Rewind: News from the last 7 days

Several hundred gathered at the Michigan Capitol Sunday to oppose a resolution from state Rep. Josh Schriver, R-Oxford, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn marriage equality. While the resolution holds no weight, protesters saw it as part of a growing opposition to LGBTQ+ civil rights. The protest followed a slew of executive orders from the Trump administration targeting transgender people, and speakers expressed solidarity with the transgender community. Some also noted that Michigan’s state Constitution still bans same-sex marriage, making Schriver’s resolution more threatening. The Michigan Coalition for Reproductive Liberation and the Crowded Table Coalition organized the protest.

The City Rescue Mission of Lansing will most likely demolish downtown Lansing’s historic Glaister House after hearing from preservationists that there is little left to save. The 148-year-old property at the Walnut and Kalamazoo street has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2017. Preservation activist Dale Schrader said it was in restorable condition at that time, but after he and others toured it Friday, he said its decline had put it financially out of reach for saving. Set Seg Insurance Services Agency Inc. bought it in 2018 after longtime owner-occupant Alice Sessions died. Set Seg gave it to the rescue mission in 2023 after it purchased the insurance company’s two adjacent office buildings on Kalamazoo to convert into a homeless shelter. A rescue mission spokesperson said it is likely to construct a rainwater detention pond on the land.

Lansing Police Lt. Ryan Wilcox has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of embezzlement by an agent or trustee between $200 and $1,000, reported the Lansing State Journal. He had been previously charged with a felony count of False Pretenses with Intent to Defraud, over $1,000 but less than $20,000. An investigator testified that Wilcox spent time mowing lawns for money and working for another company while on the clock for his city job. He also used his city vehicle and fuel charged to the city to make personal trips to Chicago and used law enforcement databases for personal reasons. He now faces probation or a maximum of a year in jail if a judge determines he embezzled more than $200. The charge also includes a fine of $2,000 or three times the value, whichever is greater. The city Pension Board will rule on Wilcox’s benefits. Sentencing for Wilcox is May 1.

Lansing School District Superintendent Ben Shuldiner told WKAR News he's excited to continue in Lansing after the Las Vegas school district passed him over. Shuldiner was one of three finalists for the position. He said then he had "not actively" looked but the opportunity was "a ring I felt I had to throw my hat into."

The Republican National Committee has filed a lawsuit against the city of Lansing in Ingham County Circuit Court in protest of its $4,795 charge to obtain surveillance video from its absentee drop boxes after it had made a public records request for it, the Lansing State Journal reported. The lawsuit said Lansing charged far more than any others it petitioned, including East Lansing, Delta Township, Detroit and other Michigan cities. City spokesperson Scott Bean said the city doesn’t comment on active litigation but “is confident of its compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, and an answer to the complaint will be filed soon.” Lansing City Council President Ryan Kost had reject an appeal, writing that the fee was appropriate because a city employee would have to watch 240 hours of video to redact any nonpublic information.

The third day of the Joshua and Rachel Piland trial in Ingham County Circuit Court included testimony from the family’s midwife apprentice, Laurie Vance, who said that she had advised the mother to seek immediate medical attention less than 24 hours after her daughter Abigail was born. The couple, charged with murder and child abuse in Abigail’s 2017 death, refused due to religious beliefs. Abigail died within 48 hours, the result of a treatable condition known as hemolytic disease of the newborn.

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor is working with MSU to determine if a fraternity held a large party at Hunter Park Saturday night that required extensive cleanup. “We’ll take every legal action we can for littering, for any property destruction, any illegal substances, and things like that,” Schor told WILX-TV. The party ended with calls to the police, and the east side park was filled with trash, including broken bottles, liquor, cups, marijuana and more. “It was a more aggressive cleanup than I’ve ever seen in the morning,” said Allen Neighborhood Center volunteer Carrie Holzahei. “The city got it cleaned up really quickly.”