Tom Truscott, with the Michigan Historical Society, and Jim Anderton with the Lansing Symphony, are hoping to turn the vacant, 69-year-old Knapp’s building in Downtown Lansing into the city’s next cultural center.

According to excerpts from the article:

Anderton, a former president of Lansing Community, is a make-things-happen kind of guy. The pair snagged an architect and some engineers from the Christman Co., which built Knapp's, plus folks from the Eyde Co., Knapp's owners, to look at the possibility of placing an arts center there. Then they went to the Lansing Economic Development Corp.

“I had the cart before the horse,” Anderton said the EDC convinced him. “We have to follow a disciplined and orderly process.”

The effort to restore a great building may not quite be tangible, but the EDC is pursuing a downtown performing arts center. According to EDC Vice President Karl Dorshimer, a request for qualifications has been put out to find a consultant to develop a business plan for an arts center.

“This will not be just a study. It will be an action plan,” said Dorshimer, emphasizing the word “action.”

Read the entire article here.

Eaton County is handing out $300,000 in Home Purchase and Rehabilitation Assistance grants to low income families so they can make physical improvements to their homes.

According to excerpts from the article:

Jonathan Green, economic development and housing coordinator for the county, said families might not be aware of the resource—but government officials are. Last year, Eaton County doled out six housing grants to Charlotte residents. This month the county hopes to receive enough state grant funding to give out 10 more in Charlotte, Eaton Rapids and Grand Ledge.

In the meantime, Eaton County is preparing to implement $300,000 in Home Owner Rehabilitation grants throughout the county. The funding should pay for improvements on 10 homes owned by low-income families.

Read the entire article here.

After spending 50 weeks touring the country’s 50 capital cities, California native Sue Parks placed Lansing on her list of top “10 Cool Capitals” and recognized Lansing as having the best river walks.

According to excerpts from the article:

"I think your city's so pretty," said the walking advocate and founder of WalkStyles, Inc., a company that sells walking-related products. "I had never been to Lansing so I had no idea what the city was going to be like. We had just a gorgeous morning."

The 51-year-old walked the city's river trails on Oct. 4. A group of about 30 accompanied her as she zipped along the trails where she could see the state Capitol and the charm of Old Town.

Read the entire article here.

A Williamston science teacher, Conni Crittenden, won a $2,500 Toyota Tapestry grant for her science-based children’s book called “Gang Green and the Zap Squad.” Teachers are given the grants for creating innovative ways to teach science.

According to excerpts from the article:

The grant program is a partnership between the car company and the National Science Teachers Association.

Fifty $10,000 grants and at least 20 $2,500 grants are awarded each year. Winning projects should "model a novel way of presenting science," according to the NSTA Web site.

The Tapestry program is geared toward helping teachers in their classroom, Crittenden said.

Read the entire article here.

Entrepreneurs Dennis Kloss and Ryan Carter cut the ribbon on their second Snap fitness facility this month. Kloss and Carter now own a Snap fitness in Mason and Haslett.

According to excerpts from the article:

Kloss and Carter each came to Snap Fitness with business backgrounds. Kloss most recently worked for American Express, while Carter owns the Baja Grille restaurant in downtown Mason.

The Chanhassen, Minn.-based company began franchising in April 2004, and now has clubs in 44 states and 11 Canadian locations. In all, there are more than 1,200 Snap Fitness locations.

Another Snap Fitness location is at 3552 Meridian Crossing Drive in Okemos, and the Web site lists gyms soon to open at 115 E. Grand River in East Lansing and E. Grand River and Putnam in Williamston.

Read the entire article here.

A small, specialized gift basket store called Cindy’s Gift Baskets recently opened in Eaton Rapids. Cindy’s Gift Baskets owner Cindy Davis says her business, which she ran out of her Charlotte home, had expanded to a point that she needed a storefront.

According to excerpts from the article:

Davis said she'd been making gift baskets and selling them at craft shows for a number of years. But when her grandmother Florabel Converse entered the Dimondale Nursing Care Center she discovered a unique venue to sell her wares. Since then, she traveled to several area nursing homes, setting up a booth and offering her baskets for sale.

