KENNEBUNK, Maine (AP) — It just wouldn’t feel like the Super Bowl for them if they weren’t all there. And this might be the last time they all do it.

That’s what three old friends were coming to grips with just before this year’s Super Bowl. The trio of octogenarians are the only fans left in the exclusive “never missed a Super Bowl” club.

Don Crisman of Maine, Gregory Eaton of Michigan and Tom Henschel of Florida were back for another big game this year. But two of them are grappling with the fact that advancing years and decreasing mobility mean this is probably the last time.

This year’s game pits the Seattle Seahawks against the New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, on Sunday. Crisman, a Patriots fan since the franchise started, was excited to see his team in the game for a record-setting 12th time.

“This will definitely be the final one,” said Crisman, who made the trip with his daughter, Susan Metevier. “We made it to 60.”

Getting older, scaling back

Crisman, who first met Henschel at the 1983 Super Bowl, turns 90 this year. Meanwhile, Henschel, 84, has been slowed by a stroke. Both said this is the last time they’ll make the increasingly expensive trip to the game, although members of the group have said that before. For his part, Eaton, 86, plans to keep going as long as he’s still physically able.

Eaton, who runs a ground transportation company in Detroit, is the only member of the group not retired. And he’d still like to finally see his beloved Detroit Lions make it to a Super Bowl.

Even so, all three said they’ve scaled back the time they dedicate each year to the trip. Crisman used to spend a week in the host city, soaking in the pomp and pageantry. These days, it’s just about the game, not the hype.

“We don’t go for a week anymore, we go for three or four days,” Crisman said.

Eaton, too, admits the price and hype of the big game have gotten to be a lot.

“I think all of them are big, they’re all fun. It’s just gotten so commercial. It’s a $10,000 trip now,” he said.

Friendly rivalries over the years

Henschel said this year’s Super Bowl would be the most challenging for him because of his stroke, but he was excited to see Eaton and Crisman one more time.

Eaton met Crisman and Henschel in the mid-2010s after years of attending the Super Bowl separately. And Henschel and Crisman have a long-running rivalry: Their respective favorite teams — the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots — are AFC rivals.

The fans have attended every game since the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, as the first two Super Bowls were known at the time, in 1967. They have sometimes sat together in the past, but logistics make it impossible some years.

But this year it was just about being able to go to the game at all, Henschel said.

“I don’t talk or walk good,” he said.

An ever-shrinking club

The club of people who have never missed a Super Bowl once included other fans, executives, media members and even groundskeepers, but as time has passed, the group has shrunk. Photographer John Biever, who has shot every Super Bowl, also plans to let his streak end at 60.

The three fans spin tales of past games that often focus less on the action on the field than on the different world where old Super Bowls took place. Henschel scored a $12 ticket for the 1969 Super Bowl the day of the game. Crisman endured a 24-hour train ride to Miami for the 1968 Super Bowl. Eaton, who is Black, remembers the many years before Doug Williams became the first Black quarterback to win a Super Bowl in 1988.

Metevier, Crisman’s daughter, was born the year of the first Super Bowl and grew up with her dad’s streak as a fixture in her life. She’s looking forward to going to one last game with him.

“It’s kind of bittersweet. It’s about the memories,” Metevier said. “It’s not just about the football, it’s something more.”

Crisman’s son, Don Crisman Jr., said he’s on board with his dad making the trip for as long as he’s still able, too.

“You know, he’s a little long in the tooth, but the way I put it, if it was me and I was mobile and I could go, I would damn sure go,” he said.

More than 60 Girl Scouts and 67 adults participated in Girl Scouts of Southeastern Michigan’s Ice to Table – Ice Fishing program, a hands-on winter experience that blended outdoor recreation, environmental education and practical life skills.

Designed as part of a broader fishing and aquatic conservation curriculum, the program introduced participants not just to ice fishing, but to the knowledge and confidence needed to do it safely and responsibly.

“Our Ice to Table – Ice Fishing event is part of a multi-part fishing and aquatic conservation curriculum,” said Paige Wigren, vice president of outdoor experience. “Most fishing programs focus on the ‘try-it’ aspect only. We wanted to take our events a few steps further.”

The program was offered in partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge in Trenton and supported by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through the Detroit River Youth Fishing Team grant. For nearly four years, the collaboration has worked to remove barriers that often keep families from outdoor recreation, particularly the cost of equipment and access to instruction.

