If you can’t share your vision for the future of this iconic Detroit landmark in person, you can fill out the survey online.
When I read about the call for input on the Ren Cen, I knew exactly which photo of Sean’s I was gonna select! I’m featuring another he took in early August and also one from a vivid colored night on Hart Plaza earlier this week! Follow Snappd By Sean Photography on Facebook or Instagram for his latest!
Michigan, the state famous for its cherries, has been reaching out for months with concerns about proposed AI data centers in local communities.
I’ve heard from residents in Marshall, Saline Township, Lowell, Dowagiac, Dorr, and many other towns. People are very engaged and asking important questions. The issues being raised echo what we’ve seen nationwide: water impacts/rights, utility costs rising, 765kV transmission lines, rezoning disputes, NDAs, zero transparency, among other issues.
She adds that she appreciates everyone who has shared information through the Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting website. They are working to raise community awareness nationwide about the fast-moving wave of data centers & how communities are working to block them or shape the impact on their water and power resources and the the fabric of their communities.
Please consider all of that before you uncork your brainless “how come you still use computers & the internet” attack on a person who has been using the internet to share stories since you had to capitalize Internet. If you do want to ride for Artificial Intelligence, I encourage you to educate yourself about the Facts & Myths around AI datacenters.
“Yesterday, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that state regulators failed to fully consider the environmental impacts of Enbridge’s Line 5 tunnel. This was a landmark victory for Tribal nations across the area thanks to the hard work of Earthjustice and the Native American Rights Fund along with the Bay Mills Indian Community, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi.
“The Sault Tribe firmly believes that culturally and environmentally, there should be no oil pipeline underneath the Straits of Mackinac. We applaud our sister tribes for challenging the state’s permitting system.” -Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Chairman Austin Lowes
I would like to applaud all five Tribal nations for standing up on behalf of the waters & people of Michigan. You can read about the details of the 58-page ruling by the Michigan Supreme Court to vacate a key permit for the Line 5 pipeline across the Straits of Mackinac on environmental grounds in Bridge Magazine. I’ve also included some informative images & a simulation of a spill from the good people at Oil & Water Don’t Mix who have been fighting this extremely risky pipeline.
Today’s photo is one that I took of my daughter on Pyramid Point in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore back in 2005. You can see Lake Michigan & North Manitou Island in the background. I decided to use my own photo because this issue is intensely personal for me given how much of my life has revolved around the Lake Michigan half of the world’s greatest lake. Relaxation, wonder, income, peace – I love this mighty lake and feel so blessed to have the Native people of this land standing strong to fight for it. Feel free to share a photo in the comments below of why you love Lake Michigan/Huron!
I shared this photo back in 2021 with the news that Michigan’s top baby names were Oliver & Charlotte. Although Charlotte remains atop the Social Security Administration Baby Name List five years later (followed by Amelia, Sophia, Eleanor & Evelyn), Oliver has been passed on the 2025 most popular baby name list by Theodore & Noah with Henry & James rounding out the top 5. Andrew is down at 62 – 20+ spots below when I was born. How is your name faring these days?
Spanning the Detroit River between Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan, the six-lane, cable-stayed bridge features a main span of 853 metres, the longest of its kind in North America, and extends approximately 2.5 kilometres. The crossing also includes modern ports of entry on both sides of the border equipped with advanced screening and border management technologies, creating one of the most advanced and secure land border crossings in North America.
To support this opening and ensure that benefits are felt on both sides of the border, Canada and the United States have agreed to a series of cooperative measures focused on toll governance and transparency, as well as investments in the region, including through the establishment of a 15-year economic development fund tied to a portion of profits from bridge operations. The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority will also work collaboratively with the Government of the United States on toll-rate adjustments, seeking concurrence for certain non-market related toll changes.
The Gordie Howe International Bridge shared these two shots of Detroit’s Ford Fireworks a couple of weeks ago. I also wanted to include this photo of a US & Canadian iron worker shaking hands in the middle after the two spans were connected in the center way back in June of 2024 because I love Canada & my Canadian friends!!
I’ve been wanting to share The Gander’s Michigan Data Center Tracker (embedded below) for a while now. It documents how despite organized opposition in several dozen communities, more than 30 AI-related projects have been slated for Michigan since 2024.
The numbers alone boggle the mind. The project, dubbed “The Barn,” sits on roughly 1,000 acres. It will include about 1.7 million square feet of enclosed space for computers – the equivalent of 11 Costco warehouses under one roof. It’s expected to require 1.4 gigawatts of electricity – enough to power 1 million homes.
