WCMU Highlights

Michael Brewer can be awake only for four hours until his brain shuts down. When the sun is shining too bright, he has to put the special glasses on. But these are only a few of the symptoms of lead poisoning. There are also migraines, memory loss and seizures that Brewer has been experiencing for the past 20 years.⁠

WCMU's cohort of four newsroom interns covered a range of stories across central and northern Michigan in the summer of 2025.

Moolenaar says hackers with connections to the Chinese government pretended to be him by sending emails to officials working on trade negotiations with China.

Northwest Michigan is giving books to preschoolers in response to decreasing literacy rates. Declining donations and state funding uncertainty cast a shadow on the program. Other states fully fund the efforts.

Just two states in the nation have been unable to pass some form of a budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year – and now, they’re staring down significant consequences if their respective legislative bodies fail to act soon.

U.S Senate Candidate Mike Rogers and several gubernatorial candidates gave speeches the Bill Schuette BBQ on Monday in Midland.

"I believe the way that we started is the best way to go at the state and local level,” McMahon said. “Where parents, local superintendents, and governors are really the ones that are making the decisions about how taxpayer money gets spent in your state for your kids."

From underwater robots to fishing competitions, county fairs and the Antiques Roadshow, WCMU's team of reporters and interns covered a variety of news stories across central and northern Michigan during the summer of 2025. Below are some of the best moments they captured from behind their camera lenses.

With almost 300,000 off-road vehicles hitting northern Michigan trails every year, Michigan’s state forests are reaching a breaking point.

From the outside, US commercial shipping may look like an industry past its prime. The American fleet, called the US Merchant Marine, comprised 16% of the global commercial fleet in 1960. Now, it makes up less than half of a percent of commercial ships worldwide.