Each participant began the day with a detailed ice safety demonstration. Girl Scouts were fitted with mandatory ice picks and taught what to do if they fell through the ice, emphasizing the importance of staying calm. They also learned how to “spud” their path forward using an ice spud to test ice thickness before stepping ahead.

“It is best to assume that no ice is 100% safe,” Wigren said. “Becoming too confident during high-risk activities can lead to mistakes and accidents. Safety is at the forefront of everything we do.”

For many participants, the safety lessons were among the most valuable takeaways.

“I learned it’s important to not panic if you fall through the ice, to never go on the ice alone, and to carry safety picks in case you need to pull yourself out,” said Ayla DeLuca, an eighth grader from West Bloomfield.

Cassidy Holmes, a sixth grader from Waterford, said she learned “how to judge if the ice on a lake is safe, and how to use ice picks in an emergency.”

Violet Lira, a first grader from Canton, said she was surprised that ice fishing was actually on the ice.

“I’ve only been regular fishing, like when it’s warm. Walking right on the ice surprised me! I thought we would walk next to the ice,” she said. “I learned that no ice is safe ice, and you have to check first and be really careful before you walk on it. You check how the ice feels and what color it is to see if it’s OK to go on.”

After safety fundamentals were covered, participants moved on to fishing skills. Each Girl Scout was assigned a pre-drilled ice hole and a five-gallon bucket stocked with bait, hooks, jigs, hemostats and a depth finder clip. Instructors demonstrated how to operate an ice fishing pole, bait a hook with a wax worm, gently “jig” the line, and safely remove a fish from the hook.

“They learn how to drill an ice fishing hole, scoop ice shards so they don’t cut their line, measure water depth, set the hook, reel in their catch,” Wigren explained. “And if the fish is legal and they’re interested, we teach them how to fillet and pan fry it.”

That final step, the transition from ice to table, proved especially memorable for many participants.

“I liked watching Ms. Paige filet the fish, even though it was a little gross,” Holmes said. “I had never seen that before, and it was a good learning experience.”

Lilly Brinn, a 10th grader from Troy, agreed. “I liked the fish filleting part. It was really interesting to see the knife work.”

For DeLuca, the highlight was tasting the final product. “I liked eating the fish,” she said. “Ms. Paige is very good at cooking it. Best fried fish I’ve ever had. It probably helps that it was so fresh.”

The program followed a “challenge by choice” philosophy, allowing participants to decide how involved they wanted to be in preparing their catch.

“First and foremost, we focus on the comfort level of the child,” Wigren said. “Some kids are excited to learn how to filet a fish. Others prefer just the catching part, and that’s OK.”

Even those who didn’t catch a fish found the experience rewarding.

“Even though I didn’t catch anything today, it was still interesting to learn and great to be out in nature on a sunny day,” Holmes said. “It was peaceful on the frozen lake.”

Brinn echoed that sentiment. “I didn’t catch anything, unfortunately, but I enjoyed learning how to prep fish. The hour on the ice felt more like ten minutes.”

Several participants were surprised by how quickly conditions changed on the ice.

“I was most surprised that the water in the open hole freezes so fast,” DeLuca said.

“I’d never gone before, and I was surprised how fast the ice froze,” Brinn added. “Seriously, it’s crazy.”

Winter programming comes with logistical challenges, from unpredictable weather to managing cold exposure. The Scouts addressed those risks with heated pop-up shanties, access to warming stations, and continuous monitoring of participant comfort.

While the program was first planned in 2022, inconsistent ice conditions delayed its launch. The 2025 season marked the first year it could be hosted safely, and this year’s event proved equally successful.

Despite the complexity, Wigren said the impact makes it worthwhile.

“When kids directly connect with nature in their own communities, it leads to a better understanding of conservation and sustainability,” she said. “It breaks a big concept down into something tangible.”

For many Girl Scouts, the experience sparked interest in future outdoor adventures.

“I would love to do this again,” DeLuca said. “I love fishing, and I want to try again and actually catch something.”

Holmes agreed. “It was fun, I got to see my friend, and I learned a lot.”

Wigren hopes participants walked away with more than just fishing skills.

“These events teach Girl Scouts that they can do anything they put their minds to,” she said. “They can do hard things.”

For more information on GSSEM’s Outdoor Experience Department programs, visit gssem.org/go.

Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office on Friday sent a formal demand letter to Gotion, Inc. in an attempt to recoup about $23.7 million in taxpayer cash used to prepare land in the Big Rapids area for a battery parts manufacturing plant project that’s been halted.

The demand comes more than four months after the state of Michigan, on Sept. 17, sent Gotion a letter holding the company in default of a $175 million taxpayer incentive agreement.

