Rewind: News Highlights From The Last 7 Days

Lansing opened its new election office at 1221 Reo Road Thursday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Formerly an elementary school, the Reo Voting Center is one of two places where voters can cast early ballots. The Lansing School District building offers space for training election workers and processing ballots. State funding, including a $1 million investment announced by Sen. Sarah Anthony, D-Lansing, will help cover infrastructure and other early voting costs, said Lansing City Clerk Chris Swope. Lansing’s other early voting location is the Foster Community Center on Foster Avenue.

Planning is underway to commemorate the  Feb. 13 mass shooting at MSU, Interim President Teresa Woodruff said. Most classes will be canceled on the anniversary, but the university will stay open to support students and the community. A student organization-sponsored day of service and an evening remembrance are among events being planned, and a committee is working on a permanent memorial. 

The Eaton County Sheriff’s Office named Garrett Freeman, 33, of Roxand Township as the man shot and killed by one of its deputies Jan. 11. A memorial service was held for Freeman on Monday in Charlotte. The Michigan State Police continue to investigate the shooting, with the deputies involved on administrative leave but unidentified. Freeman, who was shot after was allegedly seen a gun, was pronounced dead at Sparrow Hospital. Deputies had been searching for a white male, believed to be armed and dangerous, and found Freeman near Sunfield.

Lansing Community College’s trustees selected Terry Frazier, Ronald Gillum, Becky Brewer and Noel Garcia, Jr. Monday to interview for replacing Andrew Abood and Ryan Buck, who stepped down Jan. 1. Interviews are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday. The two appointees will fill out the remaining terms, which end Dec. 31.  The openings attracted 25 applicants.

East Lansing firefighters put out a house fire on Cresenwood Road Friday, the second time they had done so at the same home over two months. They were called after smoke was seen coming from the home at 3:20 a.m. No one was home, and no injuries were reported. No other details were released. Firefighters had responded to the same house for a kitchen fire in late November, according to the release, which also reminded residents to test and, if necessary, replace smoke detectors.

A mixed-use building development planned for the corner of Pleasant Grove and Holmes roads in Lansing has been shelved, WLNS.com reported Thursday. The project, a partnership with developer and MSU Trustee Joel Ferguson and Ferguson Development with an investment of $13.8 million, was set to include housing and commercial space. It was to be built on the site of Pleasant Grove Elementary School, which the late Malcolm X attended as a youth. Completion was planned for this summer, but Ferguson Development did not renew a purchase agreement, officials said.

Lansing Branch NAACP President Harold Pope wrote a letter to the East Lansing City Council that was critical of its Nov. 14 vote for mayor pro tem. The Council voted 3-2 for Kerry Ebersole Singh, a white candidate who had just been elected to her first term, over Dana Watson, a Black incumbent who served in that role in 2021. Pope said the decision was “an exercise, at its finest, of some people using their privilege and bias, plain and simple” and condemned the Council for “voting for a less qualified white female candidate with no experience serving in any capacity for the city” over Watson, whose “experience as a public servant is unquestionable.”

Lansing Police released footage from a non-fatal officer-involved shooting that occurred  Jan. 10. The video, available on YouTube, shows multiple officers running toward a white 2014 Chevrolet Cruze parked at a home in the 300 block of West Saginaw Street. The officers can be heard telling the suspect and driver, Zachary Duling, to show them his hands before Duling tried to back the car out of the driveway. Duling then pulled the car forward and struck Officer Robert Olson, after which several shots were fired. Duling fled the scene but was arrested the next day with minor injuries. 

Public Safety: 

A 23-year-old unnamed Lansing man was arrested Friday on charges related to the Jan. 12 shooting death of Israel Temple, 24, of Battle Creek. The Battle Creek Police Department said it identified him during its investigation, then located and arrested him in Lansing. … The Clinton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Thursday that Danny Lee Valasek, who was involved in a standoff for several hours on Wednesday with deputies at a Victor Township home, was apprehended.