Kevin Lavery

A Lansing man who survived one of the most infamous tragedies of World War Two will be honored Monday in Lansing.  U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) will host a ceremony for Dick Thelen.  In July 1945, Thelen was an 18-year-old sailor aboard the U.S.S. Indianapolis, the ship that delivered the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima.  As the ship headed for the Philippines, it was struck by two Japanese torpedoes and sank.

WKAR’s Kevin Lavery met Mr. Thelen in 2015 to ask him about his life-altering experience.

A nearly century-old Catholic church in Lansing may not see its centennial anniversary. 

The Ingham County Health Department is launching a new public outreach campaign in hopes of dispelling myths about people living with HIV. 

The Lansing School District and the city are joining a new partnership to help its youngest students save for college. 

Almost two-thirds of female undergraduates at Michigan State University say they were sexually harassed in the 2018 academic year.  That’s according to an independent survey of the campus climate at MSU. 

A Michigan public policy research firm says long-term disinvestment by the state is hurting municipal revenues. 

Three times each year, Michigan students in grades K-3 take a series of reading assessment tests.  These tests serve as checkpoints to ensure students are meeting specific literacy goals.  Typically, students who fall below the standard are placed on a tailor-made reading plan to help them develop their skills.

East Lansing has a new mayor.  The city council unanimously selected fellow member Ruth Beier for the city’s top post. 

An education watchdog says the Michigan Department of Education is breaking the law.  It claims officials are hiding performance data by not implementing a mandatory school grading system. 

A new bill in the Michigan Senate would eliminate the requirement that all third graders who fail the reading portion of the 2020 M-STEP test be held back. 

Some Michigan State University students and faculty held a public forum Tuesday to talk about a recent research project that many deemed to be offensive and racially charged. 

The acting head of the Lansing School District is denying allegations that he sexually harassed a former intern nearly 20 years ago. 

The face of homelessness in Michigan is looking younger.  The Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness reports more than 65,000 people in this state are homeless.  About one percent of those are unaccompanied minors.  And the number is slowly rising.

The leader of a small mid-Michigan school district is taking some leave to serve his country.  Ithaca Public Schools Superintendent Steve Netzley is a soldier in the Michigan Army National Guard.

This is a bittersweet day for us here at WKAR.  Our friend and colleague Reginald Hardwick is spending his last day with us as our Digital News Director.  Reginald has led our news department for about two and a half years…and he’s leaving us a better team than he found us.