Residents in Saline Township, Lyon Township, Van Buren Township and elsewhere have raised concerns about electricity demand, water use, land use and quality of life. National polling suggests roughly seven in 10 Americans do not want to live near a data center. Some opposition is rooted in the specifics of individual projects. Some reflects a broader unease about artificial intelligence itself – what it may mean for jobs, creativity and society.
(mLive MLive investigative reporter Lucas) Smolcic Larson believes those concerns deserve to be taken seriously. But he also sees something larger at work: “A sort of power and information imbalance … where you’ve got a tiny community up against Google, which is one of the largest companies in the world.”
The debate is often framed as being for data centers or against them. That’s too simplistic. They are rapidly becoming essential infrastructure for a digital economy running on cloud computing and AI. The more important question is whether Michigan has built a public conversation – and a regulatory framework – that can keep up with the speed of development, while addressing that imbalance between mega-corporations and ordinary citizens.
WDET-Detroit shares a Quinn Kleinfelter interview about the announcement tht Michigan’s highest peak Mt. Arvon will become old-growth forest in massive conservation project thanks to a conservation easement. They report that the project covers a much larger area (about 73,000 acres) in in the Upper Peninsula and will permanently protect Mt. Arvon and surrounding forestland in the Michigamme Highlands while allowing continued logging, recreation and public access.
Multiple news sources are confirming that the Gordie Howe International Bridge from Windsor, Canada to Detroit opens this Friday, June 12th 2026! The Freep story says in part:
Multiple news sources are confirming that the Gordie Howe International Bridge from Windsor, Canada to Detroit ribbon cutting happens this Friday, June 12th 2026 at 1pm! The updated Freep story says in part:
A source who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the matter said the ribbon cutting was planned for Friday in the early afternoon and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and former Gov. Rick Snyder were expected to be in attendance, though it was unclear if any federal officials would participate.
Although sources said a ribbon cutting is planned, it’s unclear exactly when the bridge will actually open to traffic after it takes place. One source with knowledge of the circumstances, who spoke anonymously because they were not authorized to speak publicly, indicated a deal between Canada and the Trump administration might allow the new bridge to open the week after the ribbon cutting, though the Free Press hadn’t confirmed that.
Stay tuned to Michpics for Gordie Howe Bridge updates, because if there’s anything we know about this issue, it’s that there unquestionably will be more drama.
USA Today readers have crowned South Beach in South Haven as Michigan’s Best Beach, dislodging two-time reigning champion First Street Beach of Manistee. That link has all their top 10 but to be honest, any list of Michigan beaches that only includes beaches you can drive to in 5 hours or less from Chicago is pretty lame. Nothing on Lake Huron or Superior? No North Bar or Twelve Mile Beach? (their list is below)
I’m asking all of you to help fix this outrageous circumstance. Don’t give up your favorite secret hidey hole (looking at you Magic Carpet Beach), but share a beautiful beach near you in the comments or on the Facebook post & I’ll try and share some of these through the summer!
Eddie writes “Conan and I don’t care about the laws of men or Gods. We do what we want!!”
The photo is from a Lomo LC Wide camera (half frame) on Kodak Ultramax 400 film. See more in his Lomo LC Wide gallery & for sure follow him on Flickr for lots more photographic fun!!
For months, Canadian officials have maintained that the long-awaited opening of the $6.4 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Detroit and Windsor, Ont., is dependent on various testing and commissioning tasks.
But fresh comments from a Canadian cabinet member as well as two top U.S. officials suggests there is a link between the current trade war and the new border crossing’s opening timeline. A White House official on Friday said the Trump administration “continues to engage with all of our trading partners to resolve longstanding unfair trade practices.”
…Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said in a statement Friday that “[d]iscussions on the Gordie Howe Bridge continue.” CBC News had asked his office similar questions about the bridge’s opening and whether it’s tied to broader trade talks. Earlier this month, Hoekstra reportedly said that Trump himself has to sign off on the opening. “There’s a lot of issues right now between the U.S. and Canada. The bridge is one more,” he told the Detroit News.
Windsor Aerial Drone Photography shared these photos & the video below from the first lighting of the Gordie Howe Bridge on September 18, 2025. Follow them on Facebook for their latest and view & purchase their work at windsoraerialdronephotography.com.
