Rewind: News Highlights From The Last 7 Days

The Eaton County Sheriff’s Office released footage Friday from the fatal officer-involved shooting of Garrett Freeman on Jan. 11 in Roxand Township. It shows officers chasing him by car before running his truck and trailer off the road; then pinning his door shut and instructing him to put his hands up; then Freeman firing a handgun through his window. The actual officer-involved shooting is not shown. The department identified the officers as Preston Dahlgren, Shelby Studley and Randi Lane.

Lansing Community College trustees appointed Terrence Frazier (right) and Noel Garcia Jr. Monday to fill two vacancies through Dec. 31. They were chosen over finalists Becky Brewer and Ronald Gillum and 21 other applicants to replace Andrew Abood and Ryan Buck, who resigned Jan. 1. Frazier is a consultant for MSU’s Office of Institutional Diversity and Inclusion and owner of Sweet Encounter Bakery in downtown Lansing. Garcia Jr. is a retired Lansing police officer who served on the East Lansing City Council last year. 

MSU began accepting applications Thursday for “out-of-pocket expenses for mental health services” to help those impacted by the 2023 shooting. MSU said $500,000 is available “to support individual healing” from the Spartan Strong Fund, which was established with $2 million in donations. å will be accepted for three years for deductibles, co-pays or coinsurance related to outpatient counseling and mental health care services, including telehealth; in-patient hospitalization with a mental health diagnosis; and residential mental health treatment. 

Crystal Thomas will begin serving as Lansing’s new city treasurer on Monday, Mayor Andy Schor’s office announced Friday. Thomas, an investment manager with the city’s Finance Department, replaces Desiree Kirkland, who will stay on as finance director. Thomas’ “years of experience in government finances, including income and property tax, will be a real asset to the city and our residents,” Schor said.

The Okemos Public Schools Board of Education made John Hood the highest paid public superintendent in Ingham County Dec. 18 with a 38% raise, the Lansing State Journal reported. The board approved Hood’s $241,475 salary, 6-0, with one member absent. His tenure began in 2019.

The copper levels of the water system at Sparrow Eaton Hospital in Charlotte exceeded state standards during Jan. 19 testing. A statement noted that the tap water is still OK “for hand washing and other uses” but recommended bottled water for drinking until the hospital is “assured that copper levels are within acceptable range.” The hospital and city of Charlotte confirmed that the issue is exclusive to the hospital, which has its own water system.

Avelo Airlines made its first international flight from Lansing’s Capital Region International Airport Saturday to Cancun International Airport in Mexico. The airline will operate the flight every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday through April 3 in partnership with Apple Vacations. Avelo is also offering flights  to the Dominican Republic’s Punta Cana International Airport on Thursdays and Sundays and to Jamaica’s Montego Bay Sangster International Airport every Friday.

The Green Dot Stables slider bar, which closed in 2022, will reopen in mid-February at the same location, 410 S. Clippert St. in Lansing. It will replace The Junction, which closed Wednesday after having replaced Green Dot. Owners and MSU alums Jacques and Christine Driscoll will again offer sliders and fries and an “enhanced entertainment lineup,” a press release stated. 

Todd Schroeder of Laingsburg won $100,000 in a Powerball drawing Christmas Day. Schroeder, 52, matched four white balls and the Powerball for an initial prize of $50,000, boosted to $100,000 by the Power Play, which multiplies non-jackpot prizes for an extra dollar. Schroeder told Michigan State Lottery officials he intends to use some of his winnings on car repairs and save the rest.

PUBLIC SAFETY:

The Lansing Mall temporarily closed Monday for an alleged armed robbery investigation. … Lansing police and firefighters rescued a 19-year-old woman after she accidentally drove her car into a pond near Trappers Cove Apartments in Lansing. … Security cameras at REO Town’s Deadtime Stories: True Crime and Other Books caught five teens stealing around $1,300 worth of products within 15 minutes Thursday, owner Jenn Carpenter said.