From Monroe to Midland, Michiganians' love-hate relationship with the city of Detroit was clear this fall as the Center for Michigan hosted more than 90 Community Conversations across the state.

Community leaders in many locales expressed anger at Detroit's long decline but also recognized, in terms not always clear in times past, that Michigan's biggest city is absolutely crucial to the resurgence of the entire state.

Now comes Bill McGraw, a senior statesman of Michigan journalism, with a gripping portrait of life today in every corner of Detroit, from bright new luxury developments to eerie urban prairies. Check out McGraw's "Driving Detroit" series online, where dozens of videos and hundreds of photographs document 2,700 miles of streets and 138 square miles of life in the Motor City. As Bill says, "It's worse than you think -- but better, too."

This is the kind of journalism that is increasingly hard to find. There's no screaming headline. In fact, there's no real "news hook" at all. There's no update on the hour. There's no scandal.

It's simply an invaluable contribution to Michigan history and to any Detroit or Michigan resident concerned with the future of our places. No doubt, a century from now historians, students and many others will return to this report again and again to understand this age and measure it against their own.

Thank you, Bill McGraw.