Corey Williams, Author at The Rapid City Post

Detroit Opera orchestra to set George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic hits to classical music

January 29, 2026

The Detroit Opera is showcasing Parliament-Funkadelic in a new way. George Clinton’s and P-Funk’s greatest hits will be performed by an orchestra. The event, titled “Symphonic PFunk-Celebrating the Music of Parliament Funkadelic,” takes place Saturday at the Detroit Opera House. Violins, cellos, horns, and more will bring some of the group’s classics to life. The 84-year-old Clinton says going classical is something he has been expecting to happen at some point with the group’s music. Detroit Opera has assembled 47 players, including a full string section and a harp, to perform these iconic tunes.

Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield holds child during an announcement of the city's participation in Rx Kids program that provides cash to help expectant mothers, Monday, Jan. 5, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)

Detroit joining Michigan program that gives cash to expectant mothers for essentials

January 5, 2026

A Michigan program that provides cash to help expectant mothers cope with bills, expenses and the high cost of taking care of children is coming to Detroit. Mayor Mary Sheffield announced Monday that Michigan State University’s Rx Kids program is expected to open within the first 100 days of her taking office. Sheffield was elected in November and installed last week as Detroit’s first female mayor. The program gives a one-time allocation of $1,500 to expectant mothers during pregnancy. That’s followed by $500 per month during the child’s first six months after birth. Families are expected to use the money for essentials. Funding comes from various foundations and businesses. The city also will pitch in $500,000 annually over three years.

Ford turns to stepped-up tech and cooperation with police to thwart F-150 pickup thieves

December 12, 2025

Ford Motor Co. has stepped up technology in its popular F-150 pickup to combat ever-evolving techniques car thieves have at their disposal. It is the latest cat-and-mouse move that the automaker hopes will help customers avoid the costly and frustrating process that occurs when vehicles are swiped. It includes a feature that won’t allow the pickups to start even if key fobs are present. Owners can use Ford’s “Start Inhibit” to disable their F-150’s engine from a smartphone. The pickup was in the top 10 of most stolen models over the first half of 2025. Ford Secure General Manager Christian Moran says there are a lot of F-150s on the road, and thieves like pickups.

Tracy Herrmann has one of her tattoos removed by Chroma Tattoo Studio Laser Tattoo Removal owner Jaime Howard on Nov. 19, 2025, in West Bloomfield, Mich. (AP Photo/Corey Williams)

If you want that tattoo erased it’s going to hurt and it’s going to cost you

December 8, 2025

Colin Farrell’s had it done — many times. So have Angelina Jolie and Megan Fox. Heck, even Bart Simpson did. Whether it’s Marilyn Monroe’s face, Billy Bob Thornton’s name, a sultry rose or even Bart’s partially inscribed homage to his mother, some tattoos simply have to go for one reason or another. But the process of taking them off is longer, much more costly and a lot more painful than getting them put on. Also, due to some health reasons, some souls who braved the ink needle, should be wary of the laser when having their body art erased or covered up.

FILE - Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan speaks to city employees in Detroit, Nov. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Detroit reflects on Mike Duggan’s tenure as his final days in the mayoral office near

December 6, 2025

Mike Duggan is stepping down as Detroit mayor at the end of the year after three terms in office. And the city he will leave behind is in better shape than the one he inherited in January 2014. That was nearly a year before Detroit exited the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The Motor City’s fortunes have improved, recording more than a decade of balanced budgets, improved city services, lower crime, less blight and a recovering population. City Council President Mary Sheffield will succeed Duggan, taking office in January. Sheffield says she plans to build on his success and ensure “Detroit’s progress reaches every block and every family.”

