2021 in Michigan


Events from the year 2021 in Michigan.
Major events in Michigan in 2021 included the COVID-19 pandemic in Michigan, the Oxford High School shooting, disruptions in the supply chain slowing the automobile industry, the 2021 Kellogg's strike, and legal proceedings relating to the Gretchen Whitmer kidnapping plot.
Major sports stories in 2021 included the 2021 Michigan Wolverines football team defeating Ohio State, winning the Big Ten Conference championship, and advancing to the College Football Playoffs for the first time in school history. Other notable sports stories included the Detroit Lions trading quarterback Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, the 2020–21 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team finishing the season ranked No. 4 and advancing to the Elite Eight, the 2021 Michigan State Spartans football team finishing the season ranked No. 8 in the Coaches Poll, the induction of Calvin Johnson and Charles Woodson into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the undefeated 2021 Ferris State Bulldogs football team winning the NCAA Division II national championship. The [2021 2021 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers], Detroit Lions, Detroit Red Wings, and [2020–21 2020–21 Detroit Pistons season|Detroit Pistons season|Detroit Pistons] all compiled losing records

Office holders

State office holders

Mayors of major cities

Federal office holders

Population of largest cities

The state's 15 largest cities, based on U.S. Census estimates for 2021, were as follows:
2021
rank		CityCounty2000 pop.2010 pop.2020 pop.2021 pop. Change 2000-21
1DetroitWayne951,270713,777639,111632,464−33.5%
2Grand RapidsKent197,800188,036198,917198,1730.2%
3Sterling HeightsMacomb124,471129,699134,346133,2697.1%
4WarrenMacomb138,247134,056139,387138,1300.1%
5Ann ArborWashtenaw114,024113,934123,851121,5366.6%
6LansingIngham119,128114,297112,644112,6845.4%
7DearbornWayne97,77598,153109,976108,4208.9%
8LivoniaWayne100,54596,94295,53494,4226.1%
9TroyOakland80,95980,98087,29486,8367.3%
10WestlandWayne86,60284,09485,42084,515
11Farmington HillsOakland82,11179,74083,98683,292
12FlintGenesee124,943102,43481,25280,62835.5%
13WyomingKent69,36872,12576,50176,749
14SouthfieldOakland78,32271,75876,61875,898
15KalamazooKalamazoo76,14574,26273,59873,257

Sports

Baseball

American football

Basketball

Ice hockey

Other

Chronology of events

January

  • January to February - Chip shortages disrupt automobile manufacturing.
  • January 7 - Following the January 6 insurrection, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos of Michigan resigned, blaming Trump's rhetoric for impacting the situation
  • January 11 - Michigan banned the open carry of guns inside the Michigan Capitol.
  • January 13 - The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump for inciting the January 6 insurrection. Michigan Republican Congressmen Peter Meijer and Fred Upton voted in favor of impeachment. Faced with primary challenges in 2022, Upton opted to resign, and Meijer lost in the primary.
  • January 14 - Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced new indictments against former Gov. Rick Snyder and others for their roles in the Flint water crisis.
  • January 15 - Michigan State Capitol boarded up and National Guard activated in preparation for armed protests on January 17.
  • January 18 - Republican Aaron Van Langevelde was not nominated for another term by his party. He had resisted partisan pressure not to certify Biden's victory in 2020.
  • January 19 - Gov. Whitmer announced a $5 billion COVID recovery plan
  • January 20 - Kwame Kilpatrick released from prison after President Trump commuted his sentence.
  • January 21 - Dan Campbell hired as Detroit Lions' head coach.
  • January 21 - Michael Joseph Foy of Wixom charged with hitting police with a hockey stick during the January 6 insurrection.
  • January 22 - Gov Whitmer announced that indoor dining would resume on February 1.
  • January - Detroit Lions trade Matthew Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams
  • January 24 - Jason Wentworth named speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives.
  • January 26 - Gov. Whitmer delivered her State of the State address, outlining $3.6 billion capital-spending plan.
  • January 27 - Fiat Chrysler pleads guilty in federal corruption probe and agreed to pay $30 million fine.
  • January 26 - Detroit native Roz Brewer became the first black woman to be CEO of a Fortune 500 company, Walgreens.

February

  • February 6 - Calvin Johnson and Charles Woodson selected for Pro Football Hall of Fame.
  • February 12 - Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson announced that a statewide election audit affirmed the results of the 2020 Presidential election in Michigan.
  • February 15 - Blake Griffin and Detroit Pistons agree to part ways.
  • February 18 - Andrea Shaw of Detroit wins Ms. Olympia title
  • February 19 - President Biden visited Pfizer's plant in Portage, Michigan.
  • February 25 - Former Olympics gymnastics coach John Geddert committed suicide after being charged with human trafficking, racketeering and sexual assault.
  • February - Alice Cooper records new album in Royal Oak

March

  • March 2 - Gov. Whitmer eased orders limiting occupancy in restaurants, shops and other businesses. Nursing homes also permitted to allow visitors.
  • March 4 - Michigan beat Michigan State to win Big Ten basketball tournament.
  • March 15 - Steven Yeun, who grew up in Detroit suburbs of Taylor and Troy, nominated for best actor Academy Award for his role in "Minari".

September

  • September 30 - Juwan Deering released after 15 years in prison after the current prosecutor agreed that he did not receive a fair trial on charges of setting a fire that killed five children.

October

  • October 30 - Michigan State upset Michigan, 37–33, in East Lansing.

November

  • November 2
  • * Mike Duggan reelected as mayor of Detroit, defeating Anthony Adams. Six new members elected to the Detroit City Council.
  • * A special election is held in two districts of the Michigan Senate, in which two Republicans win seats.
  • * Hamtramck became the first city in the US with a city council consisting of all Muslims.
  • November 12 - Michigan journalist Danny Fenster sentenced to 11 years in prison with hard labor in military-ruled Myanmar. He was released three days later in a deal brokered by diplomat Bill Richardson.
  • November 27 - Michigan defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 42–27, before a crowd of 111,156 at Michigan Stadium. It was Michigan's first victory over its rival since 2011.
  • November 30 - A mass shooting occurred at Oxford High School in the Detroit exurb of Oxford Township, Michigan, United States. Four students were killed, and seven other people were injured, including a teacher. Authorities arrested and charged 15-year-old sophomore Ethan Crumbley as an adult for 24 crimes, including murder and terrorism.

December

  • December - Omicron variant of COVID spreads in Michigan.
  • December 4 - The parents of Ethan Crumbley are charged in connection with the Oxford school shooting.
  • December 4 - Michigan defeated Iowa, 42–3, in the Big Ten Championship Game
  • December 5 - The Detroit Lions win their first game of the season, playing for the victims of the Oxford school shooting.
  • December 9 - Attorney Geoffrey Fieger announced a $100-million lawsuit against the Oxford school district for allowing a "deranged, homicidal student to return to the class with a gun in his backpack."
  • December 13 - Motion to move Ethan Crumbley from adult prison to juvenile facility pending outcome of trial was denied by the court.
  • December 17 - Bernie Sanders appears at rally with striking Kellogg's workers in Battle Creek, Michigan.
  • December 22 - Ferris State defeated Valdosta State in the NCAA Division II national championship game.
  • December 31 - Michigan lost to Georgia, 34–11, in the Orange Bowl

Deaths