This article reviews key circumstances during 2010 in Michigan, including the state's office holders, demographics, performance of sports teams, cultural events, and a chronology of the state's top news and sports stories.
2010 Michigan elections: Republicans swept the November elections for statewide offices, including Rick Snyder's election as Governor of Michigan.[1]
Criminal prosecutions in state and federal court of Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, civil litigation over the killing of Tamara Greene, and Kilpatrick's imprisonment for probation violations.[1]
Recovery in the automobile industry and the debut of the Chevrolet Volt.
The attacks of 16 black men in the Flint area by a serial stabber and the arrest of Elias Abuelazam in August.[1]
Michigan had a population as recorded in the 2010 U.S. Census of 9,883,640, a decline of 0.8% from the 2000 Census which recorded Michigan's population at 9,948,444. The decline was attributable principally to a drop of over 235,000 in the population of the state's largest city, Detroit. It was the first and only decade in the state's history during which the population decreased. The upward trend resumed in the 2010s with the population increasing to 10,077,331 (a 2.0% increase) in 2020.
The following is a list of the 25 largest Michigan cities based on 2010 U.S. Census data. Historic census data from 2000 and 2020 is included to reflect trends in population increases or decreases. Cities that are part of Metro Detroit are shaded in tan.
2010 Michigan State Spartans football team - In their fourth season under head coach Mark Dantonio, the Spartans compiled an 11–2 record and tied for the Big Ten championship. The team's statistical leaders included Kirk Cousins (2,825 passing yards) and Edwin Baker (1,201 rushing yards).[3]
January 6 - Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian national who became known as the "Underwear bomber", was indicted for his bombing attempt on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 as it approached Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. The defendant used chemical explosives sewn into his underwear. While a small explosion and fire occurred, the exposive device failed to detonate properly. The government asked for the death penalty.[6][7][8] He was arraigned on January 8.[9]
January 20 - After hearing six days of testimony from former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner concluded that Kilpatrick's testimony was not credible and that his conduct was "reprehensible", ordering Kilpatrick to pay $320,000 in restitution to the city within 90 days or face jail.[10]
January 28 - Ford reported a $2.8 billion profit for 2009. The announcement marked a reversal from $30 billion in losses sustained from 2005 to 2008.[11]
February
February 2 - DeDan Milton, an aide and childhood friend of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, pleaded guilty to bribery and extortion conspiracy as part of a plea deal requiring him to cooperate in the prosecution of Kilpatrick.
February 3 - Justin Verlander signed a five-year, $80 million contract with the Tigers.[12]
March 4 - Cobo Center contractor Karl Kado was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani to community service and probation as part of a deal to cooperate in the public corrumption probe of Detroit City Hall.
March 9 - Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was arraigned In Wayne County Circuit Court for probation violation, having failed to make his court-ordered restitution payments of $79,011 per month.
March 10 - Former Detroit City Council president pro temporeMonica Conyers was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn to 37 months in prison and two years of probation, following her conviction for accepting bribes. She began serving her sentence at a federal prison camp in West Virginia, nicknamed Camp Cupcake, on September 10.[16]
March 31 - Federal prosecutors in a press conference announced prosecution of nine members of the Hutaree, a Lenawee County Christian Patriot militia group, and the discovery of bombs intended to be used in an uprising against the government.[19][20][21][22][23] The prosecutors alleged that the defendants intended to kill a police officer and bomb the funeral. In the end, three defendants pleaded guilty to possession of a machine gun; all of the more serious charges were dismissed in 2012.[24]
March 31 - The White House announced that it was purchasing the first 100 Chevrolet Volts to roll off the assembly line.
April
April 3 - Michigan State lost to Butler, 52-50, in the Final Four.
April 9 - Nine-term Democrat Congressman Bart Stupak from the Upper Peninusla announced he would not run for reelection following Tea Party opposition over his vote in support of Obama's healthcare legislation.
April 10 - Boston College won the NCAA hockey championship at Ford Field.
April 12 - Affidavits from two former Detroit police officers in the Tamara Greene case asserted that police officials tried to cover up an investigation into the former mayor Kilpatrick's alleged wild party at the Manoogian Mansion and the killing of Greene.
April 16 - Gov. Jennifer Granholm and other leaders held a press conference urging the legislature to support construction of a second bridge across the Detroit River.
April 20 - A Wayne County judge found Kwame Kilpatrick had hidden assets and otherwiser violated terms of his probation. Sentencing was set for May 25.
April 22 - The Detroit Lions selected defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh with the second pick in the NFL draft.
April 27 - Ford announced a $2.1 billion profit for the first quarter.
April 29 - Canada offered to pay $550 million to cover Michigan's share of a new bridge across the Detroit River.
