Events from the year 2017 in Michigan.
The state's top news stories of 2017 included continuing political fallout and criminal charges in connection with the Flint water crisis; Larry Nassar and the USA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal; the December 5 retirement of John Conyers amid claims of sexual harassment; the re-election of Mike Duggan to a second term as Mayor of Detroit with 72% of the vote; and the revitalization of Downtown and Midtown Detroit.
In sports, the state's top stories included the return of the Detroit Pistons to Detroit; the opening of Little Caesars Arena as the home of the Pistons and Detroit Red Wings; the election of three former Detroit Tigers (Iván Rodríguez, Alan Trammell, and Jack Morris) to the Baseball Hall of Fame; the firing of Jim Caldwell as head coach of the Detroit Lions and Brad Ausmus as head coach of the Tigers; and Claressa Shields of Flint winning female middleweight and super middleweight boxing titles.
Office holders
State office holders
Governor of Michigan: Rick Snyder (Republican) Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: Brian Calley (Republican) Michigan Attorney General: Bill Schuette (Republican) Michigan Secretary of State: Ruth Johnson (Republican) Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives: Kevin Cotter (Republican) (until January 11), Tom Leonard (Republican) (starting January 11) Majority Leader of the Michigan Senate: Arlan Meekhof (Republican) Chief Justice, Michigan Supreme Court: Robert P. Young, Jr. (until January 6), Stephen Markman (starting January 6)
Mayors of major cities
Mayor of Detroit: Mike Duggan (Democrat) Mayor of Grand Rapids: Rosalynn Bliss Mayor of Warren, Michigan: James R. Fouts Mayor of Sterling Heights, Michigan: Michael C. Taylor Mayor of Ann Arbor: Christopher Taylor (Democrat) Mayor of Dearborn: John B. O'Reilly Jr. Mayor of Lansing: Virgil Bernero Mayor of Flint: Karen Weaver Mayor of Saginaw: Dennis Browning
Federal office holders
U.S. Senator from Michigan: Debbie Stabenow (Democrat) U.S. Senator from Michigan: Gary Peters (Democrat) House District 1: Jack Bergman (Republican) House District 2: Bill Huizenga (Republican) House District 3: Justin Amash (Republican) House District 4: John Moolenaar (Republican) House District 5: Dan Kildee (Democrat) House District 6: Fred Upton (Republican) House District 7: Tim Walberg (Republican) House District 8: Mike Bishop (Republican) House District 9: Sander Levin (Democrat) House District 10: Paul Mitchell (Republican) House District 11: David Trott (Republican) House District 12: Debbie Dingell (Democrat) House District 13: John Conyers (Democrat) House District 14: Brenda Lawrence (Democrat)
Population In the 2010 United States Census, Michigan was recorded as having a population of 9,883,640 persons, ranking as the eighth most populous state in the country. By 2017, the state's population was estimated at 9,962,311, and the state had become the 10th most populous state.
The state's largest cities, having populations of at least 75,000 based on 2016 estimates, were as follows:
2017Rank City County2010 Pop.2016 Pop.Change 2010-161DetroitWayne713,777672,795−5.7% 2Grand RapidsKent188,040196,4454.5% 3WarrenMacomb134,056135,1250.8% 4Sterling HeightsMacomb129,699132,4272.1% 5Ann ArborWashtenaw113,934120,7826.0% 6LansingIngham114,297116,0201.5% 7FlintGenesee102,43497,386−4.9% 8DearbornWayne98,15394,444−3.8% 9LivoniaWayne96,94294,041−3.0% 10TroyOakland80,98083,6413.3% 11WestlandWayne84,09481,545−3.0% 12Farmington HillsOakland79,74081,1291.7% 13KalamazooKalamazoo74,26275,9842.3% 14WyomingKent72,12575,5674.8%
Sports
Baseball
2017 Detroit Tigers season – Under manager Brad Ausmus, the Tigers compiled a 64–98 record and finished fifth in American League Central Division. The team's statistical leaders included Justin Upton with a .279 batting average and 28 home runs, Nicholas Castellanos with 101 RBIs, Justin Verlander and Michael Fulmer with 10 wins each, and Shane Greene with a 2.66 earned run average. Baseball Hall of Fame - Three Detroit Tigers were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. Iván Rodríguez was elected in January by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, and Alan Trammell and Jack Morris were elected by the Modern Era Committee in December. 2017 West Michigan Whitecaps season - The Whitecaps, a Class A Minor League Baseball team affiliated with the Detroit Tigers, compiled a 91–45 record. 2017 Michigan Wolverines baseball team - Under head coach Erik Bakich, the Wolverines compiled a 42–7 record and finished second in the Big Ten Conference. 2017 Michigan State Spartans baseball team - Under head coach Jake Boss, the Spartans compiled a 29–23 record. 2017 Michigan Wolverines softball team - Under head coach Carol Hutchins, the Wolverines compiled a 43-13-1 record.
American football
2017 Detroit Lions season – Under head coach Jim Caldwell, the Lions compiled a 9–7 record and finished second in the NFC North Division. The team's statistical leaders included Matthew Stafford with 4,446 passing yards, Ameer Abdullah with 551 rushing yards, Marvin Jones Jr. with 1,101 receiving yards, and Matt Prater with 130 points scored. 2017 Michigan State Spartans football team - Under head coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans compiled a 10–3 record, defeated Washington State in the 2017 Holiday Bowl, and were ranked No. 15 in the final AP Poll. The team's statistical leaders included Brian Lewerke with 2,793 passing yards, L. J. Scott with 898 rushing yards, Felton Davis III with 776 receiving yards, and Matt Coghlin with 83 points scored. 2017 Michigan Wolverines football team - Under head coach Jim Harbaugh, the team compiled an 8–5 and lost to South Carolina in the 2018 Outback Bowl. The team's statistical leaders included John O'Korn with 973 passing yards, Karan Higdon with 994 rushing yards, Grant Perry with 307 receiving yards, and Quinn Nordin with 94 points scored. 2017 Central Michigan Chippewas football team - Under head coach John Bonamego, the Chippewas compiled an 8–5 record and lost to Wyoming in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. 2017 Western Michigan Broncos football team - Under head coach Tim Lester, the Broncos compiled a 6–6 record. 2017 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team - Under head coach Chris Creighton, the Eagles compiled a 5–7 record.
