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Axios Detroit
Michigan has one of nation's least reliable power grids
Data: Climate Central via U.S. Department of Energy; Note: Major power outages affect at least 50K customers or interrupt service of 300 megawatts or more; Outage events can cross state lines; Map: Kavya Beheraj/AxiosMichigan is a national outlier for its number of major power outages since 2000, a new report from nonprofit research and communications group Climate Central found.Why it matters: Electricity outages will become more common as extreme weather events — many driven by climate change — wreak havoc on the country's aging power infrastructure.Outages and lengthy restoration times can cost the economy billions of dollars.The big picture: While...
Detroit breaks NFL Draft attendance record
Detroit broke the NFL Draft's attendance record with 775,000 people, and the Lions made a flurry of trades over the weekend to stock their roster with young talent.The big picture: Detroit shined throughout the three-day draft, setting a new standard for hosting the NFL's annual fan festival.State of play: The Lions' bevy of draft picks should help them defend the NFC North division title and compete for a Super Bowl next year.The players general manager Brad Holmes drafted:First round: Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold.Second round: Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw Jr.Fourth round: British Columbia offensive tackle Giovanni Manu.Fourth round: Utah safety Sione...
Slow but varied food options at NFL Draft in Detroit
Dozens of local restaurants are offering draft attendees a wealth of options — but don't expect to grab a quick bite.Why it matters: There are long lines for the fan zone's "Taste of Detroit" booths, but you can likely find any food you want if you're willing to wait — burgers, falafel and more from 20-plus restaurants, including Detroit 75 Kitchen, Good Vibes Lounge and Louisiana Creole Gumbo. Jordan Balduf of Side Biscuit based in Ann Arbor poses with a menu in front of his wing flight, featuring blueberry BBQ, Brogarashi and cracked table wings. Photo: Samuel Robinson/AxiosLines at the...
NFL Draft celebrates Detroit: Vibrant scenes and sports spirit take center stage
Day one of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday was a 12-hour celebration of the city of Detroit.Why it matters: Detroit made NFL history, breaking the league's day-one draft attendance record with more than 275,000 people downtown.The event reached capacity around 7pm and gates were closed.The big picture: Thousands of fans in a sea of Honolulu Blue — speckled with rival fans in yellow, brown, navy and other NFL team colors — strolled Woodward Avenue and Hart Plaza for hours Thursday. They posed with famous players' jerseys and giant helmets, collected swag and autographs, and made observations about the city...
Lions trade up for cornerback Terrion Arnold
Lions fans got a surprise Thursday night when the team traded up five picks to draft Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold with the 24th pick.Why it matters: Arnold is considered one of the draft's best cornerbacks and should give Detroit's pass defense a needed boost.What they're saying: "I just want to say, Detroit, y'all got a star, man. I'm home, man!" he told the NFL Network after getting drafted.Between the lines: Before Detroit picked, watching the division rival Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings draft their quarterbacks of the future was a little unsettling.Zoom in: The Vikings traded up to the No. 10 pick to nab U of M quarterback J.J. McCarthy.The Bears took USC quarterback Caleb Williams with the top pick.The bottom line: Detroit capped a wild draft day with an exciting pick that makes a lot of sense.
Metro Detroit's growing AI job landscape
Data: UMD-LinkUp AIMaps; Note: "AI job" defined as a job requiring technical skills to build and/or use AI models; A bigger circle indicates more new jobs per capita; Map: Kavya Beheraj/AxiosFewer new AI jobs are posted in Metro Detroit than the national average, but workforce development experts still consider it an essential field for future careers.Why it matters: As AI emerges as the hottest new thing in tech, cities outside Silicon Valley can get in on the action — and reap the potentially lucrative economic rewards.AI job postings continue to grow nationwide, while public trust in AI technology sinks and...