Assistant Attorney General James A. Zeihmer said in the Friday letter to Gotion that the matter had been referred to Nessel’s office and that the company now has 30 calendar days to pay back the $23.7 million.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation has been working since Sept. 17 “to fully brief the Attorney General’s office and coordinate to return the balance of the SSRP grant to put the state in the strongest position for repayment,” said Danielle Emerson, an MEDC spokeswoman.

Chuck Thelen, Gotion’s vice president for North American manufacturing, did not immediately respond to a call and email seeking comment. Zeihmer’s Friday letter was addressed to Thelen.

In a federal court filing last week, Gotion argued its current situation in Green Township — where locals are largely opposed to the project and have rescinded project agreements that pave the way for construction — makes the project “no longer viable.” The company said in its Jan. 20 filing that it plans to amend its complaint against the township to seek monetary damages.

“The fact still remains that the township breached a valid and binding contract, caused Gotion harm, and is liable for damages to Gotion for its breach, including a claim for significant monetary damages that Gotion now intends to seek,” Gotion’s Jan. 20 court filing said.

Michigan lawmakers approved $175 million in taxpayer incentives for the Gotion project in Green Township in August 2023. About $125 million of that total was reserved for Gotion directly through Critical Industry Program dollars disbursed through the Strategic Outreach and Attraction Reserve Fund. Another $50 million was directed to The Right Place, an economic development group in west Michigan, to purchase and prepare the land for Gotion’s eventual construction.

But the Gotion project was hit with consistent and significant pushback by local residents and, later, officials at the local, state and national level. Opponents raised concerns about the effect of the manufacturing plan on the environment, the initial secrecy surrounding the state’s agreement with Gotion and the manufacturer’s ties to its Chinese parent company.

In November 2023, all of the members of the Green Township board were either recalled or resigned in the wake of community outrage against the project. They were replaced by a slate of candidates who are largely opposed to the project.

In March 2024, Gotion sued the township in federal court after the newly elected board rescinded its approval of a water line meant to serve the plant. Gotion argued the board’s decision was in breach of a development agreement requiring the township to assist the company in “obtaining the necessary governmental authorizations” for the project. That suit is ongoing.

In the state’s Sept. 17 letter to Gotion, nearly two years after entering a grant agreement with the company, the Michigan Strategic Fund said the company’s “cessation of eligible activities” for a period of 120 days constitutes an “abandonment” in violation of the grant agreement.

Additionally, the letter said, the company’s involvement in at least two pending lawsuits violates a provision of the agreement that prohibits involvement in a suit that “would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the project or the grantee’s performance of its obligations under this agreement.”

Of the funding appropriated by the Legislature, only about $23.7 million in Strategic Site Readiness Program funds was disbursed before Gotion was found in default.

The number was part of the DEA’s 2025 seizure statistics, which the government said reflects “significant enforcement efforts aimed at dismantling drug trafficking organizations and protecting” communities in the Detroit field division, which includes Michigan, Ohio and northern Kentucky.”

In addition to the deadly fentanyl powder and pills, seizures included thousands of pounds of other drugs, firearms, cash, and made close to 1,000 arrests.

Throughout 2025, the DEA Detroit Field Division seized:

•  147 kilograms (295 pounds) of fentanyl
• 432 kilograms (864 pounds) of counterfeit pills
• 1,658 kilograms (3,316 pounds) of cocaine
• 1,054 kilograms (2,108 pounds) of methamphetamine
• 324 firearms
• More than $17 million in cash and assets
• And made 950 arrests

“Every kilogram of fentanyl we seize represents lives saved,” Joseph Dixon, special agent in charge of the DEA Detroit Field Division, said in the release. “These enforcement actions are about protecting American families, disrupting the criminal networks that profit from addiction, and advancing our mission of a fentanyl-free America.”

Because the district covers three states, it was not immediately clear how much of that fentanyl came from Michigan and how much came from the other states.

Nationally, the number of fentanyl confiscations peaked in 2023 and have been on the decline since. That year, the Detroit Field Division confiscated 1,168 pounds of fentanyl, a 70% increase from the previous year.

Two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially lethal dose.

Authorities said fentanyl overdoses are the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 18 and 45.

As part of its efforts to combat the crisis, the DEA continues to form community partnerships and raise public awareness, the statement said. For more information about the dangers of fentanyl and counterfeit pills, visit dea.gov/fentanylfree

Toyota Motor Corp. kept its title as the world’s biggest carmaker for a sixth year, widening its lead over Volkswagen AG by posting record sales despite trade turmoil and growing competition.

