A family in Michigan kept their dog safe in their own front lawn, hanging out behind an invisible fence. The problem with invisible fences, though, is that people wandering through the neighborhood don’t know that they’re present. Like the man who was reportedly performing surveying work for an AT&T contractor, and fatally shot the family’s dog, which he thought was attacking him. [More]
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Customers Urged To Return 16.9-Ounce Bottles Of Pepsi Over Metallic Flecks
By 5.9.17
After more than a dozen consumers in Michigan reported tasting something more in their bottles of Pepsi than they bargained for, the state’s health department issued a warning that customers should return certain 16-ounce bottle of the soda that may contain flakes of metal. [More]
Midwestern Sporting Goods Chain MC Sports Files For Bankrutpcy, Starts Liquidation Sales
By 2.16.17
In March of last year, sporting goods mega-retailer Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy, apparently kicking off a fad in the industry as smaller chains like Golfsmith and Vestis Retail (twice) filed for bankruptcy protection, and outdoors superstore Gander Mountain is rumored to be considering it. Now a venerable regional chain is joining them: The Midwest’s MC Sports filed for bankruptcy, but is still looking for a buyer. [More]
Supreme Court Asked To Settle Battle Over Courtroom Ban On Phones, Computers
By 1.12.17
For more than 35 years, states have been allowed to let cameras in the courtroom, but some courts have enacted full bans — not just on TV cameras and photographers but on all electronic devices, and at all times. A Michigan man thinks this is going too far, and has officially petitioned the Supreme Court to settle the matter. [More]
Michigan Bans Local Governments From Banning Plastic Bags
By 12.30.16
While states like Hawaii and California have enacted bans on plastic bags, Michigan is going the exact opposite route, passing a law that bans local governments from banning plastic bags or putting fees on disposable containers. [More]
Tesla Teases Michigan With New Look-But-Don’t-Buy Showroom At Nordstrom
By 12.2.16
Three months after Tesla sued the state of Michigan, challenging a law that says automakers can only sell through franchised dealerships, the electric carmaker has thrown caution to the wind and debuted a showroom inside a Nordstrom department store in the Detroit suburb of Troy. [More]
Authorities In Detroit Investigating Hepatitis A Cases Linked To Whole Foods
By 10.20.16
Public health authorities in Detroit are raising the food safety alarm: anyone who bought prepared food at the Whole Foods store at 115 Mack Ave in midtown should seek medical attention, since they may have been exposed to Hepatitis A. While details are fuzzy, they know that the span from Oct. 6-10 is when any exposure would have happened. [More]
Tesla Suing Michigan After State Officials Reject Company’s Bid To Open Dealership
By 9.22.16
After Michigan denied Tesla Motors’ application for licenses to sell directly to consumers, the company has filed a lawsuit against the state, challenging a law that says automakers can only sell through franchised dealerships. [More]
Michigan Is Littered With Abandoned Kmarts, Which Is Actually Good For Retail
By 9.12.16
When a longtime retailer closes its doors, it can be a good thing for the area and for the local real estate market. Employees lose their jobs, and the remaining loyal shoppers lose their favorite store, but freeing up that real estate means that new and popular stores can renovate or tear down the buildings, replacing them with something that modern shoppers are interested in. [More]
Grassfields Farms Cheese Sold At Whole Foods Recalled For Possible E. Coli
By 8.4.16
Cheese is one of our favorite foods here at Consumerist, but its creamy deliciousness doesn’t make it immune to some very unappetizing foodborne pathogens. Grassfields Cheese, a small producer in Michigan, has announced a recall of all cheeses produced between December 2015 and August 2016 because they have been linked to E. coli infections. [More]
Man Tries The ‘Seinfeld’ Michigan Bottle Deposit Scam In Real Life, Fails
By 7.26.16
Fans of classic ’90s TV and wacky schemes may remember an episode of the show Seinfeld where a character hauls soda bottles from New York to Michigan to redeem them for the deposits. There, the redemption rate is 10 cents per item, while it’s only five in New York. By collecting bottles and cans in New York and redeeming them in Michigan, they could cash in. Now a man from Michigan is accused of trying that scheme in real life. [More]
Alleged Shoplifter Gets Caught, Guzzles Flea Medicine
By 4.18.16
A man at a Menards store in Michigan was caught carrying 19 boxes of K9 Advantix, a flea and tick preventive medication for dogs, past all of the cash registers, and security staff swooped in. Security staff accused him of shoplifting and contacted the police, but the suspect decided that he would rather go to the hospital instead. [More]
Woman Accused Of Shoplifting At Walmart Flashed Security Staff, Then Bit Them
By 3.16.16
A woman who set off the security sensors at the Walmart in Blackman Township, MI in the wee hours of Monday morning wanted to show employees that she had nothing to hide. Police say that’s why she pulled her shirt up and her pants down to show that she had no merchandise concealed under her clothing. However, there was the matter of the cart full of merchandise that she pushed into the foyer. [More]
Here’s A Look Inside The Last Days Of Some Closing Walmarts
By 2.5.16
We expect that Walmart stores are crammed full of merchandise and people, and they look wrong when they no longer have either. Walmart recently completed a round of store closings, including the entire Walmart Express chain. Naturally, some of our readers were there, and brought their cameras. [More]
Tesla Applied For A Dealership License In Michigan
By 2.1.16
Michigan residents keen on purchasing a Tesla may no longer have to travel to Chicago, Ohio, Indiana, or Canada: Tesla has applied for dealership licenses to sell and service its electric vehicles in the state nearly two years after legislators passed laws banning the company’s direct-to-customer sales model. [More]
Walmart, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Nestlé Offer 176 Truckloads Of Clean Water To Flint Schoolkids
By 1.26.16
You’ve no doubt heard about the concerns over lead-tainted water in the Michigan city of Flint. While the city and state have declared it a public-health emergency, some big businesses are stepping up with the promise of delivering millions of bottles of clean water to Flint schoolchildren through the rest of 2016. [More]
Price War: Several Michigan Gas Stations Sold Gas For Under $1/Gallon
By 1.18.16
It might sound unbelievable, after years of high gas prices, but it finally happened again: gas fell below $1 per gallon… in one part of the country, at a few stations, for one weekend. [More]
Police: Couple Gets Engaged In Walmart, Allegedly Goes On Shoplifting Spree
By 1.7.16
After getting engaged, it’s normal to want to celebrate. But one Michigan couple took their celebration in a different direction after their public Walmart proposal: they allegedly went on a small shoplifting jaunt that included pilfering assorted sex toys. [More]
