MICHIGAN — Who is Lady Budgetdown?

It’s a question that has circulated among Michigan educators, school administrators, taxpayers and social media users as a mysterious online watchdog continues digging into school district finances, superintendent salaries, bond proposals and public spending.

Now, the person behind the increasingly visible project is revealing new details about its origins, operations and future — while refusing to disclose their identity.

In an exclusive written interview, Lady Budgetdown confirmed the operation is run by a single individual, not a larger organization or political group.

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“It started with just me, and it currently is only me,” Lady Budgetdown said.

The anonymous researcher said the project receives technical assistance with website development but independently oversees the research, reviews public records, creates content and determines what information gets published.

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Michigan school funding tops inflation since before the pandemic

Funding for public schools in Michigan has grown faster than inflation since before the pandemic.

Yet some school teachers, like Amanda Walker of Bay City Schools, have said that schools are being defunded. Walker is vice president of her district’s chapter of the Michigan Education Association.

“I do think there’s been a concerted effort to dismantle public education by defunding, by diverting funds to private schools, by tearing down teachers and accusing them of all sorts of nonsense. People see it, and they feel it, and they don’t like it,” Walker told an MEA news publication recently.

It can feel that way at school districts such as Bay City, where the student count dropped 16% between 2018-19 and 2025-26, according to MiSchoolData.org. Fewer students means less in per-pupil funding. Click here to read more.

 

Data centers become midterm minefield as candidates scramble to answer voter backlash

President Donald Trump has made no secret of his support for building new data centers across the country, but candidates in both parties are trying to show voters they are listening to growing concerns about the technology. With the midterms two weeks away, the issue could help decide who voters ultimately choose.

The debate is playing out in city halls nationwide. In Memphis, Tennessee, the city council voted down a proposal Tuesday that would have halted new data center development for a year, following a heated meeting. “We demand a healthy environment, clean air, clean water, which we have a human right to. We also demand representation that chooses us, the people, over the profits of a billionaire’s experiment,” said KeShaun Pearson, who attended the meeting. Click here to read more.

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Cops Release Woman Who Plowed Through Soccer Field: No Charges, No Explanation

The debate is playing out in city halls nationwide. In Memphis, Tennessee, the city council voted down a proposal Tuesday that would have halted new data center development for a year, following a heated meeting. “We demand a healthy environment, clean air, clean water, which we have a human right to. We also demand representation that chooses us, the people, over the profits of a billionaire’s experiment,” said KeShaun Pearson, who attended the meeting.

In Hermantown, Minnesota, a rural community of about 10,000 people in the northeastern part of the state, the city council moved closer to approving a new Google data center. Some residents said officials haven’t pushed hard enough. Click here to read more.

 

Consumers Energy’s rate hike request comes days after $139M increase approved

Consumers Energy is looking for a rate hike on natural gas prices less than a week after the public service commission approved a $139 million increase.

The utility provider filed its notice of intent with regulators on Monday, which is required before it can submit its rate request.

The previous rate hike came out to about a 4.3% bump in monthly payments for natural gas.

Big picture view:

Consumers Energy has not said how much more it is asking for it its latest failing, but did say the new rate would last 12 months, ending Oct. 31, 2028.

Utility companies cannot set rates themselves. Instead, they submit a request to increase rates for either natural gas or electricity with the Michigan Public Service Commission.

After making the request, both parties and any other stakeholders weigh in on the case.

The Michigan Attorney General frequently intervenes in these cases. Click here to read more.

 

Trump and Vance announce $25M whistleblower program to encourage public to report alleged fraud

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday announced a $25 million program to encourage the public to blow the whistle on suspected fraud in the U.S. government as they ramp up efforts to end the abuse of federal programs and dollars.

The White House said that under the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, anyone who submits a tip that leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action is eligible to receive up to $30,000, and that the Justice Department will administer the program.

During the announcement, Trump said payments will amount to a 1% commission on the amount of fraud the tip helps uncover. Trump also said he will decide who gets reward money in cases where more than one person claims to have provided the tip.

“I will be the arbitrator of all of these decisions,” Trump in the Oval Office with Vance and other administration officials standing behind him. “It’ll be a binding arbitration.”

Trump said journalists could participate in the program. Click here to read more.

LANSING, Mich. — Children under Michigan's guardianship underwent medical procedures without required consent or documentation, while thousands of others were not being consistently tracked by the state agency responsible for them, according to a new audit.

The Michigan Office of the Auditor General released a 40-page report Oct. 15 identifying significant deficiencies within the Michigan Children's Institute, which operates under the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

The institute serves as the legal guardian for children whose parental rights have been terminated.

Auditors concluded that the institute's selected guardianship activities were not sufficient, identifying problems with