Latest news with #JimRunestad
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Activists to rally throughout Michigan to protest parade, Trump policies
Throughout Michigan, groups are set to gather Saturday to protest various Trump administration policies and to draw attention from a military parade and festival in Washington, D.C., celebrating the Army's 250th anniversary. Rallies are scheduled throughout metro Detroit and dozens of other cities in the state, from Midland to Muskegon and Milan to Marquette. An estimated 2,000 protests under the No Kings banner are expected nationwide. In Michigan, the group said its largest protests in metro Detroit will be in Detroit, from 1-4 p.m., at 1130 Clark Ave.; Ferndale, 1-3 p.m., at 9 Mile and Woodward; and Troy from noon-4 p.m. at Rochester and Big Beaver. Elsewhere in the state, the big rallies are expected to be in Lansing, from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at the Michigan State Capitol; Grand Rapids, 10-11:30 a.m. at Ah-Nab-Awen Park, and then noon-2 p.m., at Rosa Parks Circle; and Traverse City, noon-3 p.m. at F and M Park. Saturday, on WXYZ-TV (Channel 7), Michigan's political leaders called for peaceful protests. Attorney General Dana Nessel and the head of the Michigan Republican Party, Jim Runestad, a state senator from White Lake, urged groups to avoid violence. Protesting has long been a part of American history, going back to the Boston Tea Party. Saturday's protests — which No Kings organizers have said are intended to be peaceful and have steered clear of the capital — are coming on the heels of violence in Los Angeles and the president's repeated calls for law and order. In some states, officials are preparing for the demonstrations by beefing up law enforcement's presence, and in two states — Texas and Missouri — readying National Guard troops in case violence breaks out. Activists point out that the military parade with thousands of troops and tanks coincides with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday, and warn that crackdowns appear to be moving America toward authoritarianism. Protest arrests began Friday in Washington, D.C., with Capitol Police taking dozens of people demonstrating against the parade into custody on the steps of the Capitol, according to news reports and social media posts. That protest, news reports said, was organized by Veterans for Peace. Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@ This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Activists to rally throughout Michigan to protest parade, Trump policies
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MIGOP chair appears open to primaries for attorney general, secretary of state
MIGOP Chairman state Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, center, and state Rep. Bryan Posthumus, R-Rockford, right, discuss the future of the Michigan Republican Party Chad Livengood of The Detroit News during the third day of the Mackinac Policy Conference at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Mich., on May 29, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) MACKINAC ISLAND – Michigan GOP Chair Jim Runestad says he is open to the idea of selecting nominees for attorney general and secretary of state through statewide primaries. Currently, the candidates are selected by delegates at each party's convention. 'I think the base of the party likes the idea of being able to have input in these statewide positions,' said Runestad, a state senator from White Lake. State Rep. Bryan Posthumus (R-Rockford) expressed a similar sentiment but added that he sees value in the type of grassroots activists conventions bring out. Runestad and Posthumus spoke during a discussion on the future of the Michigan Republican Party at the Mackinac Policy Conference on Thursday. Runestad was selected to lead the Michigan Republican Party in February. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He said the party had about $800,000 of debt when he first took over, but said he has raised $500,000 since taking over. 'We're vanquishing that debt,' Runestad said. 'I think by year's end, we're going to get most of that down, and into next year, at the end of this term, we certainly will have no debt.' Runestad said he has vowed to ensure the party has a 'big' fund balance by the end of his term – even if means denying requests for a last-minute spending spree in the run-up to the election. 'We're going to raise the money, we're going to spend the money, but whether it's me or someone else, we're not going to leave that for the next person,' Runestad said. He said the party has been undergoing a rebuilding process following several years of dramatic internal politics. 'We are on a growth spurt,' Runestad said. 'We have changed everything that was done in the past in terms of the email system, the domain system, the website. We are changing absolutely everything from what it was before into a completely new party.'
