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Lansing Community College offers high demand skills trade programs

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There are lots of degrees that you can finish in two years and come out making some good money, but you may have to get your hands a little dirty. Students at LCC aren’t learning in a traditional classroom setting. Instead of picking up a pencil, they pick up a blow torch. “I really enjoy working with my hands and applying myself,” Jared Walter, an LCC junior, said. LCC offers a number of options for students going into a skilled trade and welding is one that’s in high demand. Scott Poe, LCC welding instructor, said, “There is this huge need to get people involved, to get the younger generation in and start using their hands.”

After decades of pushing bachelor degrees, high paying trade jobs sit vacant.

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Club at MSU teaches you how to quickstep

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If you’re a student at Michigan State and a friend asks you to go dancing, we’re pretty sure it wouldn’t be at this location… but maybe it’s exactly the dance floor for a quickstep. It’s the ballroom dance team- a club here at MSU that meets Monday through Thursday, every week, 10 p.m. till midnight. “It’s a good way to wrap up a stressful day,” Taylor Kuminski, a student majoring in animal science, said. Think of it like ‘Dancing with the Stars,’ just after chemistry class.

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Black Lives Matter: Step into Power

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The Black Lives Matter of Michigan came to East Lansing Sunday to promote what they call black love, black joy and black political power. The event was called “Dream Big: Step into Power” and was located at the Scene Metrospace which is an art exhibit here in East Lansing. People of all colors gathered and explored questions like what black love means to them as well as how they can gain a voice in the government. “Today is the beginning of a state-wide people’s assembly process, which is really about residence coming together to find ways to prioritize our issues and work with governments so that it works better for us,” Angela Waters Austin, co-founder of Black Lives Matter of Michigan, said.

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Michigan lawmakers go forward on snow day forgiveness bill

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A plan to help Michigan school districts with snow day forgiveness is moving through the legislature. The House Education Committee approved a bill this week to forgive the snow days when Michigan was under a state of emergency from Jan. 29-31. However, it’s not getting complete support. This bill does not give hourly school employees the pay they missed during those days .

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Gov. Whitmer proposes 45 cent fuel tax increase

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Last week Governor Gretchen Whitmer proposed a 45 cent fuel tax increase to improve Michigan roads. The tax increase is to generate 2.5 billion a year in revenue. However, many believe the gas tax would do more harm then good. Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey said the gas tax would be too much for the Michigan economy. 

“There is no disputing for needing the investment in roads. The disputes are over how much and how fast,” said Sen. Shirkey. “Both of those dimensions are important because if we do it too fast than it’s more than the appetite of the Michigan citizens can absorb and it creates other unintended consequences.”

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‘Night to Shine’ event celebrates princes and princesses

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Princes and princesses were crowned last Friday at the 5th annual ‘Night to Shine’ event. The dance was hosted at more that 655,000 churches from all around the world, celebrating more than 100,000 honorary guests. People were seen walking down the red carpet, getting their own crown or tiara and breaking it down on the dance floor. 242 churches locally from Lansing and Ann Arbor held dances. Along with the honorary guests, thousands of volunteers helped out at the event in order to make it truly a night to shine.

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Ingham County introduces text 9-1-1

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‘Call if you can, text if you can’t’ is the new motto at the Ingham County 9-1-1 Central Dispatch. Ingham County became the 49th county in Michigan to enact the new service. Residents can now text 9-1-1 if they are in an emergency situation where they are unable to hear or speak. Lance Langdon, director for Ingham County 9-1-1, said communicating through the telephone and speaking in an emergency is most important, but also that text-9-1-1 should provide an addition support to those who can’t speak. “It could be something we talked about like a health-related problem, someone’s choking and they can’t speak, so their only option is to put a text message through,” said Langdon.

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The benefits of summer camps for kids

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School is out and the children are free, but parents still have to go to work. Keeping your kids busy doesn’t have to be stressful. Camps that offer activities like field trips, sports and art classes are a great way to keep your child occupied this summer. Becky Raden, coordinator at Pinckney Pirate Camp, says that getting your child involved in a summer camp can be a great opportunity for them. “Our goal is that the kids stay active, are having fun and are well supervised because this is their summer vacation,” Raden said.

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Who’s teaching our kids about Independence Day?

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Next week, the country will celebrate Independence Day. The day is usually filled with lots of red, white and blue shirts, small waving flags and spectacular fireworks, but is the meaning of the day still known and appreciated? A study by the American National Election Studies showed that the level of patriotism in the United States has in fact gone down, most commonly in millennials. Some believe this trend is because of social institutions, however, others believe the decline in American patriotism is because of our education system. Debbie Loukotka, an elementary school teacher who is known for taking her American pride seriously, says that teaching patriotism is more by choice.