A statue of RoboCop stands outside a business in Detroit's Eastern Market area, Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Mike Householder)

Detroit’s own crime-fighter RoboCop finally stands guard in Motor City

December 4, 2025

RoboCop has found a permanent home in Detroit — all 11 feet and 3,500 pounds of him. A statue of the crime-fighting movie character has been welcomed by fans since it began standing guard over Detroit Wednesday afternoon in the Motor City’s Eastern Market area. Jim Toscano says streams of people have driven by his FREE AGE film production company where the bronze mold-cast statue is bolted into concrete. “RoboCop” developed a cult following after it hit theaters in 1987. It was set in a crime-ridden near-future Detroit. The city’s homicide numbers have now dropped below mid-1960s levels, and the statue was erected without objection from city officials.

City Council President Mary Sheffield speaks during an election night watch party after winning the mayoral race on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

City Council President Mary Sheffield wins election to become Detroit’s first female mayor

November 4, 2025

City Council President Mary Sheffield will be Detroit’s newest mayor and the first woman to lead the city. Sheffield defeated popular megachurch pastor the Rev. Solomon Kinloch in Tuesday’s general election. She will take office in January and succeed three-term Mayor Mike Duggan, who is running for Michigan governor as an independent. Sheffield will inherit a city that continues to improve following Detroit’s 2014 exit from the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Sheffield first was elected to the City Council in 2013 at age 26 and has been council president since 2022.

From rubble to revival, Detroiters hope new Hudson’s development can help reshape the city

October 9, 2025

In 2013, mired in debt, Detroit filed for bankruptcy. The city once renowned for auto manufacturing and Motown has since refilled its coffers and restored its credit rating — and new investments are rebuilding downtown Detroit from the ground up. With a nod to a former Detroit icon, a gleaming 45-story structure called Hudson’s Detroit has risen on the site of what was once the Hudson’s department store. It offers retail space and offices, and promises high-end condos and a five-star hotel. Billionaire developer Dan Gilbert is confident it can only help bolster the city’s recovery, saying “you’re going to feel a different Detroit.”

The Jackson Home, where Martin Luther King Jr. and others planned marches to call for Black voting rights in the early 60s in Selma, Ala., is shown being reconstructed at The Henry Ford in Dearborn, Mich., Monday, July 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Michigan museum preserves Civil Rights artifacts amid federal efforts to downplay Black history

August 6, 2025

An Alabama home where Martin Luther King Jr. and others planned marches in the 1960s calling for Black voting rights has been reconstructed in its entirety at a museum near Detroit. The delicate operation to move and preserve the Jackson Home and other artifacts from the Civil Rights era preceded President Donald Trump’s efforts to eradicate what he calls “divisive” and “race-centered ideologies,” and downplay the cultural and historical impact of race, racism and Black Americans. The Smithsonian Institution and other federal museums are now facing pressure to minimize artifacts that explain American history from a Black perspective.

Detroit mayoral candidate Mary Sheffield speaks at a campaign watch party Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Mary Sheffield to face Solomon Kinloch in November election for Detroit mayor

August 5, 2025

The race for Detroit’s next mayor is set to pit a longtime City Council member against a popular pastor. Council President Mary Sheffield and megachurch leader Solomon Kinloch were the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s nonpartisan primary. Voters will decide in November which of the two will succeed popular three-term Mayor Mike Duggan. He is running as an independent for Michigan’s open governor’s seat in 2026. Sheffield and Kinloch bested a field of seven others. They included former police Chief James Craig, former City Council member Saunteel Jenkins and current member Fred Durhal III.

Gen Xers mourn drowning death of actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, known as Theo on ‘The Cosby Show’

July 21, 2025

For Black youth and teens growing up in the mid-1980s, “The Cosby Show” offered something rarely seen on television up until that time. It was a sitcom that placed characters who looked like them in a positive light. And Malcolm-Jamal Warner’s “Theo Huxtable” was the one Generation X most related to. Fans took quickly to social media on Monday as news of Warner’s accidental drowning death in Costa Rica spread. Detroit author and speaker Harriet Cammock watched “The Cosby Show” in her youth and describes Warner’s death as “like losing one of us.” Authorities in Costa Rica say Warner drowned while swimming Sunday afternoon in the Caribbean.

Corey Williams.