The Winter Olympics officially kick off today! 🥇

If you’re like me, the next couple of weeks will involve at least one TV in the house locked onto the Games 24/7.

With that in mind, this morning’s a perfect time to catch up on the history of Michigan’s most legendary Olympians, and the Michiganders to keep an eye on this time around.

The ’Gander’s Ellery Weil has the story.

Plus: Is it legal to own a tank in Michigan?

Slotkin rejects DOJ interview request over ‘illegal orders’ video (WILX): Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is refusing to voluntarily cooperate with a Justice Department investigation into a video she helped organize that urged service members to resist unlawful military orders, with her attorney asking prosecutors to end the inquiry and preserve records for possible litigation. Slotkin argues the probe is politically motivated.

Group pushing for proof-of-citizenship voting proposal says it has enough ballots (Bridge Michigan): A ballot committee called Americans for Citizen Voting says it has gathered enough signatures to put a constitutional amendment on Michigan’s November ballot that would require proof of citizenship to register, photo ID to have a ballot counted, and a statewide audit of voter rolls to remove people whose citizenship can’t be verified. If signatures are validated, the proposal would go before voters as Proposal 2 alongside other statewide ballot questions.

Tigers legend Mickey Lolich dies (Freep): Mickey Lolich, the durable left-hander who powered the Detroit Tigers to a 1968 World Series title with three complete-game wins and earned Series MVP honors, has died at 85. A franchise legend and one of baseball’s most prolific strikeout pitchers, Lolich remains Detroit’s all-time leader in strikeouts, starts and shutouts.

USA Hockey Team’s Dylan Larkin playing in a game against Italy. (Luca Santilli/Shutterstock)

By Ellery Weil

Every four years, the world gathers in the cold, and a well-traveled torch is lit. For over a century, the Winter Olympics have brought athletes and spectators from around the world together in the spirit of friendly competition, and Michigan has played a role from the very beginning.

From the excitement of ice hockey to the elegance of ice dancing, Michiganders have excelled at winter sports at the Olympic Games around the world. While the Michigan natives who have competed in the Winter Games are numerous, let’s have a look at some of the particularly exceptional Olympians who have called Michigan home.

Plus: Meet the Michiganders competing this time around.

M1A2 SEPv3 Abrams tank firing its 120mm cannon at Mohamed Naguib Military Base, Egypt, on Sept. 2, 2025. (USA Today Network)

By USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

Tanks were created to cause destruction during war and gain the upper hand in trench warfare.

They were first invented in Great Britain during World War I and have improved drastically over the past century. Sometimes tanks are sold on secondhand markets after they are decommissioned.

The United States has a lot of weird laws that the average American may not understand. Some basic things we do often may be illegal, while some things you may think are forbidden are actually legal.

With that being said, is it legal to own a tank?

Earlier this week, we shared news of the growing use of license plate cameras in communities across Michigan, along with increased requests by federal agencies for that information.

So we asked you:

Should Michigan police be allowed to collect and store license plate data? Should they be allowed to share that info with other agencies?

Here’s what you had to say:

“No this information should not be stored or shared. What has happened to us? The erosion of our freedom continues.” — David Hanna

“License plate data is already available through the Secretary of State to police agencies. Other agencies if they have a warrant can get that data already. The Trump efforts to make the United States a police state run by him is unacceptable. I would do everything in my power to prevent that.” — Alice Whiren

“I do not feel that police or other government agencies have any right to track my license plate unless there is a warrant for that information. The information should also not be stored or shared with other departments and agencies.“ — Laura McDonald

“I am ok with these readers. I think they are worthwhile.” — Dona Delmotte

“No. Michigan should resist becoming a surveillance state.” — William Sievert

“Michigan should absolutely use the license plate readers to help solve crime and catch criminals and that includes sharing them with other agencies such as state, sheriff, fbi, cbp and ice. A criminal is a criminal and we should be more worried about law abiding citizens and their safety than criminals and illegals. People are tired of that type of backward thinking. ” — Karen Parnell

“I’ve worked in high-tech fields for pretty much my entire working life. I understand how data is collected, transmitted, analyzed and stored.

No, I do not want any type of camera scanning public areas for license plate or biometric data.

This type of data is ripe for abuse.

Questions for the various communities that have contracted with Flock, Axon or any of the other providers:

· What penalties would Flock suffer if they shared data with a person or org not approved by any contracts?

· What penalties would Flock suffer if it retained data for longer than the 30 days specified by any contracts? (Also, how would anyone even know?)

My speculative answer: Probably a small fine and certainly no one from Flock would ever be charged with a crime, much less go to jail.

I doubt anyone from any org who signed up for these services even bothered to research this question. Why are they not worried about this scenario? Because they would not be personally held responsible for any misuse of any data. The lack of consequences drives the behavior. 

I hope schools are still teaching this Benjamin Franklin quote: ‘Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.’” — Jesse Braden

“If you’re not doing anything you shouldn’t be doing, it shouldn’t be a problem. If it could take drunk drivers and school bus passing vehicles and dangerous aggressive drivers off the road it would be worth it. There aren’t enough law enforcement officers to do all of those things.” — Cyndi Raslich 

“I think license plate monitoring could provide important benefits, as long as access and use of the data is restricted to only those who have a right or need to do so. Potential benefits include:

1. To encourage slower speeds, as a ticket will be issued to the owner of the plate when speed surpasses the posted limit (perhaps with a “margin of error” built in). This should decrease accidents, which saves money on repair costs, which should decrease insurance costs. And more importantly, this would decrease accident-related death and disability.

2. Use of accident recording(s) to provide evidence when there is a dispute of the details between the involved parties.

3. Identifying the route or location of vehicles related to a crime to improve law enforcement’s ability to carry out their duties.

To address people’s anxiety about being monitored for other reasons, the system can be set up to give access only to people who have a “need to know”. In health care, employees are only given access to the information they need for their job. Patient records are electronically monitored to detect anyone who is not authorized to access them. There are monetary fines for the hospital or clinic and the offender (who is usually fired). The patient must be notified and may choose to sue the employee and the facility.” — Marcia LaHaie

And if you have a question you’d like me to ask our community, send it my way. I might feature it in a future newsletter.

*Responses may be edited for conciseness or clarity.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Karel Vega with stories from Ellery Weil and USA Today Network via Reuters Connect. It was edited by Paula Solis.

The ’Gander is free for everyone. Your support makes our work possible.