Rewind: News from the last 7 days

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor has endorsed U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens for Michigan’s Democratic U.S. Senate nomination. “She will stand up for Michigan in fighting against dangerous policies that are being pushed in the Senate right now, including policies that will increase costs for everything from groceries to cars,” Schor said in a press release from the Stevens campaign. State Sen. Mallory McMorrow and Abdul El-Sayed, a former Wayne County health executive and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate, are also running for the Senate nod in next year’s Democratic primary to replace Democrat Gary Peters, who is retiring.

Dwight Rich School for the Arts in Lansing has introduced metal detectors and wands at entrances this week after finding a gun last week. Lansing police confirmed the weapon was a pistol and that they arrested a 12-year-old boy, whom they did not identify. Staff members will be present to greet students and ensure they enter the building with minimal disruption. Officials unloaded and disassembled the gun after they discovered it, and there were no injuries related to the incident. Principal Shannon Harris wrote a letter to families explaining that the new safety measures are “part of our commitment to maintaining a safe and secure learning environment for all.”

Lansing Schools Superintendent Ben Shuldiner said Monday in his weekly Facebook post that the district will create a “comprehensive plan” over the summer to make students feel safer and more secure in schools. Ryan Gilding, the district’s communications manager, said the district would likely keep the metal detectors in place until June 6, when the school year ends, and that discussions about the plan are still in the early stages. The high schools already have metal detectors, but the district’s other schools do not.

MSU President Kevin Guskiewicz announced that the University of Oregon’s College of Education dean, Laura Lee McIntyre, is his choice to be provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. If the MSU Board of Trustees approves McIntyre’s appointment June 13, McIntyre would replace Thomas Jeitschko, the interim provost for three years, who would return to being senior associate provost. Officials have planned McIntyre’s start date, pending approval, as Aug. 4.

Lansing community members gathered at Evergreen Cemetery’s Little Arlington Veterans Memorial Saturday to honor fallen military members in advance of Monday’s official Memorial Day holiday. The ceremony began with a moment of silence as Mayor Schor joined families, veterans and other Lansing officials in reflection. The ceremony included a reading of the poem “Memorial Day,” by C.W. Johnson, and performances by Shelby Ann-Marie Miller, who sang the national anthem at the beginning and “God Bless America” at the end of the event. Capt. Joshua LaCroix, who served in the U.S. Army for 13 years, spoke and was also honored. The city also hosted Memorial Day ceremonies at Mt. Hope Cemetery on Saturday.

A new study commissioned by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Lansing Economic Area Partnership compares the Greater Lansing area to 11 similar communities and finds that Lansing ranks highest in that group in venture capital investments and in the top three for the number of Gen Z residents and STEM graduation rates, but ranks near the bottom in household income, population growth and housing availability and development. It also ranked low in private-sector employment, with nearly a quarter of jobs being in the traditionally underpaying public sector. The Anderson Economic Group, based in East Lansing and Chicago, conducted the study. It compared the three-county Lansing region to those similar in the state, such as Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, as well as those in and around Nashville, Tennessee; Des Moines, Iowa; Greenville, South Carolina; Hartford, Connecticut; Columbus, Ohio; Madison, Wisconsin; Indianapolis; Minneapolis-St. Paul; and Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 

PUBLIC SAFETY

An Ingham County Circuit Court jury acquitted Grant Thompson (pictured) of Lansing, 56, of all charges in connection with the shooting death of Dominick Hopson, 32, in 2022. Thompson contended he shot Hopson in self-defense, and the jury found him not guilty of murder and weapons charges.