(WXYZ) — Hey, you're busy — we get it.
We know a lot happens throughout the week, and you may not catch all of our stories here at WXYZ. So we've decided to gather the most talked-about stories from the past week all in one place that you can check out during your free time over the weekend.
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Here are the big stories from the week beginning May 12.
Take a tour of what lies underneath the Belle Isle fountain; see why it's being renovated
The iconic fountain that sits on Detroit’s Belle Isle will close to the public Monday and remain closed until May 2027 to undergo some major renovations.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources gave 7 News Detroit a tour of what lies underneath the fountain to show us why building new concrete beams and replacing the aging plumbing and infrastructure is necessary to keep the 100-year-old landmark running.
The fountain was built in 1925 and the infrastructure that lies underneath it is starting to crumble.
“Over here, it leaks on the electrical and over here, it leaks on the electrical," Michigan DNR Urban District Supervisor Tom Bissett said. "When the bowl is leaking, it’s creating mud underneath us and it’s just not very stable.”
Bissett says the Michigan DNR received another round of funding through the American Rescue Plan that they have to use up soon. Some of those dollars will go toward finishing up the new trail or tearing down old structures like the zoo, but $6 million of it will be going to fix up the fountain.
“When that bowl is structurally unsound, it could collapse and if it collapses, you’re not just talking about danger for anybody that’s down in this room but you could potentially lose the entire fountain," Bissett said.
A few years ago, maintenance work was done to the outside of the fountain, but there will still be some marble replacement and new LED lighting. For example, the lights that used to shine in the fountain were run-of-the-mill light bulbs submerged in water, so they were not very safe or sustainable.
However, the majority of the work will focus underneath the fountain where structural work will be done to make sure the fountain can last another 100 years, and 100 more years of memories can be made.
Woman-owned business in Ferndale helps new mothers navigate postpartum challenges
A unique business in Ferndale is working to make the transition into motherhood easier and less isolating for women by providing comprehensive postpartum support services.
The Fourth Tri Sanctuary on Woodward Avenue offers a space where mothers can go with their babies to get the care and support they need after giving birth.
"We created something that doesn't exist in our country," co-founder Kacee Must said. "It is a postpartum space that brings all of the things that you could possibly need during the postpartum period, which is 0 to 12 months, to you all under one roof."
Must, a yoga instructor and owner of Citizen Yoga, started the business with her hair stylist of 10 years. The pair noticed a significant gap in support for families and women after childbirth, and they opened their doors in February 2024.
At the facility, trained staff and doulas teach mothers essential skills like bathing and feeding their babies. The space also allows mothers to relax, nap, eat, exercise and connect with other moms.
The sanctuary has helped more than 900 mothers since opening, with plans to expand to seven more facilities in the next three years.
Oxford High School seniors reflect on journeys from freshman year shooting to graduation
Seniors from Oxford High School will attend their graduation ceremony Thursday night at Pine Knob. This group is the final class of students to leave school after surviving the deadly mass shooting in November 2021 that claimed the lives of four classmates – Tate Myre, Madisyn Baldwin, Justin Shilling and Hana St. Juliana.
For those seniors, the shooting forever changed their four years at high school. I sat down with three families I've kept in touch with to discuss the complex range of emotions they've faced as they close one chapter and start another.
For Aiden Watson, healing is a word that carries a deep meaning on many levels. He and his mother, Linda, talked about the struggles he's had to overcome as a result of the shooting when he was a freshman.
Aiden was among the seven others who were wounded in the shooting.
"I missed, if not all of my 9th grade. Barely went in for 10th grade. Half a day for 11th. Senior year, didn’t go in at all," Aiden said.
Emotions are also powerful for another graduating senior, Luke Johnson, who lost a dear friend and role model in Tate Myre.
"I decided I’m going to take some time, and realize what I’ve been through and how I can move forward. Then, I started to reach out to other people," Luke said.
"Just adversity, whether personal in my family or what the community has been through. The things that happened Nov. 30, and how I represent myself," he said.
Luke is now a champion wrestler and is also committed to playing football at Wayne State University this fall.
"Me and Tate were pretty close. I always looked up to him, during wrestling season especially," he said. "He always took me under his wing during football season. He was always there for me when I needed him.
More hugs were shared during our interviews between the families of Aiden Watson and senior Phoebe Arthur. Both Aiden and Phoebe overcame serious physical wounds, but emotional scars exist to this day.
"It’s not what we thought it would be. When she started freshman year, what she thought graduation would look like. Nothing like what we thought before and it’s sad," Sandra Cunningham, Phoebe's mother, said.
Michigan film industry pushes for incentives to bring productions back to state
Members of Detroit's film industry are rallying to bring more production back to Michigan through a renewed push for state incentives.
