Monique Baker McCormick’s 10-year campaign for Wayne County Commission is a primer on dirty political tricks. She’s learned well, but at what cost?
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 inUrban Affairs
Is Detroit finally turning the corner?
Rising rents and tax breaks for developers revive Detroit gentrification fears. But city insiders also note easier access to loans and new business in some long-dormant neighborhoods.
Posted inUrban Affairs
Poverty is Detroit’s biggest problem. Gentrification doesn’t come close.
In a new book, scholar Alan Mallach argues Detroit should welcome newcomers and spend more money training workers and less money building stadiums.
Posted inUrban Affairs
Is your Detroit neighborhood primed for a rebound? Check out this map.
Nearly 10,000 blocks of Detroit have been studied to determine whether home values are likely to surge, or are too far gone. How does yours fare?
Posted inMichigan Government
Flint, Islam and fixing the damn roads. Your Michigan governor debate recap
Lt. Gov. Brian Calley defends response to Flint. Attorney General Bill Schuette doesn’t like Jennifer Granholm. And religious animosity remains between Patrick Colbeck and Abdul El-Sayed.
Posted inMichigan Government
Democrat Shri Thanedar releases tax returns in Michigan governor race
The entrepreneur’s returns show he made over $17 million in 2016 from the sale of his chemical testing laboratory in Michigan
Posted inMichigan Government
I read the memoirs of Michigan governor candidates so you don’t have to
Three books in four days: Lessons from would-be chief executives. (You’ll never guess who worked as a ‘head potato boy’) Oh, and there will be a quiz.
Posted inMichigan Government
Abdul El-Sayed clears eligibility hurdle in bid for Michigan governor
A cloud that has surrounded the Democrat’s campaign for governor has lifted, as a judge dismisses lawsuit challenging his eligibility for office.
Posted inUrban Affairs
Michigan leaders want to make crumbling Detroit fort into national park
A movement is afoot to grant protected status to Historic Fort Wayne in time for the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge in Detroit.
Posted inUrban Affairs
Along Detroit River, city treasures and rare cars hidden in bubble wrap
Coleman Young’s limo and Lee Iacocca’s Lincoln are stashed in a discreet warehouse on Detroit’s Historic Fort Wayne, which some want to make a national park. (slideshow)