News Highlights from the Last 7 Days

Michigan State University announced its distribution plan for the Spartan Strong Fund. The school established the fund to raise money for “the evolving needs of the individuals most critically impacted” by the Feb. 13 mass shooting. The fund raised $2 million from more than 4,200 donors. Approximately $1 million will support those most directly impacted by the shooting by assisting the families of those who were killed with needs not met by state and federal compensation funds, funding the remainder of the injured students’ undergraduate schooling and providing supportive and financial resources to individuals who were in one of the two first-floor Berkey Hall classrooms or the MSU Union food court kitchen during the shooting. $500,000 will reimburse or fund student, faculty, staff and first responder mental health care services. $200,000 will go toward “healing and resiliency programming” through the Office for Resource and Support Coordination. Approximately $300,000 and any additional funds on top of the $2 million will be used to create a permanent memorial on campus.

In related news:

Attorneys for two students injured in the shooting, Nate Statly and Troy Forbush, filed notices of intent to sue MSU. The notices are required under state law to file a lawsuit against state government entities. The attorneys allege that at the time of the shooting, MSU had an insufficient video surveillance system, a lack of locks inside classroom doors, no remotely lockable doors and no restrictions on who was allowed to access buildings at night. They also allege that the university didn’t hold enough active shooter trainings and drills. Statly, who was shot in the head, has spent months in hospitals and cannot talk, walk, eat whole foods or use the left side of his body. Forbush, who was in the same lecture room as Statly at the time of the shooting, was shot in the lung, and surgeries have caused permanent and widespread scarring. He is also dealing with post-traumatic stress. MSU has begun installing locks on the insides of doors throughout campus and is updating its video surveillance system, which it was recommended to do in July 2022, the Lansing State Journal reported.

 

A 2-year-old is dead after accessing an unsecured firearm in a home in Howell. The toddler was transported by EMS to a local hospital and pronounced dead. Fox 2 Detroit reported that the toddler’s father is a corporal in the Dearborn Police Department. It is unknown who the gun belongs to, and the investigation is ongoing.

The City of Lansing settled a lawsuit it filed against a Lansing-based property management company over housing conditions, the Lansing State Journal reported. The city filed the lawsuit against Holmes Apartments LLC, Simtob Management & Investment LLC, Good Life Apartments LLC and Richard and Bradley Simtob in March after it red-tagged units at the Holmes Apartments at 2222 W. Holmes St. Many residents were forced to move into hotels that the city paid for after their apartments were deemed unsafe. Simtob officials suggested the company could move residents to other properties it owns, including an apartment building at 1317 E. Kalamazoo St., but the property did not have a valid rental certificate. Simtob Management must make city-mandated repairs to its 21 properties in Lansing within three months, repay the city for hotel costs and continue housing tenants displaced by red and pink tags.

 

An Eaton County nonprofit that assists families experiencing domestic violence and homelessness created a GoFundMe campaign to recover allegedly stolen funds. On the fundraiser page, Tracey Socey, outreach coordinator for the SIREN/Eaton Shelter, says that while the nonprofit was conducting routine audits, it noticed it had been “the victim of theft.” She says the organization is working with the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate the alleged theft and has filed a claim with its insurance carrier, which assigned a forensic accountant to the case. In the meantime, Socey says funding is limited and the organization is at risk of closing its doors and ceasing services. She says without community help, the organization may have to sell its domestic violence emergency shelter site. It’s attempting to raise $300,000 through the GoFundMe. It has raised just over $2,000 so far.

 

Lansing City Council voted unanimously to recognize Pride Month and Juneteenth, WLNS reported. Juneteenth marks the end of slavery in the United States on June 19, 1865. In recognizing Jamie Ashby as Miss Trans Michigan 2023, it also recognized Pride Month. The Lansing Juneteenth Celebration will begin Thursday (June 15), and Lansing Pride is set for Saturday (June 17).