News highlights from the last seven days

Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office is handling the state prosecution of Rashad Trice, who allegedly kidnapped and murdered 2-year-old Wynter Cole-Smith of Lansing. Trice, 26, is being held at the Newaygo County Jail in White Cloud on 18 state and federal felonies and misdemeanors, including kidnapping and sexual assault. The Attorney General’s Office is reviewing police reports for possible murder charges, and along with Ingham County Prosecutor John Dewane, Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy, it will review and reissue the previous charges. The prosecution is being consolidated into one trial so victims, witnesses and family members won’t have to testify more than once. While the Attorney General’s Office reviews and investigates charges, the cases will continue in county courts.

The inmate suspected of stabbing disgraced sports physician Larry Nassar in a Florida prison said Nassar had made a lewd comment while watching a Wimbledon tennis match. Shane McMillan, 49, allegedly stabbed Nassar 10 times with a makeshift weapon before other inmates pulled him away. McMillan told prison workers he attacked the convicted sexual predator after hearing him make a comment about wanting to see girls play in the Wimbledon match. Nassar is in stable condition with injuries that include a collapsed lung. McMillan was previously convicted of punching a correctional officer in the recreation yard at the United States Penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana, and working with another inmate to try and stab a prisoner to death at the federal Bureau of Prisons’ Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colorado. 

Nate Statly, one of the five injured survivors of the Feb. 13 mass shooting at Michigan State University, “has vastly improved,” his brother, Josh, posted on gofundme.com. “Recently, Nate has given us so much hope by demonstrating his dedication and strength during the overnight stay for inpatient rehab. He’s also been talking and laughing again, which has only reminded me how much happiness Nate can bring to a room, even in this situation,” he wrote. The post requests help in acquiring a van with a wheelchair lift. 

Acting on a citizen’s complaint, Lansing City Attorney Jim Smiertka told the City Council that Mayor Andy Schor’s fundraising email on behalf of Council candidate Missy Lilje didn’t violate the city’s ethics ordinance. Complainant Erica Lynn is married to Michael Lynn Jr., a former Lansing firefighter who won a $1 million judgment in federal court against the city for subjecting him to a hostile work environment. The complaint questioned whether Schor, acting through his political action committee, could as mayor endorse candidates and campaign for them including referring to himself as mayor, among other concerns. 

East Lansing Mayor Ron Bacon and Mayor Pro Tem Jessy Gregg announced they won’t seek reelection to the City Council in November. Three of the five seats will be up for election. Bacon was appointed to the council in 2020 after two resignations. He was elected to serve a two-year partial term in 2021 and was appointed mayor by the council shortly after. He said he’s proud of the progress made during his time on the council, especially in terms of housing affordability and diversity, equity and inclusion. He plans to devote more time to his family, his career in biotechnology and his position as an assistant football coach at East Lansing High School. Gregg, who joined the council in 2019 and was reelected to a four-year term in 2021, said in a Facebook post that working for the city during its slew of resignations over the past year has been “slowly killing” her. 

Lansing Community College is facing four class-action suits in federal district court stemming from a data breach that began on Christmas Day 2022 and lasted nearly four months. The suits alleged the school failed to protect the privacy of as many as three-quarters-of-a-million students, employees and vendors. 

After a six-year absence, a third shift is returning to the Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant to handle expected demand for the 2024 remake of the Chevy Traverse.  GM said Traverse sales were up 55% and projected 23% growth over the next five years. The plant has 2,850 workers, but GM didn’t estimate how many jobs a third shift will add. The new model, which GM unveiled Monday at the plant, offers “Buckle to Drive” for front-seat passengers and notifications if back-seat riders are not buckled up. Also available is an autonomous highway driving feature called “Super Cruise.” The mid-sized SUV is expected to start around $37,000. 

What experts called “straight-line winds” struck Lansing’s east side around midnight Thursday. Some residents were convinced it was a tornado. Whatever it was, the storms did extensive damage to trees, one of which crushed a car and tore the side off a house. Hundreds of residents lost power. No one was reported injured.