Michigan University Enrollment Falls 2%

Enrollment at Michigan’s 15 public universities fell 2% this fall, a loss of more than 5,000 students and the first statewide decline in three years.

The downturn hit nearly every campus, according to preliminary figures from the Michigan Association of State Universities. The sharpest drops came at Lake Superior State, down about 14%, along with Northern Michigan and Eastern Michigan, each off roughly 6%.

A few schools bucked the trend: the University of Michigan grew about 1%, U-M Flint rose 2%, and Wayne State held steady. Graduate enrollment took the hardest hit statewide, falling nearly 5%.

Officials attribute the decline to a shrinking pool of Michigan high school graduates and federal policies affecting international student visas, which they say have contributed to declining graduate enrollment.

Pollster Admits Faking Senate Poll

Wedgewood Polls, whose numbers Michigan Democrat Mallory McMorrow blames for helping end her U.S. Senate campaign, admitted last week that it fabricated the data.

A June 29 Wedgewood survey had pegged McMorrow at 9%, and she suspended her campaign six days later. The firm calls the operation an “experimental project” to expose the industry’s “vulnerabilities,” and the New York Times removed 15 Wedgewood polls from its polling tracker.

McMorrow said the fabricated numbers “killed” her campaign by casting her as a distant third, and she’s calling for campaign finance and transparency reforms.

Other polls conducted before the fabricated survey, including a mid-June Susquehanna poll, also showed McMorrow with single-digit support.

EPA Deal Targets Ann Arbor Plume

Gelman Sciences, the manufacturer responsible for a toxic plume beneath Ann Arbor, agreed last week to new steps to contain and clean it up under a settlement with the EPA.

The chemical, 1,4-dioxane, is a likely human carcinogen that has seeped into private wells in Ann Arbor and Scio Township, forcing some residents onto municipal water. First discovered in the mid-1980s, the contamination site joined the federal Superfund list in March.

Under the order, Gelman must pump and treat more groundwater at the plume’s eastern edge, add monitoring wells, and excavate contaminated soil from its former plant. It must also fund an independent technical adviser to help residents understand the cleanup.

Gelman has managed the plume for years under a 1992 state consent judgment that did not require the company to admit liability, an arrangement advocates have long called inadequate. Rebecca Esselman of the Huron River Watershed Council welcomed the deal but warned there’s “no cleaning it up 100%.”

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➤ Northern Michigan: FEMA approved nearly $156 million for Michigan storm recovery, including $145 million to repair power systems damaged by the March 2025 ice storm. Two northern Michigan utilities will receive most of the funding, with additional money for road and bridge repairs. (See Details)

➤ Livingston County: Vice President JD Vance will hold a rally at Howell’s CHI Aviation on Tuesday, Oct. 27, campaigning for Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers a week before Election Day. (See Details)

➤ Lansing: Records show the city’s Flock license plate data was shared with 141 outside organizations, despite Police Chief Robert Backus telling the council otherwise in April. Police officials blamed a settings change, not a policy change. (See Details)

➤ Kalamazoo: Western Michigan University suspended a fraternity’s activities amid an investigation into a crash that killed two Mattawan teens and injured three others. Attorneys allege the teens attended a fraternity party where alcohol may have been involved. (More)

➤ Detroit: Voters in Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties will decide Nov. 3 whether to renew the Detroit Zoo’s 0.1-mill property tax for another 10 years. The tax costs about $10 annually on a $200,000 home, with no rate increase. (See Details)

➤ Upper Peninsula: Firefighters established containment lines around a 3- to 5-acre woods fire near Marquette early Sunday, with no injuries or property damage reported. Dry conditions have halted burn permits across the U.P., where recent wildfires burned nearly 1,400 acres. (See Details)

➤ Dearborn: Retired Ford worker Brian Pannebecker, a familiar face at Trump rallies, has been named a special envoy for auto workers at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Pannebecker says Trump created the position, with duties still being defined. (Read Story)

