Ron French

Leaving prison was supposed to make everything better. It was only the beginning of the troubles for an unlikely pair.

The 2016 election exposed a gulf among Michigan residents. Bridge revisited 11 people and families we first profiled at Donald Trump’s inauguration to see if the past six months had changed their outlook. Both sides, it appears, are digging in.

TRAVERSE CITY – Ben Shomo didn’t vote for president last fall, at a time when he followed politics closely. Today, he doesn’t own a TV and seldom checks news websites on his phone. “I’ve gone through bouts of general unenthusiastic tendencies,” admitted the 21-year-old. He said he thinks people have moved on from the divisive […]

SUNFIELD – The grass is wet from an early morning rain as John Hulett takes his cocker spaniel Goldie for a walk along a wheat field on his Ionia County farm. At the edge of the field is a patch of woods that drops off toward Sebewa Creek. In the woods is a large rock […]

ANN ARBOR –  Aric Knuth and Jim Leija took their dogs Olive and Maisie on a walk through their Ann Arbor neighborhood, past well-kept homes and blooming gardens. The couple lead upper-middle class lives in a vibrant city, with five college degrees between them and good jobs at the University of Michigan. The doom and […]

LUCE COUNTY – Dave and Sherri Frohriep voted for change. Just not this kind. The power company turned off their electricity recently and the couple doesn’t have the $500 to get it turned back on. Neither have jobs beyond a few dollars they get for working for the volunteer fire department. Dave filled out paperwork […]

HARBOR SPRINGS – “You caught me with my dinner!” says Cynthia Shafer, holding a bag of movie theater popcorn and a soda. She asks the concessions attendant if she can leave her food behind the counter, and steps outside The Lyric theater in downtown Harbor Springs. She’s looking forward to seeing a movie with friends, […]

EAST LANSING – Lisa King has a job, a husband, two kids, a suburban home with a camper parked beside the garage, a living room full of toys and a cat named Whiskers. One thing she doesn’t have: friends or family who she knows are Trump supporters. “I have a couple cousins who are conservative, […]

SANILAC COUNTY – Tom Herbon owns an 1880s farmhouse in Sanilac County in Michigan’s thumb. The 57-year-old lives in Troy, but this is where he and his family spend most of their summer weekends. A 1962 Allis-Chalmers tractor is parked in a corn crib. From the side of the crib hung a large American flag. […]