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News | Michigan

MICHIGAN

East Lansing honors Juneteenth with celebrations, ongoing legacy

Juneteenth has been celebrated as a national holiday since 2021 and a state holiday in Michigan since 2020, honoring the day the last enslaved African Americans were notified of their freedom in the U.S. in 1865. The Greater Lansing community has sought to keep the legacy of these celebrations alive and continue to celebrate African American culture from the outskirts of the city to the heart of MSU.

MICHIGAN

East Lansing and Ingham County to change emergency alert systems

Starting Saturday, June 1, the City of East Lansing and Ingham County will be switching their emergency alert systems to Rave Alert, a mass notification system. The new emergency alert system will enable users to personalize what type of alerts they receive, share information with local dispatchers and allow for more geographically-specific notifications. 

MICHIGAN

League of Michigan Bicyclists pushes for lawmakers to improve safety and accessibility for cyclists

The penalty for killing or injuring a person on a bicycle is currently a decision that is left in the hands of a prosecutor. In many cases, the perpetrator is let off with a misdemeanor charge.  The League of Michigan Bicyclists, or LMB, hosted their Bicycle Advocacy Day Tuesday morning at the Michigan Capitol to classify the charge as a felony, as well as to push for other legislation to improve safety and accessibility for cyclists. 

MICHIGAN

MSU professor finds mental health services reduce jail populations, U.S. counties lack effective practices

An MSU College of Human Medicine professor’s study, "Recommended Mental Health Practices for Individuals Interacting With U.S. Police, Court, Jail, Probation, and Parole Systems," found there is a severe lack of services in all counties across the U.S. Of 59 recommended practices, no practices were used in more than 43% of counties, the study found.

MICHIGAN

MDHHS announces new firearm storage safety law in Michigan to go in effect

MDHHS announced a new firearm safety law that will go into effect Feb. 13. The law, Public Act 17 of 2023, requires safe storage of firearms to prevent access to minors. According to the MDHHS, the act requires Michigan residents to “keep unattended weapons unloaded and locked with a locking device or stored in a locked box or container if it is reasonably known that a minor is likely to be present on the premises.”

MICHIGAN

FAFSA recipients must wait until April for financial aid following delay

The U.S. Department of Education announced that Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA, packages will be delayed until April. The delay is to fix a $1.8 billion mistake that could potentially have harmed low-income students' packages. The department's mathematic formula incorrectly overestimated the annual income of low-income students' households, meaning they would earn less than what they need in financial aid as a result of this error.