Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Take a peek behind the curtain and test drive the NEW StateNews.com today!

Multimedia

MSU

YouVote registers stragglers at Rock

YouVote and the University Activities Board, or UAB, gave students one final chance to register to vote Monday at the rock on Farm Lane. For Michigan residents who wanted to vote in the Nov. 4 election, Monday was the last opportunity. YouVote is a nonpartisan organization on campus.

FEATURES

Love in the time of texting

Technology ruined a first date for Jake Emling. The biochemistry freshman went on a date with a girl who, instead of striking up conversation and attempting to have a good time, was text messaging the entire night, he said. “Everybody wants to know what everyone is doing at that given time,” Emling said. “The focus should be on the person you’re with — not the fact that this person is doing this right now, we should go see them, or so-and-so is having a party over there.”

FEATURES

The cutting edge

Cell phones may have made communication easier, but likemost gadgets, there’s a time and place. Here are some helpful tips for cell phone etiquette:

SPORTS

Rijpma honored after scoring 5 times in 2 games

Field hockey junior midfielder Floor Rijpma was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for her performance against Indiana and Temple last weekend. Rijpma scored five goals in two games, including four against Indiana on Friday, to lead the Spartans to two victories. She leads the team with 13 goals this season.

FOOTBALL

Swenson earns Big Ten accolade

Football junior kicker Brett Swenson was named co-Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week last week after he was a perfect 3-for-3 in field goal attempts in MSU’s 16-13 win over Iowa.

SOCCER

'Smurf' stepping into larger role for MSU

Smurfs are normally regarded as tiny blue creatures from a place called Smurf Village — a fictional land described in comics and cartoons since the 1980s. But in the land of Green and White, the name “Smurf” refers to one very specific individual — 5-foot-3 women’s soccer junior midfielder Lauren Sinacola.

COMMENTARY

Set excuses aside, get out and vote

One thing every student at this university can agree on is maneuvering through the streets of campus is a lot less of a hassle now that we don’t have to fear being asked a half-dozen times about whether or not we’re registered to vote.

MICHIGAN

New home brings fresh start

Arlene Nickless watched her late husband’s dreams come true last week: Her family now has a stable home and their three sons have bright futures ahead of them. After entering their new home, built by ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” for the first time Friday, the Nickless family received more good news on Saturday.

MICHIGAN

Police investigate death of MSU student

One week after a fatal house fire in Wright Township, investigators still have questions about the death of an MSU sophomore and three others. Katherine A. Brown was found dead with her boyfriend Jeremy Zimmer, his mother Sharmaine and his brother Tyler in the Zimmers’ house Sept. 29, according to The Grand Rapids Press.

MSU

Health department reaffirms its E. coli suspicions

While the Michigan Department of Community Health targeted iceberg lettuce from Aunt Mid’s Produce Co. as the cause of last month’s statewide E. coli outbreak, the company has yet to confirm any responsibility. Dominic Riggio, the president of Aunt Mid’s, said the Detroit-based food distributor has fully cooperated with the health department and Michigan Department of Agriculture’s investigation.

FOOTBALL

MSU defeats Iowa in what may have been ugly game

The struggles of last year’s MSU football team are well documented. The Spartans went 7-6, with all six losses coming by seven points or less. That trend continued in the 2008 season opener against California, where the Spartans once again found themselves staring at another loss by seven points, with a 38-31 outcome.