Things to do this weekend in Detroit: April 26-28
Stay out of downtown this weekend if you're not looking to dive deep into the sea of people attending the NFL Draft.For everyone not going to the draft, here's what's happening:📕 Independent Bookstore Day: Next Chapter Books on East Warren Avenue is celebrating 10am-5pm Saturday with complimentary dessert, a book raffle, a children's story time, a taco truck and more.👚 The Mitten Vintage Night: Local vendors selling streetwear, vintage items and food take over the Royal Oak Farmers Market from 5-10pm Saturday.🇯🇲 Jerk x Jollof at Big Pink: It's Afrobeats night Saturday at Big Pink with DJs Blakito, K-Dirty and YungD performing. Food from Yum Village is included with the $23.69 ticket.👟 SneakerCon returns to Detroit on Saturday at Huntington Place, where the brand will celebrate its 15th anniversary.Tickets: $30.🌎 Palmer Park Earth Day Celebration: Join community members, local artists and musicians at the annual event. The inaugural "Art in the Trees" show will feature large art installations and solo musicians throughout the park's Witherell Woods.Saturday from 10am-3pm at the Palmer Park Community Building.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Detroit.
Caleb Williams' favorite thing about Detroit? The food
Caleb Williams, the projected No. 1 pick in Thursday night's NFL Draft, is popping up around town taking pictures with fans and business owners.The intrigue: We ran into the Heisman Trophy winner Thursday at Babo Detroit on Woodward Avenue, where the quarterback ate lunch and played cards.What they're saying: "This place has been really great," Williams told Axios when asked his favorite thing about Detroit so far. "It's good food, bro. Tasty, it's a vibe.""This has been fun, I've been seeing all the athletes and everything — I'm excited." Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Detroit.
Michigan Central, other Detroit landmarks considered for NFL Draft
Before downtown was picked as the epicenter for the NFL Draft, city landmarks including Michigan Central Station, Belle Isle and the riverfront were under consideration.Inside the room: Commissioner Roger Goodell, billionaire businessman Dan Gilbert and others were talking about Detroit's draft location going back to 2021, Mark Hollis, Rock Ventures' vice president of business development and former Michigan State athletic director, tells Axios.What they're saying: "A small group of us had the NFL come in and look at four different sites — look at the train station, look at Belle Isle, look at the riverfront and we looked downtown," said...
Downtown Detroit businesses brace for NFL Draft crowds
Griswold Street's Dime Store, a popular brunch spot that gets packed weekly, expects an even busier scene this weekend.The big picture: Officials expect 300,000 visitors downtown to have a massive economic impact. The arrival of the NFL Draft also forces downtown business owners and their employees to navigate road closures to get to their jobs.State of play: The draft footprint covers 2 million square feet of downtown, stretching from Hart Plaza past Campus Martius. Businesses in surrounding areas like Eastern Market, Corktown and Cass Corridor are also bracing for more customers. Near Midtown, Temple Bar, Detroit Shipping Co., 8 Degrees...
Down payments up 10% for Metro Detroit homebuyers
The median down payment for buying a house grew slower in the last year in Metro Detroit than it did nationwide.Why it matters: Our median down payment in February was $10,611, up 10.4% year over year.The national median was $55,640, a 24% increase year over year.The big picture: With high mortgage rates, homebuyers are reaching deeper into their pockets on the front end to soften their monthly payments, Redfin researchers say.The median U.S. down payment in February was 15% of the purchase price, up from 10% a year earlier, per the report.In Metro Detroit, the down payment was just 5%...
Detroit House Hunting: West Village historic home
If you've got a down payment ready, this striking five-bedroom townhome in West Village is worth a gander.The big picture: It offers amenities similar to other east-side homes near the river that we've featured in our recurring local real estate spotlight — proximity to Belle Isle and a walkable neighborhood with restaurants, coffee shops and other hangouts.744 Van Dyke St., $270,000State of play: The 3,697-square-foot home was built in 1909 and has two and a half bathrooms with its five bedrooms.It features a natural brick fireplace, hardwood floors and French doors.💭 Joe's thought bubble: The exterior's colorful paint job caught my eye at first. But the home's location, size and fireplace are the features that could set it apart. Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Detroit.
Down payments up 10% for Metro Detroit homebuyers
The median down payment for buying a house grew slower in the last year in Metro Detroit than it did nationwide.Why it matters: Our median down payment in February was $10,611, up 10.4% year over year.The national median was $55,640, a 24% increase year over year.The big picture: With high mortgage rates, homebuyers are reaching deeper into their pockets on the front end to soften their monthly payments, Redfin researchers say.The median U.S. down payment in February was 15% of the purchase price, up from 10% a year earlier, per the report.In Metro Detroit, the down payment was just 5%...
