News highlights from the last 7 days

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MSU Department of Police and Public Safety released a timeline that shows police entered the MSU Union just one minute after gunman Anthony McRae exited. Ingham County 911 received its first-shots-fired call for Berkey Hall at 8:18 p.m., and officers entered the building two minutes later at 8:20. McRae entered the Union at 8:24. Ingham County 911 received its first report of a shooting at the Union at 8:26, the same time McRae left. Officers arrived at the Union at 8:27. The first emergency alert was sent to students at 8:30, with a second at 8:31. Ingham County 911 received a call about a person matching McRae’s description at 11:35 p.m. Fourteen minutes later, police approached McRae, and he shot himself. Between 8 p.m. and 1 a.m., police said 911 received about 2,100 calls, the equivalent of two-and-a-half days’ worth of calls for the dispatch center. Police also shared a handwritten note found on McRae that stated he was tired of being rejected and an outsider. It claimed he was the leader of a group of 20 individuals that planned shootings at MSU, multiple locations in Lansing, two schools in New Jersey and another in Colorado Springs, Colorado, but investigators said he acted alone and wasn’t working with anyone else.

Three high-ranking City of East Lansing employees announced their resignations, bringing the total number of department heads or assistant department heads who have left their posts this year to 10, the Lansing State Journal reported. The departures include Chad Connelly, deputy police chief; Ben Dawson, acting human resources director; and Peter Menser, interim director of planning, building and development. City Clerk Jennifer Shuster, Deputy Clerk Kathryn Gardner and Human Resources Director Shelli Neumann resigned in February, while City Manager George Lahanas; Tom Fehrenbach, planning, building and development director and assistant city manager; senior planner Darcy Schmitt; and Adam Cummins, community and economic development administrator, left in January. Interim City Manager Randy Talifarro told the Journal that the resignations are “a natural thing that happens when there’s a change in leadership,” but the city’s employees continue to work to meet the needs of its residents. 

Meridian Township announced the Okemos Road Bridge will open Thursday (March 16) until late March. The final concrete was poured last week. The bridge will host two lanes of southbound and northbound traffic, but temporary lane closures will be required intermittently when the weather is dry so the contractor can complete restoration work. During closures, only one northbound and southbound lane will be open. The project is $184,000 over its $8.75 million budget, according to the Lansing State Journal, and Kelly Jones, managing director for the Ingham County Road Department, expects lawsuits once it’s finished. The bridge was originally slated to open in November but faced months of delays, including a month-long delay at the start of the project due to broadband installation complications.

 

Marie Howe, supervisor of Bath Charter Township, was charged with misdemeanor assault or assault & battery relating to an incident in August 2022, the Lansing State Journal reported. The alleged victim is Deputy Clerk April Dunham. Howe was ordered by the court to avoid contact with Dunham except when necessary to fulfill job duties. If she’s found guilty, Howe could face up to 93 days in jail and/or a $500 fine. She waived her arraignment, and the court entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf. A pretrial hearing is set for March 24, and jury selection is set for April 11. 

Earvin Johnson Sr., father of MSU and NBA basketball icon Magic Johnson, died at age 88 at McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital. In a remembrance post, Magic Johnson wrote, “I’m truly heartbroken. Last night I lost my biggest supporter, my best friend, my hero, my idol, my father.” Earvin Johnson Sr. and his wife, Christine, were sharecroppers who moved to Lansing in 1955 so he could work at an Oldsmobile plant. He worked multiple additional jobs to support his 10 children. “My father was the hardest working man I’ve ever known. He worked two to three jobs at any given time to provide for his family and never made excuses,” Johnson wrote. The former basketball player announced the creation of an Earvin Johnson Sr. Scholarship Fund for incoming minority students at MSU in memory of his father’s “love for MSU, young people and education.”

 

The Lansing Lugnuts will be under new ownership for its 2023 season, pending approval from Minor League Baseball and the City of Lansing. It’s the team’s first ownership change in its history. Diamond Baseball Holdings, which owns numerous other minor league baseball teams across the country, will take over ownership from Tom Dickson and Take Me Out to the Ballgame LLC, which purchased the team, then known as the Waterloo Diamonds, in 1994 before moving it to Lansing in 1996. The team will remain in Lansing under general manager Zac Clark and continue to be the High-A affiliate for the Oakland Athletics. Lansing Mayor Andy Schor told the Lansing State Journal that representatives from Diamond Baseball Holdings will present the proposal to the city council Monday (March 20), and he hopes the resolution will be passed before the annual Crosstown Showdown against Michigan State University on April 4. 

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