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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.
Okemos families had some pre-Halloween fun at the Okemos Community Church trunk or treat on Oct. 30. This was the first time the event has been held since 2019.
Allie Williams, event organizer, said it has evolved over the years since it began in about 2016, starting as an evening activity before being pushed to the afternoon as more young families with little kids attended.
One of the voting signs at Michigan State’s library entrance. For the first time in school history, East Lansing will provide a rotating satellite office on Michigan State’s campus until Election Day. For the first time in Michigan State history, the city of East Lansing will provide a rotating satellite office on campus for MSU’s students. In recent years, satellite offices have become common, but voting on MSU’s campus has an update in 2022. “This is the first year we’ve done a rotating satellite office,” said poll worker Amy Gordon.
The East Lansing Farmers Market held its annual Autumn Fest at Valley Court Park on Oct. 16.
Autumn Fest featured vendors, live music, sweet treats and a fall photo booth. There was also a petting zoo, pony rides, crafts, lawn games and rock painting for children. Out of the 32 vendors who participated this year, more than 10 offered goods from pumpkins to seasonings to apple cider at Autumn Fest.
Greeting guests as they enter, a giant jack o’ lantern smiles. Running Thursday-Friday every weekend in October, many have come to see exhibits like this circus one. Families gather around the various displays each night. Jack O’ Lantern Journey artists created exhibits for the Ingham County Fair. Taylor Swift’s number one fan shows her title with her idol posed for guests.
Norene BassinChief Bruce Ferguson shows off the trunk of the Chevy Tahoe and the supplies the department brings on patrol. Ever since acquiring a 2022 Ford Explorer Platinum in March, the DeWitt Police Department has seen a multitude of benefits. From a quieter engine to better mileage, Chief Bruce Ferguson says he plans on fully transitioning to an all-hybrid fleet by 2025.
Ferguson said the department’s budget was being sunk into constant maintenance. “The maintenance cost on our other patrol car was out of control,” he said. “We were replacing engines left and right … with engines costing $8,000 a pop, it was adding up fast.” The small, 3.3L hybrid engine of the Explorer Platinum hasn’t required nearly as much maintenance as previous cars.
MASON – One in five households nationally adopted pets during the COVID epidemic. With the lockdown, life changed not only for the humans, but also for the animals around them.
For Debbie and Jesse Hodges, foster parents to various animals over the years, that looked like raising a litter of bull mastiff puppies born right at the start of the pandemic. Debbie Hodges said, it “gives you something to do, a little bit of self-worth.”
A loss in the family early in lockdown compounded the Hodges’ challenge of a half dozen puppies and a major world event. Of the 10 puppies born, five survived.
“I kinda latched onto the puppies,” Debbie Hodges said. “You have to get up, you have to move, you have to take them on a walk.”
Animal shelters face struggles, as well.
Walking pathway for the garden
It’s never too late in the year to take care of your garden. As harvesting season comes to its end during October, there is plenty of work to do for the next season. Marsha Erics says she’s been gardening at the Mason Community Garden for the past year. “Growing food for the home and food bank is convenient,” she says.
Erics said food grown in the garden is great for the community because it’s being sent to homes and food banks. The garden is all organic. She said the garden allows residents to rent space for $20 per growing season.
Alexandra SimmonsA student walks toward Wilson Hall, one of five MSU dorms used for transitional housing in the fall. Michigan State University is extending its two-year live-on campus housing requirement due in part to a large incoming freshman class. According to the school’s Fall enrollment report, 11,054 undergraduates including incoming freshmen and transfers were welcomed this year. “The large incoming freshman class did create the need for transitional housing,” said Bethany Balks, the leader of MSU’s Residence Education and Housing Services communications and marketing unit. “It was really early May when we realized, “OK, we are actually going to have a lot of first-year students coming here,” said Balks.
Two political groups faced off Oct. 13 at Michigan State’s Business College Complex on Shaw. The catalyst was an appearance by conservative political activist Candace Owens.
Students United Against Fascism member Spencer Leslie lays down the ground rules for the protest to remain peaceful before igniting the first chant of the evening.Protestors begin to gather outside of Michigan State University’s Business College Complex.As Candace Owens took the stage upstairs, protestors began to fill the downstairs lobby. Tensions begin to rise as more protestors arrive.Protestors gather at the bottom of the stairway shouting their chants upward.Many protestors ascend the stairs to bring their chants closer to the event. One of the many signs carried by protestors as they chanted.