events

Does Old Town need to grow its borders, or its perception?

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The successful events and volunteer service in the past year has been nothing but amazing for the citizens of Old Town. However, it is ready for the next step of expanding. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Lansing’s unemployment rate has dropped nearly 10 percent over the past 10 years, however in cities like Detroit it remains at 12 percent. With families being brought in from the city because of how expensive it is to live there, Old Town must look toward to the future and expand. The main goal of Old Town business leadership for 2017 is deciding whether or not they should expand its boundary physically or the overall perception of it.

Business & Economy

Old Town’s futuristic approach

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By Kara Albrecht
Old Town Lansing Times Staff Writer 

LANSING, MI. –Old Town businesses are slowly thinking about how they want to see their town in the next 10 to 15 years.In the early 1980’s, Old Town was run down and abandoned. “There really wasn’t a lot of crime,” said Tina Ray of MessageMakers. “Just boarded up buildings that made it look empty like a ghost town.”

In 1982, Terry Terry, founder of MessageMakers, came to Old Town and started to renovate. In 1984, he created the Michigan Institute for Contemporary Art (MICA), and he collaborated with a group of artists to make an art district.

Ingham County

Parks Department seeks community input

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By Marina Csomor
Ingham County Chronicle staff writer

INGHAM COUNTY — Karen Fraser wants Ingham County residents to help decide the future of the area’s parks. After all, it’s the public who owns them. “They’re not my Ingham County parks or not the Parks Department’s parks,” said Fraser, who is secretary and treasurer for Friends of Ingham County Parks, a nonprofit organization that works to improve local parks. “They’re something the community owns, so (citizens) really should have the opportunity to have a say.”

This opportunity came in January when Ingham County Parks allowed citizens to offer input on its 2012-2016 Master Plan — a plan which establishes a framework for coming decision-making within the department. More than 700 park users, including Fraser, completed a voluntary online survey on which they detailed what park officials should do not only to maintain the quality of the parks and to improve these sites.