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Toni Watters is a loving mother of four and devoted wife who lives in East Lansing. Recently, her faith has been tested while she tries her best to provide her family a loving and stable home. This photo essay explores Watters unyielding faith as she perseveres through the trails of life, finding out just how strong faith and belief can take you.
EAST LANSING, Mich.—The East Lansing Parks, Recreation and Arts Environmental Stewardship Program has been up and running for almost 15 years. Art festivals and initiatives coordinator Heather Majano has been with the program for about 11 years and has seen firsthand the positive impacts the once-a-month volunteer Stewardship Program has on the community and park ecosystems.
“There’s a couple goals for the Stewardship Program, one is getting information into the community,” Majano said. “And then the other goal is to restore the park to a more native plant life.”
Majano has seen both of those goals come to fruition over the years. A lot of work has been done in Henry Fine Park, and while there has been a decent amount of buckthorn sprouts in the park, according to Majano, the park has been improving.
Many volunteers have also brought what they see out in the field back to their own homes.
“I see a lot of returning volunteers and they always tell me, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize this was an invasive plant,” Majano said. Buckthorn as an invasive plant species has a distinct advantage because it grows earlier than most, leading to issues with plant diversity which has caused concern that has now turned into action with the volunteer project.
Known as the Golden Rose Restaurant and then Country House Catering is now the family-owned and revamped Taste Coffee Company.
The Capital Area Humane Society rescues and finds new homes for animals that have been mistreated or left behind.
Humane Society overview
The Humane Society of the United States, with over 10 million members, rescues all kinds of animals across the country. The condition these animals are found in can range drastically. Some may come from homes that simply could no longer care for them, others may come from abusive and neglected homes. Each year the Human Society rescues, fosters, and arranged adoptions for countless animals. Finding homes for these animals is the end goal which Humane Society employees strive for.
Humane Society in the Lansing community
The Capital Area Humane Society, located at 7095 W Grand River Ave, Lansing, MI, has changed the lives of these animals as well as the families who adopt them since 1936.
Starting a new business is hard enough in normal times but there is no denying that a pandemic adds challenges to that process that are unimaginable. “I was just starting to get my feet wet,” Aaron McClinton said when describing how COVID-19 affected his business.
McClinton started his photo-booth business in 2019 not realizing that he was going to have to shut right back down because of this virus. But Aaron did not let this minor hiccup stop him.
“When COVID hit … I started to do virtual photo-booths,” McClinton said.
Once the pandemic began to ease up in 2021, Aaron was looking forward to expanding his business. He heard about the Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) and decided to apply.
“If I could do a backflip, I would,” McClinton said once he found out that he was chosen for LEAP.
LEAP One and All is a program in which 20 Lansing entrepreneurs are selected and provided with etiquette training to help grow their businesses. The program is two-months long and participants are awarded $2500 following their completion.
Darrien Gibson, owner of Elite Eatery LLC, can already see the success LEAP is going to bring to his company.
“I know the destination I want to go to but the relationships that I’m building …
Women of East Lansing were recognized and honored on March 21 for their contributions to the community. City Council approved a resolution recognizing March as Women’s History Month at their regular council meeting.
On March 24, the MSU Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center held a de-stress, cow-petting event for the community.
Community was the theme of the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission on Mar. 29. The commission invited local and national experts to discuss the use of force by police. The hearing was called after a petition was raised by the people of East Lansing following the shooting of DeAnthony VanAtten in April of last year.
On March 16, a lawsuit was filed against the City of East Lansing on behalf of Hagan Realty Inc. by the Thomas Moore Society. The suit was filed over the claim that the city was violating the landlords’ First Amendment rights by compelling them to provide new tenants with voter registration information. After a closed meeting with the city council on March 21, the council unanimously voted 5-0 to suspend the ordinance.
Michigan voters have more ways than ever to cast their ballots. Last November, they passed Proposal 2, a constitutional amendment that mandates early voting be offered at all polling locations. Voting accessibility was also expanded in 2018 when Proposal 3 allowed carte blanche absentee voting.
These new laws change how township and county clerks prepare for elections. Delta Township Clerk Mary Clark says these changes are positive because it is the clerk’s duty to ensure every voter can make it to the polls. “It’s all good because clerks are committed to people voting.