industry

Michigan sues Big Oil

Posted on February 9, 2026 by farlane

Mercedes Benz C350 Plug-In Hybrid by Rich

The Guardian shares that in a first of its kind complaint, the State of Michigan has filed a complaint accusing big oil of being ‘cartel’ that fuels climate crisis and high energy costs:

…the state’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, accused four fossil fuel majors and the top US oil lobbying group last month of acting as a “cartel” to stifle the growth of renewable energy and electric vehicles (EVs), while suppressing information about the dangers of the climate crisis. The conduct, the lawsuit alleged, violates federal and state antitrust laws.

The companies’ “collusion” drove up Michigan utility costs and slowed the transition away from gas-powered cars, according to the filing. Absent the industry’s efforts to repress clean technology, EVs “would be a common sight in every neighborhood – rolling off assembly lines in Flint, parked in driveways in Dearborn, charging outside grocery stores in Grand Rapids, and running quietly down Woodward Avenue”, it said.

Electricity costs in Michigan have surged, with average residential rates increasing by nearly 120% in the last two decades. And though electric car adoption is increasing, EVs and hybrids accounted for less than 4% of total registered vehicles statewide last year.

Rich took this photo at the North American International Auto Show way back in 2015. It won Best Photo in their 2015 Photo Contest & you can see more below and in his Detroit 2015 NAIAS gallery on Flickr.

Michigan hoping to unlock geologic hydrogen

Posted on February 4, 2026February 4, 2026 by farlane

Hydrogen Bus at the Capitol by Flint MTA

UpNorth Live shares that the State of Michigan is exploring the extraction of naturally occurring hydrogen beneath northern Michigan:

Geologic hydrogen, a naturally forming gas, produces water instead of carbon dioxide when used as fuel. Federal mapping has identified Michigan as one of the most promising locations in the U.S. for this resource. Researchers suggest the state’s underground geology may allow hydrogen to form and be trapped deep below the surface.

Matt Schrenk of Michigan State University said, “These rural communities, some of them are really struggling, some of them struggling to find an economic foothold and looking for new areas of development. And so I think to find ways to make use of things that already exist there could be really valuable.”

The photo is of one of the Flint Metropolitan Transit Authority‘s hydrogen buses at the state Capitol. You can read more about the Flint MTA’s pioneering alternative fuel program that includes a hydrogen refueling station in East Village Magazine.

Get ready for the 2026 Detroit Auto Show!

Posted on January 14, 2026 by farlane

Detroit Auto Show by Montez Miller / Tell Us Detroit

The annual Detroit Auto Show kicks off today at Huntington Place in Downtown Detroit. This annual celebration of automotive design & car culture runs January 14-25, 2026 & features new models, test tracks, and all kinds of auto related fun.

Montez Miller of Tell Us Detroit was there for an early look with Autot Show officials and new Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield. You can follow Tell Us Detroit’s coverage on Facebook, click to check out her video with some photo highlights of the preview, also also see highlights in the Detroit Auto Show’s hype video featuring GMac Cash. It’s really a great experience for car lovers!

Michigan Central Railway Tunnel

Posted on November 21, 2025November 21, 2025 by farlane

Sinking last tubular section Michigan Central RR tunnel by Albert Duce

One of the fun things about Michigan in Pictures is the way that the photos I share raise questions that I am then obliged to find the answers to! That is the case today after someone asked “Where does the Holiday Train cross over from Canada?” The answer is the Michigan Central Railroad Tunnel which the Henry Ford explains was the answer to a wintertime challenge:

Ferrying railroad cars across the Detroit River was time-consuming and expensive — and sometimes impossible through winter ice. The Michigan Central Railroad opened a tunnel between Detroit and Windsor in 1910. The tunnel’s sections were built on land and then towed and sunk into position. This innovative construction technique saved the railroad some $2 million versus more conventional methods.

The Diesel Shop shared the photo above and continues the explanation:

The tunnel was constructed utilizing the immersed tube method in which tunnel sections are prefabricated and then sunk to the bottom of the river. Immersed tube construction is generally faster and cheaper than the alternative of boring a tunnel into the earth. The Michigan Central Railway Tunnel was the first immersed tube tunnel to carry traffic. The tunnel, built at a cost of $8,500,000, is 1 3/8 miles in length from portal to portal.

