model has earned more than $150M in location revenue since inception.

For investors, it’s a signal: some of the travel industry’s largest players are partnering with AutoCamp in the outdoor lodging race. Become an AutoCamp shareholder before they expand to 10,000+ rooms.

➤ Dearborn: Attorney General Dana Nessel is investigating whether a former executive director of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce redirected part of a $3.4 million state grant. The chamber fired Bilal Hammoud in August after finding money unaccounted for. (See Details)

➤ Statewide: According to the auditor general, Michigan’s voter roll has complete and valid personal data for 99.99% of its 8.3 million registered voters. The review also flagged 403 registrations canceled or rejected over citizenship since 2022 and 653 voters listed as older than 122. (See Report)

➤ Livingston County: Vandals cut six Flock license plate-reading cameras from their brackets or smashed them, causing about $5,000 in damage. Sheriff Mike Murphy temporarily pulled roughly 25 more, called them a “great investigative tool,” and said they’re going back up. (More)

➤ Lansing: Louis Woodruff, 57, died after being found with severe facial injuries on the River Trail in Old Town, marking the second death on the trail in two weeks. His family is asking the city for more cameras. (See Details)

➤ Grand Rapids: A Kent County man was sentenced to five years in federal prison for plotting to burn two local businesses with Molotov cocktails. An informant tipped off police, and James Steven Cleland was arrested in October 2025. (See Details)

➤ Mason: Residents launched a second effort to recall Mayor Russell Whipple, again over his vote for a controversial data center zoning ordinance. The proposed recall language is set for review Sept. 18. (More)

➤ Statewide: Michigan officials are urging Labor Day travelers not to move untreated firewood more than 10 miles from where it was cut, warning it can spread invasive insects and plant diseases. The state recommends buying firewood locally or choosing certified heat-treated wood. (See Details)

➤ Michigan State hosts Toledo tonight in Pat Fitzgerald’s first game as the Spartans’ head coach—his first on any sideline since his final season at Northwestern in 2022. (See Details)

➤ Michigan hockey will play Wisconsin outdoors at Lambeau Field on Feb. 20, 2027, the stadium’s first college hockey game in more than 20 years. It’s the Wolverines’ 11th outdoor game, most of any college program. (More)

➤ Detroit Lions placed six players on ESPN’s Top 100 ranking for the 2026 season, tied with San Francisco for second-most in the NFL behind Philadelphia’s eight. Penei Sewell leads Detroit at No. 12, followed by Aidan Hutchinson (16), Jahmyr Gibbs (18), Amon-Ra St. Brown (22), Jared Goff (77), and Jack Campbell (92). (More)

➤ Michigan basketball’s Roddy Gayle Jr. won a temporary court order allowing him to rejoin the Wolverines while challenging the NCAA for a fifth year of eligibility. His next hearing is Sept. 17. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: US Open | MLB | NCAAF | Soccer

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➤ Nurse practitioners top Michigan’s new Hot 50 list of high-demand, high-wage careers, with 41.5% growth projected through 2034. Truck drivers lead in sheer volume at 6,650 openings a year. (See List)

➤ Pharmacy closures have taken out 270 Michigan stores since 2024, including more than 90 independents in the first half of that year. Hometown Pharmacy permanently closed four locations Sept. 1, including three in the Traverse City area, amid financial strain tied to pharmacy benefit managers. (See Details)

➤ The Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport will suspend commercial flights for one week starting Sept. 12 for runway pavement, lighting, and other airfield work. Flights are scheduled to resume Sept. 19, while the airport will remain open for rental cars and other customer needs. (See Details)

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How Solving Camping’s Biggest Problem Earned $150M+

Most people love the idea of being outdoors. Almost nobody loves what it takes to get there.

Campsites book months in advance. Gear’s expensive and collects dust. RV ownership’s a financial and logistical burden. Hotels are comfortable, but lose the very thing people were chasing in the first place.

AutoCamp solves all that. Guests arrive with a suitcase, check in like a hotel, and wake up at an iconic outdoor destination like Yosemite or Joshua Tree. But instead of hard ground and outhouses, they have a boutique room or custom-designed Airstream trailer with a spa-inspired bathroom.

And travelers can’t get enough, with 1M+ happy campers so far. That’s earned $150M+ in location revenue for property owners operating with the Company’s Brands since inception.

Now you can invest as AutoCamp works to scale from 9 locations to 100+.

This is a paid advertisement for AutoCamp’s Regulation CF offering. Please read the offering circular at invest.autocamp.com

➤ A potbellied pig that took up residence under a pine tree on Detroit’s east side was finally captured after an hours-long chase involving police and animal control. A neighbor had kept the runaway pig fed with produce and dog kibble while authorities worked to corral it. (See Details)

➤ Mosquitoes and ticks remain active as Michigan heads into September, with mosquitoes staying active until temperatures drop below 50 degrees. The state has reported its first human case of Eastern equine encephalitis since 2021, plus West Nile cases in Kent and Wayne counties. (See Details)

➤ A Michigan man turned his weekly can returns into a $500,000 lottery win, using the deposit money to buy scratch-off tickets. The 39-year-old Livingston County man plans to pay off his house, take a vacation and treat friends to dinner. (See Details)

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The following stories are featured exclusively on The Flyover Podcast—a daily show that gives you the most important headlines in under 15 minutes.

➤ The U.S. military destroyed another vessel accused of refueling drug traffickers off the coast of South America. (Full Story)

➤ Popular baby wipes have been recalled after federal testing revealed bacteria that can cause life-threatening infections in infants. (Hear Details)

➤ The nation’s largest school district has pulled the plug on artificial intelligence for most of its students. (Listen Now)