1996 in Michigan

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This article reviews 1996 in Michigan, including the state's office holders, performance of sports teams, a chronology of the state's top news and sports stories, and notable Michigan-related births and deaths.

Office holders

State office holders

Gov. Engler

Mayors of major cities

Federal office holders

Sen. Riegle
Sen. Levin

Sports

Baseball

American football

Basketball

Ice hockey

Other

Chronology of events

January

  • January 31 - Four workers were killed while working below ground in a metering pit when a water main bust in Macomb Township.

February

  • February 17 - The Detroit Pistons retired Isiah Thomas' jersey number in a ceremony at the Palace.
  • February 20 - The trial of Jack Kevorkian for assisting a suicide began in Pontiace. He was acquitted.

March

April

May

  • May 16 - Murder of Debbie Iverson: Iverson, a 38-year old Bloomfield Hills opthalmologist with two young children, was found strangled to death in her Toyota Land Cruiser.[7][8][9] On December 31, a 21-year-old couple from Clawson, McConnell Adams Jr. and Anitra Coomer, confessed to the crime, saying she was a random robbery target as she got into her vehicle in Birmingham.[10][11] The pair was found guilty after a trial in October 1997.[12]
  • May 29 - The Detroit Red Wings were eliminated in the Western Conference finals, losing to the Colorado Avalance in the sixth game by a 4-1 score.[13]

June

July

August

September

October

November

  • November 4 - Kalamazoo native Derek Jeter was selected as Major League Baseball's Rookie of the Year.
  • November 5 - election day in Michigan
  • 1996 United States presidential election in Michigan: Democrat Bill Clinton won in Michigan with 1,989,653 botes (51.69$%), defeating Republican Bob Dole (38.48%) and Reform Party candidate Ross Perot (8.75%).[14]
  • 1996 United States Senate election in Michigan: Carl Levin was reelected with 2,196,738 votes (58.36%), defeating Ronna Romney who garnered 1,500,106 votes (39.88%).[15]
  • Proposal E - was passed in close voting with 1,878,542 votes (51.51%), enacting the Michigan Gaming Control and Revenue Act to allow casino gambling in Detroit. The proposal passed by wide margins in Detroit (82%) and the Detroit area (59%) but registered only 49% in outstate areas.[16]
  • Proposal S - Stadium tax increases to build two new stadiums east of Woodward Avenue near the Fox Theatre was approved by a wide margin. Mike Duggan, deputy county executive and an architect of the stadium plan, said: "This is a great night for Detroit and all of Wayne County. Twenty years from now, when people come downtown to the dome and the casinos they will look back on Nov. 5, 1996, as the turning point in Detroit's comeback."[17]
  • November 12 - Janathan Schmitz was found guilty by an Oakland County jury of the murder of Scott Amedure. The two had taped The Jenny Jones Show three days before the murder in a secred admirer segment in which Amedure revealed his crush on Schmitz.[18] He was sentenced to 25-50 years in prison.[19] Schmitz was released from prison in 2017.
  • November 14 - Wixom Assembly Plant shooting: Gerald Atkins, a 29-year-old Army veteran, walked into the plant in Wixom and began shooting out windows, then opening fire in the cafeteria and other areas. A plant official, Darrell Izzard, age 57, was killed, and three others were wounded. He then left the plant and began shooting a cars on the adjacent I-96 freeway, injuring two deputies. He then hid out for three hours in culverts and tunnels below the plant before surrendering to police. The rampage began after Atkins was denied entry to the plant so propose to a woman named Debbie with whom he was enfatuated.[20][21]
  • November 23 - No. 21 Michigan defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 13-9, at Columbus, despite being a 17-point underdog.

December

  • December 11 - A growing Muslim group in Dearborn, the Islamic House of Wisdom, announced plans to build a 35,000-square-foot mega-mosque.[22]
  • December 13 - Denny McLain, who won 30 games for the Detroit Tigers in 1968, was found guilty by a federal jury in Detroit on five federal charges related to theft from the pension fund of the Peet Packing Co. in Chesaning.[23][24]
  • December 13 - David Adamany announced his retirement as the 8th president of Wayne State University, a position he held since 1983.[25]
  • December 16 - Gov. John Engler designated 11 economically-depressed "renaissance zones" across the state where residents would owe no state or local income, property or business taxes for up to 15 years. The zones included parts of Detroit, Warren, Lansing, Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, and the western Upper Peninsula.[26]
  • December 18 - Michigan announced a three-month test in which the speed limited would be increased to 70 miles per hour on 85% of the state's interstate highways.[27]
  • December 20 - Gov. John Engler appointed five persons to serve on the new Michigan Gaming Control Board, having the taks of ensuring that the three casinos planned for Detroit would be operated honestly. The appointees were Thomas Denomme of Chrysler, lawyer Taylor Segue III, former Michigan first lady Paula Blanchard, former director of state police Ritchie Davis, and retired judge Michael Stacey.[28]
  • December 21 - Detroit NAACP president Wendell Anthony urged African-Americans to stay out of Dearborn, including Fairlane Town Center shopping mall, alleging that the spirity of racist former mayor Orville Hubbard was still hovering over the city.[29]
  • December 26 - Three days after the final game of a season in which the Detroit Lions went 5–11, Wayne Fontes was fired as head coach.

Births

Deaths

See also

References

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