Catch Up With Our Reporting From This Week
Catch up on our reporting on the recent City Council election and more.
Another election season has come and gone, and there are new leaders in the City of East Lansing.
Start your weekend by catching up with our reporting on the East Lansing City Council election and more.
Whelan, Grigsby elected to City Council.
Voters chose two new members to serve on the five-person City Council this week, as Chuck Grigsby and Steve Whelan were selected from a field of six candidates. Additionally, voters soundly rejected a millage that would have insulated the parks and recreation department from potential cuts and raised the property tax cap currently in place. Read about the election results here, and get to know Whelan and Grigsby in feature stories written about them before the election.
East Lansing sued over police brutality, misleading press release.
The City of East Lansing, Police Chief Jen Brown and ELPD Officer Andrew Lyon are all named in lawsuits over an incident during Michigan State University's welcome weekend where Lyon deployed pepper spray outside of Dave's Hot Chicken. The following month, the city published a misleading press release that the lawsuits say was slanderous. Read about the legal action in Managing Editor Luke Day's reporting, and read more about the incident that led to the suits in this previous reporting from ELi.
Election Day spotlight shines on city counci– but local change often starts with volunteer city commissions.
While all eyes were on who would win seats on City Council this week, city commissions made up of volunteers often do important leg work to spur change locally. Read City Government Reporter Ayah Imran's story about city commissions that have vacancies, and how community members can participate.
East Lansing DDA hears proposals for social district, to repeal parts of pretextual stops ordinance and more.
Recently, East Lansing put together a work group to address problems in the city's downtown. At Wednesday's Downtown Development Authority, Police Chief Jen Brown shared the recommendations from that group, which include repealing part of a pretextual stops ordinance and giving a social district a trial run. Get the whole story in Deputy Editor Anna Liz Nichols' story.
Farmers markets offer relief with federal food assistance in limbo.
As the federal directives regarding SNAP benefits continue to change, local farmers markets are working to reduce food insecurity. Markets have increased benefits offered to SNAP recipients and have worked to become more adaptable to community needs. Find out more in Reporter Dustin DuFort Petty's story.
ELPS Board hears presentation on preliminary audit.
An audit of East Lansing Public Schools showed that the district improved its net position last year, and a school bond approved by voters in 2024 has helped the district's finances. Learn more about what the audit found in Dustin's reporting.
East Lansing Insider Podcast: Previewing the East Lansing City Council election.
Before Election Day, Anna and Luke talked about the candidates for East Lansing City Council, what implications the election results could have and what the parks millage on the ballot actually means. Listen to the full podcast here, or on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
There are five city meetings next week.
City Commissions will be back to work next week. Monday (Nov. 10), the Human Rights Commission and Commission on the Environment each meet. Wednesday (Nov. 12), the Police Oversight Commission and Transportation Commission each convene. Then on Thursday (Nov. 13), there is a Historic District Commission meeting. When meeting agendas are posted, they can be found here.
Additionally, next week there will be a school board meeting. That agenda can be found here.
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