What Was Going on in East Lansing this Week?
Catch up on our reporting from the week.
It was another busy week for the ELi team, as we reported on local crime trends, city meetings and more.
Start your Saturday by catching up with our work from this week.
Despite claims of a spike, crime has remained steady in East Lansing for years.
Public safety has been front and center at city meetings over the last few months, as surging crime has been used to justify an increase in police spending and proposed new ordinances that would ban camping and loitering in parking areas. However, data released by ELPD recently shows a small uptick in crime in 2025 compared to 2024, and a decrease from 2023. Further, violent crime was slightly down last year compared to the year prior. Managing Editor Luke Day reported on trends.
Congressman Tom Barrett’s campaign seeks ELHS students’ emails after anti-ICE protest.
Last week, Michigan Information and Research Services reported that Congressman Tom Barrett’s campaign filed a records request for the emails of students and staff involved in an ELHS political action club after the club organized an anti-ICE protest last month. Reporter Dustin DuFort Petty spoke with those involved with the club about their thoughts on the request and how the club operates.
East Lansing City Council defers action on measures critics say would criminalize homelessness.
For months, community members, advocates and researchers have sharply criticized ordinances being considered by the City Council that would ban public camping and loitering in parking garages. Council was set to vote on the ordinance this week, but deferred action after hours of public comment. Read Luke’s reporting here.
Growing old with Prime Time.
East Lansing’s Prime Time Seniors program provides expansive programming to hundreds of people 55 and older each year, and will continue to grow its catalogue of offerings with new activities in the fall. Reporter Ayah Imran spoke with Alesha Williams, Prime Time’s director, about what the program is and how it creates its programs.
Woodward builds a family and a contender in ELHS wrestling program.
During his eight years as head coach of the East Lansing High School wrestling team, Thomas Woodward has overseen tremendous growth of the program. The team sees more fans in the stands at matches and holds hyper-competitive practices thanks to the team’s depth. Additionally, ELHS recently added a girls wrestling team that is already achieving milestones. Read about the program’s progress in Reporting Intern Kennedy DeMars’ story.
East Lansing Police Department pledges openness after year marked by transparency rollbacks.
After a year filled with redactions, closed-door meetings and new provisions that roll back transparency, East Lansing Police Chief Jennifer Brown said the police department is going to put an emphasis on sharing information with the public. Luke covered the police department’s recent pledges about transparency and recaps actions taken in the last year that have made it harder to get information about ELPD.
East Lansing Insider podcast: Love in East Lansing.
In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, Dustin spoke with East Lansing couples about their time together and what makes a relationship strong. The episode can be listened to here or on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
Five city meetings are scheduled for next week.
There are a few meetings scattered around next week. Monday (Feb. 23), the Commission on the Environment will meet. Wednesday (Feb. 25), the Planning Commission will gather. Then on Thursday (Feb. 26), the Downtown Development Authority, Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and Building Board of Appeals will each convene. When meeting agendas are posted, they can be found here.
Additionally, the East Lansing Board of Education will meet Monday (Feb. 23). That meeting will be held at MacDonald Middle School starting at 7 p.m. A meeting agenda can be found here.
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