This article reviews 1997 in Michigan, including the state's office holders, demographics, performance of sports teams, cultural events, a chronology of the state's top news and sports stories, and notable Michigan-related births and deaths.
Jack Kevorkian's continued participation in assisted suicides and national publicity (including an HBO special and repeated jokes on late-night television) associated with his actions;
The March 12 Detroit bank shooting in which a 21-year-old man opened fire with a 12-gauge pump shotgun in a Detroit bank branch, killing three people and wounding two others;
The University of Michigan basketball scandal resulting from the activities of booster Ed Martin and resulting in the firing of head coach Steve Fisher and the NCAA vacating wins from all or part of the previous five seasons;
1997 Detroit Lions season - In their first year under head coach Bobby Ross, the Lions compiled a 9–7, finished third in the NFC Central, and lost the wild card playoff game to Tampa Bay. Barry Sanders became the third player in NFL history to rush for at least 2,000 yards in a season and shared the 1997 Associated Press MVP Award with Packers quarterback Brett Favre.
The White Stripes began their career as part of the Michigan underground garage rock scene.
Madonna won Best Actress In A Motion Picture, Musical Or Comedy, for her part in Evita, at the 54th annual Golden Globe Awards.
Disney-owned Hollywood Records dropped Insane Clown Posse from their roster and pulled the album The Great Milenko after only six hours of release, in an attempt to placate the Southern Baptist Church that was threatening to boycott the company for straying from its family-friendly image. The controversy generated tremendous publicity for the band, who then signed with Island Records.
Vocalist Vinnie Dombroski of Sponge was arrested for allegedly violating a state obscenity law during a R.O.A.R. Tour performance in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The band's single "Have You Seen Mary" was included in the 1997 film Chasing Amy.
March 11 - In the 1997 Detroit shootings, Allen Griffin Jr., a troubled 21-year-old, entered a Comerica bank branch and opened fire with a shotgun, killing three people and wounding two others before he was killed by Detroit police.
May 24 - Eastpointe's Jerry Linenger landed in Florida after 132 days in space aboard the Mir space station.
June
June 13 - A limousine carrying Red Wings stars Vladimir Konstantinov and Slava Fetisov careened off southbound Woodward Avenue in Birmingham, crossing into the median and crashing into a tree. Konstantinov sustained brain injury and paralysis. Fetisov suffered a bruised lung and chest injury. A third passenger, the team masseuse, also sustained critical injuries. The driver, Richard Alan Gnida, had a suspended drivers license and two prior tickets for drinking and driving.
July 27 - The Detroit Tigers retired Hal Newhouser's No. 16 jersey during Hal Newhouser Day at Tiger Stadium. Newhouser, at age 76, attended the ceremony.
August
September
October
October 11 - Steve Fisher was fired after eight years as Michigan's head basketball coach. He was fired for lack of control over the program during the Ed Martin scandal.
November
December
December 23 - Terry Nichols was found guilty by a Denver jury of conspiring with Timothy McVeigh to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building in the 1995 terror attack that killed 168 people.
