The State - A Podcast from The State News + Impact 89FM

THIS IS THE STATE FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29th WHERE WE BRING YOU THE HEADLINES THAT MATTER. I'M RACHEL FULTON.

On Oct. 21, East Lansing council member Lisa Babcock called a town hall meeting with members to talk about the ongoing issue of water damage from the heavy rains back in June, August, and September. 

Babcock received a lot of questions from residents about what actions the city is going to take about plumbing and flooding in the future. But Haggard's Plumbing and Heating owner William Haggard, gave more advice for what residents could do in order to protect their homes. 

Haggard suggests residents install a check valve which prevents water moving backwards and flooding. 

East Lansing City Manager George Lahanas says that the city council is discussing the approval for funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. 

This funding would allow residents to install new plumbing such as a check valve.  The city council will call a meeting on November 16th to discuss sewage infrastructure.

East Lansing and Michigan State have been gearing up for a top ten show down between Michigan and Michigan State, drawing fans from all over the state. In addition, both of college football's premier pregame shows (ESPN's College Game Day and FOX Big Noon Kickoff) will be outside Spartan Stadium counting down time towards kickoff.

Both teams enter this highly anticipated matchup 7&0 and ranked inside the top 10. This will be the first time both teams meet inside the top 10 since 1964, and the first undefeated vs undefeated matchup since 2011.

Michigan State basketball took on Ferris State in their first of two exhibition games. It was their first game back in front of the Izzone since the 2019-20 season, as fans watched the Spartans cruise to a 92-58 victory over the Bulldogs.

Head Coach, Tom Izzo and the Spartans, enter the season unranked and are expected to finish in the middle of the Big Ten. Last season, MSU finished with a record of 15-13 and went 9-13 in Big Ten play.

The Spartans starting five included Marcus Bingham, Gabe Brown, Joey Hauser, as well as transfer guard Tyson Walker and freshman Max Christie. Of the five, Hauser was the only one who started at least 10 games last season.

Speaking of sports, our friends over at The State News have a big day today as they take on the Michigan Daily in their annual battle of touch football.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THE STATE... PRODUCED BY THE STATE NEWS AND IMPACT EIGHTY-NINE F-M. YOU CAN FIND US ONLINE AT STATE NEWS DOT COM AND IMPACT EIGHTY-NINE F-M DOT ORG. WE'LL BE BACK TOMORROW WITH MORE.

THIS IS THE STATE FOR Thursday, October 28th WHERE WE BRING YOU THE HEADLINES THAT MATTER.  I'M RACHEL FULTON

Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said COVID cases are declining at Michigan State University.

In a recent update, Vail followed with saying that MSU had 24 new cases a week. From the previous week there were more than 40 cases. 

If anyone was wondering if cases were going to rise after fall break, she doesn't think so. This is due to the lack of surges after the return to campus in September from football games or fraternity and sorority rushes. 

MSU's success against the COVID-19 virus is mainly to blame for their implementation of vaccine requirements, according to Vail.

Since the 1980's, MSU freshmen have been required to live on-campus for one full year. Now it is changed to two years. The reason behind this is because studies show a 2.5 percent increase in graduation rates of on-campus students opposed to off-campus students.

This requirement is believed to help students overcome the "sophomore slump"; a circumstance related with feelings of dissatisfaction and uncertainty that can be referred to as less services and programs.
Students' feel that the new requirements are forceful and if dorms were in better condition, they will see an increase in student positivity coming back to live on campus for their second year.

On Oct.8 of this year MSU students received an email notifying them that they should be expecting a grant from the Higher Education Relief Fund or HERF. 

These grants ranged from 600 dollars to 1200 dollars and were given to provide support for any COVID-19 related emergency expenses for those who have an Expected Family Contribution or EFC of 20 thousand dollars or less. 

Students with an EFC of 20 thousand dollars or more received an email with an application for the American Rescue Plan Act or ARP. 

The funds are also based on demonstrated need in their application. Only 3,600 students were chosen out of the 34 thousand that applied for ARP fund.

Many students were confused at the fact that their siblings received the HERF grant while the other sibling received an email for the ARP application. 

That is simply because the EFC of each individual in the household varies based on the income of the students themselves and the income of the parents combined.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR THE STATE... PRODUCED BY THE STATE NEWS AND IMPACT EIGHTY-NINE F-M. YOU CAN FIND US ONLINE AT STATE NEWS DOT COM AND IMPACT EIGHTY-NINE F-M DOT ORG. WE'LL BE BACK TOMORROW WITH MORE.

