- Bridge Michigan Capitol reporter Jordyn Hermani joins WJR’s ‘All Talk with Kevin Dietz’ to discuss the state’s aging population problem
- What a rising rate of retirees mean for schools, Congressional representation and the labor market were all discussed on the show
- The WJR collaboration is part of Bridge Listens. We are asking readers to nominate their top 2026 election issues in this form
Bridge Michigan Capitol reporter Jordyn Hermani joined WJR-760 this week to discuss the state’s aging population and the impact a growing wave of retirements could have on everything from school district funding to Congressional representation.
Hermani joined “All Talk with Kevin Dietz” on Wednesday as part of an ongoing election-year collaboration between Bridge and WJR.
You can watch WJR-760 All Talk here.
The collaboration — known as “Election 2026 Coverage that Matters to Michigan” — is part of Bridge Listens, a yearlong effort to help identify and discuss the top election issues in Michigan before the 2026 election.
Michigan “was one of the highest baby birthing states at the height of the baby boom,” Hermani said, noting that at the height of the boom in 1957, Michigan recorded around 208,000 births.
Related:
- Michigan is old and getting older. Experts warn of looming consequences
- Crush of retirees a crisis in Michigan. State unprepared to meet their needs
- Experts: Michigan lost jobs, but tax revenue higher than expected
In 2024, there were closer to 99,000.
Fewer births means fewer kids going to schools and colleges. If the trend continues, demographers warn Michigan could again lose representation in congress, and federal funding allocations tied to population.
“We need to start looking at how we can attract people, because just simply doing nothing is not going to fix this problem,” Hermani said.
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