Tuesday, April 28, 2026

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

News

MSU

Worthwhile worms

Thousands of worm eggs in a glass of a sports drink could provide relief from bowel disease symptoms, MSU and University of Iowa researchers say. Linda Mansifeld, a professor of microbiology, is leading a study on how whipworms can be used to treat inflammatory bowel disease. Whipworms are thread-thin parasite worms, about an inch long when full-grown, that burrow their heads into the walls of the large intestines.

MICHIGAN

FDA approves contraceptive

A new contraceptive pill that limits women to four periods a year was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, in May. The pill, Seasonique, has seven low-dose estrogen hormone pills instead of having seven placebo pills, like other birth control pills, said Nicolle Stec, a health educator through the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Olin Health Center.

MICHIGAN

'It's a guy thing'

Donivan Wells decided to become a nurse for job security — something he has never had to worry about in the ten years of his career. With nurses in high demand, Wells, a certified nurse who works at Sparrow Hospital, 1215 E.

MICHIGAN

Suspect to undergo testing, trial delayed

Court proceedings for Michael Lee Castillo — charged with drunken driving and kidnapping MSU student Amanda Lynn Brandel — will be postponed to determine whether he is competent to stand trial. Castillo, a 32-year-old Lansing Community College East student, will undergo psychiatric testing June 15 to determine his competency and his state of mind when an East Lansing police stopped him on Jan.

MSU

Teddy bear fix-up

A green cast covered Barry's right leg Saturday afternoon. The teddy bear also wore protective plastic sunglasses for her lazy eye and a colorful Band-Aid covered one of her wounds. Sarai Garcia's stuffed animal went through a lot at the MSU/Mid-Michigan Children's Initiative, or MSU/MMCI's, Second Annual Teddy Bear Picnic, which took place off of Service Road, across from the Clinical Center. "She had a broken leg," the 8-year-old Lansing resident said.

MICHIGAN

Cook-off heats up city

Lansing — The riverfront buzzed with energy Friday night as the Lansing Board of Water and Light held its annual Chili Cook-Off. The cook-off, now in its 11th year, hosted 39 booths, with 1,500 gallons of chili served, said John Strickler, spokesman for the Lansing Board of Water and Light. Greeted by a warm and sunny day, visitors tasted chili, salsa and other foods at booths that wound along the downtown River Trail between Michigan Avenue and Shiawassee Street.

MSU

Organic farming

Ten acres of MSU's vast agricultural fields are reserved solely for growing organic food. The MSU Student Organic Farm, 3291 College Road, in Holt serves as a place not only to grow certified organic food, but research organic farming techniques as well, according to its Web site. The farm focuses on Community Supported Agriculture, or CSA, in which the produce from the year-round farming is divided into shares and sold before the food is harvested. A share feeds up to about four adults and is not limited to one family, said farm manager and instructor Jeremy Moghtader. Shares are sold in spring, summer and fall and cost $460 per share, said Holly Markham, an environmental policy and anthropology senior, who works at the farm.