Rick Pluta | MPRN
Reporter / Producer - 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 journalism background includes stints with UPI, The Elizabeth (NJ) Daily Journal, The (Pontiac, MI) Oakland Press, and WJR. He is also a lifelong public radio listener.
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.
He co-hosted the weekly segment “It’s Just Politics” on Michigan Radio with Zoe Clark.
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.
Follow him on Twitter at @rickpluta
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Hours after the state appeals court ordered Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s name off of Michigan's ballots, the state asked the Michigan Supreme Court to reverse that decision. -
The Michigan Court of Appeals reversed a lower court today and held it’s not too late for state election officials to grant Kennedy’s request to remove his name. -
In this week’s It’s Just Politics newsletter, Zoe Clark and Rick Pluta dig into the role third parties play in presidential elections and ask: do more candidates mean more opportunities for voters or are they just ‘"spoiling" the election? Plus, Michigan’s new “I voted” stickers go viral. -
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is asking the Michigan Court of Appeals to reverse a determination that his name must remain on the state’s presidential election ballot. -
A judge ruled this week that Robert F. Kennedy Junior’s name will remain on the Michigan ballot as the presidential candidate for the Natural Law Party. Will RFK Jr., Jill Stein, and Cornel West be 2024’s election spoilers? -
The Michigan Court of Claims rejected Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s lawsuit to have his name removed from the state’s presidential ballot. A judge issued the opinion Tuesday. -
In this week’s It’s Just Politics newsletter, the debate over debates in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, plus a look at the results from the Democratic and Republican state nominating conventions. -
A conversation with University of Michigan Ford School Dean Celeste Watkins-Hayes and Professor Jenna Bednar about the 50th anniversary of Gerald R. Ford becoming President of the United States. -
Michigan Democrats held their nominating convention on Saturday in Lansing, where delegates finalized the party’s ticket for the November ballot. -
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will appear on Michigan’s presidential election ballot even though he suspended his campaign.
