Trump Heckler Gets Paid, $400 Million Coffee Expansion, and Cell Phone Ban Passed

Thursday, January 15th, 2026

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!

Users from around the state shared video of yesterday’s snowstorm, including this hard-to-believe footage showing 60 mile-per-hour winds whipping snow along the road near Lake Michigan. See more video submitted online below in Around the Mitten.

Duvall Leatherwork is today’s featured brand—A Pennsylvania artisan fine leather goods maker that specializes in wallets, belts, women’s accessories, and more! Shop now to invest in craftsmanship that lasts, and read more on Duvall below.

West Michigan-Based La Colombe Eyes $479 Million Expansion

Norton Shores-based La Colombe Coffee Roasters is planning a two-phase, $479 million expansion that will double the size of its facility and create 100 jobs.

The expanded facility will support La Colombe’s growing line of products like ready-to-drink lattes and cold brew beverages.

The company’s plan was approved this week by the Norton Shores Planning Commission with construction on the 54,000-square-foot expansion expected to begin in the coming weeks.

You can read more on the expansion here.

Ford Trump Heckler Raises $500k Online

The man who was suspended from Ford for shouting at President Trump received nearly one million dollars in donations online after two GoFundMe pages were created in his support.

The GoFundMe pages were set up after the Ford line worker, TJ Sabula, confirmed to the Washington Post that he was the employee who heckled the president during his visit to Ford on Tuesday.

It is unclear who started the pages, but the smaller-sized page has a blurb from one of Sabula’s reported family members stating, “As the organizer I am a longtime personal friend of the Sabula family, all funds will go directly to them.”

As of Wednesday evening, the two GoFundMe pages created for Sabula totaled over $800,000 in donations. You can see the two GoFundMe pages here, and here.

Michigan House Passes Bill to Ban Cell Phones in Schools

The Michigan House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill on Wednesday to ban cell phones in K-12 schools.

House Bill 4141, which passed by a vote of 99-10, would prohibit K-12 public school students from using smartphones during instruction time, but will still allow devices to be used during non-instruction time between classes and during lunch.

The bill now heads to the state senate, and if passed, will then head to the governor’s desk. You can read the full bill text here.

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Around the Mitten

Statewide: Multiple counties across Michigan are under a winter weather advisory for continued snow accumulations through this morning. (More)
Grand Rapids: John Mellencamp announced a stop at the Acrisure Amphitheater downtown on his Dancing Worlds Tour this July. (See Tickets)
Detroit: The U.S. Army revealed an early prototype of the next generation M1E3 Abrams tank at the Detroit Auto Show. (See Photos)
Statewide: The state Natural Resources Commission passed an amendment on Wednesday to make killing coyotes possible year round. (More)
Lansing: Democrat Senator Elissa Slotkin announced she is under federal investigation for participating in a November video that encouraged troops to disobey orders. (More)
Benton Harbor: Multiple users on X shared video of blizzard-style winds whipping snow around the state. (See Video)
Northern Michigan: A proposed north-south train line would connect Petoskey and Traverse City to Ann Arbor and nine other cities. (See Map)

Sports

No. 4 Michigan basketball faced off in a late night matchup at Washington. (See Late Result)
Former Detroit Lions stars Ndamukong Suh and Herman Moore were among those elected to the 2026 College Football Hall of Fame. (See Full List)
Michigan State sixth-year senior wide receiver Alante Brown entered the transfer portal. (More)
Former Michigan starting safety Brandyn Hillman announced his commitment to transfer to Virginia. (More)

Michigan Enterprise

A new AI-driven manufacturing and workforce innovation hub is coming to Wayne State in partnership with Kyndryl, an IBM spinoff company. (More)
The Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors announced its approval of Fifth Third Bancorp’s acquisition of Comerica Bank, clearing the way for the deal to close on February 1st. (More)
New data from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare showed 40,000 less Michiganders signed up for ACA healthcare plans compared to this time last year following the expiration of federal subsidies. (More)

Should kids have access to cell phones in schools?

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Thank you for reading Thursday’s edition of The Mitten! We hope you enjoyed today’s stories. We always welcome any reader feedback by simply responding to this email.

Founder & Editor of The Mitten — Joe S.