East Lansing middle and high school students move to remote classes beginning April 12th: Beginning the week of April 12th, schools in the Ingham Intermediate School District service area will be moving to remote learning for middle and high school students due to an increase in COVID-19 cases in the community. Even though East Lansing Public Schools have have not seen an increase in cases within their classrooms, there has been a spike in cases from ages 10-19 years old and from 20-29 years old in East Lansing. Superintendent Dori Leyko ordered the instatement of remote learning to start the week after Spring break.

Governor Whitmer asks residents to avoid indoor dining, urges for the pause of youth sports: Instead of enacting new COVID-19 regulations or policies, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer urged high schools to pause in-person learning and youth sports -- both school-sponsored and non-school sponsored -- teams to suspend in-person activities, like games and practices, for the next two weeks to prevent additional outbreaks.
Whitmer also recommended that Michiganders avoid indoor gatherings. These are not regulations or policies, only suggestions. There are still public health rules in place like the mask mandate, limits on indoor social gatherings and mandatory testing requirements.

Script writer: Kelly Winters

The State is produced by The State News and Impact 89FM.

Michigan Title IX files exposed in a data breach: The Michigan State Title IX files were apart of a data breach from Bricker and Eckler Law Firm. The university hired the company to investigate Title IX and hearings. The email sent out was geared under 350 people notifying them about the breach. Michigan State's Title IX Communications Manager Christian Chapman said, "So just to be completely clear, none of the MSU systems were accessed," he continued with, "It was just the Bricker and Eckler systems and the cases that they handled from MSU. So a small subset. It was less than 350 people affected. And the type of information were case files." Six people at MSU had their personal information exposed.

Counseling and Mental Health Service Fund expands coverage for survivors: Survivors of the Larry Nassar abuse cases, will be able to receive extra coverage of treatments from the Counseling and Mental Health Services Fund. Some of the updates will allow individuals to request service animals, and ketamine infusion therapy. The fund was created in 2017 but was discontinued in July 2018 after fraudulent claims were being made. Then an intermediate Healing Fund was created and is managed by a third party contractor that handles the reimbursement process for survivors.

Vaccinated patients are facing scams: Government officials, the Federal Trade Commission and The Federal Bureau of Investigation are working to fight vaccine scams. Scammers are messaging patients who recently have been vaccinated to participate in surveys. The incentive is a prize that patients have to pay shipping for that will never be sent out. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said in a press release that scammers are still doing anything to steal personal information and its best if people do not share their vaccination cards.

Script writer: Chandra Flemming

The State is produced by The State News and Impact 89FM.
 

MSU HAS A NEW SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT: President Stanley created a position for a new senior vice president. Starting May 10th, Lisa Frace will take the position and will also serve as the chief financial officer. Stanley said in an email that financial stability is one of the main goals for MSU at the moment especially due to the pandemic. The Board of Trustees awaits to approve Frace until their April 16th meeting. Frace is excited to join MSU and said in a press release that MSU stands apart among other top research universities.

ASSOCIATE BASKETBALL COACH DANE FIFE LEAVES MSU: MSU basketball associate coach Dane Fife says goodbye to the state of Michigan. Fife will be heading back to the Indiana basketball team for the 2021-22 season and further. He is an alumni of Indiana University, but has been at MSU since 2011. On Twitter, Fife said, "To be an Indiana Hoosier, as I've always said, was my dream as a little boy growing up in Clarkston, Michigan. Now, once more, I'm going to be a Hoosier." He also thanks MSU tremendously for his journey and a special thanks to Tom Izzo for support during his time at MSU.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF SHARES HER JOURNEY OF LEADING VIM MAGAZINE AMID COVID-19: Ever wondered how magazines are doing during the pandemic? Well, The State News spoke with Editor-in-Chief of the on campus fashion and lifestyle magazine VIM. Marketing senior, Eve Voci expressed that a lot of time, it was like an on call job due to team members, and directors always in communication. Many of the times the biggest goal was making sure at the end of the semester the magazine was getting from point A to B. The final copy getting to the printer on time was a must. Voci said when it came to a social life, she rather focus on her career and putting her energy toward the magazine.

Script writer: Chandra Flemming

The State is produced by The State News and Impact 89FM.