Rewind: News from the last 7 days

The Lansing School District has not commented publicly since the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Feb. 18 that it had opened an investigation into the district, along with Detroit’s district and Godfrey-Lee Public Schools. The DOJ said in the release that they are looking into whether those three districts have notified parents of their right to opt out of “sexual orientation and gender ideology content” and whether the districts include any such content in classrooms. The DOJ also declined to comment. The three districts represent about 64,000 students, or about 1 in 20 of Michigan’s 1.3 million K-12 students. Godfrey-Lee is in Wyoming, a Grand Rapids suburb, and the smallest geographic district in the state at 1.4 square miles. “The investigation will also assess whether the Michigan School Districts limit access to single-sex intimate spaces, such as bathrooms and locker rooms, based on biological sex,” the DOJ news release said. In a statement, the state Department of Education criticized the DOJ actions. “The breadth and scope of the federal requests, premised on a mischaracterization of the Michigan Health Education Standards Guidelines adopted by the State Board of Education, place a significant administrative burden on local districts and risk diverting time and resources away from the core mission of educating students,” state Superintendent Glenn Maleyko said in the statement.

The Lansing School District also reported a graduation rate of 93.8% for the 2024-2025 school year, the highest in district history. The dropout rate was 1.75%. Michigan’s average four-year graduation rate is 84%, with an average dropout rate of 7.1%, according to a statement from the Lansing district, citing state figures.  “This historic achievement is a direct reflection of the unwavering commitment of our students, their families, and our high school teams,” Interim Superintendent Jessica Benavides said in the statement.

U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett’s re-election campaign used the Freedom of Information Act to request records, including from students and staff, regarding the organization of a student demonstration at the East Lansing School District in January. Jason Roe, a spokesperson for the campaign, told City Pulse the records were sought as a routine political matter and are believed to be the only protest-related records the campaign has sought this year. “It was routine and had nothing to do with East Lansing High or students,” Roe said. He said the FOIA was intended to find out whether challenger William Lawrence had been involved in the student demonstration, which happened just outside the school building and was attended by district and school officials as well as hundreds of students. Students were protesting ICE enforcement, demonstrating two days after the shooting death of Renee Good, 37, by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Minneapolis. Roe said the FOIA has not matured, and the campaign has not received any material from the school district. Lawrence told East Lansing Info that he had spoken with the Students for Political Action club in December, and at a library event, but had not communicated with them about the demonstration.

Eight players on the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic men’s and women’s hockey teams, each of which beat Team Canada in their respective finals last weekend, have Michigan connections. For the men, Dylan Larkin is a Waterford native, starred for U-M and is now the Detroit Red Wings captain. Brothers Jack (who scored the medal-winning goal) and Quinn Hughes moved to Canton as teens and were schooled at the USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program in Plymouth. Quinn also played for U-M, as did Zach Werenski, who hails from Grosse Pointe Woods, and Kyle Connor of Shelby Township. Commerce Township’s Connor Hellebuyck, the hero in the net, makes it a half-dozen men from Michigan. Meanwhile, Megan Keller (Farmington Hills), who scored the winning goal for the women’s gold and had already won gold with Team USA in 2018, and Kirsten Simms (Plymouth) are also Great Lakes State natives.

Lansing Shuffle’s owner is looking to purchase the land it operates on, as part of an existing long-term lease agreement with the city. The agreement allows the lessee to have the option of purchasing the building, the addition and the upper terrace, but would not include riverfront property or Rotary Park property, said Scott Bean, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office. Because the land of the building is city property, the sale would be complicated and likely require City Council approval and then a ballot issue for voters to decide. If voters say yes, and the property closes in January 2027, the contractual price would be $953,000, Bean said.

Lansing’s Code Blue status has been triggered until at least 7 a.m. on Thursday, March 5. The city’s Code Blue declarations allow local shelters to have more flexibility during extreme cold or snow. Many public buildings – including the Foster, Gier, Letts and Schmidt community centers; libraries; and the Capital Area Transportation Authority Transportation Center in downtown – will be open during the day as well. CATA will offer free rides to warming centers and is running a 24/7 warming bus along Route 1 and some other locations. For more information, visit LansingMI.gov/coldweatherplan or call 211 (a city information line separate from 911). Day shelters are available at Advent House (743 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.) and City Rescue Mission (2216 S. Cedar St. for women and children; drop-in center at 415 W. Kalamazoo St.). Overnight shelters are available at Holy Cross New Hope Community Center (430 N. Larch St.), City Rescue Mission’s drop-in center (415 W. Kalamazoo St.), Letts Community Center (1220 W. Kalamazoo St.) and Unity Missionary Baptist Church (500 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., families only).

A 55-year-old Ingham County man won $1 million through a scratch-off Millionaire Maker ticket bought at Louie’s Party Store, 1931 S. Washington Ave., in Lansing. The man opted to remain anonymous and take a lump sum of about $693,000 instead of the full amount in an annuity. He told the lotto officials that he plans to pay off his home and buy a new truck.

A man in his 20s was struck and killed by a vehicle Saturday on the 4100 block of Capital City Boulevard, near the entrance to Lansing’s airport. Police said the man was a pedestrian, but did not release the man’s hometown, a vehicle description or other additional details. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the LPD at 517-483-4600.