Rewind: News Highlights From The Last 7 Days

MSU suspended head football coach Mel Tucker without pay Sunday, following reports that he sexually harassed a rape survivor. The alleged victim, Brenda Tracy, is a national advocate for sexual assault survivors who has visited MSU to speak to the team at least three times since 2021. The incident in question was an April 28, 2022, phone call between the two, during which Tucker has admitted to making sexual comments and masturbating. Tucker said the relationship was consensual “phone sex” and denied that he engaged “in misconduct by any definition.” Tracy filed her complaint with the university in December 2022, prompting an investigation by Ann Arbor-based Title IX attorney Rebecca Leitman Veidlinger that concluded in July. Interim President Teresa Woodruff said Tuesday that she and the trustees were unaware of the details that led to the investigation until Sunday. A formal hearing is scheduled for Oct. 5 and 6. 

 

Survivors of former MSU sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar presented the university’s Board of Trustees with a lawsuit Friday. Filed on July 27, the lawsuit alleges that the university refused to cooperate fully with the Attorney General’s Office when it failed to release over 6,000 documents related to its investigation of Nassar — which survivors said violated the Open Meetings and Freedom of Information acts. In 2016, an Indianapolis Star investigation revealed that Nassar had sexually abused over 265 young women and girls, including MSU student-athletes and underage gymnasts, beginning in at least 1997. He was convicted in 2015 and sentenced to 60 years in federal prison in December 2017. In early 2018, Nassar was sentenced to a minimum of 40 to a maximum of 175 years in prison for the sexual assault of minors by both the Ingham and Eaton County courts.

 

Automakers are preparing for a possible UAW strike if an agreement is not reached on a new contract by 11:59 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 14). The decision would impact around 146,000 workers — 46,000 at General Motors, 57,000 at Ford and 43,000 at Jeep maker Stellantis. UAW President Shawn Fain’s demands included a 40% wage increase, an end to tiered wages, cost of living adjustments and reinstated pensions. Fain has rejected three counter-proposals. The UAW struck General Motors in 2019, but the union has never called a national strike at each of the Big Three simultaneously. 

 

Brad Cournaya, 56, convicted of killing Krista Lueth in June 2008, was sentenced to life in prison without parole Wednesday (Sept. 6). Leuth went missing 15 years ago, and her remains were never found. The murder occurred days after Leuth had ended a relationship with Cournaya. In 2014, State police confirmed that Cournaya was the only suspect in the case, but he wasn’t charged for another six years. Cournaya is in prison for a 2017 human trafficking and commercial sex conviction in Ingham County. “You have no conscience,” Ingham County Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk told Cournaya.

 

MSU trustees voted 5-2 Friday to approve an ordinance revision that will add provisions to the campus weapons ban. The previous policy made exceptions for police or others specifically authorized to do so, while the updated version allows concealed carry permits in vehicles of drivers who are passing through. In related news, the university introduced new metal detectors at Spartan Stadium on Saturday as the team played Richmond. The Breslin Center already has them, with plans to equip the Wharton Center, Munn Ice Arena and the MSU Tennis Center soon.

 

The hotel long known as the Radisson was officially rebranded as a DoubleTree by Hilton after new owner Waramaug Hospitality removed the sign Friday. Waramaug purchased the property at 111 N. Grand Ave. in downtown Lansing in 2021 and renovated it. This is the eighth hotel property the cimpany has placed under the Hilton brand. The renovated space includes 256 rooms and connects to the Lansing Center. The hotel will continue to be operated by Texas-based Aimbridge Hospitality. 

 

The state Board of Ethics found that the executive director of the Michigan Library Association violated state law by failing to recuse herself from votes to award grants to her employer and another group she was part of. Deborah Mikula, a Howell resident and former executive director the Arts Council of Greater Lansing, violated two sections of the Ethics Act as a governor’s appointee to the Michigan Arts and Culture Council, the board found, voting 7-0 and 5-2 against Mikula on Thursday. The decision came as a result of a complaint made by East Lansing artist Tedda Hughes, who cited Mikula’s consistent pattern of voting to award grants to both the Michigan Library Association and the Cultural Advocacy Network of Michigan, where Mikula has served as both a director and president.