Basketball
2016–17 Detroit Pistons season – Under head coach Stan Van Gundy, the Pistons compiled a 37–45 record and finished fifth in the NBA's Central Division. The team's statistical leaders included Tobias Harris with 1,321 points, Ish Smith with 418 assists and Andre Drummond with 1,115 rebounds. 2016–17 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team - Under head coach John Beilein, the Wolverines compiled a 26–12 record, won the Big Ten Tournament championship, and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round in the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The team's statistical leaders included Derrick Walton with 589 points and 189 assists and D. J. Wilson with 203 rebounds. 2016–17 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team - Under head coach Tom Izzo, the Spartans compiled a 20–15 record and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The team's statistical leaders included Nick Ward with 485 points, Cassius Winston with 182 assists, and Miles Bridges with 232 rebounds. 2016–17 Detroit Titans men's basketball team - Under head coach Bacari Alexander, the Titans compiled an 8–23 record. 2016–17 Michigan Wolverines women's basketball team - Under head coach Kim Barnes, the Wolverines compiled a 28–9 record and won the WNIT championship. 2016–17 Michigan State Spartans women's basketball team - Under head coach Suzy Merchant, the Spartans compiled a 21–12 record and lost in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.
Ice hockey
2016–17 Detroit Red Wings season – Under head coach Jeff Blashill, the Red Wings compiled a 33–36–13 record and finished seventh in the NHL Atlantic Division. The team statistical leaders included Henrik Zetterberg with 51 assists and 68 points and Tomáš Tatar with 25 goals. The team's goaltenders were Petr Mrázek (44 games), Jimmy Howard (24 games started) and Jared Coreau (14 games started). 2016–17 Michigan Wolverines men's ice hockey team - In their 30th and final season under head coach Red Berenson, the Wolverines compiled a 13-19-3 record. 2016–17 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey team - Under head coach Tom Anastos, the Spartans compiled a 7–24–4 record.
Boxing
March 10 - Claressa Shields of Flint won the vacant NABF female middleweight title with a victory by TKO over Szilvia Szabados at the MGM Grand Detroit June 16 - Claressa Shields won the vacant WBC Silver female super middleweight title with a victory over Sydney LeBlanc at the Detroit Masonic Temple August 4 - Claressa Shields won the WBC and vacant IBF female super middleweight titles with a victory by TKO over Nikki Adler at the MGM Grand Detroit. October 7 - The Kronk Gym in Detroit, boxing home of Thomas Hearns and others, was destroyed by fire.
Racing Port Huron to Mackinac Boat Race - Il Mostro won the race and set a new record time, 21 hours, 45 minutes. Pure Michigan 400 - The race was won by Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing. Detroit Grand Prix - The race was won by Graham Rahal of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.
Other Michigan Open - Matt Thompson was the winner.
Music
February 3 - Big Sean's album I Decided was released and reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. February 17 - Frontier Ruckus' album Enter the Kingdom was released. May 27-29 - Movement, Detroit Electronic Music Festival June 10 - Aretha Franklin performed a 105-minute set at the Detroit Music Weekend. She was introduced by Sen. Debbie Stabenow and escorted to the stage by Jesse Jackson. Mayor Mike Duggan also came on stage during the set to present Aretha with a key to the city. June 15 - Bob Seger's music catalog became available for the first time on six streaming services, including Spotify and Apple Music. September 8 - Protomartyr's album Relatives in Descent was released. September 15 - Madonna's live album Rebel Heart Tour was released. October 9 - Ronald Yeargin, a member of Doughboyz Cashout, was discovered dead in his car in Detroit after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds. October 24 - Kid Rock ended speculation, announcing that he would not run for the U.S. Senate in 2018. October 26 - Eminem won a copyright lawsuit in New Zealand. October 27 - The Eagles perform at Detroit's new Little Caesars Arena. Deacon Frey replaced his deceased father in the band. November 3 - Kid Rock's album Sweet Southern Sugar was released and reached No. 8 on the Billboard 200 album chart. November 17 - Bob Seger's album I Knew You When was released and reached No. 25 on the Billboard 200 album chart. November 24 - Sufjan Stevens' mixtape The Greatest Gift was released. December 7 - Tee Grizzley's album Bloodas was released. December 8 - Big Sean's album Double or Nothing was released and reached No. 6 in the Billboard 200 album chart. December 15 - Eminem's album Revival was released and reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. December 18 - Detroit hip-hop group, the Insane Clown Posse and their fans, the Juggalos, lost a federal appeal challenging the FBI's 2011 gang designation 2017 - Esham's album Scribble was released. 2017 - Karriem Riggins' Headnod Suite was released. 2017 - Dej Loaf's single "No Fear" was released.
Chronology of events
January
January 3 - Gretchen Whitmer, former minority leader of the Michigan Senate, filed paperwork as a candidate in the 2018 election for governor. January 4 - Ford Motor announced a $700 million investment to improve its Flat Rock, Michigan, plant to build self-driving and electric cars. January 8 - Fiat Chrysler announced plans to invest $1 billion at its Warren and Toledo Jeep plants.