News

Students File Tax Returns

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With the tax deadline on Monday, many students are doing their own taxes for the first time. “I, guess, waited to the limit,” said William Soto as he waited in the lobby of H&R Block for his appointment. He was one of many to wait until the last minute to file his tax returns. “I usually don’t wait this late, usually you know the beginning of April”

While it’s become fairly routine for Soto to file his taxes year after year, for some students, it’s their first time. “It’s been a long couple of months,” said Cody Kahrs, an accounting student who works for Simplified Tax in Lansing. “What I see a lot with students, they don’t know what to bring with them, and they don’t know what documents matter, what they should have with them, what is really relevant.”

Typically students need to complete a 1098-T form and bring in W2 statements from their jobs. “You can miss out on a couple thousand dollars if you miss the education credits, so just have someone double check it and make sure everything’s in order,” Kahrs said. Deloris Lodge, the manager of H&R Block in Lansing says that it’s easier to have a professional do it than to do it yourself.

Campus News

Abbott Apartment Closing

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It’s been just over a week since Samira Mashni was told to move out of her apartment at Abbott Manor, and she’s still tunneling through stacks of boxes. She said “this apartment is way smaller than what we signed up for in Abbott Manor, so we have a lot of stuff.”

Students like Samira came back to their apartment to find a notice telling them that it was time to move out because of mold, buckling floors and caving ceilings. Westpac, the company that owns the building, moved most of their tenants to The Rocks, which is also owned by Westpac, but after all of the problems, Samira chose to go with another company. This made her have to move through three apartments in just two days,

Former resident, Jordan Kopp said “they need to be a little bit more proactive and communicative to the residents at Abbott Manor, we haven’t gotten much information from them on what happened and we need more communication from them.”

Now many of the students are planning to file a lawsuit against the company. “On the third floor there was a girl who had her room covered in pots and pans.

Greater Lansing Community News

Ingham County Prosecutor Faces Charges

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Ingham County prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III was charged last week with pandering, engaging in the services of prostitution and willful neglect of duty. “The prosecutor in the capitol city of Michigan has the responsibility to enforce the law, report crimes, fight crimes, but he did just the opposite,” Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a press conference. Stuart Dunnings was the Ingham County Prosecutor for nearly two decades and has allegedly been meeting prostitutes since the Spring of 2010. The charges against Dunnings stem from a federal investigation of a Michigan based human trafficking ring last year. “It’s so hard to think that this person who has been elected to office for so long may have been engaging in a sex crime,” said Andrea Bitely, a spokesperson for the Michigan Attorney General.

Campus News

John Kasich at MSU

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As the presidential primary season heats up across the country, and Michigan’s primary is only a couple of weeks away, more candidates are stopping through. Coming off his second place finish in the New Hampshire primary, republican candidate John Kasich made stops in Michigan including Grand Valley State University and Michigan State University, before making the trip to South Carolina. “I think it shows the importance of the college vote and the young people vote in determining our election, and I think that having him come here shows the importance of Michigan to his election strategy as a whole,” said economics and international relations major, Karl Schneider. The Ohio Governor spoke about everything from his stance on shrinking government to college affordability and the threat of terrorism overseas, then took questions from eager students and supporters. Kara Weingartz, a MSU marketing major said “I think that the policies that he’s made in Ohio, for example, just like creating more private jobs and lowering the government jobs, that’s really important.”

In his speech, Kasich said “This generation has to change this country, and revive our spirit.

Campus News

New Sparty Statue

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Michigan State University’s beloved Sparty mascot will soon be immortalized as a gift from the 2016 senior class. Whether it’s the original ceramic statue  inside the stadium, or the duplicate bronze version overlooking the Red Cedar River the spartan is an iconic landmark. “Well he’s the coolest mascot in college sports, I mean lets all be real,” said Tami Kuhn, the director of the MSU Union. “We just wanted to have something that recognized him and he does live in the Union so it made perfect sense to immortalize him there.”

MSU will now have another Sparty statue, this one will immortalize the Sparty mascot. It will be cast in bronze and placed on the first floor of the union. Michigan State’s senior class decided to make it their 2016 class gift.