1970 in Michigan

← 1969 1968 1967 1970 in Michigan → 1971 1972 1973
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s
See also:	History of Michigan Historical outline of Michigan List of years in Michigan 1970 in the United States

Events from the year 1970 in Michigan.

The Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) each selected the state's top news stories as follows:^[1][2]

1. The controversy over public funding to parochial schools, including the Michigan Legislature's enacting of a measure granting state aid and a subsequent petition drive and constitutional amendment prohibiting such aid (AP-1, UPI-1);
2. Contract negotiations between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and automobile manufacturers and a 67-day strike against General Motors that causes widespread layoffs and budget cuts (AP-2 [strike], AP-7 [effects of strike on state economy], UPI-2 [new contracts and GM strike]);
3. The trial and conviction of John Norman Collins for killing Eastern Michigan University student Karen Sue Beineman, one of the Michigan murders (AP-3, UPI-3);
4. The death of Walter Reuther and his wife in a plane crash on May 9 at Pellston, Michigan (AP-4, UPI-5);
5. The November 1970 elections in which William Milliken was elected Governor and Philip Hart was re-elected as U.S. Senator (AP-5, UPI-4);
6. The multiple suspensions of Denny McLain and his later trade to the Washington Senators (AP-6, UPI-7);
7. The discovery of mercury in Lake St. Clair fish and the Michigan Legislature's passage of a law allowing private citizens to sue polluters (AP-8 [mercury], AP-12 [legislation], UPI-6 [both]);
8. The Goose Lake International Music Festival held from August 7 to 9 with widespread drug use (AP-9, UPI-8);
9. A Supreme Court decision requiring public schools to provide free textbooks (AP-11, UPI-9); and
10. (tie) The kidnap and murder of Laurie Murningham and austerity measures adopted by the Michigan Legislature (UPI-10).

The AP and UPI also selected the state's top sports stories as follows:^[3][4]

1. Denny McLain who was suspended in connection with a gambling controversy and then traded to the Washington Senators on October 9 (AP-1 [suspension], AP-8 [trade], UPI-1 [both]);
2. The Detroit Tigers replacing Mayo Smith with Billy Martin as the team's manager (AP-6, UPI-2);
3. The 1969 Michigan Wolverines football team's 10–3 loss to USC in the 1970 Rose Bowl, head coach Bo Schembechler's heart attack prior to the game, and his recovery from the heart attack (AP-3, UPI-3 [Rose Bowl] and UPI-8 [recovery from heart attack]);
4. The 1970 Detroit Lions' finishing their season with five consecutive victories and their best record (10–4) since 1962 (AP-2, UPI-4);
5. The 1970 Michigan Wolverines football team's winning its first nine games before losing to Ohio State, 20–9, on November 21 (AP-5, UPI-5);
6. The Detroit Pistons' signing of their No. 1 draft pick Bob Lanier and then starting their 1970–71 season with a 12–1 record and 26–14 at the end of 1970 (AP-4 [both], UPI-7 [signing Lanier] and UPI-9 [fast start]);
7. Ralph Simpson's decision to quit the Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team to play professional basketball for the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association (AP-7, UPI-6);
8. The 1970 Detroit Tigers' collapse during the last part of the season, compiling a 9–26 record from August 25 to September 29 (AP-9);
9. The Detroit Titans men's basketball team staging a preseason boycott to protest the coaching policies of Jim Harding (AP-10); and
10. The arrests of 11 men in connection with a Detroit-based sports national betting ring on New Year's Day (UPI-10).