Rewind: News from the last 7 days

Several hundred U of M Health-Sparrow nurses and healthcare professionals conducted an informational picket outside the Michigan Avenue hospital Tuesday to advocate for fair contract negotiations. The 2,000-member Professional Employee Council of Sparrow Hospital-Michigan Nurses Association negotiated its last contract with Sparrow Health in 2021, which expired Oct. 30. Union rep Leah Rasch said members are concerned over UM-Sparrow’s ability to recruit and retain the employees for a proposed $97 million psychiatric hospital to replace former Lansing Eastern High School building and at a $32 million healthcare facility under construction near Grand Ledge. Speakers included State Sen. Sam Singh, state Rep. Emily Dievendorf and Michigan AFL-CIO President Ron Bieber. Union members picketed on their personal time.

The Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office charged Xavian Soto (pictured), 19, of Jackson, with open murder in the shooting death of 18-year-old Braylon Shepherd. Soto, also charged with carrying a concealed weapon and felony firearm, was denied bond after he was arrested in Calhoun County. Shepherd died Thursday after police responded to the shooting on the 600 block of Sadie Court, near Grand River Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

East Lansing and Michigan State police are investigating a homicide after discovering the remains of two people inside a freezer while investigating a “suspicious situation” at Coolidge Place Townhomes on the 1500 block of Wintercrest Street near U.S. 127 and Coolidge Road. They had responded to a 911 caller who noticed blood on a floor in the townhome. A WLNS-TV crew witnessed two covered bodies taken from the home into a hearse. No arrests have been reported.

The resolution of a data-entry error has vaulted Democrat Rebecca Bahar-Cook (pictured) into second place in the yet undecided race for two seats on the MSU Board of Trustees. Allegan County Clerk Bob Genetski confirmed his office underreported Bahar-Cook’s votes by 20,000. The Associated Press declared victory for Republican Mike Balow, but the found votes have vaulted Bahar-Cook from third place, 7,000 ahead of Republican Julie Maday. Several thousand military and overseas ballots were yet to be counted as of Friday, leaving the race too close to call.

An MSU student is recovering from a rare case of bacterial meningitis. MSU officials said the risk to the campus community is minmal. The Ingham County Health Department and MSU have conducted contact tracing and identified and rendered care to those in close contact with the patient. Bacterial meningitis is not easily transmissible, spreading through oral or nasal secretions, university Dr. Michael Brown said. Anyone who may have been exposed should contact a health-care provider or Olin Health Center at (517) 353-4660.

Plans to complete the multimillion-dollar MACOTTA Club food incubator at the historic Knapp’s Centre downtown are delayed to next summer. Downtown Lansing Inc. executive Julie Reinhardt said designing and accommodating the nonprofit’s incubator, which will have a food hall setup, bar and dining room seating for up to 300 people, have taken longer than anticipated. The incubator is expected to bring in six restaurants plus food trucks and food makers.

The Fieldhouse sports bar on Ann Street in East Lansing has put in a special use request to the city’s Planning Commission to expand into a vacant 2,200-square-foot space next to it, previously occupied by Blue Owl Coffee Co. It also hopes to convert an adjacent third space into a pizza shop. The timeline for expansion and whether additional staff would be hired was not specified. A public hearing is scheduled for today.

7th District Republican U.S. Rep.-elect Tom Barrett of Charlotte told City Pulse in an exclusive interview Thursday he would keep the district’s office in Lansing as an expression of his priority to represent all of his constituents, including the Democratic-leaning voters in Lansing and East Lansing. Barrett, a former state representative and senator, beat Democrat Curtis Hertel Jr. last week to win the seat vacated by Democrat Elissa Slotkin, who won a U.S. Senate seat. Slotkin returned the district office to Lansing in 2018 after she beat Republican Mike Bishop, who had moved the office outside of the city when he won in 2014.

Potterville Public Schools Superintendent Sam Sinicropi has attributed a $1.2 million shortfall in its general fund to poor accounting practices rather than theft. Police investigated the district after an 2023-’24 audit revealed a less-than-1% balance of unrestricted funds. Michigan law requires it be at least 5%.

Public safety

A 24-year-old man suffered a non-fatal stab wound Sunday on the 6000 block of Sommerset Road on the south side of Lansing. No arrests have been made. … A multi-vehicle crash Sunday at Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Olds Avenues injured four, one critically. The cause of the crash was not reported.