Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/category/news/page/4/)
The Dhammasala Forest Monastery follows the Dhammayut branch of Theravada Buddhism and offers many services that are open to the public. The monastery conducts daily food offerings and holds Dhamma talks every Saturday. Visitors of all faiths are welcome to walk along the monastery’s nature trails, especially during the flowering spring season.
Soulful Earth Herbals, located in Lansing, is a place where people can buy personal products that are directly extracted, plant-based chemicals rather than industrially processed chemicals that are found in the average product, such as sulfates.
TheraPLAYoga, located in downtown Lansing, has been an innovative recreational business, integrating wellness factors of yoga with elements of accessibility and inclusion.
The way food travels from farm to table is complex. The food that shoppers normally see in massive grocery stores is grown on large farms, harvested in large quantities, stored until it can be transported to market and finally sold in grocery stores. When the food supply chain is local, the process can become even more nuanced. Two stores in Lansing that promote local food production are The Eastside Lansing Food Co-op and Campbell’s Market Basket.
Almost three years ago, four of Oxford High School’s 1,700 students lost their lives in a mass shooting. Hana St. Juliana was one of those students. The Hana St. Juliana Memorial Fund was created in her honor in 2022. The money raised by selling apparel with Hana’s logo are now going toward building the Hana St. Juliana Memorial Garden, which will be located next to Seymour Lake Park outdoor market in Oxford.
As an increase to this financial windfall for universities, The Big Ten Conference announced a seven-year, $8 billion deal with FOX, CBS and NBC in August last year. Each university in the conference, including MSU, will receive between $80 million to $100 million each for broadcasting rights to their games.
Chronic homelessness is defined as living on the streets for 12 months out of the last 36. A number of shelters and organizations are finding their own ways to address the needs of these citizens in Lansing. One of the organizations is the Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness (MCAH). According to MCAH’s communications manager Amy Stephenson, MCAH works more “behind the scenes.”
PRIME PROGRAM: The Michigan Manufacturers Association plans to expand its PRIME program that teaches high schoolers skills and technologies that are badly needed by the manufacturing sector. We talk to the association and a Grand Haven High School teacher. Among other participating high schools are ones in Alpena, Hancock, Rudyard, Pontiac. Cheboygan, Grand Rapids, Three Rivers and Bay City, with Traverse City slated to join later this year. By Sophia Ceru. FOR CORP!, GRAND RAPIDS BUSINESS, HOLLAND, IRON MOUNTAIN, SAULT STE. MARIE, MIDLAND, DETROIT, THREE RIVERS, STURGIS, MARQUETTE, CHEBOYGAN AND ALL POINTS.
COLLEGE LOANS: Five Michigan colleges have taken advantage of a USDA loan program for rural and agricultural areas to finance new buildings and facilities. Alma College’s president says the $39.4 million it borrowed has paid off in rising enrollment. Others are Adrian University of Olivet, Glen Oaks Community College and Bay Mills Community College. The Michigan Association of Independent Colleges and Universities says the benefits are visible on participating campuses. Some rural borrowers nationally haven’t seen the expected benefits, however. By Elijah Taub. FOR ADRIAN, BAY MILLS, MARQUETTE, STURGIS, THREE RIVERS AND ALL POINTS.
SALINITY: Rising salt levels in some Michigan groundwater is killing crops and tainting drinking water. The problem is especially severe in Ottawa County, which is closely monitoring the situation, and also of concern in Southwest Michigan and the Thumb. We talk to a Grand Valley State University researcher, Ottawa County’s director of strategic impact and a Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy expert. By Alex Walters. FOR HOLLAND, MICHIGAN FARM NEWS, MIDLAND AND ALL POINTS.