Rewind: News Highlights From The Last 7 Days

MSU Trustee Brianna Scott sent a seven-page letter to her colleagues Sunday asking that they request that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer remove Chair Rema Vassar (pictured) if she does not resign. Scott accused Vassar of “violating our codes of conduct, ethics, and conflict of interest, including engaging in repeated undue influence, and bullying of Board members and administrators.” Monday night, Trustee Dan Kelly said the university would investigate Scott’s allegations; Vassar, speaking to WILX, denied all of Scott’s claims. U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow said Tuesday that Vassar “has clearly lost the trust of students, faculty, alumni and many of the MSU board members” and urged to quit immediately.

Marijuana business entrepreneur Michael Doherty is in Ingham County Jail after being arraigned on 10 felony counts of cyberstalking Mayor Andy Schor and others. 54-A District Judge Cynthia Ward set $125,000 bail and required a GPS tether, psychological evaluation and no contact with the victims listed in the complaint, Lansing Assistant Police Chief Robert Backus said. He added that the victims received “thousands” of text messages from Doherty, 44. His marijuana manufacturing businesses, MD Industries LLC and Rehbel Industries LLC, collapsed under $12.5 million in debt and were placed in receivership last year. In a court hearing last April, 30th Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk sentenced him to 93 days for criminal contempt after he accused her of “corrupt and unacceptable actions.”

MSU officials apologized for displaying a picture of Adolf Hitler on the Spartan Stadium video board as part of a pre-game trivia quiz ahead of the Saturday night game against U-M. Both the MSU Board of Trustees and athletic director Alan Haller apologized and denounced the act. “Michigan State Athletics is responsible for all content shown on its video boards,” Haller said. “Before it was displayed, the video was not viewed in its entirety by anyone in athletics, exposing a failure in our process.” He said an employee has been suspended with pay pending an investigation.

The Ingham County Sheriff’s Office announced that it had arrested Jacobo Montalvo in connection with a body that was found in eastern Ingham County on Oct. 16. Montalvo, 57, was arraigned Monday on charges of the murder and unlawful imprisonment of Alicia Gallegos, a 29-year-old Lansing woman, whose body he allegedly left in a wooded area off Iosco Road in White Oak Township. A 55th District Court judge denied bond for Montalvo, who was represented at his arraignment by a court-appointed attorney. Police have not yet uncovered a motive. A hearing to determine if Montalvo should stand trial has been set for Nov. 7.

Police found the body of a 71-year-old man Monday afternoon near a dumpster at Marvin Gardens Apartments. … Police arrested Teresa Wolansky, 48, of Lansing, on Oct. 16 on charges of restraining and confining 5-year-old Camden David-James Johnson in her attic after he walked away from his home in the 3100 block of Turner Road early that morning. Johnson was found safe. … A train and four tanker cars that were carrying corn oil for Okemos-based Adrian and Blissfield Rail Road derailed at about 12:30 p.m. Friday in northwest Lansing. … Multiple first-responder teams battled a house fire in Windsor Township early Sunday morning, WILX 10 reported. 

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce named Elderly Instruments as America’s Top Small Business at the inaugural Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. The 50-year-old Lansing music retailer was chosen from a pool of over 15,000 submissions and seven finalists “for its ability to embrace change, adapt to new challenges, and constantly innovate while remaining true to the company’s legacy and heritage,” the chamber said. The 1100 N Washington Ave. shop was founded by Stan Werbin and Sharon McInturff in 1972.

After months of delays, Grewal Hall at 224 officially opened over the weekend. The new entertainment venue at 224 S Washington Square hosted comedian Steve Hofstetter for its inaugural show Friday, followed by a pair of weekend concerts featuring headliners The Happy Fits on Saturday and Big Gigantic on Sunday. The venue’s original opening date was set for July, but was then stalled during the first of many construction delays. The nearly century-old, 6,000-plus-square-foot property previously served as part of Knapp’s department store, a nightclub and the Blue Night Hookah Lounge, but had been vacant since 2018.

East Lansing pub Dublin Square, 327 Abbot Road, is facing a lawsuit from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers for playing songs for which it no longer had a license agreement. The songs listed in the lawsuit were: “Play That Funky Music,” by Wild Cherry, “Funky Cold Medina,” by Tone Loc, and “Trap Queen,” by Fetty Wap. The pub’s 2008 licensing agreement expired on April 30, 2019, and its ownership group, Authentic Properties, has allegedly failed to pay its subsequent renewal fees. The lawsuit states that the filing parties are asking Dublin Square to stop playing their music and that its owners may also be responsible for up to $30,000 per song in fees.