Author

Drew Saunders

Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up bouncing between Whitmore Lake and Ann Arbor. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in journalism from Eastern Michigan University, he got his Master of Science from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He received an award for environmental journalism from the Detroit chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists in 2025 for a story entitled “Detroit Underwater.”

Drew Saunders's Latest Articles

An illustration of the balloon catheter technology that Amplitude Vascular Systems (AVS) uses to break up calcium buildups in arteries.
Stryker acquires U-M arterial disease treatment startup for $835 million

University of Michigan startup Amplitude Vascular Systems (AVS) was recently sold to Portage-based medical tech company Stryker for $835 million, allowing Stryker to take full advantage of AVS' technology for treating arterial disease.

An intergenerational chess event at the Ypsilanti Senior Center.
Washtenaw County seeks organizations’ input on senior millage before dollars begin to flow

A new request for information, aimed at local organizations that serve seniors, is designed to help Washtenaw County shape its spending of millage funds.

Washtenaw County Director of Elections Rena Basch stands next to a voting machine.
Washtenaw County officials say local elections are secure despite Trump calls to “nationalize” them

Washtenaw County elections officials say they're well-prepared to protect against fraud in this year's midterms and any other election. We interviewed them about their system and President Trump's statement that elections should be "nationalize[d]."

Washtenaw County Opportunity Index improvements make it easier to track areas of inequity

Washtenaw County recently announced a major improvement to its Opportunity Index, a map designed to track the county’s areas of economic inequity and connect those in need to help. 

People walk in downtown Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor Comprehensive Land Use Plan approved by planning commission, advances to city council

Ann Arbor City Council will consider allowing massive land use changes intended to improve affordability in the city, following the Ann Arbor Planning Commission's unanimous Wednesday night vote to pass the draft Comprehensive Land Use Plan 2050.

AI’s impact in Washtenaw County, from tech boom to data centers

Our new three-part series digs into AI's impacts in Ann Arbor's tech industry, its utilization in Washtenaw County's educational world, and the ongoing debate about data centers in several Washtenaw County communities.

Kathryn Haushalter lives near the future site of a data center in Saline Township. She recently filed a lawsuit to seek intervention in the project.
Data centers in Washtenaw County: Economic boon or environmental liability?

Data center developers and advocates tout their projects as responsible, job-creating economic development engines, but many residents are opposing what they see as threats to their utility bills and the environment.

YCHS Director of Technology Solomon Zheng, YCHS Assistant Superintendent Dr. Carlos Lopez, and YCHS junior Arianna Maldonado.
AI is creating rapid change in Washtenaw County education, from elementary school to higher ed

AI has had transformational effects in education throughout Washtenaw County.

Khalid Mahmood Malik, chief technology officer of the Ann Arbor- and Flint-based AI deepfake detection company ProbeTruth.
AI has transformed Ann Arbor’s tech sector, but what will businesses do if the bubble bursts?

Many in Ann Arbor are working to leverage the community's creativity, academic excellence, and humming tech sector to land on the soft side of AI's economic whirlwind.

Neighbors for More Neighbors members Greg Matthews and Kit McCullough stand outside Jefferson Market in Ann Arbor's Old West Side.
Neighbors for More Neighbors: Group’s vision of denser, more affordable Ann Arbor advances with draft city plan

Ann Arbor's draft comprehensive land use plan would result in a denser city with more housing and transit options.

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