Rewind the news, week of July 1, 2026
Lansing and East Lansing are publicizing the availability of their cooling centers as a heat wave is expected to bring some of the year’s hottest weather this week, with temperatures in the mid-90s and heat indices in dangerous territory for many people. The cities generally are opening up city halls, community centers and libraries during regular daytime hours, along with buses, malls and other options. There are few late-night cooling center options, but several emergency homeless shelters are available. For specific locations and hours, visit LansingCityPulse.com or check with the cities.
The Michigan Waterways Stewards “officially declared our Capital City’s Grand and Red Cedar Rivers, Sycamore Creek, all riverside parks, and adjacent stretches of the Lansing River Trail cleared and cleaned,” in a press release and held a celebration Tuesday. The grassroots cleanup initiative has been cleaning the river for more than three years and the effort involved thousands of volunteers, according to the organization. Lansing Mayor Andy Schor was one of several guest speakers scheduled to appear at Rotary Park for the event.
The Fenner Conservancy was scheduled to host the official opening of the new Fenner Nature Playscape at Sycamore Creek Tuesday afternoon, celebrating a project designed to “serve as a hub for nature-based learning and play for all, especially children aged birth to five, their families, and educators,” according to the Fenner Nature Center website. The playscape is built with materials like logs, boulders, sand and native plants to encourage open-ended play and to allow kids to climb, dig, balance, and explore at their own pace. Community members were invited to attend the ribbon-cutting ceremony and to explore the playscape space afterward.
A 15-year-old male has died after being shot early Monday morning and a 20-year-old woman was injured, according to the Lansing Police Department. The teenager was found in the 2100 block of W. Hillsdale Street, near the city’s St. Joseph Park, around 3:30 a.m., according to a police statement. Officers performed attempts to save the teen’s life before Lansing Township Fire Department personnel arrived and took over medical care, but he was declared dead at the scene. The woman was found with a gunshot wound and was treated at a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Police added that no arrests have yet been made and that this is an active investigation. Anyone with information about this homicide is asked to contact the LPD at 517-483-4600, Crime Stoppers at 517-483-7867, or send a private message through the department’s Facebook page.
Lansing Police Department said officers are investigating an early Monday morning shooting that left a 22-year-old with a gunshot wound to the shoulder. The shooting is believed to have happened in the 2700 block of Moores River Drive, near where a 19-year-old woman was fatally shot earlier this month. A man is facing charges for the June 5 shooting.
The Eaton County Sheriff’s Office told Fox 47 News that reports of gunshots at the Lansing Mall on Saturday night were fireworks. The noises, reported by several people including shopkeepers, brought more than a dozen police vehicles including most of the region’s police departments. No injuries were reported and no evidence of gunfire was found, and officials told Fox 47 that fireworks were recovered.
U-M Health Sparrow’s new behavioral health hospital will be named the Janice M. Granger Behavioral Health Building following what the health care system called its largest-ever donation. Hospital spokesperson John Foren told the Lansing State Journal that the donation was eight figures, or at least $10 million, and was higher than the previous highest donation of $5 million. The specific donation amount will not be disclosed at the request of donors, the Alton L. and Janice M. Granger Charitable Gift Fund, according to the State Journal. U-M board members approved the 64-bed, $83 million hospital during a February meeting. It was smaller than the original proposal of nearly 100 beds and followed a community effort to preserve the former Eastern High School.
The prediction market company Kalshi was ordered by Ingham County Judge Rosemarie E. Aquilina Monday to pause its sports betting operations in Michigan for the next two weeks. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a lawsuit against the company, accusing it of violating the state’s Lawful Sports Betting Act, prompting the restraining order. Kalshi allows users to place wagers on the likelihood of sports-related outcomes, which Nessel claims is “unlicensed gambling activity.” She says Kalshi has been operating in the state without licensing approval from the Michigan Gaming Control Board. In the order, Judge Aquilina wrote, “Michigan’s legalized gaming industry requires those who wish to place wagers to be 21 years of age or older. Kalshi, however, allows people to place wagers beginning at age 18. If Kalshi is allowed to continue to offer sports wagers, the potential irreparable harm on Michigan’s youth would be profound.”
The U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 Monday to reject President Trump’s bid to delay an injunction that would have at least temporarily blocked his firing of Federal Reserve Board of Governors member and MSU economist Lisa Cook last year. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson were in favor of the decision, while Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett dissented. “The government has not shown that it is likely to prevail on the legal arguments advanced in its stay application,” Roberts wrote in his opinion. “Acceptance of the government’s position would in effect transform the Federal Reserve’s for-cause protection into at-will employment — an interpretive leap out of step with the statute Congress enacted and our nation’s tradition of central banking protected from political interference.”
Emily Barker, a 38-year-old Clinton Township firefighter, was one of three who died Saturday in the Knowles Fire in western Colorado, according to the U.S. Forest Service. “We mourn the loss of three firefighters who answered the call to protect others and made the ultimate sacrifice in service to their fellow citizens,” said U.S. Wildland Fire Service Chief Brian Fennessy. “Our thoughts are with their families, loved ones, friends and crewmates as they face an unimaginable loss. These firefighters embodied the courage, professionalism and selflessness that define the wildland fire service. Please join me and my family in keeping our thoughts and prayers with the families of the fallen and our injured firefighters and their families.” Firefighters Nick Hutcherson, 27 of Glendale, Arizona and Sydney Watson, 27, of Warrior, Alabama, also died in the fire and two others were seriously injured.
Clinton County Animal Control is seeking information regarding the abandonment of five roosters near a gravel pit on Howe Road. Officials said the roosters were dumped there by someone and “left to fend for themselves.” They were collected by the county and are now being cared for. Individuals with relevant information are asked to call animal control at 989-224-5116.