Things to do in Detroit around the NFL Draft
Downtown will be packed with events this week as people from across the country visit the city, perhaps for the first time.What's happening: Several outdoor parties and interactive events are taking place outside the draft footprint:📺 The Downtown Detroit Partnership will host parties at five downtown parks Thursday-Saturday with live music, vendors and local food trucks and a live feed from the draft.Party sites are Grand Circus Park, Paradise Valley Beatrice Buck Park, Capitol Park, Beacon Park and a closed-off portion of Woodward Avenue near State Street.📺 Columbia Street along Woodward, the space across from Comerica Park maintained by Olympia...
Lions NFL Draft preview: Prospects to watch
Lions fans will have to wait until pick 29 to react to Detroit's first-round selection Thursday.Why it matters: The NFC North champions can add key pieces this week to a loaded roster that expects to compete for a Super Bowl.The intrigue: The Lions are a top trade-up candidate, the Free Press reports. "They are right on the cusp of being a championship team, so if there's a time to be aggressive this would be it," NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said in a conference call last week.Detroit is without a fourth-round pick but has an extra sixth-round pick from Tampa...
Challenging hospitals' tax breaks
A national think tank focusing on health care solutions found that nonprofit hospitals across Metro Detroit spend hundreds of millions less on community health investments than they receive in federal, state and local tax breaks.Why it matters: Such shortfalls, known as "fair share" deficits, are permissible under federal requirements for tax-exempt hospitals. However, the severity of these deficits has spurred calls for more robust regulation as Americans cope with medical debt and chronic illness.The big picture: About 80% of 2,425 nonprofit hospitals nationwide received more in tax breaks than they gave back to their communities in 2021, the most recent...
Kroger leads across Metro Detroit grocers in 2023
Kroger is still Metro Detroit's favorite grocery chain.Driving the news: Kroger had 33.9% of the market share as of last year, up nearly 4 percent from the previous year, according to new data from Chain Store Guide.The Cincinnati-based chain brought in $4.9 billion across Metro Detroit in 2023 and increased its lead over Meijer by 4 percentage points in 2022.Meijer, Walmart, Costco, Sam's Club and Target ranked as the next most popular stores, respectively.The big picture: While national grocery behemoths such as Walmart are typically among the most popular grocer in any given city, regional favorites are giving big-box stores...
Timeline update for Mosaic Eastern Market development
Construction is expected to start later this year on a delayed, much-anticipated redevelopment in Eastern Market.Why it matters: The Mosaic Eastern Market was pitched as a major reuse of a large, blight-ridden site including a food hall concept. It's in a beloved area of the city that's been looking to revitalize and boost development, job creation and traffic.Catch up quick: The city sold the long-vacant former Detroit Water and Sewerage Department building for $700,000 in 2017 to a team led by George Jackson, a developer and former Detroit Economic Growth Corp. CEO, per city documents.The developer is a three-company joint...
Falconry couple keeping pigeons out of downtown Detroit
A local couple carrying a hawk and a falcon are scaring away pigeons near Campus Martius.Driving the news: Bedrock Detroit hired ScAir Force Falconry & Bird Abatement, owned by Paul and Terese Thomas, to keep pigeons from pooping on the side of its buildings ahead of the NFL Draft, Paul Thomas of ScAir Force tells Axios.How it works: Thomas and his wife demonstrated their practice by walking toward a flock of pigeons playing a distress call and showing them the hawk, which flaps its wings while perched on its handler.What they're saying: "It's kind of like when you go to the beach and people yell 'shark, shark!'" Thomas says. "About 10,000 starlings were nesting on this building a couple weeks ago before we got here.""They would poop down the side and they were power washing it but two days later it looked like nothing was done. You'd have 3 inches of poop on the sidewalks."Bottom line: Thomas says it takes about a month for pigeons to learn they aren't welcome and stop returning.Get more local stories in your inbox with Axios Detroit.
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