Rewind: News from the last 7 days

All 24,000 businesses and residences that lost power were expected to be back online by late Tuesday, a day earlier than initially thought, after strong storms, including a tornado, wreaked havoc on Greater Lansing overnight Thursday and Friday. BWL general manager Dick Peffley said about 75 crews, including workers from outside Greater Lansing, worked on restoring service. Stretches of Wood Road and Grand River Avenue in the Groesbeck neighborhood featured some of the most dramatic damage, with power poles and power lines closing both into Tuesday. More than 260,000 electric customers statewide lost power, mostly Consumers Energy customers, with 8,000 in Greater Lansing. Peffley said that the area had not seen this much damage to its transmission and distribution system in nearly 25 years.

The National Weather Service has confirmed at least 12 tornadoes tore across Michigan, including one that severely damaged at least one house in Potterville as it ripped through Eaton and Ingham counties. Jordyn and Chris Brazee told the Lansing State Journal that the EF-1 tornado (with winds of 86 mph to 110 mph) ripped off parts of their roof and home. They were able to move with their three children to the basement and escape injuries. Due to downed power lines and debris, emergency personnel came to help them evacuate their house after the storm.

Lansing residents can place up to 50 pounds of tree-related debris at curbside for pickup with maximum dimensions of 4 feet long and 8 inches in diameter. Branches should be kept intact, and residents should make sure the debris is on the curb and not blocking the road. The city said it will take several weeks to pick up all debris. It will be hosting a storm debris and yard waste drop-off for Lansing residents Saturday at Crego Park, 1600 Fidelity Road, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be no cost for dropping off debris, but ID will be required for entry.

The Lansing City Council unanimously approved a $173 million general fund budget Monday, a $10 million increase, paid for by increased fees and property tax revenues. The Council also unanimously allocated $250,000 in contingency funds for a Council analyst and two more firefighters. By a 6-2 vote, it approved $130,000 for a sustainability assistant. Council President Ryan Kost said the budget include $10 million for local roads and $1 million for sidewalks.

Derrick L. Turner

MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz and other university officials wrote in a memo to department heads and deans that the school will reduce general fund spending by 9% over the next two years, due to its “modest recurring deficit over the past two years.” The cuts are being made to get the MSU back to financial stability, they added. While MSU’s current operating budget is about $3.6 billion, its general fund is $1.7 billion, the university’s functional budget report shows. A 9% cut amounts to about $153 million.

East Lansing city officials have named Jennifer Brown as permanent police chief, the first the city has had in a year. Brown had served as interim chief since December, after the previous interim chief, Chad Pride, asked to return to deputy chief pending his January retirement. Pride had taken over after the previous chief, Kim Johnson, resigned last May amid an internal investigation. Brown joined the department as deputy chief in December 2023 after working more than 15 years in MSU’s police department.

Delta Township announced it has canceled its July 3 fireworks show two weeks after voters rejected a 2-mill tax proposal to fund Eaton County Sheriff’s Office patrols and staff, impacting public safety resources for the event. Delta’s Board of Trustees voted to cancel a contract with Indiana-based Night Magic Displays that would have cost the township $34,650. Since the cancellation fee from the company is $13,860, the township will save just over $20,000. The show attracts tens of thousands of people to Sharp Park and the surrounding area.

MSU has settled a lawsuit for $30,000 brought by Netherlands-based Carsilus Media over using a quiz from its Youtube channel that included an image of Adolph Hitler. The company had sought $150,000. The image was displayed on a Spartan Stadium scoreboard before MSU’s game against University of Michigan in 2023. The university apologized for the incident after it went viral and blamed the designers of the quiz. The August 2024 complaint claimed the university engaged in copyright infringement and invasion of privacy-false light for using the content without permission.

Detectives testified that Gregory Pennington (pictured) of Nashville, 42, was assaulted for five days and shot twice, the last shot in the head killing him, in rural Chester Township as revenge for allegedly assaulting one of the individuals who are accused of assaulting him. Bradley Lance, 25, who allegedly fired the fatal shot, was charged with second-degree murder, torture, felony firearm possession and removing a dead body without a medical examiner’s permission. Three other suspects were each charged with one count of torture.