We continue now with our on-the-ground look at the state of something other than the union President Obama will talk about tonight in his State of the Union Speech. Austin Jenkins, is a statehouse reporter for the Northwest News Network and KUOW in Seattle. Craig Fahle is the host of the The Craig Fahle Show at WDET in Detroit. And Peter O'Dowd is the news director for Fronteras and KJZZ in Phoenix.

The auto industry may be on its way back, but Detroit is close to bankruptcy. But as the city's fate hangs in the balance, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing is recovering from major surgery, and is out of commission for at least several days. Joining us for more on Detroit is Craig Fahle, host of The Craig Fahle Show on WDET.

The nation's debt crisis has all eyes on the politicians on Capitol Hill. But we wanted to know how the debt crisis is playing out in different cities across the country — what local fears and concerns are, and what people have to say about what's happening in the District of Columbia. We headed to Denver, Colo., Detroit, Mich., and Miami, Fla. to hear what people have to say about the current debt crisis.

What are current outside perceptions of Detroit, and what can residents realistically do to alter these? Is it in the city’s interest to project an image of Detroit as a “blank canvas” or a place of “endless possibility"? Or is it preferable to present the city as a major metropolitan area with traditional opportunities, despite apparent problems? 

With two weeks to go until the mid-term elections, we continue our coverage of tight congressional and gubernatorial races from around the country with a look at races in Michigan. 

The FBI arrested nine members of a group called Hutaree this past weekend. According to officials, the group planned to wage an all-out war to bring down the U.S. government.  Authorities said Hutaree's initial plan was to kill a law enforcement official and then plant IEDs to kill more officials who attended the funeral. If you're thinking this is a militant Islamist group, you're dead wrong: Hutaree is a Christian militia group based in Michigan. Hutaree's philosophy, stated on their website, reads, in part, that they are "preparing for the end time battles."

Hundreds gathered at Michigan’s state capitol in Lansing, Mich., yesterday to protest budget cuts to school programs. To help explain what's going on right now in Michigan, we're joined by Craig Fahle from WDET in Detroit, where he hosts the talk show “Detroit Today.” Also with us is Casey Christensen, a first-grade teacher in Roseville, Mich. It's part of our week-long series on the impact of state budget cuts.

The FBI is reaching out to local imams and community leaders in Detroit after the leader of a radical Islamic group was killed in an FBI raid late Wednesday night. We discuss local reactions and the charges filed against others targeted in the raid with Craig Fahle, host of WDET's Detroit Today, and Victor Begg, chair of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan.

WDET hosted a town hall meeting in Detroit yesterday to discuss (what else?) health care reform. Craig Fahle, host of WDET's Detroit Today, moderated the meeting; he joins us with a recap of a refreshingly civil and informative discussion.