Flint, MI — The Genesee Intermediate School District (GISD) recently announced students from its Mott Middle College Steel Band won the Michigan School Board and Orchestra Association (MSBOA) Outstanding Small Ensemble Competition. The band earned an invite to Western Michigan University’s Dalton Recital Hall to perform at MSBOA’s Spring Honors Showcase Concert on Friday, May 10, at 7 p.m. “I’m thrilled that the students have been selected to perform,” said James Coviak, Music Teacher and Band Director. “It’s amazing to see what our students have accomplished in less than three ..read more

C. Everett Koop, the avuncular doctor with a fluffy white beard who served as the U.S. surgeon general during the Reagan administration, was famous for his work as an innovative pediatric surgeon and the attention he paid to the HIV-AIDS crisis. As dentistry scholars, we believe Koop also deserves credit for something else. To help make the medical profession pay more attention to the importance of healthy teeth and gums, he’d often say: “You are not healthy without good oral health.” Yet, more than three decades after Koop’s surgeon general stint ended in 1989, millions of Americans don’t ge ..read more

Flint, MI—Teens ages 15-19 could potentially earn $11 an hour this summer through a new youth summer employment program if a proposal is approved by Flint City Council. During a committee meeting on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, council members voted 6-0 to forward the proposal to their next City Council meeting on Monday, April 22. Flint City Council President Ladel Lewis, Flint City Council Vice President Candice Mushatt, and Councilmembers Leon El-Alamin, Quincy Murphy, Judy Priestley, and Eva Worthing voted to send the proposal to the council. Councilmembers Jerri Winfrey-Carter and Dennis P ..read more

Flint, MI — The Genesee County Election Commission approved recall language filed against 8th Ward Flint City Councilman Dennis Pfeiffer on Thursday, April 18, 2024. Genesee County Clerk/Register Domonique Clemons told Flint Beat that the petition circulator must collect 883 required signatures to start the recall process after the language is approved. The recall language seeks to recall Pfeiffer because he was censured on March 25, 2024, for conduct unbecoming of a council member. Another recall petition, which sought to remove Pfeiffer for “unprofessional behavior in council, bullying, pos ..read more

Flint, MI— Flint resident Lisa Johnson has lived in the Brownell-Holmes neighborhood since 2003. While the sidewalk around her was never completely smooth, Johnson said she remembers when it was just a small bump in the ground. Now, the roots of a tree planted between the sidewalk next to her home and the street have caused the sidewalk to crack completely off the ground, posing a major safety hazard. “It didn’t start out like that,” Johnson said. “It grew.”  Johnson tripped over the sidewalk recently while cutting her grass. She doesn’t allow her grandkids to ride their bikes on the sid ..read more

Flint, MI — The Mission of Mercy, in partnership with the Michigan Dental Association, will provide $2 million in free dental care for Flint residents at Dort Financial Center on Friday, June 14 and Saturday, June 15, 2024. Hundreds of dentists and staff will volunteer, and the dental services will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. “It’s designed for everybody so there’s no restrictions,” says Cameron Elrod, Vice President of the Michigan Dental Association Foundation. “It’s for people who either don’t have the resources to afford dental care or they’ve slipped between the cracks — they ..read more

Flint, MI — Sixth Ward Flint City Councilwoman Tonya Burns filed a lawsuit against her fellow council members on April 10, 2024, in Genesee County’s 7th Circuit Court after they voted to suspend her from council. Burns’ attorney, Terry L. Johnson, told Flint Beat on April 15, 2024, that Burns filed the lawsuit against Flint City Council due to their “egregious actions of removing her from her elected seat.” “It’s our position that the Flint City Council does not have the authority or the power to remove an elected official,” Johnson said. “This action … has disenfranchised the residents ..read more

Flint, MI— North Flint Food Market, a grocery store aiming to end the food desert on the city’s North side, still needs $1.9 million in funding before it can open and serve the public.  The market is asking for $300,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding from the city and $1.6 million in grants from Ruth Mott and Mott Foundations. Arlene Wilborn, the store’s general manager, said the store would open in about four months if funding is received. Wilborn said the funding is needed to get the store to “hospital clean” standards, obtain inventory, hire and train 38 staff members, and ..read more

Flint, MI— A new settlement agreement will focus on restoring Flint teachers’ salaries to their level of experience, according to Flint Community Schools (FCS) Superintendent Kevelin Jones and United Teachers of Flint (UTF) President Karen Christian. Jones and Christian held a joint press conference during a school board meeting on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, to share details of the new agreement, which 96% of UTF teachers voted to accept and the Board of Education approved on April 4, 2024. Christian said that while the most experienced teachers at the top of the pay scale were not automatica ..read more

Flint, MI — Eighth Ward Flint City Councilman Dennis Pfeiffer is the subject of two recall petitions seeking his removal from office.  “As current law states any one person can file a recall. It’s impossible to satisfy all 12,000+ constituents, but I will continue to work for the residents as they elected me to,” Pfeiffer told Flint Beat in an April 10, 2024, email. “The resident that filed this recall has never contacted me to address any of their concerns.” The Genesee County Board of Elections is scheduled to meet on April 18, 2024, to consider the petitions. The petition circulator m ..read more