Spartan Newsroom (https://news.jrn.msu.edu/tag/michigan/)
INDIAN RIVER, Mich. — Safe, warm and dry. These three words encapsulate the latest Inland Lakes Schools bond proposal. Following an unsuccessful $29.5 million bond proposal vote in May 2022, Inland Lakes Schools District is asking voters to pass a $15.1 million bond for improvements to both the elementary and secondary school. Registered voters in the school district will vote on the proposal on May 7, 2024.
During the bi-monthly meeting on Monday (Sep. 25), the Dewitt City Council voted unanimously in favor of approval for a new Finance Director position. The decision came in response to acknowledging staffing shortages, and it aims a fresh proposal to separate duties currently handled by the Interim Clerk-Treasure Sarah Stoltzfus, who is temporarily overseeing the financial aspects.
In a historic move, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill, HB 4302, aimed at safeguarding the well-being of minors in Michigan by raising the minimum age of consent for marriage to 18. This action not only represents a continuation of Whitmer’s previous initiatives signed into law in early 2023, but also positions Michigan as a progressive leader, making it the tenth state in the United States to officially eliminate child marriage. Before the bill, the legal age to get married in Michigan was 16 with parental consent. The bill was first introduced on March 16, 2023, and passed on Sep. 26.
The other nine states that have a ban on underage marriage with no exceptions are Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut.
“I am committed to keeping Michiganders – especially young women – safe and healthy, and today’s bipartisan bill fully implements Michigan’s ban on child marriage,” Whitmer said in a press release.
More than 2,000 citizens covered the stairs and walkways of the Michigan Capitol to bring more attention to mental and public health and wellness.
Nicoline BradfordHaze from the Canadian wildfires hung over Brody neighborhood at MSU in July, 2023. This summer Michigan residents saw the real consequences of climate change. In early June and throughout July, Michiganders woke up to hazy days and air quality warnings. Robert Wahl, an environmental epidemiologist at Michigan State University, said the levels of air pollutants this summer are very unusual for Michigan. The Air Quality Index, AQI, is used to measure levels of air pollutants on a scale of “good” to “hazardous.” While AQI measures multiple pollutants, the most concerning is particle pollution smaller than 10 micrometers.This is called fine particulate matter and is a direct result of the wildfires raging through Canada.
From woodworking to large murals and small paintings, this year’s Fenton Art Walk returned July 29 after a three-year hiatus. “The City of Fenton…take pride in bringing back the Art Walk to downtown Fenton,” said Ed Koledo, executive director of SLPR. “Being our first year back in three, we’ve consolidated it a bit, but we are looking forward to an even larger event in the years to come and returning it to the sidewalks, spread throughout our downtown.”
Art Walk featured an entertainment tent, artist’s exhibits, beverage and food trucks. “A lot of our artists, I would say about three-quarters of them, are local in Fenton, but including the surrounding areas in Genesee and Livingston County,” said Pat Lockwood, mayor pro tem of Fenton. “We’re really proud of the fact that we’re able to let them have an opportunity to display their art.”
Art Walk began seven years ago but has offered lots of opportunities for artists in and around the area of Fenton.
The gallery hallway is lined with tiny canvases, some splotches of paint and some with animals, little figures and one with a cigarette sticking out of it.
“This is our community wall,” said Annie Anglim, Cause and Affect Gallery owner. “Everyone that comes in is able to do a painting to add to the wall.”
Cause and Affect Gallery, located in downtown Fenton, the gallery’s purpose is to “take various causes” and have an “affect in the greater community.” The gallery which has been opened for over four years and combines art and purpose within the community.
The gallery was originally created to open to accommodate a friend who wanted to learn silversmithing from Anglim but was in a motorized wheelchair with multiple sclerosis. Anglim sought out a gallery in which she could “accommodate people with different needs.”
“It took me a while to be able to find space that would work,” said Anglim. “ Once I did, I stumbled on this location. I wasn’t prepared to do anything else…but I walked in here and I saw the possibilities.”
Anglim’s gallery was created to have an effect on the community.
Free, accessible theater returned to East Lansing June 15 as the Summer Circle Theatre began the season with a production of “Schoolhouse Rock Live!”
Summer Circle Theatre is turning toward a more family-friendly direction, said Katherine Clemons, the director of the show. “Schoolhouse Rock Live!” was the perfect choice to “chauffeur in the new era of family-friendly theater.”
Even though it is a university-run program, Summer Circle Theatre is a fixture in the East Lansing community.
“SCT is a staple in the East Lansing Community,” Clemons said. “We have members who have been coming for 40+ years, never missing a show. It’s a place for the community to gather together and partake in the arts for free together.”
The outdoor courtyard was already half filled an hour before showtime. There’s a tradition in the program that awards a pair of season passes for the upcoming Michigan State University theater season to the first arrivals who remain seated until the show begins, Clemons said.
The Fenton Farmers Market, which located in downtown Fenton in front of the Community Center, brings in many customers for new business owners, especially for those who have only been at the market for only four weeks.
Ben Goodrich, the owner of New Leaf Farms, attends the market as his first year at being a local vendor for the market.
Goodrich started farming in his mother’s backyard while growing his microgreens within his house as well.
“Our business specializes in salad greens and we also have other vegetables,” said Goodrich. “Such as radishes, beets and carrots.”
Goodrich owns New Leaf Farms, a local produce farm that specializes in microgreens and vegetables. Being a vendor at the market has helped his business in many ways from new customers to feedback.
Goodrich said: “Because of the Farmers market, I’m able to get a lot of feedback from new customers, from people asking questions gives me a chance to educate people on the microgreens that I’m selling. That gives us information to be able to grow with the market and meet the demand of the market.”
The feedback that Goodrich has received is “little things” like the Facebook page or business cards that are making improvements for Goodrich who wants to expand and give more interest to his customers.
Goodrich started his business because he “fell in love with it” and then decided “Why not try it as a business? Why not go out there and make something happen?”
Pat Allen, Fenton Farmers market manager, said that having the Fenton Farmers Market impacts local or small businesses in the area.
“There is a lot of (foot) traffic,” said Allen.
With the calendar turning to April and temperatures slowly rising, golf is returning to mid-Michigan. East Lansing’s Forest Akers opened their east course on March 22, and the west course opened April 4.