Catch Up On Our Reporting From the Week
Read about the possibility of city hall being moved, what happened at the first school board meeting of 2025 and more!
It’s the weekend! Ease into your Saturday by catching up with ELi’s reporting from this week.
City Hall on the move?
Since the building was constructed in 1965, city hall has been located at 410 Abbot Road. However, at the Tuesday, Jan. 14 City Council meeting, the body discussed moving to a new facility or possibly constructing a new city hall altogether. Discussions about moving are in the very early stages, as the city will next seek proposals from architectural and engineering firms for buildings city hall could be moved to, locations a new city hall could be constructed at, or for renovations to improve the current site. Read Managing Editor Luke Day’s story on the discussion here.
East Lansing Board of Education passes resolution reaffirming support for undocumented students.
Monday, Jan. 13, the East Lansing Board of Education held its first meeting of the year. At the meeting, the board passed a resolution supporting undocumented students and students with undocumented family members, reaffirming an existing policy. Also at the meeting, Chris Martin was reelected to serve as board president, and other board officers were selected. Read Karessa Weir’s recap of the meeting here.
Could the federal government punish East Lansing for its sanctuary status?
In 2023, City Council passed a resolution declaring East Lansing is a sanctuary city. Now, with a new federal administration taking over that has promised to punish municipalities that do not cooperate with federal immigration investigations, is the city at risk? Read Luke’s story about what it means to be a sanctuary city and the legality of federal intervention.
Things stay busy in city government next week.
There are nine city meetings scheduled for next week. Tuesday (Jan. 21), City Council and the University Student Commission each meet. Wednesday (Jan. 22), the Library Board of Trustees and Planning Commission each convene. Then on Thursday (Jan. 23), the Downtown Development Authority, Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, Community Development Advisory Committee, Charter Review Committee and Building Board of Appeals all gather. When meeting agendas are posted, they can be found here.
Martin Luther King Jr Day to be celebrated Monday.
Monday, Jan. 20, will be Martin Luther King Jr. Day, as locally and nationwide we remember one of the country’s great civil rights heroes. For the holiday, several city facilities will be closed, including:
- East Lansing 54-B District Court
- East Lansing City Hall
- East Lansing Department of Public Works
- East Lansing Public Library
- East Lansing Prime Time, inside the Hannah Community Center
The Hannah Community Center will stay open for its regular hours, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Read more in the city’s press release about MLK Day here.
Bundle up, it’s going to be cold.
It’s cold outside and it is only going to get colder.
According to an alert from Ingham County Emergency Management, the coldest weather “we’ve seen in years” is moving in.
“Wind chills - the combination of temp and wind speeds reflecting what it 'feels like' to uncovered skin - on Sunday will be near zero, and for the first few days of next week will run well BELOW zero! That combination WILL cause frostbite to exposed skin within 15-30 minutes or less,” the alert reads.
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