A paper banner in the school says "Farewell."

Lansing School Board votes to demolish, build new Mt. Hope

A $130 million bond was approved by voters in May to begin the demolition and rebuilding of four schools in the Lansing School District. One of these schools is the Mt. Hope STEAM school.

Mt. Hope STEAM school opened in 1949. There are now plenty of irreparable building issues, including no air conditioning, a malfunctioning boiler room, inoperative bathrooms, as well as other structural problems.

Jenny Wagemann teaches Larabel's three grandchildren to hula hoop

Potter Park Zoo hosts fall fun with Zootacular

Alison Larabel of Traverse City and her three grandchildren from Okemos arrived at Potter Park Zoo on Oct. 9 with no clue of the surprise awaiting them. Potter Park Zoo is a regular favorite of theirs, but this weekend they were met with the park’s fourth annual Zootacular in full swing.

The event ran from noon to 5pm on Oct. 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23. Potter Park Zoo special projects coordinator Carolyn Forba says the event features activities such as hay bale and string mazes, the “inflatable zone” with five inflatable activities, a black-light glow room and more. Guests were invited to arrive in costume, and could trick or treat at booths hosted by local partners throughout the park.

Get to know Hooked: A coffee, wine and bookstore in Lansing

A graphic created on Canva that represents the key elements offered at Hooked. Graphic credit: Paige McCallum. Hooked, located on East Michigan Avenue, is a wine, coffee and bookstore that opened in April of 2022 owned by two Michigan State professors, Sarah Reckhow and Matt Grossmann. The small business offers a variety of events, foods and drinks that are all on their website. Hooked has also become a space for community events which is what co-founders Reckhow and Grossman have always intended to incorporate.

The South Lansing Library in Lansing Michigan

South Lansing public library moves toward ‘new normal’

A visit to the library is usually something that people take for granted because they never had to worry about having it taken away.
However, after COVID-19 hit, visits to the library had to be modified for the safety of others. Two years later, South Lansing Library is returning to normal. 

Roadwork irritates drivers endangers pedestrians, bikers

Construction in Lansing is ramping up this fall as the city makes changes along Michigan Avenue, Kalamazoo Street and Clippert Street. Brooke Miller, a senior at Michigan State who works on campus, has been living off campus since her junior year along Michigan Avenue. Her typical route to work is unaffected by construction, however, her route home is continuously changing. Miller has found that her commute time is increasing, as her patience is decreasing. “I drive to campus for some classes…and I also drive my car to work.

Man cooks at flat top grill

East Lansing bagel shop innovates with menu, late shift

A.J. EvansJared Andrews, at the new East Lansing GoodFellas Bagels, learned about their popularity from all the students who came to the store’s Lansing location. In East Lansing, a new restaurant is doubling as a morning and late-night hotspot. GoodFellas Bagels Deli, a new restaurant on Albert Avenue in the same strip as the popular HopCat and El Azteco, is working to become one of the most accessible places in East Lansing. 

Following the opening of the first GoodFellas Bagels Deli in January of 2020, owner Adrian Joseph kept his brand-new business afloat through a time where businesses were shuttered, particularly in the food industry. After working through the pandemic, Joseph began to notice a growing trend. “At the location in Lansing, we started to notice a pretty large influx of MSU students that would come there on weekends, and throughout the week,” Joseph said.

Young activists speak out on guns

When Madeline Johnson lost her best friend in the shooting that took place at Oxford High School on Nov. 30, 2021, she knew that she wanted to do something to create real change. 

“I was near her when it happened,” she said. “It’s obviously been pretty hard for me. I decided that I wanted to take action and change something for her and the other three that we lost, hopefully to stop things like this from happening in the future.”

Johnson, along with other Oxford students, banned together to create No Future Without Today, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization. The members’ goal is to educate students and raise awareness about gun violence in schools. 

The rise of gun violence across the country has left students feeling afraid for their well-being.

Michigan’s automotive industry shifts toward an electric future

With Michigan housing several automotive manufacturing plants, the state looks to expand into the world of vehicle electrification. 

“If we want to continue to expand ourselves as a species, we need another way to power and transport ourselves around, a cleaner more sustainable way of doing it, because we’re just going to run out of gas at some point,” said Steve Radosevich, geometric modeler for Rivian. 

General Motors Co. is one of the manufacturers making Michigan a hub for electric vehicle production. The GM factory in Orion Township is  set to become one of the company’s main electric vehicle manufacturers. The plant, which originally produced Chevrolet Malibus and Pontiac G6s, will now build all-electric trucks. 

GM is also shifting its manufacturing in Detroit. The Detroit-Hamtramck plant, nicknamed “Factory Zero,” will construct electric variants of the Hummer, Sierra, Cruise, and Silverado.