Today’s weather forecast is predicting cloudy with rain and possible snow in the morning which will change to all rain in the afternoon with a high of 41 degrees and a low of 37 degrees.

Board will immediately seek interim president

In a statement to The State News, the Board of Trustees said it will begin its search for an interim president immediately, following President Samuel L. Stanley Jr.’s resignation notice on Oct. 13.

Stanley gave the board a 90-day notice. His official resignation will take place on Jan. 11, 2023. The board said it expects Stanley to remain in his position for the full 90 days to “make sure steady leadership is in place while a presidential search gets underway.”

“The MSU Board of Trustees is unified in its commitment to having an orderly and smooth transition in university leadership and in its commitment to academic freedom, and to working with university leadership toward the goals outlined in the MSU Strategic Plan 2030,” the statement said.

The search will include outreach to students, faculty, staff and alumni.

“It is our intent to engage in thoughtful deliberation and to make a decision as soon as possible,” the statement said.

Slotkin, Nessel and Stabenow attempt to drive student voter turnout at MSU rally

Shailene Kniffin, a retired Lansing resident, spends her days knocking doors, making calls
and stuffing envelopes for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot. But, she believes more involvement from young people is necessary if her candidates are going to win this November.

Kniffin was one of the many community members who spent the afternoon of Sunday, Oct. 16, on the corner of N. Shaw Lane and Farm Lane hearing from U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow.

The trio came to MSU’s campus as part of a pre-election push for voter turnout amongst young people, though the majority of the event’s crowd was noticeably older than the target demographic.

All speakers mentioned the tight margins predicted for Slotkin and Nessel’s races, and emphasized that turnout of MSU students could sway the results.

Slotkin has been attempting to drive student turnout specifically with a voter registration push. She has been paying student-organizers to go door-to-door, registering their peers in MSU dorms. According to Slotkin’s campaign, the program has registered 2,151 students to vote.

Her campaign has been able to work around no-solicitation rules in MSU dorms by seeking out and employing students based on what dorms they live in. In a text message to The State News, MSU spokesperson Dan Olsen confirmed that “residents are able to do voter registration outreach within their own residence halls.”

Frandor CATA riders show varying opinions on bus stop removals

Corr Commercial Real Estate, the owner of Lansing shopping complex Frandor, announced last month it was removing two CATA bus stops on the premises on Oct. 17, citing vagrancy and related concerns. Those who frequent the stops have varied opinions on the removal.

Michigan State University pre-veterinary freshman Maxwell Nisenbaum said he uses the Frandor bus stop every day to take the bus to campus, and said the removal could drastically impact his daily routine.

Not everyone feels so negatively about the removal. HomeGoods employee and Lansing resident Katrina Manke said she’s against stopping service to the shopping center altogether, but thinks removing the bus stop shelters would reduce the amount of “loitering and crime.”

However, Lansing resident Margaret Zetterholm pushed back on Manke’s prediction. She said removal of the bus stops wouldn’t change the frequency of crimes at the shopping center.

Lansing resident and everyday CATA rider Caleb Ligget said the removal of the bus stop shelters wouldn’t change a lot.

“It just wouldn’t be the same if (the bus stop) was removed,” Ligget said.

Based on original reporting by Morgan Womack, Alex Walters and Wajeeha Kamal.