"Those people in the care centers often have no way to get gifts when something they know or someone in their family has a birthday or whatever," Davis said. "So I would bring in my baskets, and the cups and other things that go inside, and people would flock to my table."

Each of Davis' baskets is unique and are typically filled with mugs, tea pots or cups and goodies such as tea, cocoa , cookies or candy. And they are not expensive.

Read the entire article here.

Local fashion designer, Shirin Mahjoory, is a fourth-generation designer and operates a successful design business out of her Okemos home.

According to excerpts from the article:

She learned design skills from her grandmother, an expert embroidery designer in Iran. She learned business sense from her aunt, who ran an Iranian technical school to help people make a living in the arts. And she learned both skills from her mother, who ran an Iranian clothing factory that employed 500 people, including 400 men.

"I'm not going to make multimillions in this business," Mahjoory says. "But at the same time, as much as I love my work, I wouldn't work for free. This is a dying art and it's very time-consuming. But by not having the overhead of a storefront, I can pass the savings on to my clients."

Read the entire article here.

Lansing may soon see a $60 million, 12-story office building on the site of the former YMCA in Downtown Lansing. Developers Daniel Essa ad Julie Lawton-Essa, of the Lawton Group Development, want to build on the two-acre site.

According to excerpts from the article:

The building, dubbed The Lenawee, would include 160,000 square feet of upscale office space, 8,200 square feet of ground-floor retailand a 750-space parking structure.

It could be finished as soon as the end of 2010.

"It's pretty exciting," said Lawton-Essa, who has nearly 20 years in real estate. "Right now, Lansing does not have anything like this available."

Read the entire article here.

Young entrepreneur Jonathan Solis, 29, plans on turning an 11,500 square foot building in Reo Town into the Atomic Restaurant & Nightclub. Solis is in the process of acquiring the $110,000 building.

According to excerpts from the article:

“Yeah, it’s a fixer-upper,” laughs Solis, as he disentangles his foot from a dangling wire. “But we’re going to completely gut this. When I look at this, I don’t see decay. I see the future of this area’s nightlife. I see something that can bring hundreds of people down to REO Town every weekend. I see potential.”

Read the entire article here.

The Capital Area District Library (CADL) board recently approved a proposal to place a millage on the Aug.ust 5 ballot that would ask voters to fund $93.6 million in improvements and expansions to Ingham County libraries.

According to excerpts from the article:

"The cost is not that high, and we would hope that people would see how important this could be to their community," CADL Director Sue Hill said after the board passed the ballot item. "This is a great opportunity for us. Our services have just grown and grown and grown, and our buildings haven't."

Lansing resident Debra Hinkle, 44, said she welcomes the new proposed millage, which could mean an improved downtown Lansing branch where her twin sons, Calvin and Elijah, do homework, use computers and receive tutoring.

Read the entire article here.

Several Michigan State University (MSU) students talked with government officials, scientists and research teams about their research-based ideas for improving the state’s biofuel industry at MSU’s first Inventors Day.

According to excerpts from the article:

The event, hosted by the Michigan Futures Seminar, a public policy group based at MSU's James Madison College, was intended to connect students, business and government leaders and create an opportunity for dialogue.

George Seroka, an engineering manager for DTE Energy, was one of the industry leaders at Inventors Day.

"As a utility, we are very interested in reducing our carbon footprint," Seroka said, adding that the utility was trying to move its energy portfolio toward more renewable energy.

Read the entire article here.

Michigan State University (MSU) researchers will study the development of N-Viro International Corporation's patented fuel technology that stabilizes and disinfects municipal bio solids and other organic waste products.

According to excerpts from the article:

MSU and N-Viro conducted a full scale test of the N-ViroFuel process and product at the Simon plant on the MSU campus in East Lansing in January. The successful test separately used both bio solids and animal manure-based N-Viro Fuel to demonstrate the potential of this technology to beneficially reuse these materials by creating a renewable alternative fuel.

