MSU student wins Lansing Marathon STATENEWS.COM
Brothers, teammates, Bulloughs SPORTS, PAGE 6
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K ATIE STIEFEL/THE STATE NEWS
Michigan State University’s independent voice | statenews.com | East Lansing, Mich. | Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Zoology junior Jana Sedlacek finishes the Lansing Marathon Sunday on Michigan Avenue.
GOVE R N M E NT
PROPOSED BILL WILL RAISE MICH. MINIMUM WAGE BY 2016 By Kellie Rowe rowekell@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
State lawmakers introduced a bill last week to raise Michigan’s minimum wage from $7.40 to $10 by 2016. The legislation amending the minimum wage law of 1964 arrived two months after President Barack Obama proposed increasing the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $9 during his State of the Union address in February. Under state lawmakers’ proposed legislation, the minimum wage would rise in steady increments, although with a Republican-controlled Michigan Legislature, one of the bill sponsors, state Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, said she isn’t sure the bill will survive. The increases would occur at the following times: $7.90 by Jan. 1, 2014 $8.40 by July 1, 2014 $9 by Jan. 1, 2015 $9.50 by July 1, 2015 $10 by Jan. 1, 2016 Michigan’s minimum wage has not been raised since 2008’s rate of $7.40.
Economics professor Todd Elder said the increase could cause prices to rise for products and services from businesses utilizing minimum wage labor. “That would hurt me ‘cause I like Taco Bell,” he said. “If you can imagine the price of a chili burrito going to $2.50 — that’s one of the big costs of it.” JAN. 1, 2014 Tlaib said she and othJULY 1, 2014 er lawmakers devised the plan for JAN. 1, 2015 increments with small JULY 1, 2015 businesses in mind. The JAN. 1, 2016 increments would give them a chance to adjust to each pay raise, she said. “They know when they put more money in their (employees’) pockets that they will turn that money back into their stores and local businesses,” she said. “Folks that earn more money will go and invest
$7.90
$8.40 $9
$9.50 $10
See PAY on page 2 X
NATALIE KOLB/THE STATE NEWS
Residential College in the Arts and Humanities senior Rachel Randall, left, and studio art senior Jordan Taylor, middle, listen as graduate student Elise Toups talks about her artwork Monday inside of the MSU Main Library. Taylor and Toups were the winners of the MSU Libraries Student Art Competition.
Comeback of the canvas Despite budget cuts, E.L. is striving to merit “City of the Arts” title
BUSINESS
By Omari Sankofa II sankofao@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
E
ADAM TOOLIN/THE STATE NEWS
East Lansing Mayor Diane Goddeeris, left, waters a pot containing hops used to brew beer Monday during the groundbreaking event of the new HopCat restaurant. The craft beer restaurant will feature 100 taps of various beers and is expected to open in early August.
Officials break ground on new HopCat East Lansing By Summer Ballentine ballent8@msu.edu THE STATE NEWS ■■
The shovels were for the renovation. The hops were for beer. As workers padded through exposed earth during construction on an open space inside The Residences planned for HopCat East Lansing, city officials wiggled their fingers in pots of dirt to plant hops during the groundbreaking for the brewpub Monday. The hop plants, which Barfly Ventures project manager and East Lansing resident Sam Short said grow like weeds, will grow tall along with the building and will be ready for display on the outdoor patio of the brewpub once it is scheduled to open in early August. Students from MSU will be able to see the tall building from campus, said HopCat owner Mark Sellers, an MSU alumnus. Music performance senior Roger Pan, who tried a fruity brew with raspberry tones when he visited the other location with alumna Juliana Kartsimas, said he was excited for the East Lansing location “We love the Grand Rapids location, so we were very excited when we heard rumors it was moving to East Lansing,” Pan
“I think East Lansing needs something like this, it’s a place where you can actually think about what you drink.” Mark Sellers, HopCat owner
said. It’s HopCat’s first location outside Grand Rapids, and although the brewpub is about 20 minutes from Grand Valley State University’s campus, Sellers said he’s prepared to deal with the seasonal ebb and flow of students common in college cities, such as East Lansing. He said between 20 and 25 percent of customers at the Grand Rapids location are students, and university breaks slow down business there as well. But Sellers and city officials hope the brewpub will attract more residents and local business owners looking to have a beer with dinner, not just students hopping from bar to bar on Friday nights. See RESTAURANT on page 2 X
ast Lansing is known by two monikers: “The Home of Michigan State University” and “City of the Arts.” The first moniker is straightforward. MSU is one of the largest universities in America by student population, with more than 36,000 undergraduate students. Its basketball program, with Tom Izzo at the helm, is one of the most successful in the nation.
The second moniker isn’t as well received. When the “City of the Arts” banner was posted on an abandoned building at the intersection of Abbot Road and Grand River Avenue several months ago, some MSU students and community members claimed the nickname hadn’t been earned. Beyond the opening of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, some believed it took more than a fancy new museum to merit being a “City of the Arts.” What, besides the downtown hookah bars and cheap eateries, suggests that East Lansing is an artsy city? Turns out, quite a lot. According to Executive Director of the Arts Council of Greater Lansing Leslie Donaldson, the “City of the Arts” moniker fi rst was introduced in the 1980s, not within the past several years. “It was established because the East Lansing Arts Festival was growing at that time, and
there were a number of other resources available in the community,” Donaldson said. Although the arts community — both in Greater Lansing and at MSU — has gone through rough patches in the past few decades, there has been a consistent commitment among community members to uphold the title. Reintroducing the “City of the Arts” name is not a case of forcing the city toward a lofty goal, but highlighting a recommitment to the arts and cultural communities and programs that call East Lansing home. Bigger than a budget The economic turmoil that hit Michigan in the past decade impacted East Lansing arts businesses and programs. However, instead of separating the arts community, in many instances it strengthened it.
“ “Even when we had to scale back … we still found a way to produce those events for the community.”
Ami Van Antwerp,
East Labsing communications coordinator
See ART on page 2 X
To see an interactive timeline graphic about art initatives in East Lansing, visit statenews.com
Because walking to class got boring K ATIE STIEFEL/ THE STATE NEWS
Lansing resident Spencer Beatty paddles on his surf board Monday in the Red Cedar River behind the Administration Building. This is his first year surfing in the river.
See RECREATION on page 3