Muhn to retire as police chief

When East Lansing Police Chief Louis Muhn was a child, he was in a minor car accident and was given a ride home by a police officer, who let him turn on the siren in the cruiser. That experience stayed with Muhn and inspired him to become a police officer. After 32 years with the East Lansing Police Department, Muhn will retire April 30. "I want to retire when the department is in good shape and things are running smoothly," he said. Muhn's career in law enforcement started at the Michigan State Police, where he applied the first day he could, on his 21st birthday. When he wasn't accepted for a job, he went directly to the East Lansing Police Department. He was hired the same day as a dispatcher coordinating responses to emergency calls.

ASMSU gives $50K for exercise equipment

ASMSU members decided this week to put money from its $600,000 risk management account to use. The undergraduate student government passed a bill to give IM Sports-West up to $50,000 to help pay for new exercise equipment.

Bill to allow 'wine doggy-bags' at area restaurants

Some Michigan senators want people who order wine at restaurants to be allowed to take the unfinished bottles home with them.

WEB ONLY: Jones Soda president speaks at MSU Business College

Peter van Stolk, president and founder of Jones Soda Co., discussed his company's unorthodox approach to business and marketing strategy Thursday at the Business College Complex. About 125 students came to see van Stolk speak at the "Meet a Pop Star" event organized by human resource management freshman Adam Finkel. Finkel began planning at the beginning of the year, when his proposal to have van Stolk speak originally was rejected by Jones. "A lot of schools have programs where they bring in speakers talk to students, and I thought we should have a similar program, with unique entrepreneurs," Finkel said. With help from the Lear Career Service Center, which provides career planning for business students, Finkel was able to complete his project. In his speech, van Stolk discussed his story - a professional skier who decided to start a beverage distributor instead of going to college.

Seminar to aid with caregiving challenges

NAMI Lansing, a local affiliate of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, will present a seminar on Caregiving Challenges and Opportunities at 6 p.m.

Virus with authentic look attacks e-mail accounts

A "clever, nasty little" virus has been infecting MSU Webmail accounts, MSU officials said. The MyDoom virus is a variant of an existing worm that sends out e-mails with different subject lines and addresses that look like authentic messages about mail problems, said Rich Wiggins, senior information technologist for Academic Computing & Network Services. "This is spreading all over the world," Wiggins said.

Police briefs 02/18/05

Diversity, heroism honored in presentation competition

The legacies of Fredrick Douglass, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Susan B. Anthony and George Washington Carver were brought to life by MSU students Wednesday night in the fourth annual MSU Multicultural Heroes Hall of Fame competition. For the last month, five teams of three members gathered information about an assigned hero to make a 10-minute presentation to three university officials about why that person should be inducted into the hall of fame.

E.L. speed limits changed this week

After a year of conducting traffic studies, the Michigan Department of Transportation approved raising the speed limits along parts of Grand River Avenue and Saginaw Highway. Because of the studies' findings, which concluded traffic was moving too slowly along parts of each area, speed limits were raised by 10 mph.

WEB ONLY: One person injured in Meridian Township crash

A vehicle traveling east on Hamilton Road in Okemos lost control and crashed into a telephone pole at 1:45 p.m.

Wasp could stop ash borer spread

About three years ago, U.S. Forest Service researcher Leah Bauer was studying the Chinese long-horned beetle in China, when she heard an Asian beetle called the emerald ash borer had established itself in Michigan. Since then, the ash borer has spread to 28 U.S.

Cafeteria celebrates black culture

Getting down and filling up were the main orders of business in the Holden Hall cafeteria Thursday, during the fifth annual "Holden's Soul Food Extravaganza." The event was sponsored by the Holden Hall cafeteria and brought food and entertainment together in a celebration of black culture. "We wanted to do something for Black History Month that wasn't so preachy," said Holden Complex Director Joshua Gillespie.

Jazz dinner features speakers, live music

The 17th annual Black Student Alliance Jazz Dinner is at 8 p.m. today in the Kellogg Center. The Fuzz Band will play contemporary jazz during dinner and a ceremony to present an academic scholarship and achievement award for an MSU faculty member. The dinner's theme, "The Beautiful Struggle," is about overcoming adversity and roadblocks in the road to equality, said sociology graduate student Temple Smith. "Historically, there have been lots and lots of struggles for equality, but in spite of all of that, there is continued optimism," Smith said.

Restaurants plan to leave campus in spring

Students craving a Frosty, a Gordita Supreme or some Crazy Bread will have to look somewhere other than the MSU campus next year. The Wendy's and Taco Bell in the International Center and the Wendy's and Little Caesars Pizza in the Union will close at the end of Spring semester after they decided not to rebid on their current contracts, said Jim Sheppard, manager of the Union. Taco Bell and both Wendy's locations have been at those MSU spots since 1995, and Little Caesars is the longest-running restaurant on campus, having been open since 1987, Sheppard said. Both Wendy's stores are operated by Stanton & Associates Inc., which owns 63 Wendy's locations in Mid-Michigan. Randy Israel, a partner at Stanton, said there were multiple reasons why the company decided not to stay. Both stores must operate during summer and winter breaks when students aren't on campus, which makes for slow business, Israel said. He added that the stores experience peak business during lunch hours, but receive almost no customers before or after, due to a lack of foot traffic. "If you're a student after 5 p.m.

WEB ONLY: Student group launches academic integrity campaign

Members of the Public Relations Student Society of America will be promoting academic integrity and giving away candy today on campus. The group launched an awareness campaign earlier this week to educate MSU students of the dangers of academic dishonesty and its long-term effects.

School board to vote on closing 6 locations

Nine people will decide the fate of seven Lansing schools and their hundreds of students and staff tonight at the Lansing Board of Education meeting. Due to declining enrollment and $32 million in budget deficits from the past three years, the district is considering closing five elementary schools and one middle school.

Circuit City to leave E.L. by end of month

The East Lansing Circuit City store, 2655 E. Grand River Ave., is scheduled to close by the end of the month, the electronic consumer's Web site said.

Clothing sale benefits E.L. elderly

Modeling a pastel, tulle dress for the workers at the Class Clothing Sale, Laura Galgan said she knew she had found the perfect Halloween costume. Earlier in the day, the sociology junior bought a vintage hat, and she came back that afternoon for a long winter coat.

ASMSU inks bill to make offices more accessible

ASMSU members are attempting to make their offices compliant with the American Disabilities Act. In the Student Assembly's meeting last week, student government members passed a bill to fund up to $3,000 for ADA-compatible office signs. The money will be allocated from the assembly's Special Project account, which consists of rollover funds from other accounts. The signs will have raised numbering and Braille coding that will be within reach for vision-impaired persons.

MSU freshman hospitalized after crash

An MSU student is in critical condition in a Saginaw hospital after a car crash Monday night. St.