1979 in Michigan

Events from the year 1979 in Michigan.

The Associated Press (AP) selected the top Michigan news stories of 1979 as follows:

1. Chrysler Corporation's financial troubles, including a loss for 1979 estimated to exceed $1 billion, a federal loan guarantee program of $1.5 billion approved at the end of the year, and $462 million in concessions from workers;
2. A 22% decline in U.S. automobile sales and the indefinite layoffs of 141,000 workers in the automobile industry;
3. New collective bargaining agreements between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three reached without a strike for the first time since prior to 1964;
4. (tie) Teacher strikes in Detroit and other communities that impacted hundreds of thousands of students in the fall;
5. (tie) The selection of Detroit as the host city for the 1980 Republican National Convention;
6. Toxic chemical dumping sites in need of cleanup;
7. An $18 million budget deficit for Wayne County;
8. Blockades by striking independent truck drivers during the summer;
9. A court dispute over Indian fishing rights, including the use of gill nets, in Lake Michigan; and
10. A record-setting $450,000 fine imposed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Consumers Power for safety violations at the Palisades Nuclear Generating Station on Lake Michigan.