Global sales in 2025 – including those of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor Co. and Hino Motors Ltd. – rose 4.6% from the prior year to 11.3 million units, the company said Thursday. Production climbed 5.7% to 11.2 million. VW’s total group sales fell 0.5% to 9 million vehicles.

The numbers show that Toyota has been able to remain on track despite US President Donald Trump’s trade war and the rise of Chinese carmakers. Global car manufacturers have been warning that they face billions of dollars in losses due to tariffs, as they raise prices, shift production to the US or pare output.

Toyota and Lexus brand vehicles in the US saw an 8% bump in sales and rose almost 10% in production, thanks largely to a rebound in the popularity of gas-electric hybrids. Total sales in Japan, which accounted for about 18% of the worldwide total, increased 12%.

Trump imposed a 15% tariff on Japan that would encompass all cars and car parts imported to the US. While the island nation dodged a bullet by talking the president down from steeper duties, that still represented a sizable increase from previous rates of 2.5%. Most Japanese automakers looked to soften the impact by moving to increase output in the US, but still they collectively bore billions of yen in losses as a result.

Honda Motor Co.’s global annual sales fell 7.5% to 3.5 million units. That included a 24% drop in China, it said Thursday. Production shrank 9%.

Nissan Motor Co. sold about 3.2 million vehicles, down 4.4% from the previous year.

Among its peers, Toyota was one of the few to regain some stability in China, where domestic electric vehicle brands led by BYD Co. have claimed much of the world’s largest passenger vehicle market. BYD, which overtook Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. last year as the world’s biggest EV maker, delivered 4.6 million vehicles in 2025 – almost half of which were fully-electric.

In contrast, Toyota sold just under 200,000 battery-powered EVs last year. Only 4,227 units were delivered to customers in Japan, where they have yet to break through like they have in other major markets.

Michigan’s population grew by about 28,000 people from July 2024 to July 2025, according to census bureau estimates released this week. That growth hinged mostly on international immigration, though domestic migration from other states reached a net positive for the first time in decades.

Michigan is now home to about 50,000 more residents than in 2020, the date of the last decennial census. The state’s 0.5% population growth rate since 2020 ranks 41st among U.S. states and Washington, D.C. and trails the 1% growth across the Midwest region.

Kurt Metzger, a demographer and the founder and director emeritus of Data Driven Detroit, said the population data was “cautiously optimistic” for Michigan.

“The most important is the fact that we saw net positive domestic migration. I go back to 1991 in my data and we’ve never seen it,” Metzger said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer celebrated the population figures, citing them as a signal that Michigan was becoming more attractive to families.

“Amid rising costs and so much national economic uncertainty, families are looking to put down roots somewhere they can still afford to live a good life,” she said.

But Metzger said the total population growth figure was less convincing. He pointed out that the Census Bureau revised its previous estimate of Michigan’s 2024 population down by 40,000 in the new numbers.

“I’d say Michigan is holding its own,” said Metzger, a former mayor of Pleasant Ridge. “Let’s not get too excited.”

Nationally, the U.S. population grew at the slowest rate since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing just 0.5%.

“The slowdown in U.S. population growth is largely due to a historic decline in net international migration, which dropped from 2.7 million to 1.3 million in the period from July 2024 through June 2025,” said Christine Hartley, assistant division chief for estimates and projections at the Census Bureau, in a statement.

“With births and deaths remaining relatively stable compared to the prior year, the sharp decline in net international migration is the main reason for the slower growth rate we see today,” she said.

Every year, the Census Bureau estimates state population totals by modifying the latest decennial census tallies. Demographers estimate the number of births and people who moved into the state since the previous year, adding them to the count. Then they subtract the number of deaths and the number of people who moved out of the state.

Less international, more domestic migration

Michigan’s growth over the last half-decade has relied entirely on immigration, since deaths have outpaced births and domestic migration was a net negative before 2025.

“The good part for the 2025 numbers is the domestic migration,” said Metzger, the demographer. But he pointed out that international immigration to Michigan dropped dramatically.

While most of the state’s growth still came from international migration, the 30,000 people who moved to Michigan from other countries was less than half the net total from a year before. As a result, Michigan’s total population growth was slower than the year prior.

Domestic migration played a smaller role, with about 1,800 more people moving to Michigan from other states than moving out of Michigan. Still, that marked a departure from a trend of domestic outmigration from the Great Lakes State.

