Online casinos, sportsbooks intensify online gambling problem

Participants engage in sports betting at Motor City Casino in Detroit

Since Michigan legalized online casinos and sports betting in December 2019, problem gambling has spiked. Most early research done on problem gambling linked addiction to proximity; the closer a person was to a casino, the more likely to become a problem gambler. When new casinos opened, issues with problem gambling doubled within a 50 mile radius. Now, casinos are as close as an internet connection. 

The legalization of online play occurred just months before the initial COVID lockdowns. With other forms of entertainment closed, some turned to digital entertainment, which now included gambling. 

“We have seen a rise in problematic play,” said Caitlyn Huble, communications director for the National Council on Problem Gambling.

Ingham promotes equity for women while facing 1:13 gender ratio on commisson

The Ingham County Commission passed a resolution declaring March 2022 Women’s History Month for Ingham while facing the reality that it could be looking at a future board containing only one female commissioner. 

“Our County Board of Commissioners faces a sadly shrinking female minority,” said Commissioner Emily Stivers. Only three of the 14 county commissioners are women. Two of those women are not seeking reelection. 

Stivers said she hoped the resolution encouraged women to run for county commissioner and other government positions. “Ingham County has strong female leadership,” Stivers said. “Female candidates can find strong support.” The filing deadline is April 19, 2022, and there will be several seats without incumbents. 


Women make up over 51% of the population of Ingham County, and 50.2% of the workforce.

Woman taking selfie in mirror

Caregiver says helping people keeps her in difficult job

Marissa Toney: “Every single thing is just as important as the next.”

When the world shut down in March, 2020, during the initial pandemic panic, most people’s first thought was not to find a job as soon as possible. Marissa Toney is not most people. Immediately, she searched for and found an assisted living facility and applied for a job. 

“I really don’t know if I could pick a single most important thing that I do for the people I take care of,” said Toney. “Every single thing is just as important as the next.” Direct-care workers are a part of their clients’ everyday lives, from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to sleep. 

Direct care is a demanding profession that requires a very special type of personality. “A good education helps, but it really goes more into personality and temperament,” said Toney.

Empty store shelves

S is for snow, slipping, sliding, sellouts and shut schools

As record-breaking winter storms swept the Midwest and East this week, East Lansing felt the brunt of the blizzard. Hours of snow causing street backups, slipping and sliding, store sellouts and shut schools. 

Claire ChapinShoppers hoping to stock up on food and merchandise met a hollow reality. In the days leading up to the initial dump, the City of East Lansing issued social media blasts warning about weather, and the CATA bus system prefaced route cancellations. Overnight parking on the streets of downtown East Lansing was suspended for the duration of the storm, but parking in the various downtown ramps was free until the emergency ended. 

The nonstop precipitation began Tuesday night and continued over 24 hours, giving the plow teams a busy week. Ronald Lacasse, Infrastructure Administrator of the Department of Public Works, said that because the storm was predicted several days in advance, the department was able to schedule a larger team than usual about 24 hours in advance, and prep the heavy-duty equipment necessary. 

Plow drivers worked 16-hour shifts and came back seven hours later to do it all again for the duration of the storm.