What Happened in East Lansing this Week?

It’s Saturday! Start this warm October weekend by catching up with ELi’s reporting from this week. 

East Lansing native Nate Silver talks with ELi ahead of the November election. 

As we approach the Nov. 5 election, political junkies nationwide will try to predict the outcome of the presidential election. Perhaps the most well known political analyst and statistician in the U.S. is East Lansing native Nate Silver. Silver talked with ELi reporter Dustin DuFort Petty about his upbringing, new book and more. Read Dustin’s story here. 

Council approves pretextual stops ordinance, holds public hearing for new building incentives. 

It was a busy meeting for the East Lansing City Council this week. Council passed an ordinance to stop the East Lansing Police Department from doing pretextual stops in most situations, and held a public hearing about proposed incentives that would encourage developers to include desired features in their projects. Read Managing Editor Luke Day’s recap of the meeting here. 

Hagan Realty pitches Grove Street housing project to Planning Commission. 

After having a similar proposal rejected by City Council last year, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on a housing project from Hagan Realty. The Hagans hope tweaks they made to the proposal are enough to convince decision-makers to grant rezoning that would allow for the project. Additionally, the Planning Commission held a public hearing on a sauna park that the business owners hope will be operating soon. Read Dustin’s meeting recap here. 

More than 150 ELHS students registered to vote at in-school event. 

The League of Women Voters of the Lansing Area, City Clerk Marie Wicks and East Lansing High School worked together to hold an in-school voter registration event. Wicks and a League member talked to students about the importance of voting before registering and pre-registering more than 150 students to vote. Read Reporter Mark Pontoni’s story here. 

Reminder: Senior surveys are due soon!

To gauge the needs of the city’s aging population, Prime Time Seniors and other groups in city government are working together to survey residents 55 and older. Feedback will help guide future programming and services offered in the city, but get responses in quick! The survey is due Oct. 30. Read Mark’s story on the survey here. 

There are five city meetings scheduled for next week. 

City government will stay active next week, as there are several meetings scheduled. Monday (Oct. 21), the Commission on the Environment gathers. Wednesday (Oct. 23), the Planning Commission convenes. Then on Thursday (Oct. 24), there are meetings for the Downtown Development Authority, Brownfield Redevelopment Authority and Building Board of Appeals. When meeting agendas are posted, they can be found here.  

MSU Sororities and Fraternities to host Safe Halloween Oct. 29.

Michigan State University Sorority and Fraternity Life will host a Halloween event for children to attend. Safe Halloween will be held on MAC Avenue and surrounding communities from 4-7 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Children will be given candy, games and activities will be held, and there will be a musical performance. 

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