Rewind the news, week of July 8, 2026
Intense storms, with severe winds and a tornado warning on the southeast side, caused widespread damage on Friday in the Greater Lansing area and left more than 10,000 customers out of power. Thousands were out of power for more than a day. The storm followed days of heat warnings and some of the hottest temperatures of the year.
Noah Garcia of Lansing, 13, was severely injured when a damaged tree fell on him during the storm while he and his family were camping at Cottonwood Campground on Aurelius Road. Brigid Schlossberg, who said Noah is her grandnephew, told the Lansing State Journal that the boy had emergency surgery at U-M Health Sparrow and may need additional procedures. Schlossberg started a crowdfunding campaign to help the family with expenses, which has raised more than $19,000 as of Tuesday afternoon. According to the crowdfunding web page, he suffered severe internal bleeding, resulting in the removal of one kidney, as well as one punctured lung, one collapsed lung, and a shattered lumbar spine, and is fighting for his life.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said Monday it has received 700 reports of cyclosporiasis since June 22, including 21 in Ingham County. The food-borne illness which can result in extreme diarrhea has been found in 33 counties in the state. The reports continue to spread in Michigan with confirmed cases growing by more than 100 since the weekend. The MDHHS has not been able to identify a specific produce grower, supplier or type of produce as the source of the outbreak, which has been connected to 36 hospitalizations. Cyclosporiasis may last from a few days to more than a month, but is not typically life-threatening, and can be treated with antibiotics. Prevention guidelines can be found at michigan.gov/mdhhs.
In late May, Kevin Guskiewicz rejected a $1 million-a-year raise to stay as MSU president, stating that he was tired of the frustrations involved in working with the Board of Trustees and would take a lower-paying job — reported at $1.2 million a year — leading Clemson University in South Carolina. That lasted about 40 days. Guskiewicz and MSU announced on Monday in a statement that he was going to stay in Michigan after all. He formally withdrew his letter of resignation and MSU trustees met “informally” Monday as Board Chair Brianna Scott informed members that Guskiewicz will stay on as president.
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Emily Gerkin Guerrant, an MSU vice president and chief communications officer, said in an email that his salary was set at $1.5 million, or about $500,000 above his earlier salary and the boost goes into effect on Oct.1. “The additional money will come from non-university funds,” she said, adding that the board had not yet named an interim president, but had begun evaluating options and held stakeholder engagement sessions in June. In the hastily arranged board meeting in May, a majority of the board had offered to nearly double Guskiewicz’s salary and they required three dissenting board members to sign a conduct pledge. Less than two weeks later, Guskiewicz announced he was leaving for the Clemson job and he later reversed course.
It’s not clear what changed in the last six weeks or so that would have changed Guskiewicz’s mind, Guskiewicz cited community support after his departure. MSU had made significant changes to its board governance prior to his departure. In his statement, Guskiewicz said: “During the past several weeks, under the strong leadership of Board Chair Brianna Scott and Vice Chair Renee Knake Jefferson, we have had productive conversations about the governance challenges I previously shared. The board has demonstrated a commitment to implementing a more robust governance structure, including recent improvements to the Code of Ethics and Conduct.” Guskiewicz then sent his letter to the university community.
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“I recognize that some members of our community may have questions about my commitment,” Guskiewicz said in the letter. “That is understandable. Our university has experienced more than its share of change in recent years, and I regret that my decision-making over the past several weeks added to that uncertainty. For that, I am sincerely sorry. Trust is not restored through words alone. It is earned through consistency, transparency and action. My commitment is to continue showing up every day with energy, humility and purpose — to listen carefully, engage openly and lead in a way that reflects the values of this university and the confidence you place in me.” Clemson University said Monday that Guskiewicz had informed them his decision was of a personal nature and that university is relaunching its search for a president.
The Capital Region International Airport has started a $12 million roadway reconstruction project for airport-owned roads around the airport. “This project modernizes our gateway, ensuring our physical infrastructure matches the forward-looking growth of the Capital Region,” said Nicole Noll-Williams, president and CEO of the Capital Region Airport Authority, in a statement. The project will upgrade 2.3 miles of Port Lansing Road from DeWitt Road to Airport Road and about a half mile of Capital City Boulevard. The project will also include a new pedestrian walkway along the full length of Capital City Boulevard from Grand River Avenue to the terminal building; there is no walkway currently.
British social media stars and professional American tourists Josh & Jase (Josh Clarke and Jason Riley) are back in Michigan for a summer trip after spending three weeks dominating the Michigan Facebook feeds of certain age brackets this winter. The linguistic and cultural team will be touring Michigan from July 24 through Aug. 17. They’ve gotten lots of invites to nice lake adventures and so on, and City Pulse has invited the duo to spend an afternoon on a boat parked in a Grand Ledge parking lot, about as far from any of the Great Lakes as possible. Let’s see if we can bring them here!
Lansing Police Department officers are investigating a non-fatal shooting that took place Saturday night. A 26-year-old man with a gunshot wound arrived at a hospital Sunday and was described as being in critical but stable condition. Police say the shooting is believed to have happened in the 300 block of Riverfront Drive and have identified individuals involved. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact police at 517-483-4600, Crime Stoppers at 517-483-7867 or DM the police.
Fireworks are done, sort of. Personal fireworks are done for the most part for two months — professional ones like the Lansing Lugnuts will still go on. Michigan law ensures people are free to shoot fireworks on four days a year — Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day and New Year’s Day — with local jurisdictions allowed to add extra days and hours. Lansing and East Lansing add Juneteenth to the list, but restrict most personal fireworks most of the year. The next firework date is Labor Day and the times are generally from 11 a.m. until 11:45 p.m.
