News

Detours implemented as construction begins on historic Okemos Road bridges

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Those who take Okemos Road southbound on their commute to work or school will have to use a new route starting February 14, courtesy of a full-scale replacement and expansion of the Okemos Road bridges.

Southbound traffic will detour until November, while the northbound lane of will be unchanged throughout the new construction project, according to a notice from the Ingham County Road Department.

Article

Year 3 of 10-year MT construction plan set to begin

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In May, the third year of the 10-year local road bond program approved by Meridian Township voters in 2019 will start, said Dan Opsommer, the assistant township manager and director of public works and engineering. “We really need to take advantage of every decent month that we have,” said Opsommer. “We’ve canceled projects in the past in the fall because it’s not good to put down asphalt when the temperature drops and so we want to make sure the work that we’re doing is lasting and impactful.”

The goal of the 10-year-project is to obtain a Pavement Surface Elevation and Rating score of 8 out of 10, which would be an improvement from the score of 4.48 when voters approved the millage a few years ago. 

“Today, after two years of the program we are at a 5.68, and we also have a forecast scheduled, so we’re looking at each year in the 10-year-program,” said Opsommer. “What do we want our average PASER rating to be and right now we’re eclipsing those goals by about 5.5 PASER rating. MT already issued the first bond three years ago and will secure bonds at the end of this year for the second set, said Miriam Mattison, the finance director of MT.  As they collect that, it pays off that bond debt, so they will collect the millage from the residents and then it will pay down the bond.

Business & Economy

Stores’ stocks and profits rise and fall with the weather

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Grocery stores and markets around Lansing are dealing with this week’s snowstorm and working around the clock to meet community members’ demands. 

Stores saw a surge of customers on Tuesday evening preparing for the snow. Todd Couzzien works in the meat department at Fresh Thyme Market in East Lansing and said people slammed the store early. Once the storm hit, traffic at the store slowed dramatically. Todd said that some of the most bought items at the store included meat and chicken. Other stores experienced the same type of traffic.

Capital News Service
Royal Oak police patrol the city’s downtown.

Oakland County home to many of Michigan’s safest small cities 

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SMALL CITIES SAFETY: Oakland County is home to some of Michigan’s safest small cities – Rochester Hills, Royal Oak, Novi, Farmington Hills and Troy — and also one of its least-safe, Pontiac. Others in the least-safe category are Saginaw, Kalamazoo, Jackson and Battle Creek. We talk to police and other officials in Royal Oak and Pontiac, to a middle school student from Royal Oak and the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police. By Riz Hatton, Elaine Mallon & Sheldon Krause. FOR DETROIT and ALL POINTS.

News

Program helps provide schools with produce from Michigan farms

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Schools in Greater Lansing are benefiting from fresh produce in their lunchrooms thanks to a Michigan program aiming to get farm-fresh food onto lunch tables.

The 10 Cents a Meal program, administered by the Michigan Department of Education, gives schools 10 cents for every meal they serve to children that includes a local fruit, vegetable or dried bean. This funding aims to make it easier for schools to afford fresh and local foods.