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In-depth reporting on Michigan's largest city and surrounding communities, including deep dives into the big changes afoot in Detroit, its schools, neighborhoods, institutions and city hall.
Counties across Michigan profit from selling foreclosed homes and charging fees on back taxes to down-and-out residents. No place does it more than Wayne County.
Cornerstone Schools recently announced that its flagship K-8 school would become a charter this fall. It would keep the same staff and curriculum, but would now be able to collect taxpayer money.
Left for dead in the 1970s, lending through (often predatory) land contracts is back with a vengeance in Michigan and Rust Belt cities after the mortgage meltdown.
The documentary, produced by the Detroit Free Press in partnership with Bridge Magazine is selling out fast. A Bridge/DJC book examining the violence that shook Detroit 50 years ago is available now.
An African-American businessman dreamed of a place where people of color could live and boat on the river, in the shadow of high-rise luxury. It never happened.
Residential shutoffs spiked 18 percent in 2016 - countering city officials' expectations. A staggering 83,000 homes have lost water service at some point since the city launched a crackdown on delinquent accounts in 2014.
"A significant difference in diagnoses" of skin or gastrointestinal infection was found in residents who lived on blocks with water shutoffs. But researchers acknowledge there's not yet enough data to prove a link.
Nikolai Vitti, the incoming superintendent from Florida, faces some age-old Detroit problems: overcrowded classrooms, historically low student achievement, and the burden of replacing a popular predecessor. Here’s what insiders suggest he should tackle first.