Rick Brewer
News DirectorRick Brewer has been news director at WCMU since February 2024.
Before leading the newsroom, Brewer was WCMU's general assignment reporter covering central and northern Michigan.
Before landing in Mount Pleasant, he was a producer for Iowa Public Radio’s two daily talk shows, Talk of Iowa and River to River, where he produced hundreds of interviews with guests ranging from hog farmers to presidential candidates for the 2020 Iowa caucuses.
His work has been featured on NPR, Harvest Public Media, Here & Now, WFIU, WFYI and Northeast Public Radio.
Brewer fell in love with radio and podcasts in graduate school at Indiana University in Bloomington after attending Denison University.
Send your story ideas to rick.brewer@cmich.edu
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The Standish Maximum Correctional Facility has been vacant since 2009. State Representative Mike Hoadley (R-Au Gres) said he wants the facility to be retrofitted to serve a new public purpose, but it’s unclear what the prison could become. -
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is partnering with county officials to conduct a three-year study focusing on the Tittabawassee River Watershed and its historic flood patterns.
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During U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee's final interview with WCMU as a member of Congress, he spoke with News Director Rick Brewer about being a lame duck, how Washington works from the inside, the future of the Democratic party, political discourse in America and his biggest accomplishments. -
In 2024, WCMU's team of reporters traveled across central and northern Michigan to document the people, places and stories that matter to the region. Here's some of the best images they captured along the way. -
From the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, to rules surrounding mail-in ballots, to a mysterious bird sighting in northern Michigan, these were the most read stories from the WCMU newsroom in 2024. -
On Nov. 1, Neil MacKinnon, Ph.D. became Central Michigan University's 16th president. He comes to Mount Pleasant from Augusta University in Georgia, where he was the provost and the executive vice president of academic affairs. -
Despite late summer drought conditions, Christmas tree farmers say this year's growing season was better than 2023. -
On Monday, the state of Michigan barred two local election officials in an Upper Peninsula township from administering elections. The officials said they planned to hand count ballots. -
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) made several stops at campaign rallies across Michigan to drum up support for Vice President Kamala Harris over the weekend, making stops in Warren, Saginaw, Grand Rapids and East Lansing. Sanders spoke with WCMU's Rick Brewer. -
Neil MacKinnon will be Central Michigan University's 16th president. He comes to Mount Pleasant after serving as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Augusta University in Georgia.
