Thursday, April 9, 2026

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MICHIGAN

State to regulate wild pig population

One day, in the spring of 2004, Saginaw County, Mich., farmer Dallas Sutliff went to work and found 24 acres of his corn had been damaged — decimated by wild pigs. With property adjacent to a hunting facility that housed wild boars, Sutliff soon realized about 50 pigs escaped from the nearby facility and were responsible for the several thousands of dollars worth of damage to his crops.

FEATURES

The Verve Pipe plays for hometown crowd

After almost 20 years of national and international tours and growing fame, the Verve Pipe still loves to return to the Lansing area — the current home city of Donny Brown and fellow band members Randy Sly (keyboard) and Craig Griffith (harmonica) — where it played at the Common Ground Music Festival in downtown Lansing Tuesday night.

COMMENTARY

Fourth of July time to celebrate a history of overcoming adversity

I am writing in response to opinion writer Lazarus Jackson’s column “America’s unhappy birthday” (SN 7/7). In my opinion, history is not a prologue, but a precedent for our country’s current state. Despite the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln ordered that the construction of the nation’s capital dome continue as a symbol of unity, sending the message that although the country was in a state of open war, the Union still would survive. Our country has seen greater challenges and worked through them, and our current state is no exception.

COMMENTARY

The pitfalls of principles

A recently passed law in Georgia designed to deter illegal immigrants is having the desired effect — much to the displeasure of Georgia farmers.

COMMENTARY

Time for Strathmore era to come to an end

Should the city try to find a way out of or around any agreement with Strathmore Development Co. when it comes to City Center II? It’s starting to look more like the answer to that question is, “Yes.”

MICHIGAN

City council approves downtown apartments, denies alcohol license

After a brief statement from departing City Manager Ted Staton regarding his resignation, it was business as usual for the East Lansing City Council at Tuesday night’s meeting. The council voted 3-2 to deny an application from Dino Cascardo to allow sale of packaged beer, wine and spirits at the East Lansing BP gas station, 504 Michigan Ave.

NEWS

MSU could lose state funding because of tuition hikes

MSU could lose as much as $18.3 million in state funding after a nonpartisan government agency found the university exceeded the state’s 7.1 percent cap on tuition rate increases for this coming school year. The House Fiscal Agency stated in a report released Wednesday that actually MSU raised tuition by 9.4 percent, not the 6.9 percent increase the university originally reported for this fall. The discrepancy comes from an error related to the Higher Education Institutional Data Inventory, or HEIDI, a database that compiles information about tuition and university finance operations.

MSU

Alumni create Michigan river news site

Despite being an admittedly poor fly-fisher, Andrew McGlashen still needed a fishing buddy, so he asked Jeff Brooks Gillies if he’d be interested in joining him. After driving home from a weekend fishing trip, the two came up with the idea for a website devoted exclusively to Michigan’s rivers. McGlashen and Gillies originally met as students in MSU’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, and they used the tools they learned there to launch michiganrivernews.com. The uniqueness of the concept is what McGlashen thinks makes Michigan River News stand out. “We’re the only ones writing just about Michigan rivers, which is a narrow focus, but we think it’s the right focus,” he said.

MICHIGAN

East Lansing businesses selected for grants

Residents of East Lansing showed how much they love their local businesses last month when they voted in Intuit’s Love a Local Business competition — enough times to earn the city $26,000 in cash grants. Intuit, a software company that aims to solve financial management problems of small- and mid-sized businesses, created the Love a Local Business competition to help support small businesses throughout the country. “Any way we can help the small businesses grow a little bit or get back on their feet is a win for us,” Monica Appelbe, Intuit’s public relations manager, said East Lansing was one of two cities in the country selected as competition winners in June. ”It’s great news,” Lori Mullins, East Lansing community and economic development administrator, said.

FOOTBALL

New turf arriving at Spartan Stadium

The first of the fleet of trucks carrying the sod from Graff’s Turf Farms in Colorado arrived at Spartan Stadium on Tuesday morning and crews of turf experts were hard at work to make sure it is in game shape before MSU opens its season Sept. 2 against Youngstown State.

SPORTS

Neff, Powers named NGCA All-American Scholars

Former MSU golfer Aimee Neff and junior Caroline Powers were named to the 2011 National Golf Coaches Association, or NGCA, All-American Scholar Division I Team, the athletics department announced Tuesday. Neff is the first Spartan in program history to earn NGCA scholar honors four times during her career.

NEWS

Finding common ground

As Grammy-nominated hip-hop star Trey Songz took to the stage of the Common Ground Music Festival in Lansing on Monday, the young crowd shrieked in anticipation of the Atlantic Records artist. During his set, Songz hyped his fans with his mainstream songs and made sure more than the neighbors knew his name. “He’s like on superstar status, that’s it,” said Lansing resident Markus Brown.

NEWS

MSU tools help students secure jobs

When Andrew Way graduated from MSU with a bachelor’s degree in advertising in December 2009, he entered the workforce during a difficult economic climate. But because of the work he did as a student, he was able to land a full-time job he otherwise might not have. Finding a job after graduation often can be viewed as an uphill battle, but by maximizing the opportunities available at MSU and becoming established within the workforce before joining it, students can improve their chances dramatically, executive director of Career Services Kelley Bishop said. The university offers career consultants in every college along with workshops on writing résumés, preparing for interviews and career fairs to meet potential employers, Bishop said. “The real factor seems to be did you get yourself ready,” he said.

NEWS

Police Brief 07/12/11

Applied engineering science senior Sabrina Morris woke up at about 11 a.m. Monday to public safety officers pounding on her door. A power line had fallen on the roof of her house at 121 River St.

MICHIGAN

Local flash mob prepares to perform at music festival

Flash mobbing is an online sensation that has hit center stage in locations across the world over the past couple of years, and a local organization is preparing to make Lansing the next location to follow the trend. A flash mob organized by Meridian Entertainment Group will perform spontaneously at the annual Common Ground Music Festival in Lansing this week.

MSU

School of rock

Rock Camp, a week-long summer program for students ages 12-19, began Monday and will conclude with a performance at the Common Ground Music Festival in Lansing on Friday at 5:30 p.m.

Dena Elian ·
MICHIGAN

Celebrating with a Slurpee

In honor of the company’s 84th anniversary Monday, some customers who entered 7-Eleven, 918 E. Grand River Ave., greeted employees with, “Happy Birthday 7-Eleven.” Every year, 7-Eleven stores give out free Slurpees on July 11, and the public response did not come up short at the East Lansing location with a line that extended into the parking lot.