Downtown Lansing to create 'walk of fame'

Michigan residents who have made significant contributions to society will be honored later this year in Lansing with the nation's first statewide walk of fame. The Lansing Principal Shopping District, a group of more than 1,000 businesses in downtown Lansing, is working with the Michigan Historical Center and Museum to create the Michigan Walk of Fame. "Our board challenged us to come up with a project that drove traffic to downtown Lansing but also reinforced the fact that we are the capital city," said Kevin Green, the district's executive director.

University reviews statewide higher education report

MSU President Lou Anna Simon discussed the implications of a recent statewide education report at Tuesday's Faculty Council meeting. The Cherry Commission, a group assembled by Gov.

Southgate to be voting site for Iraqi election

Michigan is home to one of seven U.S. locations for Iraqis to register and cast votes in their upcoming election. The site in Southgate is about 90 miles southeast of MSU. Eligible voters are current and former Iraqi citizens, those born in Iraq and those who are born to an Iraqi father.

Fraternity holds tractor pull for charity

The Humiliator didn't scare Matt Munsell. Munsell, a dairy production sophomore, was one of more than two dozen students that tried to pull The Humiliator - a weighted sled hooked to the back of a toy tractor - at the inaugural FarmHouse Tractor Pull. At Saturday's competition, students took turns pedaling the four-foot-long toy tractor, which had about 250 pounds of weight attached to it.

Area floods sink 2 cars

A couple of Campus Hill apartment tenants were startled during the weekend at the sight of their vehicles partially submerged in overflow from the Red Cedar River.

Trustees focus on open discussion at first meeting

MSU President Lou Anna Simon led the MSU Board of Trustees for the first time in her presidency during the board's first meeting of the semester on Friday. It was also the first meeting for Trustee Melanie Foster, who was elected to the board in November after serving on the Central Michigan University Board of Trustees. As part of conducting the meetings, Simon said she would like to encourage open communication and discussion. By keeping the table open to discussion, it would allow for members of the MSU community to communicate issues they are working on to the entire board, Simon said. "I think that there's a way to have dialogue that is transparent, but at the same time be reflective of the institution," she said. Foster said returning to the board will allow her to contribute to the university's issues, such as the reorganization of the liberal arts college, which was discussed at the meeting. "I believe I had some good input," Foster said.

MSU athletes' cases move to higher court

MSU athletes' cases move to higher court The cases of two MSU football players charged with felonies for attempting to rob fellow students will now be sent to the Ingham County 30th Judicial Circuit Court for trial. Freshman wide receiver Miles Williams, 18, and freshman linebacker Hugh D'Imperio, 19, waived their preliminary examinations in East Lansing's 54-B District Court last week.

Police briefs 01/18/05

Government revamps nutrition guidelines

Striving to improve Americans' lifestyles, the federal government released a new set of dietary guidelines advising people to eat a variety of nutritious foods, ingest fewer calories and exercise daily. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005, which comes out every five years, was released last week by the U.S.

Student voice: What do you think of the proposed ban of open alcohol on campus?

"I could totally go one way or the other on this issue. I know there have been problems, but I haven't seen anything big, so it doesn't seem like a ban is necessary." Aaron Shuman English senior "The few abusers out there shouldn't affect everyone, and MSU spirit would diminish.

MSU prof. weighs in on year's best word

The winner of the 15th annual Word of the Year contest was definitely not too close to call, an MSU linguistics professor said. The American Dialect Society voted "red state, blue state, purple state" as the most prominent phrase in the country's vocabulary in 2004. "You think back on the year, and what was the most engaging, nauseating, delightful for some, sickening for others experience?

Michigan predicts budget deficit for fiscal year

State officials are predicting Michigan could face a $350 million revenue shortfall for the rest of the fiscal year 2005, which ends Oct.

Events to focus on King's life

A weekend of events to honor Martin Luther King Jr. kicks off tonight with a talent show featuring MSU students at the Union Ballroom. "Showtyme at MSU" is a free event sponsored by the University Activities Board and the MLK Student Committee. "We wanted to give students an opportunity to show their talents," UAB event coordinator Sveta Desai said.

Changing temps could cause flood

A torrential downpour became a mid-winter snowstorm in a matter of minutes Thursday, as the National Weather Service placed the areas surrounding the Red Cedar River under a flood warning. After temperatures came close to reaching 60 degrees this week, numbers on the thermometer will plummet this weekend, deep freezing MSU's campus and parts of the state into next week, said Mark Walton, hydrologist at the Grand Rapids National Weather Service station. Since December, the jet stream has been unusually active and it's been noticed by everyone, said Jeff Andreson, MSU geography associate professor and state climatologist.

Lansing zoo to bring owl to nature activity

Harris Nature Center is hosting an Owl Prowl on Jan. 21 and a Winter Wonderland activity day for Jan.

Detroit named 3rd among fattest cities

According to Men's Fitness magazine, Detroit is no longer the fattest city in the country. For seven years, Men's Fitness has ranked cities from "fattest" to "fittest" based on data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a number of elements such as the number of health clubs, participation in sports and air quality. According to the magazine, Detroit has dropped from the fattest city to the third fattest, behind Houston and Philadelphia, because of improvements in air quality and health care.

Police briefs 01/14/05

Academic council encourages students to join

MSU students now have the opportunity to voice their campus concerns to administrators and the MSU Board of Trustees. The Academic Council of the university's governance has 26 seats available for students to join.

Church to host craft event, potluck lunch

The Peoples Church Preschool, 200 W. Grand River, will host "Scrapbooking for Everyone" at 8 a.m.

Citizens receive police training

On Wednesday night 15 community members sat with East Lansing police officers for three hours - but there were no handcuffs, fingerprints or interrogations. Ranging from MSU students to senior citizens, the residents participated in the sixth-annual Citizens' Police Academy, an 11-week program aimed to teach people about the department. "Unfortunately, the first time people meet officers, it's not always under the best conditions," East Lansing Police Lt.