Today on Stateside, the state House considers Republican-sponsored bills that would force local police to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. Democrats and immigrant rights advocates push back. Plus, we’ll check back in with the longest serving exoneree in U.S. history, who is still awaiting state compensation for the 46 years he spent wrongfully imprisoned.
Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.
State House considers bills to force local law enforcement to work with feds on immigration
- A pair of bills is moving through the state House that would require local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. The Republican-sponsored bills have generated backlash from Democrats and immigrant rights advocates. Michigan Radio's Dustin Dwyer joins Stateside to explain what's in the controversial bills.
Grand Traverse tribe amps up community sugarbush
- Maple sugaring season is just wrapping up in northern Michigan. This delicious tradition of boiling maple sap to make syrup is practiced in the state on many scales. But indigenous communities in the area were tapping trees long before settlers arrived.
- Michigan Radio's Kaye LaFond reports on efforts to revive the tradition among the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
Paper books better for toddler learning than ebooks, says UM study
- In this digital age, should we be leaning into books on screens or sticking to the long standing printed books when it comes to reading to our children? A new University of Michigan study suggests the latter may be more helpful when it comes to developing reading and language skills.
- Dr. Tiffany Munzer, a fellow in developmental behavioral pediatric at U of M, joins Stateside to discuss the study, and offer advice on how to better utilize digital books at home.
MSU study addresses knowledge gap in the world of stuttering
- There's a lot that scientists still don't understand about stuttering. Why does one person in a family stutter when no one else does? Why do some people stutter when they speak, but not when they're singing? These are mysteries that Michigan State University researchers are trying to unravel.
- J.Scott Yaruss is a professor and clinical speech-language pathologist at Michigan State University, and Caryn Herring is a doctoral student, who herself has a stutter. We talk to them about their research into this little understood speech disorder.
Longest-serving exoneree awaits compensation promised by state government
- In late 2016, then-Governor Snyder signed a new law: the Wrongful Imprisonment Compensation Act. It provides people exonerated of wrongful convictions in Michigan with $50-thousand per year for each year they were behind bars. But many exonerees are still waiting to be compensated.
- In 2018, Richard Phillips became the longest-serving inmate in the country to win exoneration, after being incarcerated for 46 years. Phillips joins Stateside, along with David Moran, co-founder of the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic, which led the effort to exonerate Phillips. They discuss the backlog in exoneree compensation in Michigan, and Phillips shares what life has been like since he was released from prison last year.
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