Target located at 4890 Marsh Road Okemos, Michigan 48864 has a CVS pharmacy inside who are hoping to soon provide Moderna boosters.

Meridian Township pharmacies prep for Moderna booster shots

Pharmacies in Meridian Township are gearing up for the Moderna booster shots recently approved by the FDA. Since the FDA approved the Pfizer booster shots for individuals who are ‘high risk’ or over 65, pharmacy managers are preparing themselves to distribute the COVID-19 Moderna booster. News has been developing quickly when it comes to the COVID-19 booster shots. It can be hard to keep track of all the new information and many individuals have lots of questions. What vaccines have been approved for a booster?

Photo of Okemos High School

Okemos High School students voice learning challenges

Annie Heeder

Annie Heeder reports from Okemos High School

On-line learning challenges

Imagine completing almost half of your high school experience on Zoom, and then being sent full force back to in-person for your senior year. It is the reality for Senior, Sarah Hamel. 

After making the transition to online classes a year ago, students struggled with losing the social connection that came daily with being in school in person. When asked about her experience online, Hamel said it took a toll. “I’m a pretty social person so being online was really hard for me in that sense,” Hamel said. Jennifer Nguyen, a junior at Okemos High School, agreed with Hamel that the year online was anything but easy.

This is a photo of the front of the Meridian Mall

Meridian Mall Fights Back After Devastating Pandemic

Imagine walking into the mall as a child and smelling the food court, there seems to be excitement in the air because of the shopping that is going to take place. Then COVID-19 hit and some people were feeling the urge to connect back to the mall setting that they once knew. Now, the Meridian Mall is open and ready to welcome back customers again, with a few changes.

Okemos Public Schools changes mascot

When the nation looked in on itself, evaluating its systemic racism and fighting for social justice, the Okemos Public Schools decided it was time to reconsider its mascot. 

“Last summer with this renewed focus on racism and social justice, we got feedback from many alumni, current students, and community members asking us to evaluate this,” said Dean Bolton, the president of the Okemos School Board. “It was time to make sure that everything was aligned with our efforts.”

On May 24, the board held a meeting and voted unanimously to change the mascot from the Chiefs or Chieftains into something else. When voting on this, they had to make sure that it aligned with their equity plan and strategic plans – plans that they have had since before the pandemic. Bolton has said that both of these plans heavily address diversity and equity inclusion issues. This has been a topic of discussion for more than 30 years, Bolton said.

Fresh International Market: transition from Asian to global market

Fresh International Market, previously the Oriental Mart, closed in September 2020 to renovate for four months and reopened in January 2021. The former Oriental Mart was the biggest Asian market in Meridian Township. It provided authentic Asian foods for local people. After the renovation, the market began to sell international foods.

HOMTV to film live shows again

With vaccines on the rise and an end to self-isolation in sight, HOMTV, Meridian Township’s government television station in Okemos, will broadcast its first live show of the year next week.   

Some interns haven’t even been able to visit the newsroom. Bryanna Idzior, a senior at MSU and reporting intern at HOMTV, recently interviewed a source via Zoom while she was in the station. Other than the tour of the studio she received when she was first hired on, this was her first time in the newsroom. 

“It’s kind of been amazing over the past year or so what journalists have learned what they can do remotely,” Idzior said. “Zoom has been a really great tool to get to speak with people.” 

She will be a part of the team filming the Meridian News Now live show. They are planning on working after-hours at the station so that there are less full-time staff in the building to accommodate social distancing.