What's Going on in East Lansing?

Welcome to the weekend! Ease into your Saturday by catching up on what has been going on in East Lansing. 

City hopes new incentive program brings in environmentally friendly buildings, affordable housing. 

At the Tuesday, Nov. 19 City Council meeting, council passed an incentive program that gives developers points for obtaining LEED certification, making a mass timber structure or making units affordable. Points can then be spent to increase building height or reduce lot size without obtaining a Special Use Permit. Before council passed the ordinance, they made significant amendments giving themselves power to review point allocation and spending, and changed the incentive structure. Read Managing Editor Luke Day’s story here.

Planning Commission recommends Grove Street rezoning, seasonal sauna park.  

The Planning Commission recommended the city rezone property along Grove Street. If council eventually approves the rezoning request, it would be a step towards allowing Hagan Realty to build townhomes in the area. Additionally, the commission recommended council approve a seasonal sauna park that will be in the empty lot next to Crunchy’s from January through April 2025, if approved by council. Read Luke’s recap of the meeting here. 

New Nigerian restaurant to host African Farmers Market on Sunday. 

Handie, a fast-casual Nigerian restaurant that recently opened in downtown East Lansing, will host an African Farmers Market tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 24 from noon to 4 p.m. Read Arts and Culture Reporter Sarah Spohn’s story to learn about the new restaurant, and what to expect at the market this weekend. 

There is just one meeting next week. 

With November coming to a close and the Thanksgiving holiday right around the corner, there is only one city meeting on the docket. The Folk Festival Committee will convene at 5:30 p.m. Monday (Nov. 25). Find out more about the newly formed committee’s work by checking out some previous reporting from ELi here. Additionally, the agenda for Monday’s meeting can be viewed here. 

East Lansing Trojans football team squares off against Byron Center in state semifinals. 

At 1 p.m. today (Saturday, Nov. 23) the East Lansing Trojans football team will take on Byron Center for the right to play in the state championship game. The game will be played at Greenville High School. Community members are invited to help send the team off by gathering at the ELHS tennis courts at 8:45 a.m. Go Trojans!

Islamic Center of East Lansing hosting a Health Fair. 

Today, Saturday, Nov. 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Islamic Center of East Lansing is hosting a free Health Fair. There will be vaccines, kidney screening, mental health screening and much more!

ELPL hosting Dino Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today!

It’s Dinovember, and the East Lansing Public Library will once again host its popular Dino Day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. today (Saturday, Nov. 23). The event will feature dinosaur themed science stations, arts and crafts, trivia and more! To find out more about the event, head to the ELPL website. 

Parks, Recreation and Arts Department accepting donations for food drive. 

The city’s Parks, Recreation and Arts Department is accepting donations for its third annual holiday food drive through Sunday, Dec. 15. The department has set a goal of collecting 1,200 pounds of food and is accepting donations at the Hannah Community Center. For more information about what items the city is looking for, and how to donate, read the city’s full press release here.

Riverbend Voices choral group concert to be held Dec. 8. 

Mark your calendar, the Riverbend Voices choral group is performing at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lansing on Dec. 8. The talented group of musicians will perform a "Full Circle" concert that includes music covering the span of an entire calendar year, starting with New Year's Day and ending with tunes for the Christmas season.

The concert is free to attend, though donations are appreciated. For more information, email  info@CapitalCityMusicCollective.org or check out the Capital City Music Collective Facebook page. 

Next week will be a short publishing week.

With Thanksgiving on Thursday, the coming publishing week will be shortened for the ELi team. We hope our readers are able to enjoy a restful holiday with family and friends. 

Thank you for supporting our work. 

ELi is a nonprofit news service that is able to operate due to the generosity of our readers. To support our work, consider subscribing to an East Lansing Insider membership. Subscribers have stories emailed directly to them even before they are published to our website. Here is a list of ways you can help ELi continue our work.