Read the entire article here. 

More than 1,000 middle school and high school kids from around the state stopped by the Ingham County Fairgrounds in Mason to check out potential construction jobs at the Michigan Construction Career Days.

According to excerpts from the article:

Steve Higgins, a training coordinator with Lansing-based AIS Construction Equipment, said companies will be looking to hire about 40,000 more workers in Michigan in the next few years as older workers begin to retire. And that's if the state's economy doesn't improve.

Read the entire article here.

 

SC Magazine recently named Dan Lohrmann, chief security officer for the State of Michigan, the 2008 Chief Security Officer of the Year for outstanding achievement in information technology security.

According to excerpts from the article:

“Dan does a fantastic job for us and for the citizens of Michigan,” said Ken Theis, Director of the Michigan Department of Information Technology and CIO for the State of Michigan. “We battle new threats to our information security every day, and Dan is at the forefront of that battle, making sure we protect the state’s vital information.”

“Dan Lohrmann represents one of the industry’s leading lights,” said SC Magazine Editor Illena Armstrong. “Moving into 2008, our judges recognize that Mr. Lohrmann is helping them identify and address the emerging security issues of tomorrow.”

Read the entire article here.

Lansing’s Westside just got a little more European. A 1,200 square foot coffee shop, Brewster’s Beanery, recently opened on West Saginaw, bringing a little European flair to the area.

According to excerpts from the article:

Brewster’s Beanery has the European coffee lounge look. The 2,100-square-foot space includes a fireplace surrounded by leather chairs, a waterfall, booths and tall bistro tables and outdoor seating when the weather gets nice. Along with coffee, they serve paninis, bagels, scones, croissants, muffins, wraps and salads.

Also like European coffee lounges, Brewster’s baristas are well trained. Manager Jason Westenbroek, a member of the Barista Guild, trains baristas in pulling shots of espresso, steaming and foaming perfect milk and tasting coffees from several different areas of the world.

“Our baristas have to pull their own shots and tamp their own beans, which makes the shots perfect, so each latte or mocha at the store is the best it can be,” Brim said.

Brim said Westenbrock’s specialties include the popular latte art. “In the finishing touch with the whip, he makes flowers and other designs in the lattes (a heart is a favorite, but there are also designs like flowers),” Brim said. “I want a visit here to be an event.”

Brim also plans to host events at the shop, and has planned her first book-signing event with local children’s book author Judith Wade on April 26.

“We have large, open space, because I wanted to bring in groups for meetings, and we can arrange special hours for any other groups that would like to meet here,” Brim said.

Brewster’s Beanery, 6003 W. Saginaw Highway, Lansing. Hours: 6:30 a.m. – 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m Sunday. (517) 886-6300.

Read the entire article here.

The East Lansing City Council has given the Volunteers of America $10,000 to study and determine the needs of the area's homeless population.

According to excerpts from the article:

Volunteers of America approached the council after recognizing a possible $90,000 shortfall in its funding for its project.

In 2007, the City Council passed an ordinance banning the homeless from sleeping in the city’s parking ramps.

Although Mayor Vic Loomis had doubts about contributing 10 percent of the funding for the project, Mayor Pro Tem Diane Goddeeris was in favor of the grant.

“It would show a support that may be a jump for other municipalities to fund organizations like the Volunteers of America,” she said.

The city also awarded $2,500 to Haven House, 121 Whitehills Drive, which provides temporary shelter for the homeless.

“We have a responsibility to be aware of what the homeless needs in East Lansing are,” said Stephanie Gingerich, an East Lansing community development analyst. “We participate in this network that tries to provide service and raise awareness.”

Read the entire article here.

Michigan State University (MSU) architecture students are designing conceptual renovations and improvements for the Cristo Rey Community Center in Old Town Lansing. The designs include adding a pool, courtyard or community-maintained garden.

According to excerpts from the article:

Cristo Rey Executive Director John Roy Castillo said he hopes to beautify the front of the North High Street building and make it seem welcoming.

