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Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) says that the state Capitol's three major leaders have not yet met on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget, which they aim to finish by the end of June.

Kicking off the second day of the Mackinac Policy Conference, speakers from across the political spectrum repeatedly returned to the conference’s central theme: “the quest for common ground.”

Two Michigan Department of Transportation workers were killed Tuesday afternoon after being struck by a vehicle while patching potholes on U.S. 127, an Ingham County Sheriff’s spokesperson said.

The May Detroit Regional Chambers Glengariff poll, released Tuesday, shows that 45.8% of voters – a decrease from the 49.6% polled in February – believe the state is on the right track.

A second attempt at a Mackinac Island Policy Conference gubernatorial debate was put down after the campaign for Democratic frontrunner Jocelyn Benson declined to participate after independent Mike Duggan dropped out of the race yesterday.

A small group of folks close to former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan received a 48-hour notice that he would publicly end his independent campaign for governor. One source told MIRS that when he no longer saw a path toward winning, he wouldn't wait and pretend that he did.

Rising gasoline and diesel prices tied to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and continued instability from the war in Ukraine are expected to push Michigan energy costs higher this summer, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission’s 2026 Summer Energy Appraisal.

Independent gubernatorial candidate Mike Duggan ended his campaign Thursday, 56 days before the filing deadline and days after polls showed the former Detroit mayor losing momentum despite $14 million in third-party ad spending on his behalf.

Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) told the media that she believed she was removed from all of her committees for pushing the Speaker too hard on whether to investigate any connection between Jeffrey Epstein and the Interlochen camp near Traverse City.

After nearly eight hours of session, lawmakers, staff members and reporters stared at the House voting board, waiting to see which legislator would give Republicans the vote they needed to pass their property tax reform package.

A Democratic lawmaker on Tuesday called for the state's Department of Corrections (MDOC) director to resign after a second inmate death was reported at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility (WHVCF).

Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) said Tuesday afternoon that she is "done asking" House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) to investigate Jeffrey Epstein's connections to the Interlochen Center for the Arts, demanding an immediate vote on a resolution creating a special House committee to examine the matter.

Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson took debate swings at each other over corporate and utility campaign contributions. Duggan accused Benson of pocketing a $1.5 million check from the —Babe Ruth of data centers,— and Benson called him the lying "corporate candidate."

Lansing will empty out next week for the annual week-long migration to Mackinac Island, prompting pundit questions about the theme and feel expected at the 2026 policy conference in the long shadow of national politics, as well as the chatter of changing who is — or isn't — elected in state politics.

News reporters and members of the public who find and expose “waste, fraud, abuse, misappropriation, or other misuse of taxpayer dollars,” could win a financial award after Rep. Joseph Aragona (R-Clinton Township) announced his new bill yesterday.

Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford) asked the state demographer Friday during the Consensus Revenue Estimating Conference (CREC) if killing Michigan's income tax could bring 1 million people back to the state.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bipartisan bills Thursday to remove the mandatory essay portion of the Michigan Merit Exam given to mostly 11th graders and end the requirement to place test scores on school transcripts.

Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) directly challenged the chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on whether he would support Senate-passed legislation that would stop the Unemployment Insurance Agency (UIA) from collecting non-fraud payments improperly paid out during COVID.

All Democratic state senators who can return next year are supporting Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton)'s leadership bid in the caucus and are co-hosting a "Leadership Lunch" for him on June 4.

Rep. Matt Longjohn (D-Portage) hit a grand slam and Rep. Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City) went 5-for-5 at the plate to lead the Democrats to their first Legislative Softball Game win in four years.