Rewind: News from the last 7 days

 Lansing Mayor Andy Schor sent four City Council members a long letter Friday defending his choice of the Masonic Temple building for a new city hall, addressing multiple concerns and asking them to reconsider their opposition. Ryan Kost, Jeffrey Brown, Tamera Carter and Trini Pehlivanoglu voted against the plan. Schor said if none of them give him the fifth vote needed, he will abandon the proposal and consider options. Sources also told City Pulse that Chicago developer J. Paul Beitler will withdraw his proposal to convert the current City Hall into an upscale hotel if the Temple plan is not approved. The councilmembers have complained Schor’s plan is not transparent. 

 Alfreda Schmidt, 97, who served on the Lansing City Council from 1981 to 1993, died Monday at Sparrow Hospital due to complications from a stroke. Schmidt, known for her signature hats, represented the southside’s 2nd Ward on the city’s south side and was an Ingham County commissioner for four years. She was a powerful community advocate for many projects, including the Hawk Island community-built playground. Her name was added to the Southside Community Center in 2012. Funeral arrangements are pending. 

 East Lansing Police Chief Kim Johnson was on paid administrative leave while the city attorney investigated an internal complaint received by the city’s Human Resources Department. The investigation is standard procedure, officials said.  Johnson was hired in 2020. The Lansing State Journal reported being told that Johnson was expected back next week. 

 Responding to residents unhappy with its plan to remove islands with trees on a stretch of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, the City of Lansing mailed more than 1,600 postcards to property owners on both sides of MLK on April 5, asking them to vote on one of two options. The new plan preserves trees and islands between Ionia and Lenawee streets and keeps MLK’s existing six-lane configuration. But it eliminates the planned bike lane and green space. The original plan reduces lanes to five, removes the islands and trees, and adds the greenspace and the bike path on the east side. The postcard requested responses by last Friday, but the department “will continue to accept” them after that. 

 Meridian Township Clerk Deborah Guthrie filed Thursday to run as a Democratic write-in candidate for reelection after she was disqualified from being on the August ballot not paying $175 in fees for an affidavit of identity. Guthrie was elected in 2020 and will possibly face Angela Demas, who filed to run Monday, according to WLNS 6 News, and has yet to be qualified. Demas is the daughter of Michigan Advance editor Susan J. Demas. 

 Police are seeking five males alleged to have assaulted two individuals Monday near the MSU Main Library on West Circle Drive. The suspects are accused of intentionally seeking out the victims because of the “perpetrators’ sexual orientation bias,” determined by the comments the suspects reportedly made, leading MSU Public Safety to call it a hate crime.  

 U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren campaigning for President Joe Biden’s reelection in East Lansing Friday. She touted his efforts to protect abortion rights, combat climate change, and lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, veterans, and working families. Five years ago, she packed a gymnasium at Lansing Community College while campaigning for her own 2020 Democratic nomination. 

 Ian Jason Lipsky, 51, of East Lansing, was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on two counts of sexually exploiting minors. He used social media platforms to communicate with "at least" eight minor boys from 2013 to 2020 in California and Michigan. The U.S. Attorney's Office said Lipsky also was ordered to spend 10 years on supervised release after leaving prison. 

 Public Safety 

 Two Lansing police officers and a suspect were shot outside a southside apartment building April 10 after detectives went there to conduct a "follow-up" investigation. All three who were shot suffered non-life-threatening injuries. … Travis Cressman, 38, of St. Johns, was killed in a motorcycle-car accident Sunday. He was traveling south on South DeWitt Road, when he crossed into the northbound lane and struck a vehicle driven by a 17-year-old DeWitt boy. … The 61-year-old DeWitt man killed in the April 7 crash on U.S. 127 was identified Monday as Richard Loveless. An eastbound Jeep driven by a 57-year-old St. Johns man drove into his path. Authorities are investigating.