Today on Current State: Michigan's first-ever Veterans Affairs Agency; Neighbors in Action features the Open Door Ministry in Lansing; and the first annual Spartan Sports Journalism Classic event.
Michigan's first Veterans Affairs Agency is aiming to improve coordinated customer services for veterans to access state and federal benefits in Michigan.
Data show that Michigan’s nearly 700,000 veterans are not connecting with important services that state and federal agencies offer involving employment, health and education.
To correct the situation, Governor Rick Snyder last month approved $3 million to launch Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency. Current State's Mark Bashore speaks with its first director, U.S. Army veteran Jeff Barnes.
Housed at the Central United Methodist Church in Lansing, the Open Door Ministry has been providing key personal needs such as hot meals, laundry and phone services for homeless people for 30 years.
For this week’s Neighbors in Action segment we feature the Open Door Ministry, a non-profit day drop-in center where homeless individuals can rest, eat and do laundry.
Dennis Ranville, co-director of Open Door Ministry, talks about the people his organization serves and poverty in downtown Lansing. And Ira Savage, a current volunteer and formerly homeless client at Open Door, joins the conversation.
Matt Ludtke kicks off the show with a recap of the NCAA Championship game last night. He discusses potential referee changes in the NCAA, and key highlights from the game. Ludtke continues with Spartan basketball discussion and takes callers opinions on what went wrong for the Wolverines last night. He closes the show with MSU football talk, and which players are going to step up and be the new role models for a team that lost great leaders after last fall.
Today on Current State: MSU plant biologist's expertise plays major role in criminal investigation; lead poisoning down in Detroit, but so is funding for lead cleanup; and iPad periodical developed by MSU journalism students.
After analyzing a dirt sample containing hints about the suspect's whereabouts when the crime occurred, researchers plan to recruit volunteers this summer to further the investigation in Ludington's forests.
A Michigan State University plant biology professor is playing a unique role in piecing together a tragic West Michigan crime. Dr. Frank Telewski is part of an effort to locate a Ludington infant who was abducted and likely killed by her father in 2011.
Telewski and other professionals have analyzed bits of plant material from the suspect’s shoes in an attempt to find the location of four-month-old’s remains. Using the findings, investigators plan to narrow the search this summer.
A story from Environmental Health News reports that lead poisoning in children in Detroit has decreased 70 percent since 2004. However, the number of children with exposure to excessive lead levels in Detroit still exceeds the national average, and funding for cleanup is dwindling.
Brian Bienkowski is a senior editor and staff writer at Environmental Health News. He discusses the decrease of lead poisoning and the motor city's environmental future.