In her statement, Whitmer said, “for the first time since the early 90s, more people moved into Michigan from other states than moved out. Our work to get things done on the kitchen-table issues that make a real difference in people’s lives is paying off.”

The pattern of positive domestic migration was also consistent across the region. During the same period, total net domestic migration across the Midwest was 16,000, compared to migration losses in 2021 and 2022 that reached -175,000.

As President Donald Trump’s administration clamps down on legal immigration, Metzger said residents of other states moving to Michigan is the state’s best chance at population growth moving forward.

“Michigan is not going to grow from a natural increase. It’s probably not going to grow from immigration, so long as the Trump administration has its way,” Metzger said. “So, the only hope is domestic migration.”

Population growth still lags nation

Despite overall population growth, Michigan continued to lag the US and other states in the Midwest, the census bureau data showed.

While Michigan’s population has grown 0.5% since 2020, the total US population has grown by 3% and the population of the Midwest region has increased 1%.

According to the Census Bureau, the Midwest was the only region in the country where every state experienced population growth from mid-2024 to mid-2025.

Other midwestern states like Indiana (3% growth since 2020), Minnesota (2%) and Ohio (1%) have grown their populations more quickly than Michigan. Among nearby states, only Illinois, which has lost population since 2020, grew more slowly.

In her statement, Whitmer acknowledged that more needs to be done to spur Michigan’s growth.

“While this growth is a sign that our strategy is working, we have to double down,” she said.

Richard Whitmer, the former longtime leader of health insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and father of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, has died, the governor’s office announced Tuesday. He was 85.

Richard Whitmer, who went by Dick, previously served in state government, including as commerce secretary for former Gov. Bill Milliken, a Republican, before joining Blue Cross Blue Shield. According to the Western Michigan University alumni association, he was the senior vice president and general counsel for the insurer, beginning in 1977, before becoming president and CEO 10 years later. He retired from the position in 2006.

His daughter, Gretchen, became the state’s Democratic governor about 13 years later, taking office at the start of 2019. She was reelected to her second term in 2022 and is currently in her final year as governor because of Michigan’s term limits.

“He was the one who always saw my potential and believed in me, from the first speech I gave in fifth grade to my States of the State as governor,” Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement Tuesday. “He was always there, whether in the back of the classroom or in the front row of the House Chamber, cheering me on.

“He was the one who picked me up when I was down or told me to get my act together when I screwed up. When my grades were slacking in high school, he inspired me to live up to my potential. Because of his encouragement, I did.”

In a 2005 statement announcing Richard Whitmer’s upcoming retirement, Gregory Sudderth, chairman of the Blue Cross board, labeled Richard Whitmer a “wonderful and talented CEO.”

“He shaped the Blues into the successful, competitive, customer-focused organization that it is today,” Sudderth said in 2005. “We are fortunate to have had his leadership these past 17 years.”

In a statement Tuesday, Tricia Keith, current president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, said Richard Whitmer’s tenure was historic and came at a critical time for the organization, which was facing a financial crisis.

“Dick Whitmer’s leadership stabilized Blue Cross’s finances, restored our relationships and helped our company emerge from the crisis it faced in the 1980s,” Keith said. “Dick Whitmer was a leader of integrity and fortitude.

“He put Blue Cross on the path to grow, compete and serve in a new century. He championed transparency and integrity. His tenure was marked by dramatically improved relations between management and labor, founded upon mutual respect and a collaborative spirit.”

Former Gov. Jim Blanchard, a Democrat, said he first met Richard Whitmer when Whitmer was working for Milliken, who took office as governor in 1969. At the time of their encounter, Richard Whitmer was commerce secretary, a high position in state government for someone who was in his late 20s or early 30s, Blanchard said.

“Throughout his career, he was a very gracious and a very understated, modest person,” Blanchard said.

At Blue Cross, Richard Whitmer was initially the organization’s advocate with state government at a time of acrimony with some state officials, Blanchard said.

“He was able to smooth over relations, which, I think, was to the benefit of both Blue Cross Blue Shield and the state,” Blanchard said.

Richard Whitmer earned his undergraduate degree from Western Michigan University and his law degree from the University of Michigan, according to the governor’s office.

S. Martin Taylor, another former state official, met Richard Whitmer at Western Michigan University and maintained a friendship with him for more than six decades.

“He was just a solid guy who had his own principles and morality,” Taylor recalled.

Asked which accomplishments Richard Whitmer was most proud of, Taylor said it was probably his three children, Gretchen, Richard and Liz.

“He was devoted to them,” Taylor said.

