Live News Updates for Oct. 9-15
3rd-Annual Fiber to Fashion Festival this Saturday in Downtown East Lansing.

The third-annual Fiber to Fashion Festival will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday (Oct. 14) in the 300 block of Grove St., adjacent to the Grove Street parking garage.
The event will feature Mid-Michigan vendors specializing in a variety of textiles, from homespun and dyed yarn to projects collaged from recycled materials. Vendors include WheelyCoolFiber, Picnic Prints, Re-Vamp Fashion, and Modern Embroidery among others.
Along with booths showcasing the artisans’ goods, demonstrations and interactive activities will be held throughout the day. Ice dying will kick off the demonstrations at 11 a.m., followed by hand quilting from 1-2 p.m. and block printing from 2-3 p.m. Natural dying will also be ongoing throughout the festival.
The event is sponsored by Seams Fabric and Woven Art Yarn Shop who, according to a press release, aim to “represent the whole of the fiber arts spectrum” and “celebrate homemade fashion” from around the state.
To explore photos and learn more, check out the event on Seams’ Facebook page.
Reported by Mara Logan (Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023)
Attorney General Dana Nessel will be the special guest at an elder abuse seminar Monday.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will be the special guest at an Elder Abuse Seminar from 10-11:30 a.m. Monday (Oct. 16) at the Hannah Community Center.
The event is a chance to learn more about the telltale signs of scams through phone calls, texts, emails and mail, according to a press release from State Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou,
“The presentation will also include resources for victims of elder abuse scams and how to minimize the risk of being scammed,” Tsernoglou said. “Additionally, I will be updating constituents on the guardianship system reform legislation that seeks to protect wards from bad actors looking to exploit those who cannot adequately protect themselves.”
For more information or to RSVP, call or email Tsernoglou’s office at (517) 373-2668 or PenelopeTsernoglou@house.mi.gov. RSVPs are not required but are appreciated in order to anticipate the number of attendees.
Reported by Julie Seraphinoff for ELi (Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023)
Breaking news: Power restored in downtown East Lansing.
Update: Power was restored to nearly 1,500 Lansing Board of Water and Light (BWL) customers by about 7 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 11). The power went out about 2:41 p.m. and affected downtown East Lansing from the east side of Abbot Road to Cornell Avenue. Businesses along Grand River Avenue were affected.
BWL has not yet said what caused the outage.
Be advised: Because of a downtown power outage affecting City Hall, the building has closed for the day. The Planning Commission meeting will go on as planned at 7 p.m. at the Hannah Community Center.
The Hannah Community Center, 819 Abbot Road, has power.
ELi is learning a large swath of downtown is without power, including along Grand River and the East Lansing Public Library.
Please treat all traffic signals that are not operational as a four-way stop.
This is a developing story. ELi will update as we learn more.
Reporting by Julie Seraphinoff (Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023)
Round Up Scholarship applications are available from ELPRA.
The East Lansing Department of Parks, Recreation & Arts (ELPRA) launched Round Up for Scholarships at the end of last year to remove the barriers that prevent community members from fully participating in ELPRA offerings.
“We are so grateful to our community members who have contributed to the Round Up for Scholarships,” ELPRA Director Cathy DeShambo said. “We are very hopeful that this initiative will help even more community members to be able to engage their body, mind and soul in recreational activities!”
Community members who struggle to afford the cost of ELPRA activities and classes can apply for a Round Up Scholarship. Adults, youth and families can register for an assortment of programs from ceramics classes and painting workshops to swim lessons, dance classes, personal training and fitness classes including pickleball.
Round Up Scholarships can also be used to pay for youth sports program registration, All-of-us Express Children’s Theatre fees and certain school-aged childcare costs.
For more information and to apply for a scholarship, visit the application web site. For questions, contact Guest Services Coordinator Lois Fogarisi at (517) 319-6949.
Reported by Julie Seraphinoff (Monday, Oct. 9, 2023)
Annual Autum Fest is Sunday during the EL Farmers Market.
The annual Autumn Fest will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday (Oct. 15) during the East Lansing Farmers Market (ELFM). This year’s Autumn Fest will include pony rides, a petting zoo, a photo booth, and more. The East Lansing Public Library will have their mobile pop-up library at the event for the public.
There will also be musical performances by Bart Moore from 10-11:50a.m., and DJ Clarinet from 12:10-2 p.m.
According to a city press release, parking for the event can be found for free at the meters on Valley Court; at the reserved spaces for the Valley Court Community Center on Hillside Court; at the 2-hour spaces along Oakhill Avenue; in the East Lansing Hannah Community Center parking lot; and in the downtown parking structures.
Volunteers are needed for the event; to sign up, click here.
Reported by Eli Taub (Monday, Oct. 9, 2023)
ELi Now Saturday Mailer: Here’s what’s happening in East Lansing this week.

Residents are setting up Halloween decorations and picking out pumpkins as we march into the second week of October.
This past week, there were notable developments in city government and East Lansing schools.
Reporter Mya Gregory brought a report on the Friday (Sept. 29) East Lansing Public Schools (ELPS) Board of Education meeting. The special meeting was called to discuss a process to replace trustee Monica Fink, who resigned after moving outside the district limits. The meeting also heard from several community members who were upset by the actions of physical education teacher Dennis Petrowitz, who was recently suspended for the second time in four months.
The East Lansing Board of Education will meet meet Monday (Oct. 9) and the agenda includes interviewing Robert I. Cukier, Rebecca Dean, Scott D. Farver, Michael R. Feldpausch, Tiffany Matthews and J. Estrella Torrez for the open board trustee position. The candidates’ letters of interest are included on the agenda. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. and will be held in the lower level of East Lansing High School (ELHS).
In the city, Reporter Dustin DuFort Petty recapped the Tuesday (Oct. 3) City Council meeting, which discussed the potential redevelopment of the parking lot at 530 Albert Ave. The meeting heard from numerous concerned residents, but concluded without a vote on the project. The matter is expected to be back to Council for the Oct. 17 meeting.
Gregory also wrote a story about the Saturday (Sept. 30) East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Committee (ELIPOC) use of force workshop. The workshop was an opportunity for community members to gather and give their thoughts on East Lansing Police Department (ELPD) use of force policies.
Also this week, Arts and Culture Reporter Sarah Spohn covered the “Resistance Training: Arts, Sports, and Civil Rights” exhibit at the Broad Art Museum on Michigan State University’s campus. The exhibit showcases the intersection between sports and civil rights advancements.
In public health news, City Desk Editor Luke Day sent questions to the Ingham County Health Department about the latest developments regarding Covid-19. Read about the latest recommendations regarding Covid-19 vaccinations, where we stand locally with the virus and more here.
Lots of meetings on the calendar this week.
The week is set up to be another busy one in the city. On Monday (Oct. 9), the Human Rights Commission will meet. Tuesday (Oct. 10), City Council will have a discussion-only meeting. Wednesday (Oct. 11) will see the Library Board of Trustees and Planning Commission both hold meetings. Thursday (Oct. 12) the Historic District Commission will meet. When meeting agendas are posted, they can be found here.

Highlights of the live news updates in ELi Now this week include a link to the video from the Sept. 14 City Council candidates forum, enrollment numbers at Michigan State University (MSU) are record breaking this fall and 54B District Court will be closed Monday (Oct. 9) in observance of Indigenous Peoples Day.
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