Rewind: News from the last 7 days

MSU has proposed building a $150 million, 6,000-seat Olympic sports arena and partnering with a developer to create a new Spartan Gateway District on the corner of Trowbridge and Harrison roads. The university would raze about 14 acres of mostly wooded area south of the under-construction Student Health and Recreation Center on Harrison. The MSU Board of Trustees is scheduled to vote Friday on approving the plans, including leasing land to the developer under a long-term agreement in exchange for developments in addition to the arena, such as the hotel, housing, retail, restaurants, offices, parking and a future academic or health care development, university documents state. The arena would host MSU women’s volleyball, gymnastics and men’s wrestling. MSU has not released the name of the developer.

The U.S. Homeland Security Department has revoked the visas of an unreported number of MSU international students. The U.S. State Department has contacted those students directly, said MSU spokesperson Amber McCann, and the university’s Office for International Students and Scholars is working with them to provide support. She added that OISS monitors the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System and will contact students if officials terminate their SEVIS records. McCann did not say whether any had been deported or left the country. Four University of Michigan students have had their visas revoked, as have some at the universities of Minnesota and California Davis and Central Michigan University. Christine Sauve, policy, engagement and communications manager for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, said, “These actions highlight the complete lack of due process and fairness that citizens and noncitizens are facing across our immigration system and the erosion of students’ First Amendment rights.”

The Michigan State Police is investigating an incident Sunday where Ingham County Sheriff’s Office deputies were involved in the shooting and killing of an armed man on U.S. 127 near Barnes Road in Vevay Township. A passing motorist had called 911 to report the man walking the wrong way on the freeway and causing a hazard. Officers spent more than 13 minutes trying to de-escalate the situation, said Sheriff Scott Wriggelsworth, and attempted to deploy a stun gun before the shooting. The unidentified man was noncompliant, pulling out knives and walking toward them. One officer suffered an unnamed minor injury. Wriggelsworth debunked rumors that officers had handcuffed the man when he was shot and added that one person from the department is on administrative leave but provided no other details. The MSP has released partial video footage of the incident.

The Robinson Memorial Church of God in Christ is suing the city of Lansing over a $123,500 tax bill for a garden property that was tax-exempt for years but became taxable commercial property in 2020, reported the Lansing State Journal. The church has asked a judge for a temporary restraining order in Ingham County Circuit Court to halt tax collection and foreclosure proceedings against the lot. Gregory Reed, an attorney for the church, said the congregation could not pay the bill. The 6-acre lot on Perry Robinson Circle near Jolly Road and Cedar Street, used for revivals and educational activities, sits across town from the church at 509 Charles St. The lot lost its tax-exempt status in 2020 when the city reevaluated its tax rolls, though the church itself retained its tax-exempt status.

Christy and Paul Akeos of Spring Arbor returned home from a Mexican prison after Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, traveled there to help secure their release. The couple, who flew into Capital Region International Airport, were arrested March 4 after getting off a plane in Cancun. Their family and attorney said the arrest related to a credit card dispute with a resort company that the couple had previously resolved in their favor. The Palace Co., which owns the resort, accused the couple of defrauding the resort out of more than $116,000. Barrett said the president sent a special envoy to help negotiate their release. Officials did not release details of the dispute’s resolution.

Ike Hayman

Barrett also hosted his second telephone town hall Monday night. Over 5,000 attended, his office said. After a technical difficulty prevented many from attending his earlier telephone town hall, officials shifted the format to dial-out only. Barrett discussed his first bill to pass the house — a bipartisan bill simplifying VA claims notices — and his excursion to Mexico. He also answered questions about Trump’s recently announced tariffs, noting that “it’s going to take some time” for the U.S. market to readjust as it becomes less dependent on foreign industry, and on the SAVE Act, which he confirmed he would vote “yes” on.

The city of East Lansing may have to return as much as $9 million to current and former Lansing Board of Water & Light customers, the Lansing State Journal reported after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the 5% franchise “fee” East Lansing officials imposed on BWL customers in the city years ago was, in fact, a tax. The tax required voter approval, which did not occur, as mandated by a 1978 state Constitution provision. Resident Jim Heos sued the city to challenge the fee in 2020, and the Supreme Court decision was the culmination of five years of litigation, including two appeals. Andrew Abood, one of Heos’ attorneys, estimated the total amount to be refunded as about $9 million.

The adult entertainment club Centerfolds at 5910 S. Pennsylvania Ave. has closed permanently after the city of Lansing revoked its cabaret and liquor licenses due to a series of violent crimes over several years and a recommendation from the City Council. Christopher Bonilla Sr. was shot and killed inside the club in February, and shootings also took place in 2013 and 2016. The Council said it gave the club notice to speak on the license revocation, but no one appeared at the hearing. The Council also described the business’s owners as being unwilling to implement increased security procedures.

WKAR was named the 2024 Michigan Public Television Station of the Year during the Broadcast Excellence Awards Gala Detroit, winning for the 13th time in 14 years.