➤ The Detroit Lions defeated the Green Bay Packers 20-17 on Sunday after Jake Bates kicked a 22-yard field goal with one second remaining. Jahmyr Gibbs helped set up the winning kick by deliberately stopping short of the end zone to run down the clock. (More)

➤ Detroit Pistons center Jalen Duren will be re-evaluated in two weeks after suffering a right hamstring strain Friday against Miami. (More)

➤ Birmingham Seaholm repeated as the MHSAA Division 2 boys tennis champion Saturday, finishing with 35 points. South Lyon East’s Mason Crosby won the No. 1 singles title to complete a 30-0 season. (More)

➤ Yesterday’s Results: NFL | NHL | NBA | Soccer | Golf | NASCAR | F1

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➤ Scammers stole $20 billion from Americans last year, and the people they fooled were sure it could never happen to them. Odds are you’ve already encountered one of their tricks. (Tune In Here)

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➤ John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids has named Jason Jacobs its next CEO following a seven-month search. Jacobs, who previously led the Sacramento Zoo, will take over in December. (More)

➤ Detroit’s Hudson-Evans House, a Brush Park mansion once home to department-store magnate J.L. Hudson, has hit the market for nearly $2 million. Built in 1872 and most recently used as law offices, the 11-bedroom home is offered as a residence, a headquarters, or both. (See Photos)

➤ Steven Lelli’s on the Green in Farmington Hills is still drawing diners with zip sauce, the signature steak sauce the original Lelli’s created in Detroit in 1939. The restaurant highlighted the sauce during Italian American Heritage Month, calling it the city’s own contribution to the culinary world. (Read Story)

➤ Amazon opened its first Upper Peninsula delivery station, a nearly 50,000-square-foot “last-mile” hub in Escanaba, promising to cut delivery times for U.P. customers from as long as a week to two days or less. The site employs dozens of workers and drivers, with more hiring underway for the holidays. (See Details)

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➤ Michigan’s first governor, Stevens T. Mason, would turn 215 on Tuesday. The “boy governor” was sworn in as territorial governor at just 23 and was elected governor in 1835, helping secure statehood in 1837 before dying at just 31. (Read Story)

➤ A dozen Michiganders were inducted into the Michigan Military and Veterans Hall of Honor on Friday in Lansing, six for distinguished military service and six for civic and community work. The class of 2026 includes recipients of the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for valor. (See Video)

➤ Saginaw and Tokushima, Japan, celebrated 65 years as sister cities this weekend, welcoming a 20-member delegation that included Tokushima’s mayor, his city’s first mayoral visit in 15 years. Festivities included a tree planting and traditional Japanese tea ceremony. (Read Story)

➤ An emu named Meesha turned up strolling down South Huron River Drive in South Rockwood, prompting a 911 caller to report an “ostrich” in the road. A police sergeant responded to his first-ever emu call, helping the owner and a neighbor get Meesha safely home. (See Video)

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➤ Eleven people, six of them children, were shot after Florida A&M’s homecoming game, and police say a fight between two or three people set it off. (Hear Details)

➤ Clocks fall back this weekend, and three different plans to stop the twice-a-year switch all stalled in Congress. One would have split the difference by 30 minutes. (Hear Why)

➤ Most of what America streams was released five or more years ago, and a 2015 pop song is one of this year’s biggest hits. (Listen Now)

Could you see yourself living in a 150-year-old mansion?

1. Absolutely, love the character
2. Only if it’s fully updated
3. No thanks, too much upkeep
4. Other (reply to tell us)

Yesterday’s Results:

Port Huron is getting its first-ever presidential visit today. Have you ever seen a president in person?

1. Never, but I’d love to: 35%
2. Yes, just once: 25%
3. Never, no interest: 22%
4. Yes, more than once: 18%

When the Detroit Zoo opened in 1928, it broke with the way American zoos had always been built. What made its design so different?

Show me the answer