Rick Pluta
Senior Capitol Correspondent - Michigan Public Radio NetworkRick Pluta is Senior Capitol Correspondent for the Michigan Public Radio Network. He has been covering Michigan’s Capitol, government, and politics since 1987. His reports appear regularly from the Capitol on public radio stations across the state and NPR.
He also hosts the weekly political program It’s Just Politics with Michigan Public's Political Director Zoe Clark.
Pluta's journalism background includes stints with UPI, The Elizabeth (NJ) Daily Journal, The (Pontiac, MI) Oakland Press, and WJR.
Rick was one of the first Michigan political reporters to write about “pay-to-play” fundraising, and the controversies surrounding recognition of same-sex relationships. He broke the news that Gov. John Engler was planning a huge juvenile justice overhaul that included adult-time-for-adult-crime sentencing, and has continued to report since then on the effects of that policy decision.
Rick is fascinated by the game of politics, and the grand plans and human foibles that go into policy-making. You will never find him ice-fishing.
He is a lifelong public radio listener.
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Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm shares her thoughts on the budget stalemate at the state Capitol, today’s political divisiveness, and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan’s independent bid for governor. -
Michigan’s July unemployment rate was 1.1 percentage point higher than the national rate. It is also half a percentage point higher than it was at this time a year ago. -
We are into week six of seemingly stalled budget negotiations in Lansing. Six weeks since K-12 schools, higher ed and some local governments started their fiscal years without knowing how much state money they’ll receive. Just what’s going on at the state Capitol? -
Republican State House Speaker Matt Hall says he wants to tackle high property taxes for homeowners during this session of the Legislature, which would very likely require a proposal on the ballot. -
Republican Speaker of the House Matt Hall has an idea to move stalled budget negotiations forward in Lansing: leave the discussions to just him and Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Plus, Whitmer visits President Trump at the White House again and a Democratic candidate drops out of the Michigan U.S. Senate race. -
The GOP lawsuit claimed Michigan's election guidance would allow people who have never lived in Michigan to cast absentee ballots in state elections. -
Governor Gretchen Whitmer wants a waiver to delay the impacts of Medicaid cuts on Michiganders. State House Speaker Matt Hall says that's OK, as long as the cuts happen. -
Detroit voters chose City Council President Mary Sheffield and Pastor Solomon Kinloch Jr. to move forward to November’s general election in the race to become the city’s next mayor. Plus, a majority of local Michigan officials think the state is on the wrong track. -
The Democratic governor said she had no qualms about partnering with a Republican president with whom she once had a fractious relationship. -
OK2Say, the anonymous tipline for Michigan students to report school safety concerns, got a record number of submissions in 2024.
