Multiple additions, re-surfacing, re-routing planned for trail

BY CAMERON VREDEVELD

LANSING STAR STAFF WRITER

It might be raining. It might be snowing. It might be sunny and 75 degrees out. Regardless of the weather, the Lansing River Trail is full of runners, walkers and bicyclists.

The weather doesn’t have as much of an effect on the users as it does on the trail.

Cracks and potholes in the pavement, shards of wood missing on bridges and boardwalks and frequent flooding are just some of the repair and maintenance needs of the trail. Lansing officials are aware of how widely-used the trail is, and that is why they are investing in upgrading it.

Click here to view a slideshow of the trail

Proposed changes include buying property to expand it, replacing rotted planks on the bridges and boardwalks and re-paving sections. Continue reading →

Twenty five percent of Lansing teachers who will be laid off are music teachers.

Editor’s note: This is the second of three stories looking at the fiscal challenges facing Lansing schools. Day 1: Elementary art to be crafted, not cut. Day 3: Lansing School District restructured

By JOSH DRZEWICKI

LANSING STAR STAFF WRITER

LANSING- Lansing elementary students will have a hard time staying in tune because of staff cuts to elementary music programs.

The Lansing School District is rearranging elementary music education by cutting the teachers who teach it and instead requiring that classroom teachers incorporate it into other lessons.

Elementary music education is going to be taught by regular elementary classroom teachers in the 2013-2014 school year, said Bob Kolt, Lansing School District spokesperson. The cuts are to help make up for a $9 million budget deficit for the school year. Continue reading →

CAMERON VREDEVELD

LANSING STAR STAFF WRITER

LANSING—The 5-acre block where Ottawa and Butler intersect is a modern day ghost town. Houses are sectioned off with caution tape. The trees and the grass lay dead, symbolizing the decay of what was once a flourishing neighborhood.

Restoration is in sight for the block, however, now that the Michigan Association of Broadcasters has purchased the property. The association was looking for a headquarters closer to the state capitol said Karole White, President of the MAB.

Continue reading →

CAMERON VREDEVELD

LANSING STAR STAFF WRITER

Lansing–The city wants to buy vacant property to reroute the Lansing River Trail where it has begun to deteriorate.

The property at 830 River Street contains a vacant building and a storage yard. The land is less than a quarter of an acre and would cost the city $90,000.

Lansing’s Ways and Means Committee is   applying for a state grant to fund about 75 percent of the purchase.

Continue reading →

BY CAMERON VREDEVELD

LANSING STAR STAFF WRITER

LANSING—The outside panels are torn and the inside is gutted, but the future has never been so promising for Knapp’s Centre.

Remodeling on the building that was once J.W. Knapp’s Department Store began in December, and is starting to show signs of progress. “Everything is coming along nicely,” said Nick Eyde, the project developer.

Continue reading →

By Cameron Vredeveld

Lansing Star Staff Writer

Lansing Schools are below average. The 2012 MEAP tests are proof.

If the faculty can’t create a better plan, they’ll lose the school.

Math scores have increased more than 40 percent from last year for Lansing third graders. They increased nearly 30 percent for seventh graders.

Continue reading →