Led by Leah O’Connor in first place and three other top-10 finishers, the top-ranked Michigan State women’s cross country team captured their second-straight Big Ten Championship Nov. 2.
The Michigan State women’s team recorded 26 points, the third-lowest total in Big Ten history, to earn its fourth conference championship in the last five years (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014). O’Connor, the runner-up at last year’s Big Ten Championships, added another highlight to her outstanding career at MSU with a career-best and course-record time of 19:26.30.
“Leah’s really come a long way since her freshman year and that’s just a credit to how hard she’s worked,” added Drenth. “Coming into today, we thought she and Rachele [Schulist] both had a good chance to finish at or near the top. They were both outstanding leading the way for us today.”
Schulist (19:54.40) and Lindsay Clark (19:59.70) were next to cross the finish line for the Spartans in third and fourth place, respectively. Julia Otwell (20:04.10) followed in seventh place overall and Sara Kroll (20:18.90) finished 11th to round out the scorers for Michigan State. Alexis Wiersma (13th – 20:24.60), Katie Landwehr (17th – 20:37.20), Sara Stassen (19th – 20:38.10) and Melanie Brender (45th – 21:16.10) were also in the rotation for the Spartans.
The All-Big Ten team was announced following the race. O’Connor, Schulist, Clark and Otwell were first-team selections, while Kroll and Wiersma were each named to the second team.
“I can’t say enough about our women and the leadership of our fifth-years and the culture they have helped develop here by demanding the best out of everyone,” stated Drenth. “This has been such an awesome group. What they’ve accomplished to this point is truly a reflection of their work ethic and who they are as people.”
The Spartans will be idle for a week before competing in the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Championships on Nov. 14 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Are you a Michigander or a Michiganian?
In the eyes of the state Legislature, Michigander is the official term for the residents of Michigan and they have a bill that passed unanimously in both the House and Senate this week to prove it.
Tucked into an obscure package of bills that modernizes the 1913 statute creating the Michigan Historical Commission is a passage that strikes out a reference to Michiganians in favor of Michiganders.
The bill says the Historical Commission shall “encourage the public to preserve historic resources and to develop a sense of identity as Michiganders.” The initial reference to Michiganian is crossed out.
While the first use of Michigander to describe the residents of the Great Lakes State is unclear, it was used by then Illinois Congressman Abraham Lincoln in a speech that was meant to insult Michigan Gov. Lewis Cass, who was running for president at the time in 1848, according to the blog Mitten History.
For the full article, see Kathleen Gray, “Michiganders or Michiganians? Lawmakers settle it”, Detroit Free Press, November 2, 2017
A Michigan city considered to be the center of Arab America has finally elected its first Arab-American mayor.
Dearborn Heights Mayor Bill Bazzi fended off a challenge from Council Chair Denise Malinowski Maxwell to continue being mayor, winning 73% of the vote for a partial term that ends this year and 72% for a full four-year term that follows.
Bazzi, 58, has been mayor since January, when he was appointed by the council.
An immigrant from Lebanon and a Marines veteran, he’s the first Muslim and first Arab American to be mayor of Dearborn Heights, where about one-third of the city is Arab American.
Bazzi was one of three Arab American Muslims to be elected mayor Tuesday in cities across metro Detroit, with Hamtramck and Dearborn voters also electing candidates who are Muslim and of Arab descent.
In December, the previous mayor since 2004, Daniel Paletko, died after testing positive for the coronavirus.
After he died, Malinowski-Maxwell, 61 , became interim mayor, according to city charter rules. In January, the city council voted 4-3 to appoint Bazzi as mayor.
Previously, Bazzi served with the U.S. Marines, joining the military branch after he graduated from Fordson High School in Dearborn. Bazzi served globally, helping allies and countering terrorism. He is active with veterans groups, serving as commander of the Dearborn Allied War Veterans Council.
After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, he also worked for Boeing and then Ford Motor Co. as a product development engineer, retiring after he became mayor this year.
Source : Niraj Warikoo, “Bill Bazzi defeats council chair, becomes first Muslim elected mayor in Dearborn Heights”, Detroit Free Press, November 3, 2021.
In an historic fashion, Hamtramck voters elected their first non-Polish mayor this week.