Blanchard said Richard Whitmer encouraged Gretchen Whitmer to consider public life and becoming involved in government. Richard, like his daughter, was an astute politician, Blanchard said.

In her statement Tuesday, Gretchen Whitmer described her dad as “my best friend, most trusted counselor and next-door neighbor until I moved into the governor’s residence.”

“I would not be where I am and who I am without my dad,” she said. “Today, I’m sad, but I’m grateful too. I’m grateful for the time we got to spend together, for the things he taught me, and the stories I’ll carry with me forever.”

©2026 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

More than 47,000 hourly workers at General Motors Co. will get profit-sharing payments of $10,500 for 2025 as the automaker posted full-year earnings of $2.7 billion despite sliding to a $3.3 billion fourth-quarter loss, according to financial data released Tuesday.

For every $1 billion GM makes in North America, the automaker’s hourly U.S. employees receive $1,000, according to the Detroit automaker’s agreement with the United Auto Workers. The company posted $12.7 billion in EBIT-adjusted earnings for the year.

The payments are down compared to last year, when GM doled out record payouts of up to $14,500. The GM workers represented by the union will receive their payments Feb. 27.

“As always, our membership performed beyond all expectations. It is our members’ skillfulness that made this profit possible, as they produce the finest products in the world, right here in the U.S.A.,” Mike Booth, a UAW vice president and director of the union’s GM Department, said in a post on X.

This year’s payouts are thanks to the profits the automaker booked last year despite uncertainty and costs related to tariffs, as well as the Trump administration’s shift away from policies aimed at supporting the still-developing electric vehicle market.

GM’s 2025 impairment charges include a roughly $4.6 billion cash impact, which covers fees for broken contracts and settlements with suppliers who had planned on helping the automaker meet ambitious electrification goals.

The company wrote off another $3 billion spent on machinery and other equipment for EV production.

CEO Mary Barra attributed the company’s profitability, despite those headwinds, to its money making gas-powered truck and SUV lineup. GM last year grabbed up a greater portion of the U.S. auto market, where the automaker is also most profitable.

Focusing too much on short-term gains in the U.S. market with trucks and SUVs also brings the risk of falling behind globally, where analysts still predict EVs will be the future.

GM executives have said the plan is to develop EV and self-driving technology as the company waits for U.S. consumer interest to pick up speed. A top priority for GM is producing lower-cost lithium-ion-phosphate batteries to bring down the price tags on EVs.

GM upped its per-share dividend by three cents and will pay a quarterly cash dividend of $0.18 per share on March 19 to holders of common stock at the close of trading on March 6. The company also said the board of directors approved a $6 billion share repurchase authorization.

The Democratic candidates for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat are united in condemning what they deem abuses of power by federal immigration agents, but they are split on how to rein them in after another person was fatally shot Saturday in Minneapolis.

One candidate, Abdul El-Sayed of Ann Arbor, wants to entirely abolish the entity of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), likening it to a paramilitary force operating beyond the law that can’t be reformed.

“It’s like having black mold in your house. Once it’s there ― it’s not saying you don’t want a house. It’s just saying you don’t want that house,” El-Sayed said. “And this has gotten so far away from any sort of rational approach to immigration enforcement that I think it needs to be done away with.”

State Sen. Mallory McMorrow of Royal Oak said ICE has “gone rogue” and needs an overhaul, while the focus of U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens of Birmingham has been calling for accountability and forcing the agency’s boss, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, from office via impeachment ― a long shot in the Republican-controlled Congress.

“Congress: Not one more penny until we get the same oversight and accountability we demand from every law enforcement agency,” McMorrow wrote Saturday on social media after the 37-year-old man was killed.

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a Saturday statement that federal officers were conducting an operation as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and fired “defensive shots” after a man with a handgun approached and “violently resisted” officers who tried to disarm him, the Associated Press reported.

The man’s parents identified him as Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse at the Veterans Administration.

Several bystander videos of the shooting emerged soon after. Pretti is seen with a phone in his hand, but none appears to show him with a visible weapon.

The officer who shot the man is an eight-year Border Patrol veteran, federal officials said.

The shooting occurred as Minneapolis has continued to see daily protests following the shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good when an ICE officer fired into her vehicle multiple times on Jan. 7.

Rogers weighs in

The presumptive Republican nominee, former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of White Lake Township, has defended the immigration enforcement crackdown under President Donald Trump and blasted his Democratic opponents in an ad last week for their opposition to the border wall and to boosting the number of immigration agents.

