The new Michigan secretary of state has spent years criticizing partisan redistricting. Now she heads the office that has defended the state against gerrymandering accusations. A federal trial is only weeks away.
Joel Kurth
As executive editor of impact, Joel Kurth oversees newsgathering, investigations, and coverage strategy at Bridge Michigan. He joined Bridge in 2017 after 17 years as an investigative reporter and editor at The Detroit News, where he led investigations that drove policy changes on water shutoffs and surgical instrument sterilization and resulted in criminal charges against government officials. He and his teams have won more than 60 state and national awards across a 30-year career in Michigan that has also included stints at newspapers in the Upper Peninsula and Saginaw. Joel also authors Bridge's popular weekly News Quiz.
Joel lives in West Bloomfield with his wife and two children.
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Out of the shadows: The people and motives behind one of the nation's worst cases of gerrymandering
Jan. 17, 2019: Michigan secretary of state wants to settle gerrymandering lawsuit Emails suggest Republicans gerrymandered Michigan to weaken ‘Dem garbage’ Emails involving Republican strategists and the Michigan Chamber emerge in a federal lawsuit. The messages suggest that helping GOP candidates was the central focus in redrawing legislative boundaries back in 2011. Voting results deliver on […]
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Michigan gerrymandering trial on for February; court cites ‘profound’ bias
Emails, election results are enough for three-judge federal panel to rule that a League of Women Voters lawsuit challenging Republican redistricting maps in Michigan can go to trial
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Gerrymandered districts help Republicans keep control of Michigan Legislature
Michigan Democrats win big in statewide balloting Tuesday. But district lines drawn in 2011 helped the GOP maintain majorities in state House and Senate.
Posted inMichigan Environment Watch
Lead levels drop in Michigan kids after Flint spike. But so does testing.
With map: After a one-year increase, blood lead levels are down again in Michigan. But is it because fewer people are getting tested now that the Flint water crisis has faded?
Posted inUrban Affairs
Detroit studying whether to shut water in underpopulated neighborhoods
Rising costs, aging infrastructure: Are closing taps to abandoned blocks the answer? Detroit is amid a study to find out.
Posted inUrban Affairs
In Detroit, surviving without running water has become a way of life
New records show more than 1,500 occupied homes never had water restored this year after disconnections for nonpayment. That’s at least 1 in 10 shutoffs this year from Detroit’s aggressive collections.
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Emails: Michigan Republicans brag that redistricting ‘protects incumbents’
Some Republicans were ‘beyond pissed’ and ‘just hated’ proposed political districts that threatened their power, prompting wheeling and dealing to ensure favorable districts in 2011, new emails in federal gerrymandering suit claim.
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Opinion | Gerrymandering has been ‘weaponized’ in Michigan
Author David Daley has studied Michigan political districts and says expected Democratic gains only prove the power of gerrymandering in the state.
Posted inMichigan Politics Watch
Michigan Republicans push ‘popular vote’ bills after trip to Hawaii
A California group sponsored oceanfront trips to Puerto Rico and Hawaii. Weeks later came GOP bills to change how Michigan awards presidential votes. Lawmakers did not have to disclose the travel.