Rewind: News from the last 7 days

Lonnie Smith of Okemos, 21, and Mason Woods of East Lansing, 22 -- pepper-sprayed and arrested Aug. 24 by East Lansing Police -- plan to file a federal lawsuit Thursday accusing law enforcement of “false arrest, excessive force, abuse of authority, and violations of constitutional rights.” Jack Rucker of Nova Law in Lansing said the suit will allege seven counts against the City of East Lansing, Police Chief Jen Brown and two officers. The incident, in which the ELPD accused Smith and Woods of disorderly conduct fighting, took place Aug. 24 in front of Dave’s Hot Chicken in East Lansing.

The MSU Board of Trustees voted Friday to remove the word “diversity” from the title of Jabbar Bennett, a vice president who previously served as vice president and chief diversity officer for the university. He is now considered to be vice president and chief inclusion officer. The board passed the change 6-1, with Trustee Rema Vassar, D-Detroit, voting no, and Trustee Dennis Denno, D-East Lansing, abstaining. “I’m just really tired of running away from the word diversity,” Denno told the Lansing State Journal. President Donald Trump’s administration has eliminated funding for research projects at MSU that could have been seen as promoting diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Board also approved a 1.5% pay raise for President Kevin Guskiewicz, even though the university has suffered months of funding cuts and the loss of 99 positions. Guskiewicz is now making a base salary of $1,029,210. MSU spokesperson Amber McCann said the increase was in line with scheduled pay increases for the university’s executive management. The Board honored 12 MSU graduates with the Board of Trustees Award for achieving a perfect 4.0 GPA. The group included Kera D. Thompson of Holt, who earned a bachelor’s in environmental studies and sustainability from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Abigail J. Atkinson of Laingsburg, who earned a bachelor’s in kinesiology from the College of Education.

A fire at a home on the 1500 block of North High Street in Lansing killed a 62-year-old woman and injured another on Monday. Lansing Fire Marshal Jared Nisch said careless smoking caused the blaze. Fire officials found the deceased woman in a first-floor bedroom where the fire is believed to have started. Another resident was taken to UM Health-Sparrow and treated for smoke inhalation. Officials did not release the names of the victims, and the event remains under investigation.

Ingham County Circuit Judge Wanda Stokes sentenced Lansing teenager Marcell Keshawn Marshall to 20 to 41 years in prison last Wednesday for the near-fatal shooting of two 16-year-old boys in September 2024 near Riddle Elementary School in Lansing. Marshall, 18 now and 17 at the time of the shooting, was convicted of two counts of assault with intent to murder and the mandatory two years for felony firearm possession. The victims were Sexton High School students walking to a bus stop on West Allegan Street. Lansing police said the shooting happened after someone made an accusation of theft.

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Workers delivered a 68-foot spruce to the Capitol on Saturday that will serve as Michigan’s 2025 state Christmas tree. The Michigan Department of Technology, Management & Budget said the state’s 39th official Christmas tree was donated by Sault Ste. Marie resident Linda Ried in honor of her grandparents, Lawrence and Nettie Richey. The tree was transported by the DTMB’s Christmas tree crew, the Michigan Association of Timbermen and the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association. The tree-lighting ceremony will take place on Friday, Nov. 21, during the 41st annual Silver Bells in the City celebration.

Lansing Mayor Andy Schor announced Tuesday that the city would donate $10,000 to the Greater Lansing Food Bank, helping provide food assistance to families affected by ongoing federal funding delays. The charity estimated the donation would help 200 families. “So many Lansing families rely on supplemental food assistance through the SNAP program,” Schor said, in a statement. “Until the federal government releases all emergency funding as ordered, or the government shutdown ends, my administration will work with connecting Lansing residents to available resources.”

The Michigan Attorney General’s office and the FaithFirst Foundation reached a settlement that will allow the charity to continue operating after it was sued by the AG’s office following the embezzlement of more than $500,000 by retired priest David Rosenberg while acting as a FaithFirst agent. A Clinton County jury had convicted Rosenberg on eight felony counts, including three for embezzlement from a vulnerable adult, in a case the AG’s office prosecuted. The AG tried to shut down the charity after suing it in Ingham County Circuit Court, saying the money Rosenberg stole went to FaithFirst. Rosenberg was the director of the Diocese of Lansing’s St. Francis Retreat Center in DeWitt, a 95-acre property that includes apartments for retired priests, between 2015 and 2021.