May 1 - President Barrack Obama delvered the commencement address at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
May 16 - Miss Michigan Rima Fakih of Dearborn won the Miss USA contest, the first Arab American woman and the third woman from Michigan to win the title.[25][26][27]
May 16 - Killing of Aiyana Jones: A seven-year-old African American girl was shot and killed by police officer Joseph Weekley during a raid conducted by the Detroit Police Department'sSpecial Response (SRT) team. The team was targeting a suspect in the apartment a floor above Jones' home.[28] Her death drew national media attention and calls for prosecution of Weekley.[29][30] Weekley was charged with involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment, but trials in 2013 and 2014 ended in mistrials and/or partial dismissal by the trial judge.[31][32][33][34][35][36] The prosecutor dropped the remaining charge in 2015.[37]
May 17 - General Motors announced an $865 million profit for the first quarter, it first profitable quarter since 2007.
May 25 - Wayne County Judge David Groner sentenced Kwame Kilpatrick to 18 months to five years in prison for probation violations, including lying under oath.[38]
June
June 2 - Ford Motor Company announced it was discontinuing its Mercury line. The Mercury line was created by Edsel Ford in 1938 to offer a middle range of vehicles between the company's Ford and Lincoln products.
June 2 - Armando Galarraga's near-perfect game: On June 2, pitcher Armando Galarraga retired the first 26 batters, but his bid for a perfect game was ruined one out short when first-base umpire Jim Joyce incorrectly ruled that Indians batter Jason Donald reached first base safely on a ground ball.[39][40][41]
June 15 - Basketball coach Tom Izzo rejected offer to coach Cleveland Cavaliers, saying he would remain at Michigan State for life.
June 22 - Jimmy Devellano inducted into Hockey Hall of Fame.
June 23 - Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was charged by federal prosecutor with 19 count of fraud and tax evasion
July
July 20 - A Detroit Free Press analysis reported that General Motors, Chrysler and GMAC had already repaid $74 billion of the $86 billion loaned by the government in 2008 and 2009.
July 23 - A Cessna 206 aircraft taking Alma school superintendent Don Pavlik to the Mayo Clinic for cancer treatment crashed into Lake Michigan. Four of the five aboard the plane were killed.[42][43][44][45] The pilot, Jerry Freed, survived.[46]
July 25 - Kalamazoo River oil spill resulted in the release of more than 800,000 gallons of crude oil into Talmadge Creek in Marshall that flowed into the Kalamazoo River. The oil leaked from a 30-inch pipeline owned by Enbridge Energy Partners. The leak was not discovered immediately, causing the spill to continue for 17 hours. The spill covered 35 miles of river before it was stopped. It was one of the worst inland oil spills in American history. [47] The section that ruptured was found to be cracked and corroding five years befor the spill, but Enbridge contended that the pipeline was in good condition.[48]
August
August 3 - Primary election day in Michigan.
In the Democratic gubernatorial primary, Lansing mayor Virg Bernero received 309,235 votes (58.6%) to defeat Speaker of the Michigan House Andy Dillon who received 218,883 votes (41.4%).[49]
In the Republican gubernatorial primary, accountant and businessman Rick Snyder won with 381,327 votes (36.4%), defeating Congressman Peter Hoekstra (26.8%), Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox (23.0%), and Michigan Senator Mike Bouchard (12.2%).[49]
State Senator Hansen Clarke upset seven-term Congresswoman Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick in the primary for Kilpatrick's House seat. Kilpatrick's loss was attributed in the press to the scandals involving her son and former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Clarke, born "Molik Hashim", became the first U.S. Congressman of Bangladeshi descent.[50]
August 6 - Ford disclosed that it recently paid executive chairman William Clay Ford Jr. $4.2 million in salary for 2008, 2009, and 2010, and stock options valued at $11.6 million. He had not drawn a salary for the past five years.[51]
August 11 - Elias Abuelazam, a suspect in the Flint serial stabbing case, was arrested in Atlanta while trying to board a flight to Israel. He was flown to Flint on August 26.[52] The Flint serial slasher had attacked 16 black men, killing five, since May.[53][54][55] He was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
August 16 - Quicken Loans opened its new headquarters in downtown Detroit, moving from its previous location in Livonia. The first 700 of 1,700 workers arrived at the new site on August 16.[57][58]
September 2 - Eminem and Jay-Z appeared in concert for the first of two shows at Comerica Park before a crowd of 42,000.
September 7 - Detroit 1-8-7, a television show shot in Detroit, starring Michael Imperioli, and focusing on a Detroit homicide unit, held its debut screening for community leaders at the MGM Grand Detroit. The network debut followed on September 21.
