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There’s a new educational program that's literally transforming the landscape around Ypsilanti Community Schools, sometimes one sweet potato or pawpaw tree at a time. YCS has launched a new agriscience and botany career technical education program. It's part of a countywide push to expand hands-on learning opportunities for students. Lee Van Roth discussed the program and what it hopes to achieve with Ypsilanti Community High School biology teacher Laurel Wiinikka-Buesser.

Ypsilanti-based Growing Hope imagines a future where everyone has the power to shape their own food system, and no one has to go hungry. Call it “food sovereignty.” In a year when food insecurity is increasing, the Growing Hope family continues to work to empower people and communities. WEMU's David Fair talked with executive director Julius Buzzard about this year and what comes in the New Year to create pathways from soil and dirt to health and wealth.

Christmas is only a week away, so now is a good time as any catch a great holiday flick! WEMU's David Fair chats with Marquee Arts cinema programming director Nick Alderink about the latest batch of special holiday screenings and some new films as well.

Alpha House East is now open and providing shelter to the unhoused. The majority are Black women who are heads of households. WEMU's David Fair talked with Shonagh Taruza, the executive director of the Interfaith Hospitality Network at Alpha House, about housing insecurity, homelessness and the systems that make it difficult to improve the situation.

Back in the fall of 2024, Eastern Michigan University added a new, four-legged staff member. Tinker, a PAWS facility golden retriever, provides emotional comfort and relief to students and the campus community. Lee Van Roth shared Tinker's story and what her ongoing duties will be with her handler, Alexis Braun Marks.

When it comes to our local environment, 2025 has been a year of progress and one with significant and growing challenges. Environmental aspirations are being worked into place in almost direct opposition to changing federal priorities and policies. WEMU's David Fair reflected on 2025 in a conversation with Beth Gibbons, the Director of the Washtenaw County Resiliency Office.

For more than 40 years, the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum has filled the space of a former firehouse at 220 E. Ann Street in Ann Arbor. As we close out 2025, we can look forward to another fascinating and intriguing year. Susan Westhoff is President and CEO of the Museum and of the Leslie Science and Nature Center. She joined WEMU's David Fair to reflect on the current year and let us know about all of the new things we’ll get to learn in 2026!

2025 is wrapping up, and one of the primary issues raised over the past year is the proliferation and impacts of data centers. In 2026, we're likely to see some of these centers move toward becoming operational. Weighing economic benefit against potential environmental harm will continue, and there will be more vocal support and outrage for each proposed center. WEMU's David Fair got together with Washtenaw County Resiliency Office Director Beth Gibbons to try and compute the impact of data centers in Washtenaw County.

The Ypsilanti Bourbon Fest is coming to the Michigan Firehouse Museum on January 17. The event provides a sampling of high-end whiskeys and bourbon from both local and national distilleries, as well as great food and live music. Lee Van Roth gives a preview of the 2026 Bourbon Fest with the event's organizer, Paul Starr.

Ann Arbor is expecting progress towards its sustainability goals in 2026. Advancement on the voter-approved Sustainable Energy Utility will continue, and with the 2030 deadline rapidly approaching, more work is to be done to move ahead with the goals and aspirations of the city’s A2ZERO Carbon Neutrality plan. On the first "Issues of the Environment" of 2026, WEMU's David Fair explores the environmental year ahead with Ann Arbor’s Sustainability and Innovations Director, Missy Stults.