But Rogers, a former FBI agent, also said it’s “absolute malpractice” for Democratic political leaders in Minnesota to paint federal agents in Minneapolis as thugs who are “disappearing” people, saying that encourages “bad behavior” toward federal law enforcement.

“Do you want murderers and rapists and child predators in jail, are actually out of the country, or you want them roaming around your streets?” Rogers said on a Breitbart podcast. “That’s what this comes down to.”

Rogers has also called Good’s killing a “horrible tragedy” and said it should be investigated.

“I think any police shooting should always be investigated. That’s standard procedure,” he told The Detroit News earlier this month. “But the best way to avoid this is to not disobey a police officer in the legal function of their duties. … This isn’t fun and games. These guys want to go home to their families at the end of the day.”

The debate over ICE’s aggressive tactics in local communities has quickly become a contentious issue in this year’s midterm election campaigns, as polling shows voters around the country expressing unease with agents’ use of force against protesters, wearing masks and arresting, injuring or killing U.S. citizens. ICE has countered that its agents also have been met with violent behavior.

Illegal immigration “was a winning issue in 2024 for the Trump campaign and other Republicans because Americans are concerned about border security and unrestricted illegal immigration. That is a real concern for Americans. But so are their constitutional rights,” said consultant Adrian Hemond, a Democrat and CEO of the firm Grassroots Midwest.

“The Trump administration is speed running ― turning one of their strongest issues into one of their worst issues. It’s taken about a year. It’s wild to see an issue move that fast.”

Vice President JD Vance said during a Thursday visit to Minneapolis that the Trump administration wanted to “turn down the chaos” a lot in the area after clashes between agents and protesters, saying most of the problems were from a few “far-left agitators” harassing ICE officers.

Vance called on city and state leaders in Minnesota to allow police to better cooperate with federal officers to keep enforcement efforts more targeted to violent criminals. He also said federal agents who “violate the law” would face disciplinary action, but that they would not be “judged in the court of public opinion,” according to the Washington Post.

El-Sayed seeks abolishment

El-Sayed, the former health director for Wayne County, traveled to Minneapolis in mid-January and described the Upper Midwest city as traumatized, besieged and “constantly looking over its shoulder.”

He maintained that ICE has proven that it’s beyond repair because agents have been equipped with heavy weaponry and face masks and told they’re protected by immunity for their actions. He challenged his fellow Democrats to “take on the immorality of this.”

“The express reasoning for having ICE is to keep people safe in their homes and in their communities. If ICE is shooting 37-year-old moms in the face, clearly it is not meeting its responsibility. In fact, it has become the thing from which people need to be kept safe,” El-Sayed told The Detroit News.

“I called for this in 2018 because you could see how the president was coming to recognize that this could become a paramilitary force that answers only to him to normalize the use of state violence on peaceful streets.”

El-Sayed acknowledged that his abolish-ICE position isn’t the “politically safe” stance in a competitive field.

“But is it safe for our country when you’ve got armed thugs running around with rifles and checking people’s paperwork? No,” El-Sayed said.

“So anybody who tells you that their political convenience is more important than moral clarity about this issue, I question what kind of morals they’re operating under in the first place.”

Stevens moves to impeach Noem

El-Sayed criticized Stevens for taking a House vote expressing “gratitude” to ICE agents last June, describing her vote as “just the dumbest bull—-.” The broader resolution at issue condemned the June 1 antisemitic attack in Boulder, Colorado.

Stevens defended her vote.

“I take antisemitic violence very seriously, and I will always vote to condemn it,” Stevens told The News. “There was a cynical line in the resolution meant to divide us, but I refuse to be divided on calling out antisemitism.”

Stevens and McMorrow both contended that the best approach is to reform ICE, rather than eliminate it, with both emphasizing that Michiganians do want to see immigration laws enforced by the government, but in a sensible, humane way.

“ICE is out of control. These violent and untrained officers must listen to local officials and leave Minneapolis immediately. Their actions are making people less safe every day,” Stevens posted on social media after Saturday’s shooting.

Stevens called ICE a “mismanaged,” lawless federal agency and blamed Noem for “perpetuating chaos” as the congresswoman signed onto a resolution laying out articles of impeachment against Noem drawn up by Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Illinois.

In Michigan’s delegation, Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Shri Thanedar of Detroit have also signed on.

“The Homeland Security secretary has been lying. She has been stonewalling Congress, weaponizing federal power, and all of that has been deeply disturbing and concerning,” Stevens said, adding that Noem hasn’t answered questions from lawmakers about Good’s death or that of a Chicago man who died in a Michigan detention facility.