September 8 - Contractor Bobby Ferguson, a friend of former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, was indicted for federal financial crimes after raids found $261,500 in cash in his office safe and condominiums in Detroit and Southfield recorded in names of others.
September 18 - Michigan State defeated Notre Dame in overtime on a fake field goal that resulted in the winning touchdown pass.[59] Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio suffered a heart attack after the game.[60]
October
October 10 - Gubernatorial debate on Detroit Public Television between Virg Bernero and Rick Snyder
October 13 - In a 17-page report, the FBI cleared all federal agents of wrongdoing in firing 20 bullets at Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah during a raid of a Dearborn warehouse.[61][62]
November
November 2 - 2010 Michigan elections: Republicans swept the November elections for statewide offices and both houses of the Michigan legislature. Key contests included:
November 4 - The NCAA placed Michigan football on probation for three years after finding major violations under head coach Rich Rodriguez.[66]
November 6 - Michigan defeated Illinois, 67-65, in triple overtime. It was the highest-scoring game in the history of the Big Ten Conference and the most points ever allowed by a Michigan football team.[67][68]
November 8 - Incoming Gov. Rick Snyder, crossing party lines, appointed Democrat Andy Dillon as state treasurer.[69]
November 16 - The Chevrolet Volt selected as Motor Trend's Car of the Year.[70]
November 21 - Lawyers for the family of Tamara Greene filed a 131-page brief offering evidence that a second stripper confirmed the party at the Manoogian Mansion and saw Kwame Kilpatrick's wife, Carlita, attack Greene.[71]
November 24-26 - The Skelton brothers, Tanner (age 5), Alexander (age 7), and Andrew (age 9), disappeared while staying with their father in Morenci for Thanksgiving weekend.[72][73] The father, John Skelton, told police he gave the boys to an acquaintance, Joann Taylor, so they would not be home when he committed suicide.[74] Police later determined that there was no Joann Taylor.[75] He then changged his story and said he gave the boys to an unidentified organization to protect them from their mother. He was arrested for kidnapping on November 30,[76] and pleaded no contest in July 2011 to unlawful imprisonment, with the proviso that murder charges could be brought later if the boys' bodies were found.[77] The boys were never found, but a Lenawee County court declared them dead in March 2025.[78] In November 2025, with his 15-year prison sentence set to expire, John Skelton was charged with murder.[79]
November 29 - Mark Dantonio named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
December
December 8 - Detroit Mayor Dave Bing announced his intention to use incentives to concentrate the city's residents into several core areas in a newly-configured city. Those who remained living outside the designated poulation centers would not get required services.[80] City Council President Charles Pugh rejected Bing's plan, arguing the city could not turn off the lights and stop police patrols to areas outslde Bing's designated population centers.[81]
December 15 - A federal grand jury indicted Kwame Kilpatrick, his father, and three others on 38 counts in an 89-page charging document. U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said Kilpatrick had turned city hall into "the hub of a criminal enterprise that extorted millions from contractors."[86]
Deaths
January 8 - Art Clokey, pioneer in stop-motion clay animation (creator of Gumby), at age 88[87]
July 5 - Bob Probert, Detroit Red Wings left wing and enforcer (1985–1994), at age 45[104]
July 6 - Harvey Fuqua, singer, songwriter, producer, and Motown executive, at age 80[105]
July 21 - Ralph Houk, Tigers manager (1974–1978), at age 90[106]
August 14 - Abbey Lincoln, jazz singer and civil rights activist, at age 80[107]
September 11 - Ron Kramer, Michigan football end, All-American (1955 and 1956), at age 75[108]
September 22 - Don Doll, Detroit Lions safety (1949–52), NFL record four interceptions in a game, at age 84[109]
October 23 - Ralph Belknap Baldwin, planetary scientist specializing in lunar craters, at age 98
October 23 - Vince Banonis, center for University of Detroit football, All-American 1941, at age 89[110]
November 4 - Sparky Anderson, Detroit Tigers manager (1979–1995), at age 76[111]
November 20 - Rob Lytle, Michigan running back (1973–76), at age 56[112]
December 20 - Bill Yearby, Michigan defensive end, All-American (1964 and 1965), at age 66[113]
December 22 - Fred Foy, radio and television announcer and actor, best known for The Lone Ranger intro, at age 89[114]
December 26 - Geraldine Doyle, mistakenly promoted in the media as the possible real-life model for the World War II era "We Can Do It!" poster, at age 86
December 28 - Bill Lajoie, general manager of Detroit Tigers (1984–1990), at age 76
December 29 - Steve Boros, UM baseball (1956–57) and Detroit Tigers (1957–62), at age 74[115][116]
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