Inside Cadieux Sound Studios on Detroit's east side, industry professionals gathered to prepare for another legislative effort in Lansing.
"It's just a great place to shoot and people are hungry for it," said Mike Young, a writer, director and comedian.
Young, a Southfield native who moved to Los Angeles, has filmed two movies in Michigan and wants to bring more productions to the state.
Industry members say the lack of film incentives, which dozens of other states offer, is the main obstacle to attracting productions.
The group met with lawmakers in Lansing, pushing to restore film incentives that ended in 2015, this time with what they describe as a sustainable long-term plan.
"We're looking to get a 10-year program that builds gradually over time that will have between 6 and 8 billion dollars of direct spend in the state," said Alexander Page, legislative chair of the Michigan Film Industry Association.
However, some organizations oppose the initiative. The Mackinac Center for Public Policy argues that previous incentive programs didn't deliver sufficient economic benefits.
"From our perspective, and most economists, it's just not a good use of state tax dollars," said Jarrett Skorup of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Detroit's population increased for the 2nd straight year, data shows
The City of Detroit's population has increased for the second straight year, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and other city leaders celebrated the news in a press conference on Thursday morning.
According to U.S. Census data, Detroit gained 6,791 residents in 2024, bringing the total population estimate to 645,705.
At the same time, the mayor said that the Census Bureau added 5,969 Detroiters that had been undercounted from 2021 to 2023.
Detroit now moves one spot to the 26th largest city in the U.S., behind Boston and ahead of Portland, Oregon.
“This record growth would not have been possible without the hard work of longtime Detroiters, our business community and city employees over the past 12 years,” Duggan said in a statement.
Last year, the Census Bureau reported a population increase of 1,852, the first increase since 1957. The city said that the new report "acknowledges a significant undercount in last year’s report."
In May 2024, the Census Bureau reported a Detroit population increase of 1,852, the first increase since 1957. The new report released today acknowledges a significant undercount in last year’s report.
'Wasn't expecting it': Wyandotte police gift wheelchair to woman with mobility issues
A 66-year-old Downriver woman is getting around a little easier after an encounter with police turned into a life-changing gift.
Mary Ann Rodriguez, who suffers from neuropathy, was found sitting on the ground near a church on Ford Avenue near 2nd Street when Wyandotte Councilman and former Police Chief Bob Alderman stopped to help.
Rodriguez was attempting to walk from Ford Hospital in Wyandotte to visit her mother in Southgate despite her medical condition that makes walking difficult.
"She doesn't drive and I don't drive, so I walked as best as I can," Rodriguez said.
Neuropathy causes Rodriguez to have limited mobility, a condition she acknowledges won't improve.
Wyandotte Police Officer Cade Barwig initially responded to the call and drove Rodriguez home that evening.
"At first, she just wanted a ride to the nearest bus stop but I mean, I'm here to help people," Barwig said.
The assistance didn't end there.
"I called Deputy Chief Groat and I said there's got to be something we can do for Mary. She can't walk. Why is she walking from Wyandotte Hospital to Southgate," Alderman said.
The Wyandotte Police Department and Alderman secured a brand-new wheelchair for Rodriguez and provided her with $200 in Kroger gift cards, courtesy of the American Legion.
"It was kind of amazing. She definitely wasn't expecting it. She was very grateful. She teared up a little bit," Barwig said.
Rochester schools implements new safety system with wearable badges for staff
The challenges schools face these days are very different from what they were just a couple of decades ago. As safety increasingly takes priority, local districts are adapting to the reality.
Rochester Community Schools is implementing a new platform of technologies. It's part of an effort to streamline resources and cut down on emergency response times.
Staff will be wearing badges that have a button on them, and simply pressing that button will engage an entire system of mapping and emergency responses.
The system is called the Centegix Safety Platform. Centegix is headquartered in Atlanta, and they say they were founded on the idea that technology can create safer, more secure environments.
"Let’s just say a student were to hurt themselves, what would happen at that point and time?" we asked.
“A staff member would press this three times, I need help. (A) response team comes and services the staff and student and see what the needs are," Superintendent Nicholas Russo said.
"Now let's just say, heaven forbid, something more dire happened, what would happen then?" we asked.
“So a staff member would hit this eight times or more and it triggers a lockdown on the school. We would have the strobe lights going off, we would have the PA system taken over, initiate a lockdown. That indicates to everybody at the same time what is happening, and simultaneously sends a signal to our 911 responders," he said.
It also creates a digital map that all those first responders can reference to know exactly where there’s a problem.
“So they will see not only the location where this is being triggered or multiple locations where this is being activated, but they’ll also see where all the assets are in the building, and AED, a fire extinguisher," Russo said.
