Downtown Chili Throwdown, Speaker Ruled Against, and Homeless Housing Pods

Tuesday, October 28th, 2025

Good morning! Welcome to The Mitten, where we provide you a 5-minute rundown of all things Michigan every morning at 5 a.m., directly in your inbox!

21-year-old Jack Austin, a Western Michigan student, was saved by Michael Buble on The Voice with Austin facing elimination. See video of Austin’s performance here and read more in Around the Mitten.

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Court Demands House Speaker Send 9 Bills to Whitmer

A state appeals court ruled on Monday that Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall violated the Michigan constitution by witholding nine bills from reaching the desk of Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

The nine bills Speaker Hall witheld were passed on the last day Democrats held a majority in the legislature, and ranged from adding corrections officers to the state police retirement systems to increasing the amount the state contributes toward health plans of public employees.

A court order demanding the bills be sent to Gov. Whitmer’s desk is expected in the coming days. You can read more on the bills here.

State of Michigan Owns Top 3 Ranked Hockey Teams

For the second week in a row, the top three ranked college hockey teams in America all hail from the state of Michigan.

The weekly rankings, released by the NCAA, placed Michigan State at No. 1, Michigan at No. 2, and the defending champion Western Michigan Broncos at No. 3.

The Spartans will take on fellow Big Ten foe No. 4 Penn State on Friday and Saturday, with Michigan taking on Notre Dame. The Broncos are set to face St. Cloud State on Friday.

You can see the full weekly rankings here.

Downtown Chili Throwdown Coming to Grand Rapids

Gimme’s Par and Grill will host the first-ever Downtown Chili Throwdown in Grand Rapids on Saturday, a citywide chili cook-off that will feature some of the best chili, live music, and a variety of drinks to enjoy.

The outdoor cooking competition will feature twelve West Michigan restaurants competing in two different categories: traditional and unique.

The cost of entry is $15, which will allow you to sample each of the entered chili recipes, order themed cocktails, and enjoy live music at the bar’s outdoor, heated tent space.

You can find more details, and buy tickets for the event here.

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Around the Mitten

Statewide: Gas prices jumped 29 cents just a week after hitting a four-year low. (See Map)
Flint: A new sports bar, Levels, opened this weekend with age requirements preventing men under 30 and women under 25 from entering. (More)
Detroit: A new gourmet toast and juice restaurant is set to open on November 8th downtown. (More)
Livonia: A developer is proposing to rezone the corner of Newburgh and Schoolcraft roads to build a new gas station. (See Concept Photos)
Traverse City: Beautiful drone footage filmed from the sky shows the fall foliage on full display up north. (See Video)
Battle Creek: 21-year-old Western Michigan student Jack Austin was saved by Michael Buble on The Voice at the last minute with Austin facing elimination. (See Video)
Lansing: The city purchased 50 housing pods to address homelessness after Kalamazoo scrapped plans to use the pods. (More)

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Sports

The University of Michigan and head coach Sherrone Moore withdrew their appeals in the NCAA infractions case involving sign stealing. (More)
Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell scored 35 points in just 29 minutes in the Pistons’ 116-95 defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers. (See Box Score)
Many Tigers fans have dreamt of a reunion with veteran pitcher Justin Verlander, and a recent projection from MLB insider Jim Bowden has the Tigers as a top landing spot for the veteran. (More)

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