East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi on Impact 89FM

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, Andrew is joined by Dr. Alexa Warwick from Michigan State University's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. While Dr. Warwick is not an expert in deer biology, she has worked with the City of East Lansing on gauging community tolerances for deer and different management practices. East Lansing'...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, Andrew is joined by ELi reporter Al Hargrave to discuss the ongoing search for a new City Attorney in East Lansing. From splitting up the roles of municipal advisor and prosecutor to marathon interview sessions and the winnowing down of choices, Andrew and Al dive in. Give it a listen!

When one thinks local business, 7-Eleven doesn't readily come to mind. This week, Andrew hopes to change that thinking with an interview with Ali Haider, who has owned and operated the downtown 7-Eleven for more than five years. Haider, who is from the area and now resides near Grand Rapids, talks about the challenges of Covid and students being gone, the growth of downtown EL and his dislike of h...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, Andrew interviews ELHS teacher Mark Pontoni, along with two upperclassmen: junior Elke Schrenk and senior Marie Adele Grosso. The three each join Andrew to share their experiences dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic in the halls of East Lansing High School, from the fatigue of entering Year 3 to the chal...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, Andrew and Chuck are again joined by ELi's Emily Joan Elliott — this time to delve into the current state of the Covid-19 pandemic. With the Omicron variant causing another wave and renewed concerns, the trio dive into issues facing Michigan State University, East Lansing Public Schools, and the City at...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, Andrew and Chuck are joined by ELi's Managing Editor Emily Joan Elliott. Together, the trio talks about some of the bigger, noteworthy topics from 2021, from the evolution of the Covid-19 pandemic to the return of in-person learning at MSU and East Lansing Public Schools, to the newly-formed East Lansin...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, Andrew talks to a number of folks about the Saturday accident involving a Canadian National train running through some downed power lines, leading to widespread outages of service. Andrew talks to Keith Ivkovich, who witnessed the accident firsthand, plus Mike Wilson from Comcast about how outages get r...

Andrew and Chuck are joined by Al Hargrave, a newer ELi reporter, to discuss some of her recent reporting on East Lansing's City Attorney, the American Rescue Plan Act, plus East Lansing High School students being recognized for their smarts. The trio also dive into a couple other stories — about cameras downtown and a proposed medical marijuana dispensary. Listen in!

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, Andrew and Chuck are joined by ELi Publisher and Executive Director Alice Dreger to highlight and discuss the various transparency roadblocks they've encountered in East Lansing, plus what changes could fix it. Give it a listen!

After multiple presentations to the public from the City about water infrastructure, Chuck Grigsby joins ELi's Andrew Graham to talk about the ongoing sanitary and storm sewer debate in the City of East Lansing. They also delve into what the future might hold in terms of solving the flooding problems the City faces. Take a listen!

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, Andrew Graham is joined by Chuck Grigsby, who will be a more regular guest/co-host on the show moving forward. Chuck serves on the East Lansing Human Rights Commission, and chaired the study committee that crafted the recommendation for East Lansing's current Police Oversight Commission. In this episode...

On this edition of the East Lansing Insider, brought to you by East Lansing Info and Impact 89FM, policing, generally, is the topic and ELi reporters Andrew Graham, Heather Brothers and Jack Timothy Harrison dive in. First, Andrew interviews Heather about her coverage of the first meeting of the East Lansing Independent Police Oversight Commission. Then, Jack talks about his reporting on the MSU s...

On this episode of the East Lansing Insider, brought to you by East Lansing Info and Impact 89FM, ELi's Andrew Graham is joined by attorney Brian Wassom, who successfully defended ELi in a recent defamation case. The duo discuss why the claims against ELi fell short of being capable of defamation and touch on how an anti-SLAPP law could've protected ELi from such a suit. At the end, Graham runs th...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, ELi reporter Andrew Graham is joined by ELi Founder and Executive Director Alice Dreger to talk about the 2021 race for three East Lansing City Council seats, the issues the new council will face, and how the civic landscape has changed in the city. The duo also talks about some recent City Council race...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, ELi’s Managing Editor Emily Joan Elliott sits down with Reporter Heather Brothers to discuss what happened at City Council on Oct. 19, including a discussion on a police labor contract. The two then provide a news roundup, introducing the new Ingham County Commissioner, reviewing some Ask ELi questions,...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, ELi’s Managing Editor talks with East Lansing Public Schools Superintendent Dori Leyko. Leyko shares the most rewarding and challenging aspects of leading the district during the pandemic. She also reflects on what the district has done in terms of equity and social justice, including hiring Director of...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, ELi’s Managing Editor Emily Joan Elliott talks with City Desk Reporter Andrew Graham about his recent reports on flooding following heavy rains in East Lansing, particularly after heavy rains on Aug. 12. The two discuss the issues that residents on Timberlane Drive face in seeking solutions to prevent f...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, ELi’s Publisher and Executive Director Alice Dreger chats with Managing Editor Emily Joan Elliott about the history of the Evergreen Properties, which the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) purchased in 2009. Over the years, the DDA had hoped to sell the properties to several developers, but nothing s...

On this episode of East Lansing Insider, brought to you by ELi in partnership with Impact 89FM, ELi’s Alice Dreger, Emily Joan Elliott, and Andrew Graham visit some recent Ask ELi to Investigate questions that they sought answers to and helpful tidbits that they have received. The trio discusses recent flooding in East Lansing, equity and inclusion, upcoming plans for Burcham Road and at Valley Co...

On the latest episode of ELi’s podcast, Andrew Graham is joined by Madi Zink, an East Lansing High School math teacher and the coach of all the Trojans high school aquatics teams — boys and girls. Right now, it's girls swim and dive season and the duo discusses the progress of that team, plus get into the state of the whole program and where Zink hopes to take it. Also, Graham provides a quick new...

On this week’s episode of the East Lansing Insider podcast, ELi government reporters Andrew Graham and Alice Dreger bring you the results from ELi’s survey of voters related to this November’s East Lansing City Council elections. Andrew and Alice read from and discuss what voters say are their big issues and questions for candidates. Topics include housing, downtown development, transparency, gove...

This week’s East Lansing Insider podcast focuses primarily on the flooding of East Lansing homes that occurred after the monumental rain on the night of Aug. 11-12, 2021. Many East Lansing residents ended up with raw sewage in their basements. ELi’s Andrew Graham speaks with Shaw Estates resident Dr. Rubén Martinez about his experience and Andrew also tells us what he’s learned from speaking with...

On this week’s East Lansing Insider podcast, East Lansing Council member Lisa Babcock talks with ELi’s Andrew Graham and Alice Dreger about why she has voted against the rest of the Council on some issues like the Harbor Bay Newman Lofts rentals, who she is endorsing for City Council (Ron Bacon, Dan Bollman, and no third candidate), and what she’s hoping for out of the next City Attorney. Babcock...

On this week’s edition of the East Lansing Insider podcast, three members of ELi's government reporting team talk about the latest switches on East Lansing’s City Council, the dismantling of the Albert EL Fresco downtown play space, the sudden disappearance of a law meant to protect student renters, and the consistent reappearance of Mark Meadows who quit City Council but can’t seem to stay away f...

ELi’s Managing Editor Emily Joan Elliott talks with Anaiis Rios-Kasoga, Laila Lloyd, and Liyu Mesay, three young Black women who recently graduated from East Lansing High School. The trio discussed their work with Black Student Union at ELHS, how the 2016 presidential election shaped their high school years, and what ELHS could do – and in some cases, has already done – to build a more inclusive e...