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Vacant Birmingham gas station site gets $8M makeover

A long-vacant property will become InvestWise Financial's new headquarters.

Business

A long-vacant former gas station site at Woodward and Quarton in Birmingham is getting an $8 million makeover to become a local company&#x27;s headquarters.Why it matters: The highly visible property near Birmingham&#x27;s border with Bloomfield Hills has sat undeveloped for decades, in part because of the cost and complexity of cleaning up the site.

Things to do this weekend in Metro Detroit: Sept. 11-13

Dally in the Alley, the Old Car Festival and more.

Things to Do

🚗 Cars made between 1890 and 1932 will be on display for the 75th year at The Henry Ford museum for its <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Old Car Festival" data-vars-click-url="https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/things-to-do/calendar/old-car-festival" data-vars-content-id="83768af3-8d3e-40bd-863a-ce16c7aa60f6" data-vars-headline="Things to do this weekend in Metro Detroit: Sept. 11-13" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/things-to-do/calendar/old-car-festival" target="_blank">Old Car Festival</a>, 9:30am-5pm Saturday and Sunday.<ul><li>Included with Greenfield Village <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="admission" data-vars-click-url="https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/plan-your-visit/admission" data-vars-content-id="83768af3-8d3e-40bd-863a-ce16c7aa60f6" data-vars-headline="Things to do this weekend in Metro Detroit: Sept. 11-13" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/plan-your-visit/admission" target="_blank">admission</a>: $39 daily pass online.</li></ul>

Michigan braces for fall tick surge

Blacklegged ticks enter another peak activity period this fall.

News

This year&#x27;s <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="tick season" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2026/05/01/be-prepared-this-tick-season-in-michigan" data-vars-content-id="0659705a-5aba-4497-a19a-effebacf0520" data-vars-headline="Michigan braces for fall tick surge" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2026/05/01/be-prepared-this-tick-season-in-michigan" target="_self">tick season</a> has been a doozy — and another surge is coming in the fall.Why it matters: Tick bites can pose serious health risks, transmitting pathogens that cause illnesses including <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Lyme disease" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2025/08/04/lyme-disease-symptoms-treatment" data-vars-content-id="0659705a-5aba-4497-a19a-effebacf0520" data-vars-headline="Michigan braces for fall tick surge" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2025/08/04/lyme-disease-symptoms-treatment" target="_self">Lyme disease</a> and triggering <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="alpha-gal syndrome" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2023/07/31/alpha-gal-ags-tick-meat-allergy-cases" data-vars-content-id="0659705a-5aba-4497-a19a-effebacf0520" data-vars-headline="Michigan braces for fall tick surge" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2023/07/31/alpha-gal-ags-tick-meat-allergy-cases" target="_self">alpha-gal syndrome</a>, an allergy to red meat.

Rocket extends Lions deal for five years

The new five-year deal adds fan content and a charitable tie-in.

Rocket is extending its longtime sponsorship of the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Lions" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2026/05/15/lions-slate-revealed" data-vars-content-id="bb963aa5-b2bc-49ea-9d02-1d3633dc15cb" data-vars-headline="Rocket extends Lions deal for five years" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2026/05/15/lions-slate-revealed" target="_self">Lions</a> for another five years, with a bigger focus on engaging fans beyond traditional sports advertising.Why it matters: As the Lions&#x27; fortunes have risen, so has competition among companies seeking to associate themselves with one of Detroit&#x27;s most prominent brands.

It's lawn-seeding time in Michigan

State-by-state guidance shows the window for filling patches of grass in your lawn before frost sets in.

Environment

It&#x27;s prime time in Michigan to plant grass seed for patching bare spots or overseeding lawns.Why it matters: Plant too late and grass might not establish before winter; too early and young grass could still be exposed to stressful summer heat.

Locusts could help detect forever chemicals

MSU scientists found locust brains can distinguish between PFAS chemicals.

Michigan State researchers discovered locusts could help experts detect &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="forever chemical" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2025/05/15/epa-forever-chemicals-rollback-michigan" data-vars-content-id="76a849a6-9d64-43bd-a3ee-206949a6b03b" data-vars-headline="Locusts could help detect forever chemicals" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2025/05/15/epa-forever-chemicals-rollback-michigan" target="_self">forever chemical</a>&quot; contamination.Why it matters: There&#x27;s a great need for new, more accessible technologies that can detect a broad range of PFAS types.

Detroit's century-old brick sewers endure

Ornate brick sewers that go back to the mid-1900s have lasted underground.