Here’s a cool video tour of the Michigan Central Railway Tunnel & some shots of the tunnel via Wikipedia’s Michigan Central Railway Tunnel entry.

Michigan facing $16,000,000,000 fine for voting for Democrats?

Posted on October 10, 2025 by farlane

GM Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant by Tony Webster

The Michigan Advance shares that a $500 million grant to convert the General Motors Lansing Grand River Assembly plant to electric vehicle production is being considered for cancellation by President Trump. The grant is one of over $16 billion in already awarded federal grants that could be clawed back, apparently because Michigan voted for Democrats, which honestly sounds insane:

The document, circulated on Capitol Hill, was first reported by The Detroit News (link) and reportedly includes more than $800 million in Michigan projects. Other Michigan-based recipients on the list include Ford Motor Company and Dow Chemical Company. (and Stellantis)

The proposed cancellations come after Trump administration officials last week defended the decision to cancel federal projects in regions of the country that have voted for Democrats, insisting it was in an effort to reduce the size and scope of government during the ongoing shutdown of the federal government. Democrats, however, said the cancellations further eroded Congress’ constitutional authority over spending by unilaterally canceling funding that lawmakers approved on a bipartisan basis.

The lawmakers definitely have a point. How can we expect companies to invest in industries of the future if we as a nation can’t honor our commitments?

The photo is from the Wikipedia for the Lansing Grand River Assembly Plant which opened in 2001 and replaced the Lansing Car Assembly, Lansing Metal Center, and the Lansing Craft Center.

Happy National Jiffy Mix Day!

Posted on October 1, 2025October 1, 2025 by farlane

Jiffy Mix – Your Cornbread Comes From Right Here by Steve Brown

October 1st is the first ever National Jiffy Mix Day, a celebration of the family-owned Chelsea Milling Company that got its start in 1901 and launched the iconic Jiffy thanks to the vision of Mabel White Holmes:

When a friend of her twin sons Howard and Dudley visited their home, Mabel noticed the biscuits in the boy’s lunch were flat and unappetizing. She set out to find a way to create a pre-made mix which would assist the boy’s single father in the kitchen.

In 1930, with the support of her husband Howard Samuel Holmes, Mabel’s home-grown project became the first prepared baking mix sold to the public. The convenient, simple to use mix only required the addition of milk to produce perfect biscuits every time. By keeping their “JIFFY” brand baking mixes affordable, the Holmes’ new venture was able to help many families who were recovering from the effects of the Great Depression.

Read lots more from Jiffy & cheers to everyone who looks at a child’s lunch with an eye towards making it better!! There’s a poster from the Chelsea Area Chamber of Commerce below with info about the festivities on tap today that include games & prizes, a treasure hunt, food trucks & a visit from Detroit Lions Mascot Roary.

Steve passed on a couple years ago, but his photos and his love of history remain (click for his Michigan in Pictures features). Here are a few more pics of Chelsea – see more great shots from Chelsea in his Chelsea Michigan gallery on Flickr!

Mabel White Holmes inventor of Jiffy All Purpose Baking Mix

The last look at Jimmy Hoffa

Posted on July 31, 2025 by farlane

Last portraits of Jimmy Hoffa by Tony Spina

50 years ago on the morning of July 30th, 1975 Chief Photographer for the Detroit Free Press Tony Spina took what would be the last pictures of former Teamsters president James Riddle Hoffa. Wayne State’s Walter P Reuther Labor Library shares:

Spina was sent to visit Hoffa at his cottage on Square Lake in Lake Orion to take portraits of him for the Free Press and Newsweek. The images were not intended for a specific story; they were meant to update older photo files, which were likely outdated due to Hoffa’s incarceration from 1967 to 1971. At the time, Hoffa was challenging a federal restriction that barred him from holding a leadership position in the Teamsters until 1980, thus making him newsworthy once again.

According to Spina’s account, the backyard photo shoot was almost entirely uneventful. The two were old friends and chatted as they moved around the backyard, chasing the best light. The only notable moment occurred when Hoffa had to step away to take a call about a meeting scheduled for after lunch. It is assumed that this was the meeting held at the Machus Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Hills, from which Hoffa never returned.

Lots more in the Reuther Library and for sure check out photos in the awesome Tony Spina Collection online!

