Catch Up With Our Reporting From this Week

It was another busy week in East Lansing! Start your weekend by catching up with all of our reporting from the week. 

ACLU, homelessness advocacy orgs criticize proposed East Lansing ordinance. 

At the next City Council meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 3, council is set to approve a first reading of ordinance amendments banning public camping and loitering in parking areas. If council approves a second reading at a future meeting, the ordinance changes would go into place. Ahead of the vote, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan, Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness and National Homelessness Law Center sent a letter to City Council, urging the body to reject the proposal. Reporter Dustin DuFort Petty wrote about the letter and proposed ordinance amendments. 

Planning Commission recommends 13-story student apartment building. 

The East Lansing Planning Commission recommended City Council approve a massive 13-story apartment building planned for downtown East Lansing. While the Planning Commission recommended the project, developers are still trying to hash out some details like how they will meet a diverse housing requirement, which requires developers to dedicate 25% of units to affordable housing, owner occupied units, or some other category that diversifies the housing stock downtown. Managing Editor Luke Day covered the Planning Commission meeting. 

‘This is not a protest, this is a revolution’: Iranians in East Lansing monitor uprising from afar. 

Anti-government protests in Iran have been met by a violent government crackdown in recent weeks. With widespread internet shutdowns in the country, Iranians in East Lansing have struggled to stay in touch with loved ones. Dustin spoke with those impacted. 

All-of-us Express Children’s Theatre ending partnership with East Lansing, moving to Lansing. 

After 15 years of hosting its program at the Hannah Community Center, All-of-us Express Children’s Theatre will be moving to a new location in Lansing this spring. The organization’s board of directors cited uncertainty around funding for East Lansing’s Parks and Recreation Department and conflicts with other programs at the Hannah center as reasons for the move. Get the full story in Deputy Editor Anna Liz Nichols’ reporting. 

East Lansing’s Jeopardy! brain trust: Local contestants share their paths to the iconic game show. 

While the concept of iconic trivia game show Jeopardy! is simple enough, local contestants who have been on the show said they took unique approaches in preparation for their appearances. Reporting Intern Kennedy DeMars spoke with three contestants to find out more about their experience on the show and how they prepared for their appearance. 

When the bell rings, phones go dark in East Lansing schools. 

Recently, there has been movement in the state legislature to ban cell phones from classrooms. East Lansing schools, however, addressed the problem years ago – with middle school students to leave their phones in their lockers during the day and high school students banned from using phones during instructional time. Dustin spoke with East Lansing High School Principal Ashley Schwarzbek about the policy. 

Weeks after Trump’s threats, uncertainty hangs around East Lansing’s sanctuary city status. 

Speaking in Detroit earlier this month, President Donald Trump said sanctuary cities would not receive federal funding, starting in February. This caught East Lansing leaders’ attention, as the city is the only sanctuary jurisdiction identified on a Department of Justice list. A positive development for the city is Trump recently signed legislation that dedicates federal dollars to East Lansing. Still, a lot of uncertainty surrounds the city’s sanctuary city status going forward. Find out more in Luke’s story. 

ELHS students examine real cases in True Crime Club. 

East Lansing High School has started its own True Crime Club where club members present on different cases. The club has drawn strong interest from students, and is a productive outlet for students who want to enter a related field after they graduate. City Government Reporter Ayah Imran spoke with the club’s president and teacher adviser to figure out the details. 

East Lansing Insider Podcast: East Lansing, Michigan’s last sanctuary city. 

This week on the East Lansing Insider podcast, Anna talks with staff attorney for ACLU of Michigan Jay Kaplan about the state of immigration enforcement in Michigan in the aftermath of the killing of Renee Good by an ICE agent earlier this month. Listen to the full episode here, or on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

There are 11 city meetings scheduled for next week. 

The ELi team is looking forward to another busy week, as city government has a packed schedule next week. Monday (Feb. 2), the Human Rights Commission, Transportation Commission and Seniors Commission each have meetings. Tuesday (Feb. 3), City Council has a special closed-session meeting and a regular meeting, and the University Student Commission will gather. Wednesday (Feb. 4), the Zoning Board of Appeals and Police Oversight Commission will each convene. Then on Thursday (Feb. 5), the Downtown Management Board has a pair of meetings and the Housing Commission will gather. Meeting agendas can be found here.

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