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FOOTBALL

21 recruits commit to football team

It’s one of the only days of the year when a fax machine is relevant: national signing day. Head coach Mark Dantonio and the MSU football program officially introduced one of the best classes in recent program history Wednesday with the commitment of 21 players.

MICHIGAN

Heating bills increasing with drastic cold temperatures

With the heat pumping into off-campus homes surrounding MSU during the frigid months, utility bills are skyrocketing, and even more so than in previous years. The high cost of this winter’s heating bills have some students grasping at straws to make their payments, DTN Area Director Emilie Wohlschied said. “I think everyone is feeling the pinch as far as the awful winter that we’ve been having,” Wohlschied said.

MICHIGAN

Team to review BWL handling of outages

On Wednesday night, a committee of six community members featuring former East Lansing City Council members and community activists was appointed to review the handling of Lansing Board of Water and Light’s response to a December power outage.

FEATURES

MSU Pokémon Club draws players from across Michigan

Nostalgia for a distant childhood and familiar characters triggered a desire in three MSU students to turn an old hobby into a club to catch ‘em all. During the 2011 fall semester, a group of students decided to turn their game of trading and battling Pokémon cards into an official, registered MSU student group: the MSU Pokémon Club.

MSU

Blood donors needed by Red Cross

The American Red Cross recently declared an “urgent need” for blood donors, which coincides with a blood drive competition that pits MSU against rival University of Michigan.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Payne back for game against Penn State

After nearly a monthlong hiatus, Adreian Payne is back in action. The senior forward went from rehabbing on the treadmill to playing on the hardwood for Tuesday’s practice, making it his first contact since playing against Ohio State on Jan.

MICHIGAN

President Obama to sign farm bill in East Lansing

President Barack Obama plans to sign the Agriculture Act of 2014, often referred to as the farm bill, at the Mary Anne McPhail Equine Performance Center Friday afternoon. Students hoping to catch a glimpse of Obama when he visits MSU’s campus Friday will be sorely disappointed, however, as the event is closed to the public. The farm bill legislation was passed by both chambers of Congress on Tuesday. White House officials waited until the latest farm bill had been passed by Congress to release details about the event. MSU has a number of ties to the farm bill. The Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee is MSU alumna Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. The university was founded as the nation’s first agricultural college under the name Agricultural College of the State of Michigan. Agriculture stayed in the university’s name until 1964, when Michigan Agricultural College became Michigan State University. MSU President Lou Anna K.