Rewind: News from the last 7 days

Health officials confirmed that a 1-year-old Ingham County girl has contracted measles, the first case here since 1994. She got the infection while traveling outside Michigan, even though she was vaccinated, and was recovering at home. It is the fourth confirmed case in Michigan this year. Officials are investigating the location and timing of her exposure and working to identify and notify people who are confirmed to be exposed. Details regarding measles signs and symptoms are available at https://health.ingham.org/health/communicable_disease/measles.php.

The Gillespie Group of Lansing is one of two developers partner ing on MSU’s Spartan Gateway District plan. G&G Project Sparta LLC is a joint venture with Omaha, Nebraska-based Goldenrod Companies, they will build a $150 million, 6,000-seat Olympic sports arena for MSU women’s volleyball, gymnastics and men’s wrestling. MSU will lease the land to G&G Project Sparta under a long-term agreement in exchange for developments in addition to the arena, such as the hotel, housing, retail, restaurants, offices, parking and a future academic or health care development, university documents state. MSU trustees approved the plan Friday. Mike Balow voted no and Sandy Pierce abstained.

The attorney for Hope Duncan, the 18-year-old MSU student charged in February with one count of making a false report or threat of terrorism and one count of using a computer to commit a crime, said he would file an appeal that the charge is unconstitutional. Mike Nichols argued that an Appeals Court decision in February in a Wayne County case that found Michigan’s false report or threat of terrorism charge was unconstitutional should apply in Duncan’s case, but the state Supreme Court vacated the ruling and has ordered the appellate judges to reassess the case under specific guidelines. District Judge Lisa Babcock ruled there was enough evidence against Duncan to move the case to Ingham County Circuit Court, where she could face trial or reach a plea agreement with prosecutors, a ruling Nichols plans to appeal.

Ann Marie Creed, a vice president of Henry Ford Health System in Detroit since 2012, has been named president of University of Michigan Health-Sparrow Lansing. She will start May 19, replacing interim president Christopher Palazzolo, who has served since January. Creed received her master of science in healthcare administration from Central Michigan University and her bachelor of arts in biology from Wayne State University. She also served as interim president of Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, as vice president of Henry Ford’s Wyandotte Hospital and in administrative roles with the Henry Ford Medical Group and the Wayne State Health Physician Group.

Ingham County Circuit Judge Wanda Stokes denied a restraining order that the Robinson Memorial Church of God in Christ sought against Lansing and Ingham County over the $123,500 tax bill it owes for a 6-acre garden property it owns that was tax-exempt for years but became taxable commercial property in 2020. Church officials say that the city never informed it of the 2020 tax status change then and that they can’t pay the bill. Stokes said the land could enter foreclosure as soon as March 31, 2026, if the church doesn’t pay the bill and that the church’s argument that the city didn’t properly notify the church of the tax status change would fare better in a tax tribunal court.

A lawsuit delivered during the MSU trustees’ meeting Friday asserts that a self-published academic paper by MSU Professor Laura Dilley falsely accused Thomas Schoenberger, the current creator of the Cicada 3301 internet puzzle, of being a “QAnon insider.” Schoenberger vehemently denies the association. The lawsuit, delivered by attorney Barry Powers, named Dilley, two other faculty members and each trustee as codefendants. The situation previously generated controversy in February 2023, when Dilley suggested during the active shooting at MSU that Schoenberger’s opposition to her research may have motivated the gunman. An investigative report by The State News detailed a saga of spoiled romance, hypnotism accusations and an entire podcast dedicated to discrediting Schoenberger.

Michigan State Police have identified Cameron Joel Cothern, 27, as the man killed in the shooting involving the Ingham County Sheriff’s Office on U.S. 127 in Vevay Township April 6. A motorist had called 911 to report Cothern walking the wrong way and causing a hazard on the freeway. The shooting occurred after officers spent more than 13 minutes trying to de-escalate the situation and deployed a stun gun. Cothern was noncompliant, pulling out knives and leaping a guardrail to advance toward them. The MSP released partial video footage of the incident earlier. The Sheriff’s Office provided no additional details regarding the officer it placed on administrative leave.