"I think the whole community will benefit by it," Castillo said.

Castillo said that while the center has limited resources, he hoped local businesses would donate materials or provide them at a discount.

The MSU juniors from professor Jon Burley's class described their landscaping concepts to two of the center's board members and its executive director on Thursday.

The center's board members likely will make a decision when they meet in two weeks.

On May 3, more than 100 volunteers are expected to do initial landscaping work. Castillo said it is likely that the final plan will incorporate elements from several or all of the students' designs.

Many of the plans require the removal of trees and concrete - expenses the center cannot afford, Castillo said.

Terry Henson, who is in charge of the center's maintenance, estimated that it would cost the nonprofit organization $550 to take out a tree.

Read the entire article here.

The Lansing theater group, Icarus Falling, had to cancel a premiere last week as they continue to search for a place to perform amid the rapidly changing Lansing landscape.

According to excerpts from the article:

"There were a number of spots we were looking at," said Jeff Croff, artistic director of Icarus Falling. "But we couldn't put it together in time."

So "Etberg, PA" will wait, possibly until July.

Icarus has tried four spots, most of them available only temporarily. The latest - the former Greenhouse Bistro site, downtown - drew relatively good crowds of 60-plus, Croff said.

"We were really encouraged by the hunger for entertainment downtown," he said.

The day after that show closed, however, remodeling began for a new restaurant. "Etberg" rehearsals continued - sometimes in actors' basements - while Croff scrambled for a new spot. On Sunday night - five days before the opening - he canceled the show.

It was going to be the premiere of "Etberg," by Laura Croff and Kevin Knights. It will be back, Jeff Croff (Laura's husband) said, but "Parallel Lives," a popular, two-person performance piece, will be next.

The site for that? Croff said he won't return to Creole, but might do shows on the second floor of the downtown art gallery. "We could probably seat about 40 people there."

Read the entire story here.

The $12.5 million Downtown Lansing Stadium District development announced that it’s ready for its first tenants by placing a large neon side out front. The mixed-use space is just one of several new developments lining Michigan Avenue.

According to excerpts from the article:

The stadium district is ready for residents. Today developers raised the stadium district sign to the front of the building. It's one of the last steps to prepare the building for move-in day, which for some residents will happen as early as this month.

When David Sell decided to open a new nightclub in Downtown Lansing, he knew he was on to something.

David Sell, Harem Managing Partner: "This is Lansing's first urban lounge. It's actually a large dance club and lounge that's modeled after dance clubs that you have in big cities."

Last week Harem Urban Lounge opened to huge crowds, proving to Sell downtown is the place to be.

David Sell: "I think they're really beginning to invest in downtown Michigan. This is the capital of Michigan, it needs to be a jewel of a city."

Harem Urban Lounge isn't the only new business planting itself in Downtown Lansing. Right now, there are new businesses popping up all over the area.

Bob Trezise, Lansing Economic Development Corporation: "We have a half billion dollars of new private investment occurring downtown."

Bob Trezise says by this summer the stadium district and a high end men's hair salon will join Harem Urban Lounge on Michigan Avenue, while Washington Avenue serve as home to the popular food joints Jimmy Johns and Mennas.

Read the entire article here.

First there was step aerobics. Then there was fitness yoga and Pilates. Today's trend is pole dancing—a sexy, entertaining way to get in shape. And East Lansing has its very own pole dancing studio.

According to excerpts from the article:

Megan Dolby, a 23-year-old Michigan State University student and owner of Pin-Up Pole Dancing in East Lansing, teaches three different levels of pole dancing to adventurous sorts looking to buff up or just feel a little more sexy.

"People gravitate toward what they like," she said. "It's fun, challenging and pretty to watch. And it's definitely sexy."

The svelte Dolby makes gliding around the pole look so easy, it seems like she's suspended from the ceiling.

But this class isn't for the faint of heart.

She teaches her students to hang upside down from the pole and actually pull themselves to the top. All of it takes arm strength, coordination and a willingness to not take yourself too seriously.

Read the entire article here.