Jimmy Hoffa Negatives Walter P Reuther Library.jpg

Dark Energy: DTE made dark money contributions & then lied about them

Posted on July 8, 2025July 8, 2025 by farlane

Down in Front by Tom Hughes

EDITOR’S NOTE: whatever your politics, a Michigan company that in many cases has a state-granted monopoly secretly spending to influence state policy, coordinated secretly with the Michigan Republican Party & then lied about it should set off all kinds of alarm bells.

The Guardian shares the honestly shocking news that DTE Energy knowingly contributed $100,000 to sabotage Michigan’s Covid lockdown:

Newly released court documents show power utility DTE Energy knowingly contributed $100,000 to a dark money non-profit that helped sabotage Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer’s Covid lockdown policies. The documents contradict previous DTE statements that claimed the utility was not involved with the donation.

In January 2023, the Guardian detailed how a DTE-affiliated dark money non-profit financially contributed to the successful repeal of Whitmer’s emergency order powers. The campaign, coordinated with state Republican leadership, helped bring about an end to Covid lockdowns and policies.

Peter Ternes, then a DTE Energy spokesperson, twice emphatically denied the company’s involvement. In late 2022, he told a Guardian reporter, “DTE unequivocally is not financially supporting” the campaign to kill Whitmer’s emergency order powers, led by Unlock Michigan, and made an almost identical statement when asked in 2020. New emails, however, show a DTE employee coordinated the $100,000 contribution. The dark money non-profit and Unlock Michigan leadership referred to it as a “DTE donation” and “$100,000 DTE check”, emails show.

…The “revelatory” emails illuminate how DTE “deploys dark money in Michigan”, said Karlee Weinmann, research and communications manager with the utility industry watchdog Energy and Policy Institute. The group detailed the emails in a new report.

Tom took this photo of the implosion of the Marysville Power Plant aka “Mighty Marysville” in November of 2015. Follow Tom Hughes Photo on Facebook and view & purchase his work on his website.

Mackinac Mac shared this cool YouTube of the demolition of Marysville Power Plant.

Gordie Howe Bridge almost complete!

Posted on June 17, 2025June 17, 2025 by farlane

Gordie Howe International Bridge June 2025

In June 2024 I shared photos of the US & Canadian crews “topping out” the Gordie Howe International Bridge. Topping Out is a special ceremony dating back over a thousand years that symbolizes connection. Ironworkers say the evergreen tree signifies a job well done & believe the custom brings good luck.

I read a news story the other day that says they will soon be testing the bridge lights & thought it would be a good time to check in on this incredible structure Canada is spearheading. The project remains on track for a fall 2025 opening, and when complete the Gordie How Bridge will be the biggest land port of entry between Canada and the U.S. with 130 acres, 11 structures, 16 toll lanes, and 24 primary inspection lanes on the Canadian side and 167 acres, 13 structures, and 36 primary inspection lanes on the US side.

The pics below (except the first two) are from June 2025. Lots more on the Gordie Howe Bridge website!

It’s time for the 2025 Detroit Auto Show!

Posted on January 10, 2025January 10, 2025 by farlane

Here it comes by Detroit Auto Show

The Detroit Auto Show starts today and runs through January 20th. The Freep shares that in addition to no longer putting on airs as the North American International Auto Show, there won’t be any concept cars or earth-shaking demos. Instead, the show will include more than 30 car brands showcasing their vehicles. Luxury cars will be returning to the floor, and there will be test tracks, charity drives and engineering exhibits.

Being a place for buyers to meet sellers & see the range of cars in the market is for sure cool, but can we just have just a couple concept cars? For science?? Here’s two from past Michpics posts…

1938 Phantom Corsair by Alden Jewell

Speed Racer by Michael Doyle

“Without Detroit, cars wouldn’t be cars, culture wouldn’t be culture, and music wouldn’t be music. My family wouldn’t be what it is without this city.”

– @stephen_mcgee, Filmmaker, 2x Emmy Award Winner, Photographer MY DRIVE. MY CITY. MY SHOW.™

The Auto Show had a cool series of photos last fall showing notable Detroiters & their rides. I’ve featured Stephen McGee’s pics here so I thought it would be nice to share this one his daughter took of him. Follow him on Instagram & get lots more Detroit Auto Show goodness on Michigan in Pictures!

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