Abigail Censky

Two incumbents were ousted from the Lansing and East Lansing City Councils in Tuesday’s election. The upsets were part of a trend of progressive and anti-establishment newcomers, unseating well-financed and widely recognized incumbents. WKAR’s Abigail Censky talked to Lansing State Journal Reporter Sarah Lehr about the results. Below are highlights of their conversation. 

Nancy Schlichting has resigned from the Michigan State University Board of Trustees after serving under a year of the remaining four years of George Perles’ term. She sent a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer over the weekend resigning from her post citing the board's unwillingness to conduct an independent investigation of the Larry Nassar sex abuse scandal. 

Early Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a lower Michigan court’s decision that would require lawmakers redraw gerrymandered district and congressional lines before the elections in 2020. WKAR's Politics Reporter Abigail Censky spoke to Riley Beggin, Bridge Magazine's politics reporter about the decision and it's implications for Michigan. Below are highlights of their conversation.

The United Autoworkers strike against General Motors is now in its fifth week. By some estimates workers have lost more than six hundred million in wages. Now, the UAW has announced they've reached a tentative agreement with GM.

Starting in November, the state of Michigan will begin accepting license applications for recreational marijuana businesses. However, don’t expect to start seeing these businesses open up for some time. WKAR’s government and politics reporter Abigail Censky spoke to Lansing State Journal reporter Sarah Lehr about new marijuana legislation approved by the Lansing City Council.

Hundreds of people crowded into a Grand Traverse Pie Company in East Lansing on Wednesday for Representative Elissa Slotkin’s (MI-08) first in-district public event since she announced she was joining calls for an impeachment inquiry last week.

The United Auto Workers strike against General Motors entered its third week Monday.  It’s estimated that GM has lost more than $135 million over the course of the strike. But the businesses that supply GM are also losing millions. WKAR’s politics reporter Abigail Censky spoke with Patrick Anderson, CEO of the Anderson Economic Group, about how much he estimates suppliers are losing. Below are highlights of their conversation.

The city of Lansing will be making the rules that govern recreational marijuana by modifying their rules on medical marijuana. Lansing State Journal reporter Sarah Lehr reports on city council and she joined WKAR’s Abigail Censky in the studio to discuss the potential changes. Below are highlights of their conversation.

This week nearly 50,000 United Auto Workers walked out of General Motors plants across the country in the first national UAW strike against GM since 2007. The strike officially surpassed the length of the 2007 strike on Wednesday. Now, everyone outside of the negotiating room in Detroit is left scratching their heads on what the potential cost of this strike could be. WKAR politics reporter Abigail Censky joined WKAR’s Karel Vega to speak about the potential impact of a lingering strike on the local economy in a GM town. Below are highlights from the conversation. 

One day after Michigan State University was slapped with a historic $4.5 million dollar fine by the US Department of Education, the MSU trustees announced they would put an external investigation on hold.

On Thursday, Michigan State University was fined $4.5 million by the US Department of Education for failing to protect students from sexual harassment and abuse. It’s the largest fine ever issued by the Department for not complying with a federal law that requires clear and prompt reporting of crimes that endanger students. WKAR’s Abigail Censky and Mary Ellen Pitney talked about the report's findings on Friday's Morning Edition. 

Over the August recess the number of Democrats in the House of Representatives in favor of impeachment or an impeachment inquiry has increased to more than half of the chamber’s Democrats. But most of the Democrats who have signed on to support an inquiry are from solidly blue districts. WKAR’s politics reporter Abigail Censky talked with WKAR Host Karel Vega about what Democrats from republican leaning districts in Michigan are thinking.