“I’d like to start with Secretary Noem stepping down and accountability for this agency. We’ve got masked ICE agents running around, terrorizing neighborhoods. I’m hearing from Michiganders all over our state worried that what’s happening in Minneapolis could come here,” she added.

While Stevens disagreed with El-Sayed’s call to abolish ICE, “it’s very clear that we need serious checks on ICE and how it’s operating under the Trump administration with their abuses of power.”

That’s partly why she voted Thursday against fiscal 2026 funding for Noem’s agency, along with all but seven House Democrats. The bill still passed 220-207.

McMorrow favors squeezing ICE’s budget

McMorrow pushed for Democrats in Congress to more strategically wield their government-funding power to force GOP lawmakers to negotiate changes that would return ICE to the job it was created to do.

“The strongest tool that you have in front of you as Democrats and as people who want to reform this agency is the budget,” McMorrow said. “Force the reforms that you want to see in the budget as a contingent to receive the funding that the agency is looking for.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York issued a statement after Saturday’s shooting saying that Senate Democrats would not vote to advance a government funding bill this week if it includes Department of Homeland Security funding. “What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling — and unacceptable in any American city,” Schumer said.

Like Stevens, McMorrow said abolishing ICE isn’t the way to go, in part because there needs to be a government agency to enforce immigration laws on the books.

“This agency is out of control, but I’m somebody who believes you fix it from the inside,” she said. “You reform, you overhaul this agency, so that it does the job of keeping our community safe. Because that’s what Michiganders are asking for, and I believe we should be enforcing our laws.”

In the meantime, McMorrow said the Michigan Senate Democrats are discussing how they might respond to ICE’s tactics in the state, including the news last week that an agency memo from last year tells officers that they may enter a person’s home to arrest them without a judicial warrant.

Legislation has already been introduced in Lansing to prohibit ICE agents from wearing masks and require them to wear identification. McMorrow said state lawmakers are also looking at prohibiting entry without a warrant.

“This is new territory for a lot of us. We all believe this is illegal. How are they allowed to do this?” she said.

“That’s what we’re exploring right now for what we are able and allowed to do as a state, or even trying anything that we can to push back. Because, frankly, they’re violating states’ rights by going beyond the state-level protections for privacy and safety and security.”

Temperatures across Michigan on Friday were already cold and expected to drop to some of the lowest in years, according to the National Weather Service.

Blame the so-called polar vortex, the phenomenon of swirling, cold air from the Arctic Circle that pushes south into the U.S.

One of the most recent polar vortices to vex Michigan chilled the state to the bone in 2019. During that cold snap, more than a foot of snow fell across parts of Lower Michigan, and wind chills ranged between minus-20 and minus-40, according to NWS data.

On Friday, temperatures in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula ranged from minus-11 degrees in Baraga to minus-8 in Marquette by 1 p.m., according to the agency’s office in Marquette.

Across the Lower Peninsula’s northern tip, temperatures ranged from 1 in Alpena to minus-2 in Gaylord, NWS reported.

On the state’s western half, readings ranged from minus-2 in Ludington to 1 in Holland and 0 in Grand Rapids, the weather service said.

In southeast Michigan, temperatures ranged from 3 in Saginaw to 2 in the Thumb region and 1 in Detroit, according to the NWS’s office in White Lake Township.

But things are looking up, sort of.

The NWS forecast for Baraga and Marquette called for high temperatures to rise to 4 and 8 on Saturday. The low in Baraga was to plunge to minus-12, while it will fall in Marquette to minus-8.

High temperatures in Alpena and Gaylord were predicted to rise to 11 and 7 on Saturday, the agency said. Alpena’s low could fall to minus-1 at night, and Gaylord was threatening to drop to minus-6.

Ludington could expect a high of 10 on Saturday, while Holland is looking at 9, and Grand Rapids should have reach 7. Ludington’s low Saturday night was expected to plummet to 4, while Holland faced a low of 3, and Grand Rapids was to slide to 2.

Closer to Detroit, temperatures were also expected to be warmer on Saturday. Saginaw was to be at 8. Bad Axe in the Thumb and the city of Detroit were expected to follow suit. Overnight, Saginaw and Bad Axe both weere to drop to a low of 0. Detroit was set to drop to a low of 3.

Detroit’s coldest January on record was set in 1977 with a high temperature of 12.8. The same year, Flint also had its coldest January with a high of 10.9. Saginaw has them both beat: its coldest January was in 1912 at 9.4.