History

Some of Detroit&#x27;s most impressive brickwork isn&#x27;t holding up a historic building, but is buried beneath our feet and still carrying sewage today.Why it matters: Detroit&#x27;s mid-19th-century leaders invested in sewer infrastructure that today&#x27;s city officials believe could last another hundred years.

Plan your Michigan fall color getaway

Peak color season is coming. Here's where to go — book soon!

Look alive, leaf peepers! If you haven&#x27;t booked your fall foliage travel, now&#x27;s the time.Why it matters: Michiganders know autumn is the peak time to enjoy the Mitten State&#x27;s natural beauty, whether that means a half-day on Belle Isle or a four-hour drive for a weekend getaway.

August skywatching guide for Metro Detroit

Here are the celestial sights worth stepping outside to see this month.

Aerospace

August is one of the year&#x27;s best months for skywatching. From shooting stars to a nearly eclipsed full Moon, here&#x27;s what&#x27;s worth watching in the weeks ahead.Why it matters: Recent smoky skies are a reminder not to take clear nights for granted.

Detroit unveils flood-fighting stormwater basins

The new basins are designed to limit flooding risk for 1,200 west-side homes.

Detroit finished a major infrastructure project it says will make a world of difference for 1,200 west-side homes that experienced frequent flooding.Why it matters: For $40 million, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department finished the city&#x27;s first large-scale municipality-owned stormwater basin area.

State asks residents to report gray fox sightings

Your sighting could help researchers track a rare species in Michigan.

The state wants your help spotting the elusive gray fox.Why it matters: The small animals, less common than the iconic red fox, are not well understood and their population is <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="on the decline" data-vars-click-url="https://outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org/articles/understanding-gray-fox-distribution-throughout-southern-illinois-forests" data-vars-content-id="03bb685e-f94c-40e5-84e3-57fc5389ea6d" data-vars-headline="State asks residents to report gray fox sightings" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://outdoor.wildlifeillinois.org/articles/understanding-gray-fox-distribution-throughout-southern-illinois-forests" target="_blank">on the decline</a> in the Midwest and Northeast, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.

Michigan advocates want human composting legalized

Supporters see the practice as an environmentally friendly alternative to burial and cremation.

Green burial advocates want Michigan law to allow peoples&#x27; remains to be returned to the earth as usable soil.Why it matters: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="The human composting" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/21/human-composting" data-vars-content-id="0b40144b-8715-4d49-a50e-edc1557f3fdb" data-vars-headline="Michigan advocates want human composting legalized" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2022/11/21/human-composting" target="_self">The human composting</a> burial method is still illegal here, but gaining traction nationally.

Detroit hands solar projects to DTE

The transfer prevents further delays, but also presents a costly and controversial change.

Detroit City Council approved a plan to transfer three neighborhood <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="solar projects" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2024/07/10/detroit-city-council-considers-neighborhood-solar-fields" data-vars-content-id="2713fa34-62bc-466f-9606-8d3c61ef8341" data-vars-headline="Detroit hands solar projects to DTE" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2024/07/10/detroit-city-council-considers-neighborhood-solar-fields" target="_self">solar projects</a> to DTE Energy&#x27;s purview.The big picture: The switch away from Boston-based contractor Lightstar Renewables is needed so the solar developments can move forward without further delay, city officials say.

Detroit neighborhood solar projects seek shift to DTE

The switch could raise costs, but help avoid more delays.

Detroit plans to transfer three neighborhood <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="solar projects" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2024/07/10/detroit-city-council-considers-neighborhood-solar-fields" data-vars-content-id="fe1c4028-fc9f-4759-98f6-7e7acbbbb730" data-vars-headline="Detroit neighborhood solar projects seek shift to DTE" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/detroit/2024/07/10/detroit-city-council-considers-neighborhood-solar-fields" target="_self">solar projects</a> to DTE Energy after its original Boston-based contractor exited solar development following a private-equity acquisition.Why it matters: The switch from Lightstar Renewables will likely involve higher costs, though a final price tag isn&#x27;t known yet.

A U.S. map highlighting optimal fall grass seeding windows for lawn patching and overseeding. Areas in dark green indicate regions where seeding can be done now with a shorter window, while lighter green areas suggest a longer window toward late September for seeding. Yellow regions recommend waiting until September or October, and parts in beige indicate that other timing is better for seeding. In general, the top half of the country is a "seed now" color, while the bottom half has more time or should wait for another season. 

Optimal fall grass seeding windows

Data: Axios analysis of state Cooperative Extension recommendations; Map: Brad Jennings/Axios