Yemeni immigrant Amer Ghalib, 41, will lead the city. The registered nurse who is Muslim and working toward becoming a medical doctor, defeated Karen Majewski, 66, a 16-year incumbent.
Ghalib secured 68% of the vote and said on Tuesday that his win was “a real example that the American Dream is alive.”
In addition, Khalil Refai, Amanda Jaczkowski and Adam Albarmaki, who are all Muslim were elected to the City Council. The legislative body now consists of three Yemeni Americans, two Bangladeshi Americans and a Polish-American Muslim. They are all Muslim — making it likely the only such City Council in the nation.
Hamtramck, a city bordering Detroit and Highland Park, has about 28,000 residents. Through much of its 100-year history, Hamtramck has been predominantly made up of Polish immigrants and their children. Today, the city’s population is believed to be more than 50% Muslim.
The Hamtramck election was one of three in metro Detroit that yielded history-making results for the region’s growing Arab- and Muslim-American community.
State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud (D-Dearborn) became Dearborn’s first Muslim and Arab American mayor after defeating Gary Woronchak, a former state House member.
Source: Ken Coleman, “Hamtramck makes history with Muslim mayor and City Council”, Michigan Advance, November 5, 2021.
On Nov. 3, 1908, Republican William Howard Taft won all of Michigan’s 83 counties in a 62 to 32 percent romp over Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the presidential race. Taft, the handpicked candidate of President Theodore Roosevelt, won all of Michigan’s 14 electoral votes and nearly every state north of the Mason-Dixon line.
Taft’s win also translated to a third two-year term for Gov. Fred Warner, who defeated former Democrat state Rep. Lawton Hemans. Republicans won all 32 state Senate seats and 98 of the 100 state House seats.
Source : Michigan Manual.
William C. Durant who had been ousted from control of General Motors organized the Chevrolet Motor Company to build cars developed by racecar driver Louis Chevrolet.
Source : Historical Society of Michigan
For more information, see Zlati Meyer, “The original Chevrolet; Co-founder Louis wanted to build performance cars”, Detroit Free Press via Lansing State Journal, November 2, 2011.
For more information about William Durant, see Richard A. Wright, “The free-wheeling gambler who created conservative General Motors”, Detroit News, July 30, 1996.
Mark Phelan, “Some Chevrolets to remember”, Detroit Free Press, July 28, 201l.
On November 3, 1926, Ty Cobb stepped down as manager for the Detroit Tigers and retired from baseball.
Source ” Michigan History, November/December 2015
Despite opposition from backers of the recently opened Ambassador Bridge, an underwater motor vehicle tunnel was opened to traffic on this day in 1930, becoming the first underwater international roadway tunnel.
Sources :
Michigan Every Day.
Zlati Meyer, “This week in Michigan history: Detroit-Windsor Tunnel opens in 1930″, Detroit Free Press, November 3, 2013.
Eric D. Lawrence, “Happy 85th birthday, Detroit-Windsor Tunnel”, Detroit Free Press, November 3, 2015.
History of the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel, courtesy of the Windsor Public Library, 2001.
Truman holding the infamous November 3, 1948 issue of the Chicago Daily Tribune (later Chicago Tribune).
One of the most famous news photographs of all time blares out “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN!” with Truman himself holding up a copy of a newspaper screaming those headlines.
Of course, it was premature, and Truman was declared the victor in that 1948 presidential election.
The ‘Dewey’ in question is Thomas E. Dewey, born in Owosso in 1902. While a senior in high school, Tom was president of his class, loved to debate and was an excellent singer. After graduation, he left Owosso to attend the University of Michigan. His chosen career was to be a vocalist, but after suffering throat problems he shifted his career goal to that of attorney.
Dewey’s career was much more than being edged out as president. He was a prosecuting attorney who successfully prosecuted and jailed some of the most famous criminals of the era like “Lucky” Luciano and Waxey Gordon.
He was elected governor of New York City for three terms: 1942, 1946, and 1950.
Dewey was also instrumental in the nominations and elections of Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard M. Nixon.
There is so much more to this man’s dossier, and you can read more HERE.
Quite an impressive career for this man born in Owosso.
Source : John Robinson, “The Owosso Boyhood Home of Thomas E. Dewey“, 99.1 WFMK Blog, November 11, 2020.