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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Some people across northern Michigan were without power for 18 days following a historic ice storm that blasted through the region in late March. In recent days, workers have repaired or replaced hundreds of utility poles in remote areas of Michigan wilderness to bring people back online. -
Northern Michigan utility companies say power will not be restored in some areas impacted by last week's ice storm for the next four to five days. -
U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar (R-Caledonia), who represents Michigan's 2nd Congressional District, will host a virtual town hall this Thursday at 2 p.m. -
Roughly 200 people packed into a room at the Isabella County Commission on Aging on March 21 to show their frustration with Michigan's 2nd Congressional District Representative John Moolenaar and President Donald Trump's administration. Despite Moolenaar not attending, several speakers still spoke out against the representative. -
Central Michigan University students have played a vital role in helping WCMU report news on central and northern Michigan for years. Student Press Freedom Day is a national celebration for their contributions and raise awareness about the challenges they face. -
The U.S. Coast Guard estimates between 10,000 - 13,000 gallons of mineral oil were discharged from an electrical transformer that caught fire Monday afternoon and spread to a power plant outside of Bay City. It's unclear if mineral oil landed in the nearby Saginaw River. -
An electrical transformer caught fire earlier this afternoon and spread to the Karn generating facility in Essexville. A mineral oil spill into the Saginaw River also took place during the fire. It's unclear how much oil has been spilled. -
The case stems from a lawsuit filed in 2019 by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and the intention was to void a 1953 easement that allowed Enbridge to run the dual pipelines across the bottom of the Straits of Mackinac. -
WCMU's AJ Jones chatted with News Director Rick Brewer about Canada's upcoming election for their next prime minister, and how a potential trade war between the U.S. and Canada could impact Michigan now that President Donald Trump is back in the White House. -
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.
